Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans (a) to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate the conduct of insurers offering Professional Indemnity Insurance to those tasked with the remedial works on unsafe buildings or (b) for the Government to underwrite or indemnify the risk under an extension to the Building Safety Fund.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We do not have plans to regulate the behaviour of insurers undertaking PII as this is activity already regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in line with their statutory objectives under the Financial Services and Market Act (2000) legislation.
We understand that some construction professionals are struggling to obtain appropriate PII, particularly for fire safety work. This directly relates to the Government's remediation objectives. We have been engaging with industry to investigate these challenges. This includes developing an industry survey with the Construction Leadership Council to provide a robust evidence base of the challenges in construction PII.
We are also monitoring the effect of PII restrictions on applications to the Building Safety Fund and are engaging with suppliers to ensure they have appropriate PII cover. We continue to work across Government and with industry, to investigate solutions that may improve the availability of PII and continue the delivery of remediation at pace.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the affordability of housing association homes in London.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Mayor has responsibility for housing delivery in London. However, the Government recognises the acute housing problems faced in London. We are providing the Mayor with £4 billion of Affordable Homes Programme funding over the 5 years 2021-2026 to deliver the affordable homes that London desperately needs, working with housing associations and local authorities he now needs to build them.
The Government does not a prescribe a definition of affordability, but we recognise that the fundamental purpose of social housing is to provide affordable, safe and secure homes to those who cannot afford to rent or buy through the open market. This purpose is reflected in the definition of affordable housing in the National Planning Policy Framework and in our approach to setting maximum rent levels in social housing including in London. The Regulator of Social Housing publishes annual statistics on rents charged by private registered providers of social housing (such as housing associations) - this is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistical-data-return-statistical-releases.
For those who cannot afford their rent, Housing Benefit or Universal Credit is available to provide support with housing costs.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of homes allocated to social housing under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on heat networks where the social landlord has no mechanism for control in relation to performance, reliability and pricing.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not hold data on the exact number of social homes under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on a heat network. However, the results of the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) found that heat network consumers were more likely to be renting from a housing association or local authority (32% and 34%) compared with the wider population (8% and 9%).
The ability for landlords to have control over the performance, reliability and pricing of a heat network will in part depend on the network’s delivery model. This is based on whether it is the leaseholder or the heat supplier who holds the right to use the network. The CMA heat networks study found that where the consumers have the right to use the network as part of their leaseholder or tenancy agreement, this provides them with more protection and control. In addition, leases can state that supply of heating and hot water is the responsibility of the landlord, and the Landlord and Tenant Act places requirements on landlords to maintain a property and its associated assets, such as heating. The CMA report found that the types of business models found in the heat networks market vary significantly.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the importance of the interface between the delivery of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the EU's INTERREG and PEACE programme funding in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK for places most in need, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and rural and coastal communities, and for people who face labour market barriers. The UK Government intends to work with the devolved administrations and other stakeholders to ensure that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is used to its best effect, including ensuring it works effectively alongside other funding streams, and supports citizens across the UK. Devolved administrations will be represented on the governance structures for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of London (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the report by the Commission of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on Housing, Church and Community Coming Home: Tackling the housing crisis together, published on 21 February, and (2) proposals to use church-owned land to build affordable housing developments; and what plans they have (a) to review existing charity law, (b) to extend the provisions of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, and (c) to amend other relevant legislation, to allow for land to be used for charitable purposes without a requirement for financial gain.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We welcome the recent report from the Archbishops’ Commission, and the very important contribution of the Church to our shared commitment to help our country build back better, including supporting affordability. We will continue to work closely with the Church of England to explore how we can support them and work together to achieve our shared commitments.
We have already made a number of commitments which will bolster the delivery of high quality and sustainable affordable housing. The Government is investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will leverage up to £38 billion of private finance and provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.
The Government would welcome the use of church-owned land to bring forward more affordable housing, and is content that charity law can facilitate this. The Charity Commission is able to approve the disposal of land or other assets at less than market value where the disposal is consistent with the charitable purpose of the organisation. We understand that the Charity Commission is engaging with the Archbishops’ Commissioners to understand how this can be better communicated within the Church, and we welcome that dialogue.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that any successor policy to the European Social Fund programme takes into account the interdependency between community education and further/higher education.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is the domestic successor to the EU’s Structural Fund programme. It will maximise the benefits of leaving the EU through quicker delivery of funding, better targeting, better alignment with domestic priorities and by reducing EU bureaucracy.
The Department for Education is working closely with other government departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions on the development of the UKSPF. As set out in the Heads of Terms published in the Spending Review 2020, a portion of the fund will be targeted to people most in need through bespoke employment and skills programmes that are tailored to local need. This will support improved employment outcomes for those in and out of work in specific cohorts of people who face labour market barriers.
The government will publish a UK wide investment framework later in 2021 and confirm the quantum funding amount at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to embed the importance of community education in the successor policy to the European Social Fund programme.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is the domestic successor to the EU’s Structural Fund programme. It will maximise the benefits of leaving the EU through quicker delivery of funding, better targeting, better alignment with domestic priorities and by reducing EU bureaucracy.
The Department for Education is working closely with other government departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions on the development of the UKSPF. As set out in the Heads of Terms published in the Spending Review 2020, a portion of the fund will be targeted to people most in need through bespoke employment and skills programmes that are tailored to local need. This will support improved employment outcomes for those in and out of work in specific cohorts of people who face labour market barriers.
The government will publish a UK wide investment framework later in 2021 and confirm the quantum funding amount at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that successor funding to the European Social Fund enables women to access formal education.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is the domestic successor to the EU Structural Fund programme. It will maximise the benefits of leaving the EU through quicker delivery of funding, better targeting, better alignment with domestic priorities and by cutting burdensome EU bureaucracy.
The department is working closely with other government departments including the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions on the development of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As set out in the heads of terms published at Spending Review 2020, a portion of the fund will be targeted to people most in need through bespoke employment and skills programmes that are tailored to local need. This will support improved employment outcomes for those in and out of work in specific cohorts of people who face labour market barriers.
The government will set out further details of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in a UK-wide investment framework published in the spring.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department’s property company LocatED’s plans to develop 259 Plaistow Road in Newham, London, how many and what proportion of the homes proposed to be built will be for (a) social rent, (b) 80 per cent of market rent, (c) market rent, (d) shared ownership, (e) leasehold sale and (f) other forms of sale or rent.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department and LocatED are consulting with the London Borough of Newham and the Local Planning Authority on the delivery of School 21 Plaistow, a secondary free school project. The number of new homes and housing mix is currently under review and will be finalised during the planning determination period.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps Homes England is taking (1) to encourage, and (2) to create, opportunities for small and new-entry builders in the housing construction sector; and what plans they have, if any, to reflect these steps in the specification for the forthcoming tender for Homes England's Delivery Partner Panel 4.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Homes England’s strategic objectives include helping small builders grow into medium builders and to encourage new entrants into the market. The Home Building Fund specifically focuses on supporting SME builders who are unable to access suitable finance in the marketplace. It does this by providing development finance direct, as well as through lender frameworks designed to encourage and enhance the supply of liquidity in the market to the SME builder.
In addition, Homes England looks to ensure SMEs can access land through its Land Hub, and the agency’s standard building lease sets out a legal obligation for a proportion of homes to be built out by SMEs or Registered Providers.
Work to replace the current Delivery Partner Panel (DPP3) is focused on diversifying the housing market and increasing SME access to public land opportunities, in line with the agency’s strategic objectives.