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35983

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local planning authorities in (a) improving the viability of brownfield sites and (b) restarting stalled developments.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	185957
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>Kick-starting stalled developments</em></p><p>This Government has introduced a series of measures to support stalled house building. These include:</p><p>· The Get Britain Building investment fund, providing over £500 million of finance which has so far helped start 11,893 new homes on stalled sites (as of February 2014).</p><p>· The Growing Places Fund is providing £770 million to deliver the infrastructure needed to unlock stalled schemes that will promote economic growth, create jobs and build homes. The fund has been fully allocated to Local Enterprise Partnerships and the devolved administrations to fund local projects.</p><p>· The £474 million Local Infrastructure Fund investment fund is supporting the delivery of upfront infrastructure for locally-supported, large scale housing sites and commercial development; it also provides capacity funding and brokerage support to local authorities to help them progress major schemes through the planning process. Nearly 80,000 homes have been unlocked on fifteen different sites. A further thirteen schemes are currently being assessed for investment, which we believe have the potential to deliver nearly 40,000 homes.</p><p>· The Autumn Statement committed an additional £1 billion of Local Infrastructure Fund funding to unlock locally-led housing schemes capable of delivering up to a further 250,000 new homes, and a second round prospectus will be published in due course.</p><p>· The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 enables developers with any Section 106 agreement to apply for a review of the affordable housing component to ensure development is not being made unviable by unrealistic requirements. Such unviable Section 106 agreements result in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits: a sensible review can result in more housing and more affordable housing.</p><p>· As the housing market has improved, we have ended the temporary measure (introduced by the last Administration) which allowed developers to roll forward their planning permissions; this ending of the measure will increase the incentive for developers to start on site before permission expires.</p><p>· We are also seeking to tackle the inappropriate use of planning conditions and speed up the process of gaining non-planning consents.</p><p>· The Budget announced a £525 million Builders' Finance Fund to assist small and medium sized developers to access finance to support the delivery of housing schemes of between 15 and 250 units, helping kick-start stalled sites and deliver around 15,000 units over four years.</p><p><em>Supporting development on brownfield land</em></p><p>Freeing up brownfield land for regeneration and development is a key priority for my department. Our actions include:</p><p>· We have amended planning regulations to make it easier to change the use of an existing building from commercial to residential use, retail to residential use and agricultural to residential use. Permitted development rights have been expanded, including for flats above shops and allowing for new temporary uses. The Budget announced our intention to further extend these flexibilities.</p><p>· The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning should encourage the effective use of land by re-using brownfield land provided that it is not of high environmental value, and that local councils can set locally appropriate targets for using brownfield land. We have also amended planning practice guidance to stress the importance of bringing brownfield land into use.</p><p>· We have abolished the last Government's Pathfinder programme which sought to demolish homes and instead we have focused on refurbishment and getting empty homes into use. We are investing £160 million specifically to bring empty homes back into use. The New Homes Bonus rewards long-term empty homes being brought back into use and we have given councils the flexibility to remove tax subsidies given to empty homes, and use the money to keep the overall rate of council tax down. The number of empty homes in England has fallen to its lowest rate ever according to the Empty Homes Agency.</p><p>· My Department has been supporting the Olympic legacy, driving renewal and regeneration in east London, replacing over 740 acres of polluted, low-grade industrial land and premises with new sports and community facilities, parks, homes, shops and transport infrastructure.</p><p>· We are working with the Mayor of London to unlock the construction of 11,000 new homes at Barking Riverside, and extend transport infrastructure.</p><p>· A new garden city will be delivered on brownfield land in Ebbsfleet, supported by an Urban Development Corporation and up to £200 million of public investment. The last Administration pledged in its 2003 Sustainable Communities Plan to regenerate Ebbsfleet but failed to deliver.</p><p>· The new Right to Contest builds on our existing Community Right to Reclaim Land, which lets communities ask that under-used or unused land owned by public bodies is brought back into beneficial use. This new Right applies to sites currently in use, but are not vital for operations. It gives businesses and members of the public an opportunity to challenge government on the best use of its estate.</p><p>· We have a comprehensive programme to sell surplus public sector land and property, freeing up taxpayers' money and providing land for new homes. As at the end of December we had released surplus government owned land with capacity for 68,000 homes to be built. We have strengthened the role of the Homes and Communities Agency through a targeted programme of transfers from other Government Departments and agencies. In addition, to ensure land is released efficiently, the Homes and Communities Agency will be Government's land disposal agency. This builds on the Homes and Communities Agency's expertise and experience of complex land remediation and disposals as well as their close relationships with local planning authorities.</p><p>· Through the Strategic Land and Property Review we have identified scope to generate £5 billion of receipts from government land and property between 2015 and 2020. This will put land and property into the hands of those who can exploit them for commercial purposes – creating opportunities for housing and economic development.</p><p>· Changes to Community Infrastructure Levy rules now provide an increased incentive for brownfield development, and extended exemptions for empty buildings being brought back into. We have recently published a consultation paper to lift Section 106 burdens on vacant buildings being returned to use.</p><p>· The Budget announced an Estate Regeneration fund which will provide £150 million to help kick start and accelerate the regeneration of housing estates.</p><p>I hope this outlines the decisive action that this Government is taking.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 03/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

45206

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of wind turbine developers using the Community Right to Build scheme to circumvent the local planning process.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	193840
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Community Right to Build allows local communities to undertake small-scale, site-specific, community-led developments. It may only be used by community organisations in which local people in the relevant neighbourhood area have a majority of the voting rights and have the majority on the board of directors or governing body of the organisation, and, include different people from at least 10 different addresses within the area. This means the Community Right to Build cannot be used by property developers, including wind turbine developers, to gain planning permission for their development proposal - unless that development is something that the community wishes to see and which the community initiates.</p><p>Proposals that require an Environmental Impact Assessment or are likely to have significant effects on a site protected under the Habitats Regulations are not eligible to use the Community Right to Build. Where proposals are eligible they will be tested by an independent examiner to see that they are appropriate in the light of national planning policy and generally conform with the strategic policies of the Local Plan for the area and any neighbourhood plans that are in force.</p><p>The National Planning Policy Framework is very clear that local councils should design their policies to ensure the adverse impacts of renewable energy developments are addressed satisfactorily. To help implement the environmental balance expected by the Framework, we issued new planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy last July. The guidance makes clear that the need for renewable energy does not automatically override environmental protections and the planning concerns of local communities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1726838

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	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	Affordable Housing: York Outer
	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 she will visit proposed housing developments in York Outer constituency to discuss affordable housing.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Mr Luke Charters
	uin	3886
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2024 answer text <p>I will happily consider whether a future visit to a housing development in York Outer constituency to discuss affordable housing will be possible.</p> answering member constituency Greenwich and Woolwich answering member printed Matthew Pennycook question first answered 09/09/2024 16:54:53 answering member 4520 label Biography information for Matthew Pennycook
	tabling member	5199

1144805

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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	Birds: Conservation
	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 his Department is taking to discourage the misuse of anti-bird netting on hedgerows and trees by housing developers.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	286734
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Tatton answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 09/09/2019 16:42:38 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

386979

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Commission for Local Administration in England
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve public accountability of the Local Government Ombudsman.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	5057
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2015 answer text <p>The Local Government Ombudsman is independent of both Government and local authorities as regards their determination of specific cases but is accountable to Parliament for the performance of the Local Government Ombudsman service and is statutorily required to lay before Parliament its annual report and accounts.</p><p> </p><p>In addition the Communities and Local Government Committee have held inquiries into the service's work which has involved the Local Government Ombudsman giving evidence before the Committee.</p><p> </p><p>In the Queen's Speech, the Government announced that it would publish a draft Bill creating a single Public Service Ombudsman in this Parliamentary session. In establishing such a Public Services Ombudsman which will improve redress when things go wrong, the Government would put arrangements in place to ensure that there is clear and transparent accountability for this new Ombudsman service.</p> answering member constituency Nuneaton answering member printed Mr Marcus Jones question first answered 13/07/2015 14:39:13 answering member 4024 label Biography information for Mr Marcus Jones
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

846872

	registered interest
	date	22/02/2018
	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	Construction: Standards
	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 his Department is taking to ensure continued mutual recognition of Eurocodes design and civil engineering standards for UK and EU companies and other bodies after the UK has left the EU.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	129046
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2018 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of Eurocodes design and civil engineering standards in supporting a productive, open and competitive business environment. The Government has been clear that in our negotiations with the EU, the UK will seek to secure a new, deep and special partnership, with the greatest possible tariff and barrier-free trade with Europe.</p> answering member constituency Esher and Walton answering member printed Dominic Raab question first answered 02/03/2018 13:13:08 answering member 4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1726839

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	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	Conveyancing
	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 she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to speed up the conveyancing process for property sales.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Mr Luke Charters
	uin	3887
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises that the current home buying and selling process in England is slow, costly and stressful, and that conveyancing can contribute to this. An improved, modernised process could benefit consumers, industry, the housing market and the wider economy.</p><p>A key part of the conveyancing process is obtaining search information from the relevant local authority. To speed up this process HM Land Registry are digitising search data held by local authorities. Eventually this will cover each local authority and provide a quick and accurate response, potentially taking weeks off transaction times. More information can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-land-registry-local-land-charges-programme/local-land-charges-programme" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>We continue to consider how to drive improvements most effectively across home buying and selling for both consumers and the sector.</p> answering member constituency Greenwich and Woolwich answering member printed Matthew Pennycook question first answered 10/09/2024 14:26:19 answering member 4520 label Biography information for Matthew Pennycook
	tabling member	5199

1312440

	registered interest
	date	27/04/2021
	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	Coronavirus: Disease Control
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the Government is advertising COVID-19 Marshal roles with contracts running in excess of six months beyond the end of the final step of the Government’s roadmap for the easing of covid-19 restrictions.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	188103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>COVID-19 Secure Marshals or their equivalents are employed by local authorities, not central government.</p><p>The Government has provided £400 million of funding to local authorities through the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) to manage the pandemic at the local level. The funding can be used on a range of activities that support the management of local COVID-19 outbreaks including COVID-19 compliance and enforcement activity, such as the hiring of COVID-19 Secure Marshals or their equivalents. Local authorities have played an integral role in the nation’s pandemic response and have the expertise and understanding to inform what activities will best manage COVID-19 in their local areas.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 29/04/2021 10:51:00 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

436179

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Derelict Land
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Communities and Local Government, on Brownfield Land, Official Report, column 742, when further details of the £1 billion brownfield regeneration fund will be announced; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	19236
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2015 answer text <p>We announced at the Autumn Statement that the Government is supporting development on brownfield land through a £2 billion Long Term Housing Development Fund to unlock housing development for up to 160,000 homes. This funding will support our key manifesto commitments to create a Brownfield Regeneration Fund and to fund Housing Zones to transform brownfield sites into new housing. At least half of the Long Term Fund will be spent on brownfield projects. The Housing Development Fund will be formally launched in the New Year.</p><br /> answering member constituency Stockton South answering member printed James Wharton question first answered 15/12/2015 15:51:19 answering member 4123 label Biography information for Lord Wharton of Yarm
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

932206

	registered interest
	date	28/06/2018
	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	Devolution: Yorkshire and the Humber
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to respond to the Yorkshire Devolution Agreement Submission in March 2018.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	158746
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2018 answer text <p>My Rt Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State, responded on 9 July to the outline proposals for devolution to authorities within Yorkshire which 18 council leaders submitted on 5 March 2018. His response makes clear that whilst we are prepared to consider any proposals, until the Sheffield City Region devolution deal is fully implemented, the Government is not prepared to enter into any discussion about wider devolution arrangements in Yorkshire that would include some or all of the Sheffield City Region authorities. I am in informal discussions with the newly elected mayor for that City Region who is looking to work closely with us to unlock the benefits of devolution – first to implement the 2015 Sheffield City Region devolution agreement.</p> answering member constituency Rossendale and Darwen answering member printed Jake Berry question first answered 10/07/2018 09:40:36 answering member 4060 label Biography information for Sir Jake Berry
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy