Planning Rules Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con) 1. When his
Department will publish its response to the consultation on the
planning for the future White Paper. Julie Marson (Hertford and
Stortford) (Con) 20. What steps he is taking to reform planning
rules. David Johnston (Wantage) (Con) 22. What steps he is taking
to reform planning rules. The Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Michael Gove) The response to last
year’s...Request free trial
Planning Rules
(Gosport) (Con)
1. When his Department will publish its response to the
consultation on the planning for the future White Paper.
(Hertford and Stortford)
(Con)
20. What steps he is taking to reform planning rules.
(Wantage) (Con)
22. What steps he is taking to reform planning rules.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
()
The response to last year’s consultation on the planning White
Paper generated significant interest. I am considering all those
responses and will make an announcement on next steps in due
course.
I welcome the Secretary of State to his role.
The Gosport peninsula is more than 80% built on, and a further
12% of it is conservation area. There is simply nowhere to build
the wildly unrealistic 2014 housing numbers without decimating
any remaining green areas and, of course, the vital strategic
gap. Worse, the 2018 Office for National Statistics population
data reveal that our actual housing need is 3,000 fewer homes. I
really understand that the nation needs houses, but this
Government champion localism. Will he please give me hope that
they will not be imposing unrealistic, outdated housing numbers
on us?
Mr Speaker
I call the Secretary of State.
Hon. Members
That’s you!
It is still something of a surprise to me, Mr Speaker. I do not
know what it is like for you.
I completely understand the unique issues faced by my hon.
Friend’s constituents. The unique geography of the peninsula and
the communities she represents poses particular challenges when
it comes not just to meeting local housing need, but to
respecting the environment and, indeed, the nature of the
communities and their special cherishable character. As we take
forward our proposals for planning reform, we will be balancing
the need for new housing with environmental concerns and also the
vital importance of listening to local people.
The Harlow and Gilston garden town development is the largest
release of green-belt land for our housing for generations. The
scale of the challenge for magnificent community groups such as
the Hunsdon, Eastwick and Gilston neighbourhood plan group to get
their voices heard is a David and Goliath challenge. Does my
right hon. Friend agree that we need to listen to and trust local
people, and will he meet me to discuss this project and how it
can provide a live case study for the design of future planning
reform?
My hon. Friend makes a very important point. It is thanks to the
work of organisations such as the Hunsdon, Eastwick and Gilston
neighbourhood plan group that we involve local communities in
making these uniquely sensitive decisions. As we consider our
plans for the future, one thing we want to do is to make sure
that the voice of local people is integrated more effectively
into planning decisions.
The two district councils that Wantage and Didcot cover are in
the top 10 areas of England for houses built, but in the bottom
third for infrastructure. People would be less unhappy with the
house building if it came with more GP surgeries, the reopening
of Grove station and better roads. Will my right hon. Friend
assure me that, as he reforms planning, there will be a greater
emphasis on improving infrastructure to support the population
that the houses come with?
My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Across the country,
many people would welcome new housing development
enthusiastically if they had the assurance of knowing that there
was sufficient investment in infrastructure to ensure that public
services and other utilities were there for them so that
additional pressure was not applied unequally. His argument is
correct, and it has been incorporated into our thinking about the
future of planning reform.
(Sheffield South East)
(Lab)
I welcome the Secretary of State to his new role and look forward
to seeing him at the Select Committee next week. I do not know
whether he has had the chance to read yet the Select Committee’s
review of the planning reforms. May I suggest that local plans
need to be at the heart of a plan-led system, indicating where
development is likely to happen? To do that, local plans need to
be simpler, easier to understand and get more people involved in
the process so that there is real community buy-in to them.
Finally, even when local plans are in place, there still needs to
be an opportunity for local people to be able to comment on,
object to, and, where necessary, influence the outcomes of
individual planning applications.
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who is a very
distinguished Select Committee Chair. At the danger of
establishing a treacly consensus right from the very beginning,
may I say that I entirely agreed with the first part of his
question? As for the second part, I certainly welcome that
direction of travel.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
Today, York has been voted Britain’s most popular city. However,
if we get planning wrong, we will embed inequality into our city.
The governance structures over projects such as York Central are
currently in the wrong place, so they will not deliver for the
people in my city. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss
York Central, as I have met many of his Ministers, so that we get
the governance structures right for the future?
I would be delighted to meet the hon. Lady. It is important to
recognise that we want to work with York to ensure that there is
a local plan in place, but it is also the case, as she knows,
that this Government are investing in York, deploying more
resource and bringing more civil servants to the beautiful city
that she represents. I hope that we can continue, in that
consensual manner, to deliver for the people of York.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
I welcome the new Secretary of State to his role. I also welcome
his replies to hon. Members, as he said that, effectively, the
Government’s developers charter is being reviewed. I have not
seen the right hon. Gentleman torpedo something so effectively
since he sunk the Prime Minister’s leadership bid in 2016. But we
know that, like Lazarus, the Prime Minister came back. Will the
Secretary of State therefore take this opportunity to confirm
that the Government’s wholly unpopular and disastrous planning
reforms will never return?
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for taking me back to the halcyon
days of 2016; it was not so much a torpedo being launched as an
unexploded bomb going off in my own hands. As the former Member
for Kensington and Chelsea, , pointed out, one of the
things about committing political suicide is that you always live
to regret it.
On the hon. Lady’s broader point, it is only fair to say that the
planning White Paper was mischaracterised by many. There is so
much that is good in it, but it is important that we listen to
concerns that were expressed in order to ensure that an already
powerful and compelling suite of proposals is even more
effective.
Domestic Abuse Victims: Safe Accommodation
(East Surrey) (Con)
2. What recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary and
the Secretary of State for Justice on increasing the supply of
safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
My Department works with others across the Government to tackle
this serious issue. I am pleased that on 1 October the new duties
in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force to require local
authorities to provide support for all victims who need safe
accommodation. We are supporting councils with £125 million this
year to help them to deliver on those duties.
One of the really important parts of breaking the domestic abuse
cycle is providing safe spaces for the women who need them to go
to. I welcome the millions of pounds that the Government have
invested in this area, but in East Surrey we have created an
innovative local financing model, with the work of Surrey County
Council and Reigate and Banstead Women’s Aid. Will the Minister
meet us in order that we can explain how we have created this
model, so that it could be recreated elsewhere?
I am huge admirer of the work of Women’s Aid across the country.
During the summer, I was delighted to have the opportunity to
visit Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid to see the excellent
work that it does. Of course, I would be delighted to join my
hon. Friend in a visit to Reigate and Banstead Women’s Aid to see
the innovative work that it is doing to provide more
accommodation.
Building Safety
(Putney) (Lab)
3. What steps he is taking to improve building safety.
The Minister for Housing ()
The Government’s landmark Building Safety Bill will drive the
most significant regulatory, cultural and behavioural
improvements to building safety in a generation. In addition, as
the House will know, we are investing £5.1 billion of taxpayers’
money to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings, with a
new tax and levy on industry. We will offer further support to
leaseholders in buildings between 11 metres and 18 metres
high.
I welcome the action taken so far, but it is not fast enough or
far enough for the thousands of leaseholders in Putney who are
trapped in a perfect storm, with some living in unsafe buildings
and many more caught up in a crisis of confidence in building
safety. They cannot sell their homes, yet through no fault of
their own, they are forced to pay thousands in ongoing costs for
waking watch—or sleeping watch, as they call it—and insurance,
before we even get to the costs of remediation works. They need
Ministers to get a faster grip of the situation and solve the
crisis. Will the Minister agree to Labour’s plan for a building
works agency to find, then to fix, fund and, crucially, certify
these buildings as safe; and then pursue those who are
responsible for the costs, not the leaseholders?
The hon. Lady will know that through the building safety fund we
have now distributed £734 million for 689 identified
buildings—identified by local councils and communities, which are
best placed to do this—with the result that 65,000 homes are now
in the process of being remediated. Ninety-seven per cent. of
buildings with unsafe aluminium composite material cladding have
been remediated or are in the process of so being. Of course we
want to speed up the process and of course we will work with
developers, local authorities and fire and rescue services to
make sure that the work is being done. It is being done, it shall
be done: she can be assured of that.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Con)
How will the building safety charge benefit leaseholders living
in North West Leicestershire?
The building safety charge is a charge to ensure that the
building safety regulator—the most important and powerful
regulator of building safety in the world—will be responsible for
ensuring that through the life cycle of the development of a
building, from design to construction through to its operation,
it will be safe. We will be ensuring that there are accountable
persons for those buildings who will be responsible for them. We
will make sure that the cost that falls on individual
leaseholders will be sensible and as limited as possible. My hon.
Friend can be assured that that cost will be transparent so that
they can see exactly what they are paying for.
(Manchester Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
First, let me pay my respects to . He was a tireless campaigner
for building and fire safety, chairing the exceptional all-party
parliamentary group on the subject. I last met him only a few
weeks ago to discuss the omissions in the Building Safety Bill.
His loss will be greatly felt in these crunch weeks of the Bill’s
passage.
I also welcome the new Secretary of State to his role. He has
been brought in by the Prime Minister he tried to torpedo to sort
out the building safety crisis. Given his reputation for getting
things done, expectations really are very high.
In the spirit of , I offer my commitment to help
to resolve this crisis, because it is now urgent and getting
worse. Every day, more innocent homeowners receive new and
enormous bills for remediation, their insurance costs soar, and
lenders will not lend. Does the Minister agree that we face an
important, and closing, window to bring forward any necessary
legislation? Will he work with us and campaigners to put into law
the protection of leaseholders from any remediation costs and
bring forward a comprehensive plan to resolve this?
I am obliged to the hon. Lady for her question and the spirit in
which it was asked. I certainly associate myself with her remarks
about our late friend .
During the passage of the Building Safety Bill, which is
currently in Committee, a number of amendments have been tabled.
Nine amendments tabled by the Opposition and have been withdrawn,
and only one has been divided on. That is an example of the
collegiality that we have managed to establish as this very
important Bill progresses through Parliament. Of course we want
to make sure that leaseholders are not exposed to unfair costs.
That is what we have been working towards since the Grenfell
disaster, and we shall continue so to do. The hon. Lady’s support
in helping that endeavour will be gratefully received.
It is good to hear that that is what we are working towards, but
it has been some time now and this does need enacting in law as
the only way to ensure protection.
Can I give the Minister, in the same spirit, some gentle advice
as someone who has been dealing with these issues for many years?
He will not get resolution on this issue by rehashing some of the
previous failed approaches like naming and shaming of developers,
nor will it be dealt with by just looking at the symptoms of the
problems such as insurance, as pressing as that is. Does he
accept that he must tackle the problems at their root: namely, I
repeat, by protecting leaseholders in law, as the Government
promised; and bringing forward a comprehensive plan to assess,
fix, fund and certify all tall buildings by overseeing risk
assessment and removing the 2020 consolidated advice? We have the
fund, but it simply will not work without dealing with those two
fundamental issues, so will he do all this before the window
closes firmly?
I am obliged to the hon. Lady for her question and how she
couched it. She will know that we have committed to raise a
significant amount of funds through a residential developers
property tax and a tall building levy, which will ensure that
buildings that need to be remediated are remediated, so avoiding
costs falling on leaseholders. In the Building Safety Bill, we
have made it absolutely clear that we expect building owners to
pursue every route to find funding before passing on any cost to
leaseholders. If building owners do not do that, the costs they
may impose can be challenged in the tribunal. We are looking at
further evidence we have received on the prevalence of cladding
in the 11 metre to 18 metre building cohort. That will help us
finalise our decisions, and we shall bring them forward in due
course.
(New Forest East) (Con)
The Minister has been very accessible, and I have had
conversations with him over this issue, but I am still not clear
what people can do if they have already been stung with costs in
respect of remediation. To go to a tribunal is a gamble, because
legal costs may be incurred. Can he give further thought in his
approach to this matter to how to get money back for people who
have wrongly been charged when they are merely innocent
leaseholders?
I am obliged, as ever, to my right hon. Friend. He is right. We
have met on a number of occasions to discuss these issues. I will
not labour the point about the public funds we have already
expended on remediation or the plans we have to bring forward
further support for those who find themselves in this very
difficult and distressing situation. I will always talk to him
and consider the thoughts and ideas he presents.
Supported Accommodation: Care Standards
(Birmingham, Selly Oak)
(Lab)
4. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the
regulation of standards of care in exempt supported
accommodation.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
Supported housing plays a vital role in delivering better
outcomes for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
My Department has been working with local authorities on several
pilots focused on improving the quality of accommodation and
support for people in exempt accommodation. We have given more
than £5 million to five councils, including almost £2 million to
Birmingham City Council. The pilots concluded in September, and
we are assessing the findings to decide our next steps.
I am aware of the pilots, but the Minister must know that in more
than 150,000 exempt accommodation premises across the country,
vulnerable people are living in the most appalling circumstances.
The regulator recently judged that the largest provider in
Birmingham was non-compliant, while it is costing the taxpayer
£110 million in Birmingham alone. For how much longer does he
think the Government will be able to tolerate this state of
affairs?
It is important that we consider the fact that there are some
excellent providers of supported housing across the country, and
I say that with a vested interest, because I worked for one of
them in Birmingham before I came to Parliament. Although I fully
appreciate that the number of units of supported accommodation in
Birmingham has doubled from approximately 11,000 to 22,000, it
only takes a small percentage of rogue landlords to create a
significant problem. As I said, we will continue to work closely
with the council and Sharon Thompson, the councillor responsible
there, to ensure we come up with a solution. I respect the hon.
Gentleman tremendously, and I look forward to working with him on
this issue.
Devolution Across the UK
(Amber Valley) (Con)
5. What plans his Department has to increase devolution across
the UK.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
()
This Government plan to expand, augment and increase devolution
across the United Kingdom, and we have already begun discussions
with areas interested in county deals, and we will be setting out
next steps in the levelling up White Paper.
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. In the east
midlands, we look with some envy at neighbouring regions that
have elected mayors and have successfully attracted more
investment. I urge him to make progress on an east midlands
elected mayor. In the meantime, if he cannot do that, Derbyshire
stands ready for a county deal and would appreciate being a
pathfinder.
My hon. Friend makes an important point. Expanding the model of
combined authority mayors and a greater level of devolution are
at the heart of making sure that local communities have strong
leaders who can make a decisive difference, not least in the
economic sphere. I know that Derbyshire County Council is now
under exemplary Conservative leadership and we hope to be able to
build on that.
(North Ayrshire and Arran)
(SNP)
I, too, welcome the Secretary of State to his place. The United
Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 fundamentally undermined the
devolution settlement and was explicitly rejected in Holyrood and
the Senedd. He claimed again today that he seeks to augment
devolution, so can he explain how riding roughshod over
democratically devolved Parliaments does that?
We never ride, roughshod or otherwise, over the devolution
settlement. I have two things to say: first, I hope that we will
shortly receive news from the Chancellor of the Exchequer about
the allocation of funds under the Act’s financial assistance
power through the levelling-up fund. I am pleased to say that a
number of SNP MPs—the hon. Lady’s parliamentary colleagues —as
well as SNP councils, have backed bids to that fund. It is great
to have locally elected representatives on the ground supporting
the financial assistance power of the Act and the vital
importance of working together. Secondly, although of course I
will not interfere in the devolution settlement, there is a
contrast between our approach, where we devolve more power to
local government in England, and that of the current Scottish
Government, which takes power away from Scottish councils.
(Rossendale and Darwen)
(Con)
Across Lancashire, we are ambitious about having a county
deal—with a mayor, I hope—but levelling-up bids must come first.
Can the Secretary of State give some clarity about the timing of
the second round of those bids? In Rossendale, where we are
working with our levelling-up board on a plan, we need to know
the timeframe.
My right hon. Friend is right: east Lancashire is one area that
we will focus on in the coming months. Much more needs to be
done, and he has been at the forefront of ensuring that the voice
of the whole of the north of England—not just that of east
Lancashire—is heard clearly in Whitehall. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer will be in a position to share details of the next
round with the House a wee bit later.
UK Community Renewal Fund
(Ellesmere Port and Neston)
(Lab)
6. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK
community renewal fund on communities with high levels of
deprivation.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Neil O'Brien)
We are committed to ensuring that the community renewal fund
reaches those most in need. To achieve that, we identified 100
priority places across Great Britain based on an index of
economic resilience measuring productivity, household income,
unemployment, skills and population density. Other places were
also able to bid and the assessment process considered both the
strategic fit and the deliverability of bids.
Could the Minister tell us, when the pilots have concluded, how
the shared prosperity and community renewal funds will interact
with levelling-up bids? In future, will there be an overlap? Will
it be possible to bid for both? On the levelling-up process, will
he meet me to discuss Ellesmere Port’s excellent and ambitious
levelling-up fund bid?
Neil O'Brien
I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman. As he knows, the
community renewal fund is intended to act as an innovative source
of funding to try new ways of doing things as we move on from EU
structural funds, and to enable us to start working on new ideas
ahead of the levelling-up fund.
Support for Towns
(Harlow) (Con)
7. What steps his Department is taking to support towns.
The Minister for Levelling Up Communities ()
The Department is investing billions in regeneration across the
whole UK as part of the Government’s central priority to level up
and unite our country. Programmes such as the £3.6 billion towns
fund and the £4.8 billion levelling-up fund will help to achieve
that by supporting the renewal of our towns and cities, including
in my right hon. Friend’s constituency of Harlow, which has been
awarded a £23.7 million town deal.
I am pleased to report to the House that almost 8,000 new
apprentices have been taken on in Harlow since 2010. Does my hon.
Friend agree that the best example of levelling up is providing
young people with the skills they need to climb the educational
ladder of opportunity? To that purpose, will she, my constituency
neighbour, support our bid of £20 million to the levelling-up
fund to provide vital regeneration for Harlow to help our town to
grow and evolve?
As a fellow Essex MP, I am delighted that so many apprentices
have taken their step towards a career in my right hon. Friend’s
constituency. I know many of them will have come from my own
constituency next door in Saffron Walden. It is fair to say that
we both agree that equipping the next generation with the skills
to compete and succeed is integral to levelling up. Having said
that, I cannot comment on individual bids to our levelling-up
fund—I suspect I will be saying that quite a lot during this
afternoon’s session—but I will say to him that we are determined
to help Harlow transform local skills and infrastructure,
capitalising on his brand-new hospital, science park and, of
course, the £23.7 million town deal.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
If the ministerial team are serious about levelling up, they must
look at towns and their sustainability. As the Minister is
travelling around, will she bring her team to visit Huddersfield,
where we have committed to being a sustainable town with health
and wellbeing at its heart, using the United Nations sustainable
development goals to deliver in a meaningful way?
I think the hon. Gentleman and I are in agreement about the
importance of sustainability. I would be delighted to find out
more about what is happening in Huddersfield. I will have my
officials check my diary to see when time will be available.
(Shipley) (Con)
Shipley was delighted to receive £25 million from the towns fund,
and Bingley in my constituency is another town in urgent need of
support. The Secretary of State talked about the timing of the
levelling-up fund. Will the Minister confirm whether the criteria
for the next round of bidding to the levelling-up fund will be
the same as for the first round of bidding, and will she look
favourably upon a bid from Bingley to the levelling-up fund?
At the moment, we are reviewing the first tranche of the
levelling-up fund, so the criteria for the second and future
tranches will be decided in due course, but I can tell my hon.
Friend that we have heard his plea. We shall be looking, as we
will across the House, at all the pleas from people who would
like to see more from the levelling-up fund.
(St Helens North) (Lab)
I am sure that the Minister will join me in welcoming the bold
and ambitious plans to transform our town centres in St Helens
borough—in St Helens, Newton-le-Willows and Earlestown. We have
reached an innovative partnership with the English cities fund
and the private sector. The missing part of the jigsaw are the
Government. We want a hand up, not a handout, so will she
guarantee that the levelling-up fund will be based on need and on
the merit of the proposal?
I think that goes without saying. Yes, of course, we recognise
that many places would like to see additional funds from the
levelling-up fund, but we will evaluate the strength of the bid
from the hon. Member’s constituency. That will be taken across
with everybody else’s bid, and those most in need shall get what
they require.
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
You will be aware, Mr Speaker, that the city of Stoke-on-Trent
was born out of the five towns—or the six towns, depending on
whose course of history you took—but unfortunately Burslem and
Tunstall, the two towns I am pleased to represent, have vanity
projects such as Ceramica and an out-of-town retail park right
next to the high street—both built under former Labour
administrations—with both high streets suffering as a result.
Does my hon. Friend agree that the £3.5 million levelling-up fund
bid for Tunstall, which will go a long way to regenerating our
high street, Tunstall town and the baths, plus the high streets
task force, will help us bring these towns back to life?
Yes. [Interruption.]
Houses in Multiple Occupation: Local Authority Powers
(Lewisham East) (Lab)
8. What plans his Department has to strengthen local authority
powers on regulating houses in multiple occupation.
The Minister for Housing ()
I hate to interrupt private conversations, but we have equipped
local authorities with robust powers to regulate both the
standards and the management of houses in multiple occupation, or
HMOs. These include mandatory and additional HMO licensing, civil
penalties of up to £30,000, rent repayment orders and, for the
worst offenders, banning orders. Local authorities also have
planning powers to limit the proliferation of small HMOs within
their area, and of course we will continue to monitor closely
this part of the housing sector.
I recently held a public meeting arising from the many concerns
expressed by local residents regarding HMOs that have been
developed, and more HMOs that are being developed, in a
particular area. The issues they were very much concerned about
were antisocial behaviour and poorly developed conversions of
houses into HMOs. I am aware of a young person paying £1,000 to
rent a single room in one of those HMOs. The councils can put in
place article 4, but that takes 12 to 18 months, on the basis of
the Government’s agreeing to it. My residents want to know: what
more can the Government do to support them, and to give local
authorities the regulation they need to act earlier?
I am obliged to the hon. Lady for her question, and she is right
that in Bellingham, Downham, Grove Park and Whitefoot, article 4
restrictions are in place. We have provided more than 180
authorities with further funding for enforcement powers, and she
will know that her council can bring to bear a range of powers to
ensure that HMOs are properly maintained. The conditions that can
be imposed on mandatory licences include that gas safety is
properly recognised and electrical appliances are in order, that
fire and smoke alarms are properly installed and maintained, and
that the property ought to be improved. Her local authority has
all the tools it needs, and we will keep the issue under review.
I am always happy to talk to her and other colleagues about this
matter.
First-time Home Buyers
(South Cambridgeshire)
(Con)
9. What steps his Department is taking to help first-time home
buyers.
(Bexleyheath and Crayford)
(Con)
18. What steps his Department is taking to help first-time home
buyers.
The Minister for Housing ()
The Government are committed to helping more people own their own
home. We offer several schemes to support first-time buyers,
including our recently launched First Homes programme, which
provides discounts of at least 30% on first homes. Our Help to
Buy and shared ownership schemes also offer affordable routes
into home ownership.
Greater Cambridgeshire, the city and South Cambridgeshire
combined, is planning to build 49,000 new houses and flats over
the next 20 years, which is as many as already exist in the city
of Cambridge. In South Cambridgeshire district that amounts to
53% more house building than the Government assess is needed, and
it will double the amount of house building over the next 20
years. Will the Minister confirm that that unprecedented house
building bonanza is not being imposed on South Cambridgeshire by
the national Government, but that it is an active decision of the
local planning authority, South Cambridgeshire District
Council?
My hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner on behalf of his
constituents. Of course we need more homes to be built in the
right places, and there are parts of our country where the cost
of buying or renting a home is many multiples of local household
income. However, he is right: local housing need is not a binding
target, and local authorities have responsibility for working out
what their local target should be, and agreeing that with the
Planning Inspectorate. Although we welcome ambitious local
authorities, they have an absolute responsibility to set their
own housing targets.
I appreciate the Minister’s response to the question. We all
recognise that we need a mix of housing provisions for the market
to thrive, but does he agree that home ownership remains a huge
aspiration for many of our constituents across the country, and
that schemes such as Help to Buy have been a vital tool in
supporting thousands of first-time buyers on to the property
market?
My right hon. Friend is right. Every time we poll people, more
than 80% say that they want the opportunity, the right, and the
dream of owning their own home and having a stake in their
community and country. That is why the Help to Buy scheme has
been so important. Just a few weeks ago we announced the
300,000th Help to Buyer, Sam Legg and his partner Megan, who live
in Asfordby in Leicestershire. They said that without Help to Buy
they would not have been able to get on the property ladder. We
want more Sams, and we want more Megans.
(Leeds Central) (Lab)
Many first-time buyers thought that they had bought the home of
their dreams, only to discover that it was rendered worthless
because they are caught up in the cladding scandal. Earlier this
month, one of my constituents received a service charge bill for
£103,000 to fix cladding for which they are not responsible, and
requesting sums of money that they do not possess. It is reported
that the Secretary of State, who I welcome to his post, has been
told by the Prime Minister to “sort out” the problem. It is
evident to all our constituents affected that the measures that
the Government have announced thus far, which I support, are
insufficient to bring this nightmare to an end. When will we see
a comprehensive plan to help those leaseholders?
The right hon. Gentleman is quite right: there are many people
caught up in a terrible situation. That is why we have already
spent more than £5 billion of public money on remediating the
highest-rise buildings, and we will be bringing forward further
proposals to deal with some of the other issues that he
identifies. Fundamentally, this issue needs to be brought back
into proportion. If we look at what Ken Knight and Judith Hackitt
have said, there are far too many lenders and insurers that have
been risk averse and have been ascribing zero values to property
where no EWS1 form and no remediation, or very little
remediation, is necessary. We are working with that sector to
make sure that we fix it, and we will.
Devolved Administrations: Relations with UK Government
(Coatbridge, Chryston and
Bellshill) (SNP)
10. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of
the Government’s relations with the devolved Administrations.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
()
My assessment is that they are really not bad at all.
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. I tend to
disagree, but I will accept it anyway.
The chief of staff to the former Prime Minister, the right hon.
Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), said recently that the
democratic mandate for a second Scottish independence referendum
was “clear” and apparent. He also said that support for Scottish
independence rose from the very moment the right hon. Member for
Uxbridge and South Ruislip () became Prime Minister. That
is being driven mainly by opposition to the Government’s Brexit
policy and the perceived relative handling of the covid-19
pandemic by the UK and Scottish Governments. Would the Secretary
of State care to tell the House and the people of Scotland why he
thinks continuing to dismiss Scotland’s democratic rights will
strengthen the Union?
Scotland’s democratic destiny was asserted in the 2014
referendum, when a majority of people voted to remain in the
United Kingdom. The strength of the United Kingdom is visible
daily. In just a week’s time, the dear green place that the hon.
Gentleman has the honour to represent—Glasgow—will be home to
COP26. One of the things about COP26 is that we would not have
that global climate change conference in Glasgow if Scotland were
not in the United Kingdom. We would not have a
billion-pound-a-year Union dividend if Scotland were not in the
United Kingdom, and indeed we would not have the hon. Gentleman’s
mellifluous tones gracing this House if Scotland were not in the
United Kingdom.
(Ynys Môn) (Con)
This Government are committed to at least one new freeport in
Wales. I chair the Anglesey freeport bidding consortium. Can the
Secretary of State reassure my Ynys Môn constituents that he is
working with the Welsh Government to ensure that there is at
least one new freeport in Wales?
Freeports are one of the many advantages that all the nations of
the United Kingdom can enjoy as a result of our departure from
the European Union. Freeports will allow investment in every part
of the United Kingdom, and I am looking forward to working with
partners in Wales, and indeed in Scotland and Northern Ireland,
to make sure that we can seize the opportunities that Brexit
provides for our coastal communities.
(North Ayrshire and Arran)
(SNP)
I feel I should doff my cap at the munificence of this Parliament
towards Scotland.
Devolved Governments are not involved, consulted or considered in
trade deals; Scotland is shut out of carbon capture and storage,
despite the hot air of Better Together promises; and the United
Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 undermines the last two decades
of the devolution settlement. In what ways does the Secretary of
State think that bypassing the democratically elected devolved
Parliaments shows that this Union is indeed a partnership of
equals?
Mr Speaker
Secretary of State—briefly.
I meet weekly with First Ministers from Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. If the hon. Lady were privileged enough to be
able to observe those meetings, she would see that they are like
a nest of singing birds. They are festivals of cordiality. I
recognise that the SNP needs to keep its activist base happy with
the recitation of these grievances, but the reality is that those
who serve in the Scottish Government know that we in the UK
Government are their friends and partners, and Scotland has no
better friends than the other citizens of the United Kingdom.
Regeneration in Towns and Cities
(Stoke-on-Trent South)
(Con)
11. What steps his Department is taking to support regeneration
in towns and cities.
(Scunthorpe) (Con)
15. What steps his Department is taking to support regeneration
in towns and cities.
(Broxtowe) (Con)
17. What steps his Department is taking to support regeneration
in towns and cities.
(Truro and Falmouth)
(Con)
21. What steps his Department is taking to support regeneration
in towns and cities.
(Broadland) (Con)
23. What steps his Department is taking to support regeneration
in towns and cities.
The Minister for Levelling Up Communities ()
The Department is investing billions in local growth
funds—including the towns fund and the levelling-up fund, which I
mentioned earlier—to deliver regeneration across the UK as we
level up across all parts of the country. Our high streets
strategy, published earlier this year, outlined our vision for
supporting thriving places. We have an ambitious agenda for
improving opportunity, living standards and public services, and
for renewing pride for the whole of the UK. That will be set out
in our upcoming levelling-up paper.
I thank the Minister for that response. Supporting cities such as
Stoke-on-Trent, so that we level up opportunity and get the
investment we need, is vital. Will my hon. Friend have a chat
with the Chancellor and the Secretary of State about supporting
our levelling-up bids through this week’s Budget, so that we get
the investment we need in Stoke-on-Trent?
I recognise that hon. Members from Stoke-on-Trent are very keen
and have thrown their full support behind the levelling-up bids
that have been submitted. The bids are being assessed in line
with the published assessment process. The outcomes of the first
round will be announced this autumn, as we have said, but I
cannot comment specifically on his bid.
Does my hon. Friend agree that initiatives such as
Conservative-run North Lincolnshire Council’s policy of two
hours’ free parking are incredibly important for supporting our
high streets and town centres? I extend an invitation to her: if
she wishes to make use of one of those free parking spaces, we
would be very glad to show her our ambitious levelling-up
plans.
I agree with my hon. Friend: parking policies are important in
supporting high streets to thrive. That is one of the reasons
why, in the build back better high streets strategy, we announced
a package of measures to make parking more accessible. I thank
her for the strong support she has shown for North Lincolnshire’s
levelling-up fund bids. She will know that we expect to announce
the outcomes later.
The Government’s levelling-up agenda will finally bring
much-needed investment to the east midlands, and the town of
Kimberley in my constituency may gain hugely from it. Kimberley
has some fantastic ideas, such as moving its cricket pitch and
building a new community hub. However, there is concern among
local community leaders that if the money is committed for a
three-year time span but is not spent on time, it will no longer
be available for use on the new hub. Can I have a commitment from
the Minister that that is not the case?
We are looking to empower local communities such as Kimberley as
part of our levelling-up agenda, but I must stress that any
project that wishes to gain Government funding must have a fully
developed plan before bidding. Places should have confidence in
their capacity to deliver to agreed timescales.
Falmouth has huge potential. It is the third-deepest natural
harbour in the world and is the gateway to the Atlantic. However,
it is crying out for investment, and often gets overlooked
because of how well the town does with very little. I stand ready
to make the case for Falmouth in the next tranche of the
levelling-up fund. Will the Minister confirm that the next
tranche will be forthcoming? The Secretary of State said that we
would have it in a wee while. Could the Minister perhaps expand
on that? Will she, or the Secretary of State, join me for a tour
of Falmouth to see how it could unleash its potential?
First of all, I congratulate my hon. Friend on the Truro town
deal in her constituency and welcome her continued work as a
champion of the area. I encourage her and local partners to
continue to work with us on our shared ambition to level up
Falmouth and towns throughout Cornwall as future opportunities
emerge. She will know that as part of this work, £88.7 million of
towns fund investment is driving regeneration and growth in
Camborne, Penzance, St Ives and Truro, and there are real
economic benefits for Falmouth, too. I am sure she and I can
discuss a potential visit in due course.
Levelling up has sometimes been mis-described as a transfer of
resources from the south to the north, but is it not a better
analysis to say that it spreads the opportunities often seen in
cities to the towns and villages of our communities, as part of
the wider social covenant? If so, what plans does the Minister
have to support towns in Broadland, including Fakenham, Acle and
Aylsham?
I should start by saying that the levelling-up agenda is not
transferring resources from cities to towns, or from south to
north. Levelling up is about empowering local leaders and
communities to drive real change, and restoring local pride
across the UK, so I thank my hon. Friend for asking that
question. The Government are investing over £17 million in
Norfolk’s towns, with ambitious town deals already delivered in
Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn. The UK shared prosperity
fund will help to ensure levelling up for people in places across
the UK. It will increase and spread opportunity for people no
matter where they live, including in places like Fakenham.
(Chesterfield) (Lab)
The town deal is incredibly important to us in Staveley, and we
welcome the fact that the Government are supporting the plans for
the town centre. Will the Minister stress to her colleagues that
the cut to universal credit will fatally undermine retail in
Staveley, and that these plans would benefit from universal
credit not being cut?
The hon. Gentleman will know that the Government are doing
everything they can to support communities such as his. He knows
the official Government policy on universal credit. We are
putting other resources in place to support those people in his
community who need them the most.
(Hornsey and Wood Green)
(Lab)
With Question 16 in mind, which we may not fit in today, may I
ask what urgent action the Department will take, with COP26
around the corner, to ensure that local authorities have a proper
grip on flood defences and the environmental issues that councils
face day by day?
I apologise to the hon. Lady, but I am not sure, given her
reference to COP26, what sort of answer she is expecting. I can
ensure that she gets a letter providing further information.
(Manchester, Withington)
(Lab)
Even if we add up all the piecemeal pots of regeneration funding
that the Government like to mention in their press releases, they
still come to nowhere near the £15 billion that has been cut from
local councils under the Tories. The Government have failed to
deliver on promises to reimburse covid costs, and the Tory-led
Local Government Association says that there is now £2.6 billion
in non-covid cost pressures on councils. On Wednesday, the
Chancellor has the chance to tackle the council funding crisis
that the Government have created, so what demands have Ministers
in this team made to get the Budget settlement that all our towns
and cities need?
I cannot comment specifically on what will be announced in the
Budget this Wednesday, but I will tell the hon. Gentleman what,
for instance, we did in the most recent local government finance
settlement. In this year’s settlement, we made available an
increase in core spending power in England; it will go from £49
billion this year to £51.3 billion in 2021-22—a 4.6% increase in
cash terms. We see ourselves as a supporter of local government
across the country; we very much speak up for it in our
discussions with the Treasury, and I am sure that will become
apparent on Wednesday.
Topical Questions
(Chesterfield) (Lab)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
()
I would like briefly to pay tribute to two of my predecessors. It
is an honour to follow my right hon. Friend the Member for Newark
() in this role. I thank him
for his dedicated service, and particularly for the role he
played in championing integration and social cohesion in this
county, and in ensuring that we recognise how vital beauty is in
the built environment. It is also a privilege to follow our
departed friend in this role. There is
not enough time now for me to say how much we all owe him, but he
was a truly wonderful guy and a great Secretary of State.
Mr Perkins
I associate myself with the comments made by the Secretary of
State. The great benefits that HS2 will bring to the east
midlands and Yorkshire will be undermined if we do not get the
increased capacity and reliability that new lines would bring, so
it was deeply concerning this weekend to hear the Government
suggesting that future plans for the eastern leg of HS2 might not
involve new lines. Can the Secretary of State confirm that he is
an absolute advocate in Parliament and around the Cabinet table
for the letter sent to him by the leaders of Leeds City Council
and Nottinghamshire County Council, which stated that levelling
up would
“fall at the first hurdle”
if we did not get full investment in the eastern leg of HS2, with
new lines attached?
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, but I will not
pre-empt anything the Chancellor may say later this week about
the commitment we are making on infrastructure.
(Bosworth) (Con)
T2. What better example can there be of potential levelling
up than Twycross zoo’s bid, under Bosworth, for a national
education and conservation centre? It would not only drive
tourism but teach the next conservationists of the year. Would
the Secretary of State care to come to Twycross and see it for
himself? Failing that, could he give a date for when we can find
out the result of the first bids?
Having been in this House for 16 and a half years, I am familiar
with what zoos look like, but it would be an absolute pleasure to
visit my hon. Friend’s constituency. He makes an important point
about the importance of linking environmental awareness and
levelling up in the drive to unite and level up the country, and
ensure that we address our broader environmental concerns.
(Croydon North) (Lab/Co-op)
May I associate myself with the comments made about the former
Members for Southend West, and for Old Bexley and Sidcup, who are
both immensely missed by the whole House?
It is a pleasure to welcome the Secretary of State and the new
Ministers to their place, and to see older Ministers as well—why
not?
It has been four months since the deadline for community renewal
fund bids. The mid-point reviews are due to start next week, but
many areas still have no idea whether their bids have been
successful. Some tell me that the Government’s delays mean that
their projects may collapse. There is no point in the Government
trumpeting funding that never turns up, so will the Secretary of
State commit to letting every area know the outcome of its bid
before the end of this month? Can he guarantee that the
Department’s delays so far will not jeopardise jobs or investment
linked to any of those projects?
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. The UK community
renewal fund and its successor, the UK shared prosperity fund,
are both examples of how we can have more effective control of
the money that needs to be spent to support communities in
improving productivity now that we have left the European Union.
He is right that it is a cause of regret that we have not been
able to respond as quickly as we might have wanted, but there
will be more news later this week.
(Ruislip, Northwood and
Pinner) (Con)
T4. Given the excellent track record of councils, including
the London Borough of Hillingdon, on delivering infrastructure
improvements in a variety of local services, including homes,
sports centres, libraries and schools, what role does my right
hon. Friend the Secretary of State envisage councils playing in
ensuring that our green investment projects are fulfilled
locally?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
Local authorities are vital delivery partners for the
Government’s grant-funding initiatives to decarbonise homes. I am
sure that my hon. Friend will have been delighted to hear that
the heat and buildings strategy, which was published last week,
committed further funding to those initiatives, with £950 million
for the home upgrade grant and £800 million for the social
housing decarbonisation fund between 2022 and 2025. The strategy
also committed to investing £1.4 billion in our public sector
decarbonisation scheme to reduce emissions from public
buildings.
(Weaver Vale) (Lab)
I welcome the new Ministers to their place. In 2019-20, the
Government oversaw a net loss of 17,476 social homes. House
building fell short of its national target by 90,000 homes. That
caps more than a decade of house building failure. Every year,
the Government do not meet their housing targets and do not build
enough genuinely affordable homes. Will the Secretary of State
grab the bull by the horns and build a new generation of green
homes for social rent at scale?
Not a bad idea.
Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)
T7. Operational carbon emissions continue to fall, but as the
Secretary of State will know, 38% of our global emissions still
come from our buildings. Will he consider regulating embodied
carbon in our built environment, as a way to promote more
sustainable building and the use of more natural materials?
The Government’s net zero strategy sets out our ambitions to help
the construction sector improve its reporting on embodied carbon
in buildings. We are also exploring the potential for a maximum
embodied carbon level for new buildings in future, while
encouraging the sector to reuse materials and make full use of
existing buildings. In championing low-carbon materials,
increased energy efficiency and enhanced product design, we are
supporting the sector to deliver cleaner, greener buildings for
tomorrow.
(Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
T5. May I press the Secretary of State on a point about the
Llanhilleth Miners Institute, which does fantastic work? It was a
safe haven for my community during the floods last year. It
applied to the UK community renewal fund in May and got council
support but, like others, it has heard nothing since. Will he
please consider an extension to the time that the Llanhilleth
Miners Institute will have in which to spend any grant, should it
be successful?
The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. We want to make sure that
the money is out of the door as quickly as possible, but we will,
of course, look at every project, and will look to work with
Llanhilleth to see what we can do to deliver effectively.
(Eastleigh) (Con)
T8. I support the right of councils to build homes, but
there is an obvious conflict of interests when councils acting as
developers award themselves planning permission. The Secretary of
State will know that I presented a Bill on this issue during the
last Session. Will he agree to meet me to discuss how we can take
this proposal forward, so that councils are subject to the same
checks and balances as private developers?
I look forward to having just that conversation.
David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)
T6. I congratulate the Secretary of State on retaining the
portfolio responsibility for democracy in his new Department.
When he cheered for the Brexit campaign, he used to rail against
unelected elites making decisions. With that in mind, can he tell
us how managed to become a peer and a
member of the Cabinet, and how Malcolm Offord has managed to
become a peer and a member of the Scotland Office? Was it
anything to do with the £150,000 that he donated to the Scottish
Tories?
In both cases, it was sheer luminous talent.
(Chipping Barnet)
(Con)
T9. Will the Minister take action to stop the Mayor of
London building over suburban station car parks in places such as
High Barnet and Cockfosters, given the damage that it will do to
public access to public transport, particularly for people with
impaired mobility?
The Minister for Housing ()
My right hon. Friend campaigns assiduously for her constituents
in this regard. She and the House will know that the national
planning policy framework makes it very clear that houses and
other properties should be built in a sustainable way in sensible
places, but she will also know—partly because of the campaigning
that she brought to bear in this regard—that we have told the
Mayor of London to amend his policy to allow for a tall buildings
provision in local planning, enabling local authorities to say
where they want tall buildings and where they do not. That will
afford local communities much greater protection as to where tall
buildings should or should not be built, thanks partly to my
right hon. Friend.
(Streatham) (Lab)
The bulk of the affordable homes programme funding goes on homes
that are out of reach of even families on average incomes, and
analysis from Shelter shows that the richest 28% of private
renters are the only ones who earn enough to access the
Government’s new first homes scheme. If the Minister is so
committed to levelling up, does he agree that it must involve
building homes that people on low incomes can actually afford to
buy?
I am obliged to the hon. Lady for her question. Yes, we want to
make sure that people are able to buy homes that are affordable.
That is why we have introduced the first homes scheme, which
allows for a discount of at least 30%, and up to 50% in areas of
high unaffordability. It is why we have changed the affordable
homes programme to allow people to buy a smaller share of their
property and then “staircase” at lower amounts. It is why we have
the Help to Buy scheme, and why we have the guaranteed 95%
mortgage scheme. The Government are absolutely determined to
ensure that people can get on to the property ladder, in a way
that the Opposition never have and never will.
(Crawley) (Con)
I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to
his post. In doing so, I cannot miss the opportunity to request a
meeting with him so that I can convey the real concerns of local
residents to the west of my constituency boundary, in the parish
of Ifield, at proposals for 10,000 houses on greenfield
sites.
Of course I cannot comment on any individual planning
application, but I know what a brilliant job my hon. Friend does
in representing his constituents, so I look forward to meeting
him to listen to the case he is making, or to a member of my
ministerial team doing so.
(Bath) (LD)
Despite Bristol University students being housed in Bath because
there were not enough students from Bath University, a planning
inspector ruled this year that more purpose-built student
housing was needed. What does the Secretary of State suggest a
local authority should do when it is overruled in this way?
The planning inspector is, of course, there to ensure that there
is effective compliance with the housing requirements on the part
of local authorities. However, one thing that I would say for any
planning inspector is that they depend on consistency, and there
has been consistency in the way in which the Government have
approached these issues. Where there has been inconsistency is in
the position of the Liberal Democrats, who campaign in seats such
as Chesham and Amersham on the basis that they are wholly opposed
to new housing and development, and then, at a national policy
level, call for even more houses to be built than this
Government. Were it not for the fact that the phrase “hypocrisy”
would be unparliamentary, that, I am afraid, would be the best
description of the multi-faceted bottom-feeding perversion of
consistency that is Liberal Democrat housing and planning policy.
To describe it as hydra-headed would be an understatement, when
it comes to the many contorted positions that the Liberal
Democrats occupy on this issue.
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