Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide financial support to bring back into use derelict properties in Easington constituency.

The number of empty homes in England is at its lowest since records began. At May 2010 over 300,000 homes in England had been standing empty for longer than 6 months. As of October 2015, the number had fallen to 203,596.

Local authorities already have powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus they earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. They also have flexibility to impose council tax on empty homes with the power to impose a premium, of up to 50 per cent (on top of the council tax bill), on properties that have been empty for more than two years. We have extended permitted development rights to make it easier to convert property from business to residential to give new life to thousands of empty buildings.

The £32 million Estate Regeneration Fund is being distributed to local authorities and housing associations across England to support refurbishment and redevelopment of thousands of homes across 100 housing estates. The funding will be used to speed up schemes in their early stages, improve engagement with residents, address problems that hold up projects and give local authorities access to skills to ensure high-quality regeneration.