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1247373

registered interest
date	30/10/2020
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	Planning Permission: Local Press
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 importance of advertising planning notices in local newspapers to (a) the elderly and vulnerable, (b) other local residents and (b) local media organisations.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	109304
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>Local planning authorities are required to publicise certain types of planning applications in local newspapers as set out in Article 15 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.  In response to coronavirus restrictions, temporary regulations have been introduced to supplement the existing statutory publicity arrangements for planning applications. Local planning authorities now have the flexibility to take other reasonable steps to publicise applications if they cannot discharge the specific requirement for newspaper publicity – for instance, if the local newspaper is not now in circulation. These steps can include the use of social media and other electronic communications, such as local online news portals, and must be proportionate to the scale and nature of the proposed development. However, if a local planning authority is required to publicise a planning application in a local newspaper, and that paper is still in circulation, then they must continue to do so.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 09/11/2020 14:30:32 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1240855

registered interest
date	06/10/2020
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 Finance: 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, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on local authorities' finances.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	99597
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2020 answer text <p>Councils across the country are supporting communities, protecting the most vulnerable and helping the NHS in our efforts to combat Covid-19. In order to meet these additional cost pressures, the Government has continued to support local authorities by delivering an unprecedented package of measures. So far, we have provided over £4.8 billion in funding for spending pressures, including £3.7 billion of un-ringfenced grants and £1.1 billion to help stop the spread of the virus in care homes. This underlines Government’s commitment to ensuring adult social care has the resources it needs to keep residents and staff safe. In addition, the Prime Minister has announced a further £1 billion of funding for local authorities, details of which will be announced shortly. <br> <br> In total, over £28 billion has already been committed to local areas to support councils, businesses and communities across government. This comprehensive package of support includes direct financial support and cashflow measures for councils, bus and tram services, support for the homeless and both grants and rates reliefs for businesses. <br> <br> We will continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on local government.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 14/10/2020 13:20:19 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1287739

registered interest
date	19/02/2021
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	Housing: Remote Working
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 trends in the level of (a) remote working and (b) housing demand outside of towns and cities; and what plans he has to (i) alleviate pressure for new homes on green spaces and (ii) help ensure new developments are affordable.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	154990
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of understanding trends and shifts in the way people live and the implications for housing demand, as well as the importance of ensuring access to green spaces and increasing the supply of affordable housing. The Department will continue to analyse trends in housing demand, including increasing demand outside of towns and cities, to gauge the nature, size and permanence of any shift in housing preferences. <br> <br> The National Planning Policy Framework expects local authorities to recognise the character and beauty of the countryside and to protect and enhance Green Belt, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other designated rural land. To further support regeneration of brownfield sites, in December, we announced changes to the standard method for assessing local housing need to increase greater need in urban areas to maximise the use of existing infrastructure, such as public transport, schools, medical facilities and shops, as well as to encourage development that reduces the need for high-carbon travel. <br> <br> We are committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing nationally. At budget we announced our new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. Our Planning for the Future White Paper sets out proposals to create a new Infrastructure Levy, which will be designed to deliver at least as much onsite affordable housing as at present and will continue to be collected and spent at the local level.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 01/03/2021 14:37:24 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1052334

registered interest
date	31/01/2019
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	Local Government Finance
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 his Department made of the needs of urban areas when allocating £1 billion of additional funding in the provisional local government finance settlement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	215162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The final local government finance settlement confirmed a real-terms increase in available funding for local authorities to help deliver local services, support vulnerable residents and build vibrant communities.</p><p>This includes an additional £650 million for social care, allocated using the well-established Adult Social Care relative needs formula, which takes into account the relative needs of local authorities, including in urban areas.</p><p>The additional resources provided through the settlement also included the distribution of £180 million of surplus in the business rates retention levy account, which was allocated on the basis of each authority’s 2013-14 Settlement Funding Assessment. The Settlement Funding Assessment is a measure of the relative needs of local authorities, including in urban areas.</p><p>Funding baselines for every authority are determined by an assessment of the relative needs of areas, including measures of deprivation.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 07/02/2019 17:14:15 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1240852

registered interest
date	06/10/2020
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: Property
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 has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of commercial property investments made by local authorities in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	99595
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2020 answer text <p>Local authorities borrow and invest under the Prudential Framework (the Framework) which is designed to ensure that the capital plans of local authorities 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, including from commercial investment activity. Government does not routinely undertake any assessment of the effectiveness of local decisions to borrow and invest; local authorities remain accountable to their electorate for managing their own investment strategies and meeting their best value duty. However, councils have to appropriately 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 to 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, rather than for providing the functions of a council. We are clear that borrowing to invest for yield is not in keeping with the intent of the Framework and exposes councils and taxpayers to undue financial risk. We have already tightened our statutory guidance on investments to improve decision making, and we are now carefully considering the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee’s report on local authority investment in commercial property (July 2020) and what further interventions are needed.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 99596 question first answered 14/10/2020 13:21:12 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1240853

registered interest
date	06/10/2020
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: Property
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 has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the borrowing undertaken by local authorities to fund investments in commercial property.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	99596
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2020 answer text <p>Local authorities borrow and invest under the Prudential Framework (the Framework) which is designed to ensure that the capital plans of local authorities 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, including from commercial investment activity. Government does not routinely undertake any assessment of the effectiveness of local decisions to borrow and invest; local authorities remain accountable to their electorate for managing their own investment strategies and meeting their best value duty. However, councils have to appropriately 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 to 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, rather than for providing the functions of a council. We are clear that borrowing to invest for yield is not in keeping with the intent of the Framework and exposes councils and taxpayers to undue financial risk. We have already tightened our statutory guidance on investments to improve decision making, and we are now carefully considering the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee’s report on local authority investment in commercial property (July 2020) and what further interventions are needed.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 99595 question first answered 14/10/2020 13:21:12 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman