Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the City of York Council's investment strategy for the York Central Development Infrastructure Project on the (a) security and risk profile of that local authority's budget and (b) value for money in spending from the public purse.

City of York Council (CYC) Enterprise Zone funding was a key part of the HIF funding request for the infrastructure required to enable York Central to come forward. The decision by the SoS to provide funding was done on the basis that the scheme demonstrated the strategic case to unlock homes and wider uses on publicly owned land, working alongside CYC, demonstrated value for money, and was considered deliverable. Homes England was Commissioned in 2020 to deliver the project in collaboration with Network Rail.