Levelling Up, Housing and Communities The Secretary of State was
asked— Standards in Public Life: Local Authorities Mark Garnier
(Wyre Forest) (Con) 2. What steps he is taking to ensure standards
in public life are upheld at local authority level. (905175) The
Minister for Levelling Up Communities (Kemi Badenoch) The
Government champion high ethical standards in local government. On
14 January, I supported the important Bill of my hon. Friend the
Member...Request free trial
Levelling Up, Housing
and Communities
The Secretary of State was asked—
Standards in Public Life: Local Authorities
(Wyre Forest) (Con)
2. What steps he is taking to ensure standards in public life are
upheld at local authority level. (905175)
The Minister for Levelling Up Communities ()
The Government champion high ethical standards in local
government. On 14 January, I supported the important Bill of my
hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley ( ) to disqualify sex offenders
from local office and, before Christmas, I met the Chair of the
Committee on Standards in Public Life to reaffirm that we will
shortly be responding to the Committee’s report on this important
issue and will set out further steps to improve the system.
I am sure that you of all people, Mr Speaker, would agree that
standards of politicians at every level are not always observed.
On Wyre Forest District Council, a local councillor has been
sanctioned for not the first, but the fourth time, for standards
breaches. In this case, it was the leader of the Liberal Democrat
group, but I think that we would all agree that frequent
offenders who see sanctions as an occupational hazard of being a
controversial councillor come from every political party. It is
three years since the recommendations of the Committee on
Standards in Public Life on local government ethical standards
were published. Can the Minister confirm if and when the
Government will legislate to implement their recommendations and
that any legislation will equip councils with more robust
sanctions for serious or repeated breaches of the code of
conduct, an example of which could be a ban for six months?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue and for
his recent letter on the matter, which I shall respond to
shortly. I am actively considering the recommendations set out in
the report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, and will
respond shortly. It is of the utmost importance that local
authorities have the right tools to make the system work.
(Angus) (SNP)
Last summer, the senior Conservative councillor in my Angus
constituency was unmasked as being behind an anonymous anti-SNP
Twitter troll account, and for peddling misogynistic commentary
on the appearance of female politicians, with flagrant attacks
also on local councillors and parliamentarians. Conservative
bosses in Scotland have mandated that he goes on a social media
course, thereby paving the way for him to stand again in the May
Scottish council elections. Does the Minister think that this is
an acceptable way for Scottish Conservative councillors to
behave?
I am afraid that I do not know the details of that case
specifically. Although I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is
raising a very important issue, what I would say is that he looks
at the recommendations in the report of the Committee on
Standards in Public Life. I think that he will find some things
there that will address the situation to which he refers.
(Weaver Vale) (Lab)
Standards, such as openness and honesty, are indeed important,
and I do hope that the Prime Minister will soon agree to that.
Despite the language and rhetoric of levelling up, the reality is
somewhat different in our communities. How can we have local
authority funding in the north of £413 per person over 10 years
and spending of just £32 per person and it be classed as
levelling up? The Secretary of State is quickly getting a
reputation for himself in the Wirral as the Minister for closing
down, laying off, and hollowing out, with libraries, leisure
centres and public sector workers facing the chop? At what stage
does he intend to get a grip and level up local government
finances?
I am not sure whether that is a question specifically on the
Committee on Standards in Public Life. The hon. Gentleman will
know that the provisional local government settlement was
published and that he and I have had discussions about that,
which show that there is a significant increase in core spending
power.
(Warrington South) (Con)
I start by agreeing with the hon. Member for Weaver Vale () about openness and
transparency. Last week, the energy company in which Warrington
Borough Council bought a 50% stake collapsed. My constituents are
rightly concerned that £50 million of public money was invested
in a loss-making company. Will the Minister meet me to look at
what steps we can take to protect local services and what lessons
we can learn from governance in local authorities.
Yes.
New Homes for Social Rent
(Cynon Valley) (Lab)
3. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of new
homes provided for social rent since 2010. (905176)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
Since affordable housing delivery is a devolved matter, I can
speak only to the figures in England. The Government are
determined to deliver social housing to help vulnerable families
and tackle homelessness. Since 2010, we have delivered over
154,600 homes for social rent across England.
In Wales, the Welsh Government are delivering new social housing
at an accelerated rate, year on year, with an 18% increase in the
last year. There were 20,000 new affordable houses built in the
last five years, 65% of which were social rented, and another
20,000 will be built in the next five years, all of which will be
social rented and at a low carbon specification. Unfortunately,
in England the opposite is the case, with affordable house
delivery falling, so will the Minister say what conversations he
has had with the Welsh Government Minister, and what lessons he
can learn on delivering the much needed increase in the
affordable and low carbon social housing required?
It is a fine invite for more conversation, but I do not think we
need to learn any lessons from other devolved Assemblies. We are
doing a fine job in England—not just building more houses for
social rent but building more affordable homes, with £11.5
billion invested, and also making a significant amount of
progress when it comes to decarbonising new homes.
Support for Town Centres and High Streets
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
4. What steps his Department is taking to support town centres
and high streets. (905177)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Neil O'Brien)
Reviving our high streets and town centres is an absolutely
essential part of levelling up. Our £3.6 billion towns fund
includes support for 101 town deals and 72 future high streets
fund projects. We are also providing support to local leaders
through the high street taskforce and by introducing new planning
flexibilities.
History, heritage and high streets—these things mean so much to
the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke. Tears
were flowing in the mother town this weekend after a fire ripped
through the Leopard in Burslem. The Leopard pub has been standing
since the 18th century and is where Josiah Wedgwood and James
Brindley met to discuss building the Trent and Mersey canal.
In Tunstall we have empty high street shops, which are in a
desperate state of neglect, with landlords all too happy to let
them sit empty and uncared for. Will my hon. Friend outline to
the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke how the
levelling-up White Paper can empower local councils and people to
hold absent or rogue owners accountable for damaging the hearts
of our community?
Neil O'Brien
I know that many of my hon. Friend’s constituents will be
desperately sad about the fire at the Leopard; I was also sad to
see the footage of it burning.
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his leadership and hard work
on regeneration. His ten-minute rule Bill on rogue owners is
being closely studied in the Department; Kidsgrove is benefiting
from a town deal; Tunstall library and baths are being
regenerated through the levelling-up fund, and the local council
is refurbishing the town hall. However, there is a lot more to
do, and I am keen to continue my conversations with him on this
important issue as we look to future legislation.
(Wigan) (Lab)
The Secretary of State has not really proved very successful so
far. Since the Secretary of State took office, the Chancellor has
blocked any new money for levelling up, the Transport Secretary
has halved bus funding and scrapped our trains, and while the
Secretary of State is moving 500 civil servants into smaller
cities and towns, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is taking
65,000 of them away. In April our nations and regions stand to
lose billions unless he does his job. South Yorkshire alone will
be short-changed by £900 million if money that once reached us
via Europe is now blocked in Whitehall. That is money for skills,
new infrastructure, apprenticeships and science.
“It could be deployed in our NHS, schools and social care”—
those are not my words but those used by the right hon. Gentleman
in the referendum. Will he keep his promise that no part of this
country will be worse off? Or should I ask the Chancellor?
Neil O’Brien
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for drawing attention to the fact
that we are moving DLUHC staff to the great city of
Wolverhampton. As I walk to my office in the morning, I walk past
previous Labour Ministers looking radiant and looking something, and I
remember that they could have done this, but we are the party
that is actually doing it and getting on with moving civil
servants out of London. As for the hon. Lady’s wider points, she
will have to wait for the contents of the White Paper. As well as
the UK shared prosperity fund, matching those funds from Europe
for each nation, we have the levelling-up fund, the community
ownership fund and the high streets fund. Other than that, we are
barely doing anything.
Thanks for that—I will ask the Chancellor.
That is not actually what I asked. I asked the Minister to
guarantee that no part of this country will see its funding
collapse in just 10 weeks’ time. It is absolutely great to see
investment going into Newark, but what use is that for someone
living in Barnsley or Bolton? Can he not see the problem? Money
has been flowing to Cabinet Ministers’ constituencies and to key
marginals, and still he refuses to come clean on how those
decisions are being made. This weekend it became clear that the
only way to get money out of his Department is to be at the beck
and call of the Chief Whip. How can any community have confidence
that they have a fair shot at getting some of their money back
from his Department if he will not release, in full, the
information he holds about how these decisions are being
made?
Neil O’Brien
It is true that levelling-up funds have been going to the
constituencies of Cabinet Ministers—[Interruption.] I am sorry; I
mean shadow Cabinet Ministers. Levelling-up funds have been
flowing to—[Interruption.] I will admit at this Dispatch Box that
money is going to the shadow Leader of the House, the shadow
Education Secretary, the shadow Health Secretary, the shadow
Culture Secretary: guilty as charged of levelling up those
places, and on that we do agree.
(Shipley) (Con)
I have been urging Bradford Council to prepare a levelling-up
fund bid for the town of Bingley in my constituency which I very
much hope will be looked on favourably by the Government. When
will the deadline for the next round of bids for the levelling-up
fund be, and what will the criteria be?
Neil O’Brien
The next round of bidding for levelling-up funding will open in
spring and we will set out the conditions for funding in due
course.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
The towns fund is a limited beauty contest. All town centres,
such as Crownpoint in Denton and Houldsworth Square in Reddish,
matter. Twelve years ago, those town centres had hanging baskets
and planters, the street furniture was beautifully painted, and
our main town centre park, Victoria park, had bedding plants. All
those things have gone as the councils have faced 60% cuts. How
are we going to get some civic pride back in communities such as
Denton and Reddish?
Neil O’Brien
That is a serious point, so let me address it in the consensual
and serious way that it deserves. The rise of online shopping is
posing major challenges to our town centres. That is why we are
bringing forward the future high streets fund and the billions of
pounds of funding that I mentioned. I also draw the hon.
Gentleman’s attention to things such as the community ownership
fund, which helps to save these vital local assets. But of course
we recognise that there is more to do, and more to think about in
terms of how we change these town centres to help them adjust to
a new world in which people will continue to spend more money
online. We need to make them places where people work and live as
well as just shop.
Increasing Home Ownership
(Thirsk and Malton)
(Con)
5. What steps his Department is taking to increase home
ownership. (905178)
The Minister for Housing ()
As a Government we are determined to level up opportunities
across our country, and that starts with building the homes that
our people need. That is why we are helping millions of people
into home ownership. Since 2010, Government-backed schemes have
helped over 756,000 households to purchase their own dream home.
Last June, we launched our new flagship First Homes scheme,
providing homes discounted by at least 30% for first-time buyers,
with a priority for local residents and key workers.
First Homes is an excellent initiative that could deliver homes
in my constituency for local first-time buyers at even below half
price. Will the Minister accelerate their delivery through
section 106 agreements, pilot their delivery on public sector
land in my constituency, and rename the policy from First Homes
to “Half-Price Homes”, because then people would understand it
much more clearly?
My hon. Friend, who is a doughty campaigner for home ownership,
teases me. He wishes me to call First Homes “Half-Price Homes”.
Perhaps that will become the shorthand name for this project.
Perhaps even, in time, they will be known as Hollinrake homes. As
to his other questions, we are already commissioning First Homes
properties on both public and private sector land through our two
early delivery programmes. We are aiming to deliver 1,500 of them
before April 2023, and we certainly want to accelerate the
programme so that more people are able to achieve the dream home
that they want and deserve.
(Ealing Central and Acton)
(Lab)
The whole nation breathed a sigh of relief when the Government’s
planning-by-algorithm so-called reforms were ditched, so when
will the son of planning-by-algorithm come out? My constituent
Heidi has kept a small hairdressing business going throughout the
pandemic, but she is not eligible for Help to Buy, so will the
Minister look at introducing more schemes that would help people
like her? We also want things that will preserve suburban
character, because all the build-to-let things going up locally,
up to 60 storeys high, are destroying everything that people
liked about Ealing and Acton.
We certainly want people such as Heidi to achieve the home that
they want. Through Help to Buy, right to buy, right to acquire,
help to build and a variety of mechanisms, including our 95%
fixed-term mortgage guarantee, there is a multiplicity of ways in
which we can get people on to the housing ladder. The hon. Lady
also asks about our planning reforms, and I can tell her that she
will be hearing more about those in due course.
(North Wiltshire) (Con)
I am sure that the Minister would agree that by far the best
people to decide how many homes we want and where they should be
are local people. Would he therefore agree with me and the town
of Malmesbury in my constituency, which raised the point that the
neighbourhood plan, which this Conservative Government brought
in, is currently being trumped by the so-called five-year housing
land supply figures, which are handed down by central Government?
Will he give me a hint as to whether greater importance will be
given in the forthcoming housing White Paper to neighbourhood
planning, thereby allowing local people to decide how many houses
they want and where?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question, because it
gives me the opportunity to make it clear that it is for local
communities to determine how many homes they want and need in
their vicinity. Local housing need numbers are not an end point;
they are a starting point. It is for local authorities to
determine what constraints they may face to determine the numbers
of homes that they need in their area. They then agree those
numbers with the Planning Inspectorate to set a sound plan, and
that is then the number that the local authorities build toward.
Local authorities that fail to set an up-to-date plan leave their
constituents at risk of speculative development, so it is for
local authorities to set the numbers and make their plans.
Levelling-up Fund
(Bootle) (Lab)
7. What steps he is taking to ensure that levelling-up funding is
allocated equitably and transparently. (905180)
(Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
14. What steps he is taking through the levelling-up fund to
improve transport infrastructure in the north of England.
(905187)
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
22. What steps he is taking to level up Rother Valley
constituency. (905195)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Bootle () for the brief, tantalising
preview of what is to come. The levelling-up fund is allocated
according to objective criteria, including value for money,
strategic fit, deliverability and the characteristics of place. I
am therefore delighted that places such as Rotherham, Liverpool
and Newcastle upon Tyne have already secured funding through our
levelling-up funds, which include the towns fund, the
levelling-up fund itself and the previous local growth fund.
A bit more tantalisation here: how can the Government’s
levelling-up allocations possibly be equitable and transparent
when the Government’s own index of multiple deprivation indicates
that the constituencies of the Secretary of State for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport and the Secretary of State for Health
and Social Care—numbers 254 and 268 of the 310 on the
index—received £27 million and £14.5 million respectively, while
an area in the top 0.5% of the index, which includes my
constituency, where my constituency office is based, received
nothing? The question is: is that equitable, transparent and
fair? Will the Secretary of State or a Minister meet me and my
neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Sefton Central (), to discuss our
concerns?
It is certainly equitable, transparent and fair, and should the
hon. Member wish, there is an explanatory memorandum on gov.uk,
which would take him, as it would any hon. Member, through the
process by which funds have been allocated. I should say that the
whole Liverpool city region received £37.5 million through the
levelling-up fund, but I would be delighted to talk to him and
the hon. Member for Sefton Central () to ensure that future bids
can land carefully, safely and successfully.
In Newcastle, we have been waiting seven years—seven years—for
real-time integrated bus information of the type that Londoners
take for granted. Now we hear that the £3 billion bus improvement
funding is less than half that, and much of that is going on
zero-emission buses, meaning even less money for our bus
improvement plan, which includes real-time information. Will the
Secretary of State commit to levelling up bus transport in the
north so that we are no longer under-served, overcharged and
underinformed?
Having spent some of the happiest months of my twenties on buses
in Newcastle, I can absolutely sympathise with the hon. Member.
It is the case that her constituency received £20 million from
the levelling-up fund, but I look forward to working with her,
the North of Tyne Mayor and Newcastle City Council to see what
more we can do to improve public transport.
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
I welcome the £11 million from the levelling-up fund that has
already gone to Rother Valley, including £4.5 million to
transform Maltby, and I am glad that Rotherham Council is again
putting in another bid for Rother Valley to get another £9
million for Dinnington High Street. Can the Secretary of State
tell me what future funding pots will be available for other
parts of Rother Valley, so that the whole of the constituency can
be levelled up, especially the likes of Thurcroft, Swallownest
and Kiveton Park?
My hon. Friend is right that there has already been significant
investment in Rotherham. Of course, one of the beneficiaries of
that is the shadow Defence Secretary, whose impassioned advocacy
on behalf of his constituents has not gone unheard; however,
there are a number of communities in Rother Valley. The community
ownership fund, which we will be expanding, is just one route,
and I hope that my hon. Friend will be able to take it with me to
ensure that the villages and communities that he serves get the
services they deserve.
(Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale
and Tweeddale) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that smaller and rural
local authorities often do not have the capacity to deal with
complex application processes? What steps will he take to address
that concern?
My right hon. Friend is right. He represents, I think, the
largest, and certainly the second-most attractive constituency in
Scotland, which covers three excellent local authority areas.
There are excellent local councillors in all of them but,
essentially because they lack the economies of scale, we need to
work with those local authorities to ensure that, from Lockerbie
to Moffat, the communities that deserve investment secure it.
(Sheffield South East)
(Lab)
I am sure the Secretary of State will agree that the success of
levelling up will depend in large part on how much money is
available and how it is distributed. I do not know whether he has
had a chance to look at the recent research by Teesside
University, which shows that over the past seven years the amount
of money coming through EU funding and the local growth fund has
been £2.1 billion a year, while the amount for the next few years
from the shared prosperity and levelling-up funds is projected to
be only £1.5 billion a year—a significant cut. In addition, the
cuts in his own Department’s funding have hit the poorest local
authorities the hardest, so when he produces his levelling-up
White Paper, will he produce a comprehensive list of spending per
head by region for each Department and show how the policies he
is advocating will change those funding levels for the benefit of
the poorest areas, which have suffered most in the past 10
years?
I would gently contest the argument that the poorest areas have
suffered most in the past 10 years, but the Chairman of the
Select Committee makes an important point about transparency in
the allocation of funding, and I look forward to working with him
to ensure just that.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Con)
Given current media speculation about the allocation of
levelling-up funding, and given that I am a Member of this House
who has unfortunately had to vote against the Government on
several occasions recently, will the Secretary of State reassure
me on whether there is any point in North West Leicestershire
reapplying for levelling-up funding? Does he agree that, were
Coalville to be successful in the next round of bidding, it would
demonstrate that the Government are not engaging in pork barrel
politics?
My hon. Friend, like me, abjures the whole idea of pork barrels.
What we both believe in is allocating funding on the basis of
merit and need. I can assure him that he has been in the same
Division Lobby as me more often, I believe—although I stand to be
corrected by the Whips—than the deputy leader of the Labour
party, the shadow Defence Secretary, the shadow Work and Pensions
Secretary, the shadow Culture Secretary or the shadow Social Care
Secretary, all of whom have benefited from levelling-up funds. If
a requirement for Government funding were voting with the
Government, I fear that the deputy leader of the Labour party, my
dear friend, would have lost out. However, I am delighted that
her constituents in Ashton-under-Lyne have benefited from our
funding, because we are committed to levelling up and uniting the
country, irrespective of political colour.
(Nottingham North)
(Lab/Co-op)
Analysis of levelling-up funding published recently by NPC—New
Philanthropy Capital—found that, despite strong public support,
homelessness is not being properly addressed. It found that
communities with the highest concentrations of black, African and
Caribbean communities fared poorly, and that four of the most
deprived communities missed out entirely. Both the Secretary of
State and the Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing
and Communities, the hon. Member for Harborough (Neil O'Brien)
have sought to make a supposed joke of this, but I do not think
it is laughing matter that while poorer communities have missed
out, the constituencies of at least three Cabinet Ministers,
which are considerably more affluent, were successful in their
bids. Beyond the jokes and the spin, does the Secretary of State
honestly expect the House to believe that the Government have
acted equitably rather than defaulting to the usual approach of
pursuing narrow self-interest?
I cannot see how it would be in the narrow self-interest of the
Government, if operating on partisan lines, to have given the
hon. Gentleman’s constituency £18 million for transport
improvements from the levelling-up fund. These are not jokes;
these are serious matters. We work with people across this House,
including and especially in the Labour party, to ensure that
funding goes where it is required. Lying behind the allegations
made by him and others is a suggestion that somehow civil
servants would conspire with Ministers deliberately to favour
constituencies on the basis of political colouration.
My new opposite number, the hon. Member for Wigan ()—I offer her my congratulations
on her elevation—recently wrote to me to ask whether we would
make transparent the basis on which we allocate that funding. We
have: it is published on a website called gov.uk. Google can
sometimes be helpful to all of us.
(North Ayrshire and Arran)
(SNP)
Notwithstanding the Secretary of State’s earlier comments, I am
sure that he would never accuse a fellow Tory MP of misleading
the House. Will he therefore comment on the veracity of the
specific remarks made by the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Mr
Wragg) about threats made to Tory MPs to withdraw investment from
their constituencies and release negative press stories as
punishment for supporting a no-confidence vote in the Prime
Minister? Will he outline what investigations he intends to
undertake to look into the abuse, or possible abuse, of
levelling-up funds?
There is no evidence of any abuse of levelling-up funding. If
anyone has it, I hope that they will bring it to the House’s
attention. As for any suggestion that someone may be on the
receiving end of lots of negative press stories for voting
against the Government, as someone who is solid, 100%, totally
behind the Prime Minister and yet also on the receiving end of a
plethora of negative press stories, I can tell the hon. Member
that there is no correlation between the two.
Dame (Gosport) (Con)
On every single criterion, my Gosport constituency should qualify
for levelling-up funding, but our recent bid for funds was
unsuccessful. Quite simply, we have a small council that lacks
the resources to compete with the big guys for the funding, and
there is also a strong feeling that our south coast location
could disadvantage us. If, as the Secretary of State said,
impassioned advocacy is a recipe for attracting funding, can he
please give me a glimmer of hope for the future? Will he tell me
that the levelling-up White Paper will also offer us hope, and
when it will be published?
Few people put more passion into their advocacy than my hon.
Friend. While in levelling up we must have a proper focus on the
midlands and the north, other parts of the United Kingdom,
including the area around the Solent—Gosport, Portsmouth and
Southampton—also require investment. I will work with her to
ensure that that investment is forthcoming.
Increasing Devolution Across the UK
(Central Ayrshire)
(SNP)
8. What plans his Department has to increase devolution across
the UK. (905181)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
The Government are committed to ensuring that devolution works
across the United Kingdom. We hope to deepen and extend
devolution within England.
Dr Whitford
Unfortunately, the levelling-up fund is already being used to
bypass the devolved Governments, and the United Kingdom Internal
Market Act 2020 could enable UK Ministers to overrule the
Scottish and Welsh Parliaments’ policy decisions. Does the
Secretary of State not recognise that riding roughshod over
devolution will force the people of Scotland and Wales to choose
between a return to direct rule by Westminster and controlling
their own future through independence?
I appreciate the point and the way in which the hon. Lady makes
it, but it is the case that a number of constituencies in
Scotland received money from the levelling-up fund, and that
money was allocated on the basis of bids supported by Scottish
National party MPs and championed by Scottish National party-led
councils. I enjoy working with the Scottish Government to ensure
that we can work collectively together. Whatever our views on
constitutional questions, the fact that we can work together on
such issues is a credit to those Ministers in the Scottish
Government who want to take that pragmatic approach and to her
parliamentary colleagues who champion funding for their
constituencies.
(Ynys Môn) (Con)
Freeports are one of the ways this Government are levelling up
across the devolved Administrations, and I am delighted that
there is to be at least one freeport in Wales. Can the Secretary
of State update the House about ongoing discussions with the
Welsh Government and when we can expect the Welsh freeport
bidding prospectus to be published?
I can confirm that we have had very fruitful negotiations not
just with the Scottish Government, but with the Welsh Government.
I want to place on record my thanks to and other Ministers in the
Welsh Government, and I hope that we will be able to make an
announcement shortly about the process by which we will allocate
freeports in Wales. At the moment the proposal is for one
freeport in Wales, but I recognise that both south Wales and
north Wales have significant potential for freeports in the
future, and there are few better advocates, in particular for
Anglesey, than my great hon. Friend.
(North Ayrshire and Arran)
(SNP)
The current Tory leader in Scotland and two former Tory leaders
in Scotland, alongside every single Tory MSP, are calling for the
Prime Minister to resign after their Scottish branch office
leader was sneered at by the Secretary of State as just a man “in
Elgin” and the Leader of the House decried him as a
“lightweight”. In view of this, can the Secretary of State
clarify how the self-declared Prime Minister of the Union will
increase devolution while Scots calling for his resignation
believe he is actively harming the Union?
I am terribly sorry but I did not realise or appreciate that
saying someone came from Elgin was an insult as far as the SNP is
concerned; in my view, it is a compliment.
Increasing Housing Supply: Local Communities
(North West Durham)
(Con)
9. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that housing
supply increases in line with the needs and wishes of local
communities.(905182)
The Minister for Housing ()
As I said in a previous answer, building homes is key to
levelling up, and that is why we announced an additional £1.8
billion for housing supply at the last spending review,
delivering £10 billion-worth of investment since the start of
this Parliament and unlocking over 1 million new homes. However,
it is important that local communities have input to the planning
process, and we recognise that as part of our planning reforms
the planning system must be more engaging and much more
democratic.
Mr Holden
Many people in social housing have been able to exercise the
voluntary right to buy scheme for tenants of social landlords.
However, in so-called rural locations, many are excluded,
including many thousands of my own constituents. Would the
Minister or the Secretary of State meet me and other MPs with
constituents in similar situations to find a way forward that
both enables people to own their own homes and ensures that the
level of housing stock for rent from social landlords is
maintained?
I am obliged to my hon. Friend. We are committed to enabling
tenants in social housing to acquire their own home through right
to buy or right to acquire, and we have helped nearly 2 million
tenants to become homeowners—dream-home owners. I am aware that
there are some particular issues in some particular rural areas,
and I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend and his colleagues to
discuss how we can ensure that those people have the opportunity
of home ownership, too.
(Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister will know—and you will know, Mr Speaker—that I am a
fan of One Direction, and Harry Styles in particular. If it is
true that Harry Styles is looking to buy a £10 million property
in the west country, he will join the thousands of people who
have been hoovering up our homes to make them second homes. The
pandemic has turbocharged the housing crisis in the west country,
so will the Minister look seriously at ensuring every west
country family can have a first home, not just have a region full
of second homes for those who can afford one?
We are determined to make sure that there are homes available to
buy for the people who want them around our United Kingdom,
including in holiday hotspots such as the west country. That is
why we have brought forward new policies such as First Homes, why
we are closing the loophole which allows some people to abuse
their second home and holiday let properties, and why we want to
build more homes in those places to ensure people have the
opportunity to own and enjoy them.
Infrastructure for New Homes: Sittingbourne and Sheppey
(Sittingbourne and
Sheppey) (Con)
10. What steps he is taking to deliver the education, health and
transport infrastructure necessary to support the homes built in
Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency over the last three
decades.(905183)
The Minister for Housing ()
The Government support local authorities through both central
funding and developer contributions to deliver the infrastructure
that new development demands. In 2020-21, Swale Borough Council
secured over £3.7 million of developer contributions and we are
providing Kent County Council with £38 million from the housing
infrastructure fund to support road improvements, which will
unlock 8,500 homes in Swale.
I am always grateful for any money that Swale Borough Council
gets, but of course those particular funds are designed to ensure
even more homes can be built, and that would do nothing to reduce
congestion on roads in Sittingbourne and Sheppey, or to increase
the number of secondary school places available to local people,
or to make it easier for those people to get an appointment with
a GP. What Swale needs is fewer houses, not more; so would my
right hon. Friend consider placing a moratorium on housing
targets for Swale Borough Council and local authorities in Kent
generally until the problems I have highlighted are resolved?
As I said in a previous answer, it is for local authorities to
determine the number of homes they need and to set those numbers
accordingly. We want to make sure that where development takes
place infrastructure is available to support it. That is why we
have the HIF—housing infrastructure fund—to which I have referred
and the new home building fund, with a significant amount of
money for infrastructure. It is also why we want through our
planning reforms to look carefully at how infrastructure funding
can be provided, so that it is provided up front and new
developments benefit from the schools and clinics and kids’
playgrounds that they need, and new communities get bang for
their buck.
West Midlands Combined Authority: Further Devolution
(Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
(Lab)
11. What assessment he has made of the potential merits of the
West Midlands Combined Authority’s proposals for a further
devolution deal. (905184)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Neil O'Brien)
We commend the West Midlands Combined Authority under the
leadership of for its ambition to secure
further powers for the region and will be saying more about our
plans to strengthen local leadership in the forthcoming White
Paper.
The Mayor of the West Midlands and I disagree on much, but I
think he buys into my argument that we should be the green
workshop of the world, and I agree with him that delivering on
that requires radical devolution of resources and powers in at
least 12 different areas, from skills to energy regulation. Has
the Minister read the submission from the combined
authorities—the Mayor and the seven mighty authorities of the
west midlands—and, crucially, when the levelling-up White Paper
is delivered, will he deliver on it?
Neil O'Brien
I am glad to see this wonderful outbreak of consensus. I have
read the exciting proposals put forward to us but I am afraid the
right hon. Gentleman will have to wait until the White Paper;
however, I will say that has continued to bring forward
very exciting and interesting ideas.
Church of England: Real Estate
(Gloucester) (Con)
12. What discussions he has had with the Church of England on the
potential role of its real estate in helping to meet housing
demand. (905185)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
We welcome and encourage the steps the Church is taking to make
more of its land available for affordable housing. Since the
Archbishops’ debate in March 2021 and the publication of the
report from the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and
Community, my officials have engaged with representatives to
consider how we can provide support for that, and that is
expected to continue.
The Secretary of State will know that the Diocese of Gloucester
has been doing a lot to help implement the important report from
the Archbishops, “Coming Home”. I particularly want to thank
Bishop Rachel and all involved for their work in funding the
national housing executive and delivering projects such as St
Aldate’s and Hardwicke. The Secretary of State will however also
know that housing is a complicated issue for the Church and the
draft legal reforms on ownership are stuck with the Church
Commissioners and the Archbishops’ Council, so what more can my
right hon. Friend do, perhaps in conjunction with the Second
Church Estates Commissioner, to make sure that the Church of
England lives up to its leaders’ social mission and helps provide
more space for homes for some of those most in need?
I am tempted to quote from the Gospel, John 14:2:
“In my Father’s house are many mansions”,
and it is certainly the case that we want to work with the Church
of England to unlock more land and support its drive to secure
greater access to affordable housing. I have recently been in
touch in particular with the Bishop of Kensington, Graham Tomlin,
and I know he will be taking forward further conversations in
order to achieve the goals he and I and the Second Church Estates
Commissioner share.
Levelling Up: Active Travel
(Bath) (LD)
13. What role active travel will have in the forthcoming
levelling-up White Paper. (905186)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
Active travel is central to levelling up the nation’s health, air
quality, social connectedness and prosperity. The Government
committed £710 million of new active travel funding at the
spending review and are establishing active travelling to support
places. The White Paper will discuss transport’s contributions to
levelling up, including of course active travel.
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. He knows of
course that travel accounts for nearly a third of the UK’s carbon
dioxide emissions, with the majority coming from petrol and
diesel vehicles. In my constituency of Bath the council is
working very hard to get to net zero by 2030, and active travel
is a key part of that. So in the upcoming planning reforms will
the Secretary of State include the 20-minute neighbourhood
principle, which ensures that people can access services and
goods within a 20-minute return walk?
That is a very good principle—I completely agree with it. For
those who do not follow our proceedings with the same intensity
as top political commentators and all the rest of it, active
travel refers to walking and cycling. I completely agree with
hon. Lady. What we want to do is create communities where people
can walk or cycle to all the facilities and amenities that they
need. That is one reason why I am such a great fan of the work of
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the developments for
which he has been responsible, as they embody that principle more
effectively than the work of almost anyone I know.
(Ipswich) (Con)
Grassroots sports clubs and facilities are crucial to levelling
up in some of the most deprived parts of Ipswich, whether it is a
BMX club in Gainsborough, a boxing club in Nacton or Ipswich Vale
Exiles FC: Maidenhall and Chantry. Will the Secretary of State
confirm today that that is something that will be acknowledged in
the White Paper and that when it comes to the second tranche of
the levelling-up fund there is a possibility for it to be a
grassroots clubs and facilities fund to back levelling up in such
an important way?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is the case that the
levelling-up fund and the community ownership fund are oriented
towards ensuring that cultural and sporting activities can be
supported. I should remark that just over a week ago I had the
pleasure of visiting Bury where, through the community ownership
fund, we could give the fan-led consortium the resources needed
to take Gigg Lane back into its ownership. Only a few days later,
the hon. Member for Bury South () defected to the Labour
party. Once a Shaker, always a Shaker, I was told in Bury, but
there are some people who are steady on parade and there are some
people who shake it all about. I think in Bury we prefer those
who are steady on parade, rather than those who wobble under
pressure.
Mr Speaker
And Gigg Lane has the finest playing surface. We now go to
topicals, with .
Topical Questions
(Sheffield Central)
(Lab)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.(905198)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
On Thursday this week, it is, as the House knows, Holocaust
Memorial Day. My hon. Friend the Minister for Levelling Up
Communities will lead a debate on that day. It is important that
we all recognise that the work of the Holocaust Memorial Day
Trust and the Holocaust Educational Trust are absolutely
invaluable, not just in challenging the unique evil of the
holocaust and the poison of antisemitism but in reminding us that
we need to be vigilant against prejudice of all kinds:
anti-Muslim hatred, the persecution of Christians and any
prejudice that is based on religion, ethnicity or any of our
protected characteristics.
I certainly endorse the comments by the Secretary of State in
relation to Holocaust Memorial Day.
The latest figures for Sheffield from February 2020 to April 2021
show a 46% increase in the number of private renters claiming
housing benefit, because wages are simply not keeping up with
rising rents. Some 28% of private rentals in the city contain
category 1 hazards, which involve serious risk of harm, compared
with just 4% of social housing. As the cost of living crisis
deepens and energy bills rise, what are the Government doing to
alleviate pressure on private renters and when this year will the
Secretary of State publish the rental reform White Paper?
The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. It is the case that
there are a number of people in the private rented sector who are
not getting the deal that they deserve, both regarding the level
of rent and the decency of their homes. I look forward to working
with the hon. Gentleman on that.
(Tewkesbury) (Con)
T2. Will the Minister consider changing building regulations to
require all new buildings to be self-sufficient in energy, which
would have the triple benefit of securing supply, helping us
towards net zero and reducing fuel poverty?(905199)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
The building regulations set out the minimum energy performance
standards. They do not prescribe the technology that is
required—they just set the goal—which allows builders and
homeowners the flexibility to innovate and select the most
practical and cost-effective solutions appropriate to any
development. Obviously, our intention is to go further. We have
had the part L uplift, and building regs will move towards the
future homes standard for 2025.
(Greenwich and Woolwich)
(Lab)
Would the Secretary of State give the House a clear and
categorical assurance that if he cannot ultimately extract enough
money from industry finally to fix the building safety crisis he
will not allow the Chancellor to raid his Department’s budgets,
including funding already allocated for new affordable homes, to
make up the shortfall?
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me an opportunity
to update the House on the conversations we had with developers
last Thursday. Those conversations were cordial and constructive,
but we were also clear about the obligation developers have. I am
confident that they will meet it.
(Dudley North) (Con)
T5. There are currently no statutory requirements for a planning
authority to consult immediate neighbours in another planning
authority, nor are there any in relation to the issuing of
certificates of lawful use. As a result, green belt development
by the back door is happening right now between my constituency
and neighbouring South Staffordshire. Will the Secretary of State
agree to meet me to discuss those complexities in more
detail?(905204)
The Minister for Housing ()
I am obliged to my hon. Friend. As he will know, protecting the
green belt is a firm manifesto commitment. Certificates of lawful
use are intended to confirm that an existing use of land is
lawful from a planning perspective. If there is any doubt about
the lawfulness of the existing use, local authorities should
reject the application and consider other ways of ensuring that
progress is made. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss
the issue further.
(Luton North) (Lab)
The latest figures from Shelter show that women are 36% more
likely than men to be in a constant struggle to afford housing
costs or be in arrears and that under this Government nearly
two-thirds of people in temporary accommodation are women. Can
the Secretary of State not see that the Conservative cost of
living crisis, the damaging cuts to universal credit, and the
failure to give renters security in their homes are forcing even
more women into homelessness?
What we do see is that Government funding during the covid
pandemic has meant that, as the English Housing Survey tells us,
93% of people are up to date with their rent. With regard to
helping people, our renters White Paper is coming forward. We
will be doing things like banning no-fault evictions and they
will help renters regardless of gender.
(Wantage) (Con)
T6. I warmly welcome the Future Homes Standard, but in the
meantime many homes are being built to the environmental standard
of several years ago purely because of when their planning
permission was granted. They will need to be retrofitted. Will my
right hon. Friend consider requiring companies to build to the
latest environmental standard, rather than the one in place when
permission was granted, after a certain time has
elapsed?(905205)
We absolutely will consider that. I know there are innovators in
my hon. Friend’s constituency who are leading work in that
precise area, so I look forward to working with him and those in
his constituency to achieve just that goal.
(Newport East) (Lab)
T4. Do Ministers agree that the western gateway partnership, of
which Newport is a part, deserves the same level of recognition
and visibility in Government as other pan-regional partnerships,
such as the northern powerhouse and the midlands engine? If so,
will Ministers appoint a ministerial champion?(905203)
Yes, and let me consider it.
(Cleethorpes) (Con)
T7. Barton upon Humber, a market town in my constituency, is,
like many up and down the country, having to contend with many
residential planning applications. Public services such as school
places and dentistry are unable to cope with existing pressures.
Will Ministers consider strengthening the guidance to planning
authorities and to planning inspectors to ensure that the
availability of public services is paramount in dealing with
those applications?(905206)
Again, I am obliged to my hon. Friend for his question. I will
certainly consider the specific points he makes, but that is
exactly what we want to do. Through the planning reforms we
envisage, we want to ensure that developer contributions are made
much more quickly in the process so that the sort of
infrastructure he talks about is provided, and to ensure that
greater land capture value is collected to ensure that those
services can be provided to a greater extent.
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
T8. I am sure the Secretary of State will have read the latest
report from the all-party parliamentary group on left behind
neighbourhoods, which highlighted that there is a cost to the
economy of £30 billion due to health inequalities in our poorest
areas. Would the Secretary of State be willing to hold a meeting
with the authors of the report and the officers of the group to
discuss what more needs to be in the White Paper on levelling up
around health inequalities?(905207)
I absolutely will do that. Although the White Paper will include
a number of proposals to help to reduce health inequalities, as
Professor Michael Marmot’s report and work—alongside the
all-party group’s work—have demonstrated, significant work is
required to be done on everything from obesity to cramped housing
in order to deal with those issues.
(Bosworth) (Con)
Almost a year ago, the Minister for Housing, who has
responsibility for planning, wrote to Liberal Democrat-run
Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council to say that it does not
have an up-to-date local plan and to ask it to do more to get it
updated. In his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for North
Wiltshire (), the Minister said that part of
the problem is that areas become open to speculative
developments. One way to strengthen the position is by having a
neighbourhood plan, as in vanguard places such as Market
Bosworth. The problem is that they are being ridden roughshod
over. Will he look to strengthen the role of neighbourhood plans
in future, and failing that, in the meantime, will he encourage
Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council to get its plan sorted
and up to date?
I am obliged to my hon. Friend. We certainly want to extend and
expand the use of neighbourhood plans in constituencies such as
his—in Hinckley and Bosworth—and he is right that I have written
to the council to encourage it to get on and update its local
plan. It is nice to see that there are a couple of Lib Dems on
duty here, because they ought to hear that there is nothing
liberal or democratic about exposing a local community to
speculative development. That is what the people in Hinckley and
Bosworth face and I am very keen to make sure that my officials
work with Hinckley and Bosworth to get that plan in place.
(Slough) (Lab)
Under the Conservatives, home insulation rates have plummeted,
emissions from homes are higher now than they were in 2015 and UK
homes are the least energy-efficient in the whole of Europe. To
help struggling families with the spiralling cost of energy
bills, will the Minister finally copy and paste Labour’s plan
to Retrofit every single
home with a special scheme to help low-income households?
The Government have a number of plans to help with the
decarbonisation of homes for people with low incomes. A good
example would be our social housing decarbonisation fund, which
already has £1 billion committed to it from this year.
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con)
Will the Secretary of State take steps to make sure that when we
build very large new housing developments, it is easy for new
residents to get into their local surgery or new health
centre?
My hon. Friend makes a very important point. We absolutely need
to make sure that easy access to infrastructure and public
services is part of significant housing developments, and I look
forward to working with him to ensure that that is true in South
West Bedfordshire and elsewhere.
(Norwich South) (Lab)
In my city of Norwich, we have had less levelling up and more
vital services simply levelled. Will the Secretary of State stop
fobbing us off with insufficient, ad hoc pots of money and ensure
that sustainable, long-term funding is given to my city and
county councils, the real engines of any levelling-up agenda?
The Minister for Levelling Up Communities ()
We do provide sustainable funding. The hon. Gentleman will know
that the provisional local government finance settlement made
available an additional £3.5 billion to councils. Norwich City
Council had an increase in cash terms of up to 4.8% compared with
last year, giving it a total core spending power of up to £18.6
million. Norfolk County Council got an increase of up to £55.5
million and the core spending power of South Norfolk District
Council was at £15.7 million. If there are further conversations
that he would like to have, I am very happy for him to write to
me.
(Basingstoke) (Con)
Compared with communities across the country, Basingstoke has
built 50% more new homes over the past two decades. Local
residents want to make sure that we have homes for our children
and grandchildren, but we believe that Basingstoke has been doing
far more than that. What advice can my right hon. Friend give my
local council on how we can make sure that future projected
house-building levels reflect the very special circumstances in
my constituency?
I commend my right hon. Friend and her council for all the
sterling work they have done to build the homes in Basingstoke
that people need. The important thing is for people to make sure
that their local plan is up to date and that they agree a sound
plan with the Planning Inspectorate, based on the constraints
that there are, to get the number of houses they need. I am very
happy to work with her to make sure that that is so.
(Inverclyde) (SNP)
The Secretary of State cannot fail to have noticed the number of
questions in this session that have centred on the White Paper.
Councils around the UK want to know what the timetable is, what
the criteria are and when it will be published. Inverclyde wants
to apply for this levelling-up funding. Will he help me? Does he
want to visit Greenock, so I can show him the projects?
I have spent many happy hours in Greenock and am looking forward
to many more. I imagine that time there can only be enhanced,
whether in Cappielow or anywhere else, with the hon. Gentleman.
The key thing about the levelling-up fund is that constituencies
across the United Kingdom, including in Scotland, have benefited.
I look forward to working with him and others to ensure
that—[Interruption.] As a Morton fan, he will appreciate that
patience is a virtue.
(North East Bedfordshire)
(Con)
The forthcoming levelling-up White Paper is an opportunity to
undo the imbalance in investment in active travel networks
between towns and urban areas, which get the lot, and villages,
which get very little to connect them. Will my right hon. Friend
arrange for a meeting between me and one of his Ministers,
together with members of Potton Town Council and Sandy Town
Council, to talk about their active travel network?
Yes.
(Warwick and Leamington)
(Lab)
The Secretary of State will be aware that Warwickshire County
Council is keen to have some sort of county unitary deal, but he
will also be aware that Warwick District Council and
Stratford-on-Avon District Council recently voted for a combined
council—probably with the intent of a unitary one as well. Should
it not be down to not the councillors or the Secretary of State,
but the public to decide the future of local government across
our country?
I welcome the moves across Warwickshire to consider how services
can be delivered even more efficiently as part of the economic
success story that is the greater west midlands. In particular, I
commend the leadership of Izzi Seccombe, the leader of
Warwickshire County Council. The fact that she and her group
continue to be re-elected with ever greater levels of support
indicates that she is in a strong position to help bring people
together across the constituency.
(Penrith and The Border)
(Con)
Volunteers who serve on our parish councils do an amazing job. In
rural communities such as mine, there are significant challenges
to attending meetings, such as transport, adverse weather, work
and caring responsibilities. In the pandemic, we have seen that
the virtual or hybrid format works well. Moving forward, will the
Secretary of State look to allow parish councils to sit in
virtual or hybrid format to increase and widen access and to help
them work to the best of their ability?
If during the pandemic we had not allowed councils to meet
virtually, not only would we have impaired the effective working
of local government, but we would never have known about Jackie
Weaver and the country would have been the poorer for it. I
commend the work of parish councils and others. I am strongly in
sympathy with the view that hybrid meetings should continue in
order to ensure the maximum amount of efficiency. There is a case
for saying that certain significant local authority meetings
should occur with all councillors present, but I want to proceed
with the maximum amount of consensus to reflect the maximum level
of efficiency and in particular of sensitivity to those who serve
in constituencies such as my hon. Friend’s, where the rurality
and dispersed nature of representation are important.
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