Every parliamentary written question tabled by David Simmonds this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 401–420 of 428 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding devolution powers to district council areas.
The Government is committed to ensuring that every part of England can rapidly benefit from devolution, moving power out of Westminster back to those who know their areas best. The English Devolution Bill will establish an ambitious standardised framework...
Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) section 106 agreements and (b) the community infrastructure levy.
The Government is committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
Communities and Local Government, what her policy is on the use of the term Islamophobia; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting the working definition of Islamophob
There is no place in our society for religious or racial hatred of any kind. Tackling Islamophobia is a priority for this Government, especially in light of last month’s violent disorder, where we saw mosques and Muslim communities targeted. This is deplo...
Communities and Local Government, what flags she plans to fly outside her Department other than the Union flag in the next 12 months; and on which days each flag will be flown.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is a minor tenant in the buildings it occupies. At only one, the Department's second HQ at Wolverhampton, does it control of what flags are flown. In the next 12 months at the Wolverhampton HQ, the Ministry will fly flags in addition to the Union flag to mark events of national and international significance, as directed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sports Ceremonial Team.
Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating more (a) town and (b) parish councils.
The Government is committed to promoting local democracy and community empowerment. Parish and town councils are the first tier of local government, often playing a vital role in community engagement and delivering local services. The power to create parish councils is devolved to local authorities and the communities they serve through the community governance review process.
Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to issue guidance on equality, diversity and inclusion in planning.
This Government is committed to ensuring that planning decisions reflect the diverse needs of local communities. National planning policy already sets out the need to assess and meet the requirements of different groups, and we are consulting on proposed changes that will strengthen this, such as requiring stronger consideration of those in need of social housing. Any changes to the NPPF also undergo Equalities Impact Assessments in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty set out in the Equality Act 2010.
Communities and Local Government, when the recruitment of 300 new planning officers will begin.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 1007 on 25 July 2024.
Communities and Local Government, what her planning policy is on (a) authorised and (b) unauthorised traveller sites in the Green Belt.
The Government is currently consulting on a number of reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework. These include proposals to release low-quality grey belt land within the Green Belt to meet housing and other development needs. We are seeking views on how the proposals under the NPPF would apply to traveller sites, particularly concerning the sequential test to guide release, the definition of grey belt and previously developed land, and proposals that are considered not to be inappropriate development.The Planning Policy for Traveller Sites sets out that local authorities should produce their own assessment of need and plan to meet this need through their Local Plan.Local planning authorities have a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance, which they can use to tackle all types of unauthorised development. Our proposals do not impact on these and we will keep the use of them under review.
Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of her proposed regulatory changes on the private rented sector in relation to (a) the level of rents for new tenancies and (b) the supply of homes available on the market for private rent.
An impact assessment for the regulatory changes proposed in the forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill will be published in the usual way.
Communities and Local Government, what metrics she plans to use to monitor the building of 1.5 million homes in this Parliament; and whether she will monitor housing (a) starts and (b) completions.
The Government is committed to building 1.5 million homes over the duration of the parliament. We will update Parliament on our progress in the usual manner. The Ministry publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build starts and completions, by local authority, in each financial year since 1980-81, shown in Live Table 253 at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building. Live tables on housing supply: net additional dwellings. The latest data tables on housing supply: net additional dwellings.
Communities and Local Government, whether it is her policy to maintain the 10-unit threshold for affordable housing.
The Government are not proposing to change Paragraph 65 of the National Planning Policy Framework which makes clear that provision of affordable housing should not be sought for residential developments that are not major developments, other than in designated rural areas (where policies may set out a lower threshold of 5 units or fewer).
Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to hold further rounds of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Decisions on funding post March 2025 are a matter for the Budget on October 30th.We recognise the challenges this brings for some projects. We are working closely with local authorities and key stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition to future funding, so communities continue to benefit from this vital support. In the meantime, officials remain available to discuss any issues impacting delivery.
Communities and Local Government, whether civil servants in her Department are required to be in the office for at least 60% of their work time.
The department expects staff to work toward attending the office or other premises for official business for 60% of their working time. Some of our offices cannot currently accommodate this level of attendance and lower expectations are therefore in place.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the King's Speech on 17 July 2024, who would be responsible for determining the sale price of a property under Community Right to Buy.
The government recognises the vital importance of high streets and community spaces and is committed to supporting them to thrive across the country. As part of this, we are developing proposals to introduce a Community Right to Buy which will empower local people to preserve the places and spaces important to them.My department is working hard to consider the most effective and balanced valuation method as part of these proposals and will provide more detail on how this will work in due course.
Communities and Local Government, what her policy is on the protection of residential gardens from development.
The Government expects local planning authorities to consider the case for setting out policies to resist inappropriate development of residential gardens, for example where development would cause harm to the local area.
Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on the planning classification of a disused (a) petrol station and (b) car park as (i) brownfield and (ii) greenfield land.
The definition of previously developed land is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The definition sets out some specific exceptions, including residential gardens in built up areas. The Government’s proposed reforms to the NPPF include relaxing the restrictions that are currently applied to Previously Developed Land (PDL) and limited infilling in the Green Belt in paragraph 154g of the current NPPF, to make clear that development is ‘not inappropriate’ where it would not cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt. The requirements of our golden rules are intended to apply to release of PDL.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the consultation entitled Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, published on 30 July 2024, what (a) changes she plans to make to planning fees and (b) the total planning fees would be for a (i) lawful development certificate and (ii) retrospective planning application for a householder development.
The consultation in question includes proposals to increase householder fees and other planning fees. We will consider the responses received and use them to inform continued policy development.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 26 July 2024, to Question 1315, on Environmental protection, what her planned timetable is for replacing legacy legislation on environmental assessment with the new outcome reporting regime.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 1315 on 26 July 2024.
Communities and Local Government, when she will publish the consultation on the scope and content of National Development Management Policies.
A consultation on National Development Management Policies is under development and it will be launched in due course.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Expert taskforce to spearhead a new generation of new towns, published on 31 July 2024, what the remuneration for (a) Dame Kate Barker and (b) Sir Michael Lyons is; what the terms of reference were for their appointment; if she will publish any declaration of interests; and whether they have made any declaration of political activity.
We are committed to delivering a new generation of new towns, with locations informed by the recommendations of an independent, expert New Towns Taskforce. New towns will include large-scale new communities built on greenfield land and separated from other nearby settlements, but also a larger number of urban extensions and urban regeneration schemes. Each new settlement will contain at least 10,000 homes, although we expect a number to be far larger in size. Collectively, we expect they could provide hundreds of thousands more homes in the decades to come, with some homes delivered within this Parliament. Any assessment of how many homes will be delivered within this Parliament will need to be informed by the locations selected, in line with the recommendations of the Taskforce.In relation to engaging local communities, we have been clear that the Taskforce will work in partnership with local leaders and communities wherever possible, but its selection of sites will be made in the national interest. New towns will be delivered in partnership with local leaders and communities. We will set out further details of the Taskforce in the coming weeks, ahead of the appointment of the other Taskforce members and its first meeting in the autumn.