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1251304

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Private Rented Housing: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to (a) write off rent arrears built up by private tenants during the covid-19 outbreak and (b) establish a facility to protect landlords' minimum amount of rental income required for basic subsistence; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	114816
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government has no plans to write off COVID-19 related rent arrears. During this period, tenants should continue to pay their rent and abide by all other terms of their tenancy agreement to the best of their ability. Where tenants are unable to pay their rent or if rent arrears have accrued, landlords and tenants should work together to agree a suitable repayment plan. We encourage landlords to offer support and understanding to tenants who may see their income fluctuate during this period.</p><p>Our generous support package is supporting landlords by helping tenants to sustain tenancies and continue to pay their rent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>This comprehensive package includes a range of support for businesses to pay staff salaries, including through the furlough scheme which has now been extended to March 2021. We have also strengthened the welfare safety-net with an over £9 billion boost to the welfare system, including an extra £1 billion to increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates so that they cover the lowest 30 per cent of market rents. For those renters who require additional support, there is an existing £180 million of Government funding for Discretionary Housing Payments made available this year, an increase of £40 million from last year, which is for councils to distribute to support renters with housing costs.</p><p>Furthermore, where landlords do find themselves in coronavirus-related hardship, mortgage lenders have agreed to offer payment holidays of up to six months, with applications now open until 31 January 2021.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 19/11/2020 16:53:47 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1251305

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government: Investment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for Government oversight of local authority property investments.
tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
uin	114817
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>Local authorities borrow and invest under the Prudential Framework which is designed to ensure that their capital plans are affordable, prudent and sustainable, while giving councils the freedom to set their own capital strategies. Government is responsible for ensuring the Framework remains effective in driving sound decision making, and collects appropriate data to monitor trends and identify risks. Local authorities remain accountable to their electorate for managing their own investment strategies and meeting their Best Value duty. They must comply with the Framework’s statutory guidance, including the requirement to report performance against a set of metrics designed to demonstrate the objectives of the Framework are being met, and must publish an investment strategy.</p><p>Government is aware of recent trends where some local authorities are taking on high levels of debt to invest for commercial income, and takes the view that a minority of councils are exposing taxpayers to undue financial risk. Government is also aware of the financial risks that can arise from councils' investments in companies. We have already strengthened our investment guidance to support better consideration of risks in decision making, and are now considering carefully what further interventions are needed, taking into account the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee in their report of 13 July 2020. We already have underway a review to improve our available data and ensure we fully understand sector borrowing and investment activity, including current and emerging risks. We continue to actively monitor capital trends in the sector, as part of our normal processes, and we are collecting data from authorities to understand the impact of the current crisis on commercial income.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 114818 114819 question first answered 20/11/2020 14:24:24 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter

1251306

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government: Investment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for Government oversight of local authority business investment companies.
tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
uin	114818
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>Local authorities borrow and invest under the Prudential Framework which is designed to ensure that their capital plans are affordable, prudent and sustainable, while giving councils the freedom to set their own capital strategies. Government is responsible for ensuring the Framework remains effective in driving sound decision making, and collects appropriate data to monitor trends and identify risks. Local authorities remain accountable to their electorate for managing their own investment strategies and meeting their Best Value duty. They must comply with the Framework’s statutory guidance, including the requirement to report performance against a set of metrics designed to demonstrate the objectives of the Framework are being met, and must publish an investment strategy.</p><p>Government is aware of recent trends where some local authorities are taking on high levels of debt to invest for commercial income, and takes the view that a minority of councils are exposing taxpayers to undue financial risk. Government is also aware of the financial risks that can arise from councils' investments in companies. We have already strengthened our investment guidance to support better consideration of risks in decision making, and are now considering carefully what further interventions are needed, taking into account the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee in their report of 13 July 2020. We already have underway a review to improve our available data and ensure we fully understand sector borrowing and investment activity, including current and emerging risks. We continue to actively monitor capital trends in the sector, as part of our normal processes, and we are collecting data from authorities to understand the impact of the current crisis on commercial income.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 114817 114819 question first answered 20/11/2020 14:24:24 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter

1251307

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government: Investment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for Government oversight of local authority property investment companies.
tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
uin	114819
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>Local authorities borrow and invest under the Prudential Framework which is designed to ensure that their capital plans are affordable, prudent and sustainable, while giving councils the freedom to set their own capital strategies. Government is responsible for ensuring the Framework remains effective in driving sound decision making, and collects appropriate data to monitor trends and identify risks. Local authorities remain accountable to their electorate for managing their own investment strategies and meeting their Best Value duty. They must comply with the Framework’s statutory guidance, including the requirement to report performance against a set of metrics designed to demonstrate the objectives of the Framework are being met, and must publish an investment strategy.</p><p>Government is aware of recent trends where some local authorities are taking on high levels of debt to invest for commercial income, and takes the view that a minority of councils are exposing taxpayers to undue financial risk. Government is also aware of the financial risks that can arise from councils' investments in companies. We have already strengthened our investment guidance to support better consideration of risks in decision making, and are now considering carefully what further interventions are needed, taking into account the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee in their report of 13 July 2020. We already have underway a review to improve our available data and ensure we fully understand sector borrowing and investment activity, including current and emerging risks. We continue to actively monitor capital trends in the sector, as part of our normal processes, and we are collecting data from authorities to understand the impact of the current crisis on commercial income.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 114817 114818 question first answered 20/11/2020 14:24:24 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter

1251308

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Towns Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure Town Deal board members publish registers of their financial interests.
tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
uin	114820
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>In our Towns Fund further guidance, we state all Town Deal Board members should sign up to a code of conduct based on the Seven Principles of Public Life (the Nolan Principles).</p><p>The Lead Council is responsible for ensuring that all respective Town Deal Board members understand these principles and how they function in practice.</p><p>We also expect all members of the Town Deal Board to complete a declaration of interests.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 20/11/2020 14:24:48 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter

1251309

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Towns Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure financial accountability and transparency on the use of funding allocated through the Towns Fund.
tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
uin	114821
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>Every Town Investment Plan we receive is robustly assessed against a range of criteria, with value for money a central consideration.</p><p>Funding is distributed through local authorities who are the accountable body. Funding for projects will only be released when full, green book compliant, business cases have been approved.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 20/11/2020 14:25:34 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter

1251310

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Towns Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that funds awarded through the towns fund are deposited with the accountable local authority as the responsible body.
tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
uin	114822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>Each town was asked to nominate a lead local authority for the Towns Fund. All payments are made through those lead local authorities, using Section 31.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 20/11/2020 14:25:45 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter

1251348

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing: Construction
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the rate of house building.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	114903
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant effect on the housing market and the Government has taken unprecedented measures to help those facing challenges. To support housebuilders the Government has taken steps including the Stamp Duty holiday and increasing site opening hours to facilitate activity. In addition we have set out an ambitious package of measures to ensure we build the right homes in the right places and level up opportunities across the country. This package includes, at £12.2 billion, the highest single funding commitment to affordable housing in a decade; a once in a generation reform to the planning system, and plans for a £10 billion Single Housing Infrastructure Fund to tackle barriers to housebuilding.</p><p>Recent evidence shows housebuilding activity is picking up. For example Knight Frank, the estate agency, highlighted that land market transactions picked up in Q3, with housebuilders returning to the market after many withdrew in Q2. Some have publicly confirmed resilient sales levels and completion rates despite the pandemic, noting an increase in demand over the summer as the market reopened. Similarly the Construction PMI for housebuilding was 62.4 in October, above the 50 no-change mark which indicates that output expanded. Survey respondents highlighted pent up demand and a boost from improving housing market conditions. We continue to monitor the housing market and the effect on it over the pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 17/11/2020 14:13:47 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1251370

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing: Construction
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been built on land that was previously (a) green belt and (b) brownfield in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	114911
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2020 answer text <p>The department publishes statistics on the estimated percentages of new residential addresses created on Green Belt land, and those created on previously-developed land.</p><p>The most recent available figures are for 2013-14 to 2017-18 and are given in: (a) Live Table P310 for Green Belt land; and (b) Live Table P300 for previously-developed land. These are available on the department’s website at <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistical-data-sets%2Flive-tables-on-land-use-change-statistics&amp;data=04%7C01%7CParliamentary%40communities.gov.uk%7C180b99a95035481aa66208d88a3eec87%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637411350138256031%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=PiIxweKQGM8o7GKYx6i%2F%2FgcDHWq8VIjp8l2q1%2FO2qXc%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-land-use-change-statistics</a>.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 19/11/2020 17:00:15 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1251445

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Council Housing: Sales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to extend the time frame in which local authorities can spend the capital receipts from the sale of council and social housing during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
uin	114824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2020 answer text <p>To support local authority house building during this unprecedented time, we extended the deadline for local authorities to spend receipts arising from sales of their homes by an additional six months. This has enabled many of them to catch up with their spending plans and deliver replacement social housing.</p><p>We are currently looking into requests for further extensions and will inform authorities of the outcome as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 19/11/2020 16:59:37 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter