10 1 0 House of Commons 2021-07-20T16:13:47.493Z Walsall North Eddie Hughes false 2021-07-20 Biography information for Eddie Hughes <p>The Department does not collect this information. Statistics collected by the Department show that, in October-December 2020 (the latest period for which data is available) the vast majority of tenants were up to date with their rental payments.</p><p>The Department has been clear throughout the coronavirus pandemic that tenants must continue to pay their rent and has put in place an unprecedented package of support to assist them in doing so. This includes the furlough scheme and boosting the welfare safety net with billions of pounds, preventing widespread rent arrears. .</p><p>Legislation was in place to prevent bailiffs from serving eviction notices and carrying out evictions, except in the most serious circumstances, from 17 November 2020 until 31 May 2021. However, there were exemptions for the most serious circumstances, including serious rent arrears.</p><p>Since 1 June, bailiffs have been permitted to enforce valid warrants of possession. This ensures that landlords can exercise their right to justice and reflects the gradual easing of national restrictions. Bailiffs must provide 14 days' notice of an eviction and have been asked to reschedule the eviction appointment if the tenant has coronavirus symptoms or is self-isolating.</p> To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of incidents where tenants have deliberately withheld rent from their landlords on the grounds that they cannot be evicted under the covid-19 regulations. false Hendon Rents: Coronavirus 32363 Housing, Communities and Local Government Dr Matthew Offord 1 Housing, Communities and Local Government Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord 2021-07-13 7 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 2021-07-13 Community Assets and Historic Buildings 32364 false 7 2021-07-20T16:11:39.817Z Walsall North Eddie Hughes false 2021-07-20 <p>On 15 July the Government launched the first bidding for the UK wide £150 million Community Ownership Fund to help community groups to save assets at risk of loss. The fund will run for 4-years and help communities protect assets which are locally important and deliver a community benefit</p><p><br> The Government has also taken steps to safeguard local heritage through a campaign to encourage local authorities, working with their communities, to identify locally important historic buildings and assets for inclusion in their local heritage list. £1.5 million of funding has been made available to 22 areas across England to take forward this work.</p> To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to protect community assets and heritage buildings that are at risk of being lost. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Housing, Communities and Local Government 1 Hendon Dr Matthew Offord Housing, Communities and Local Government Camping Sites: Planning Permission Housing, Communities and Local Government 32365 1 2021-07-21T12:26:36.547Z Tamworth Christopher Pincher false 2021-07-21 Biography information for Christopher Pincher <p>A statement was made to the house on 28 June 2021 about supporting tourism in England. This introduced temporary provisions to stay in force over the course of this holiday season, due to expire on 31 October 2021. The statement instructs local authorities to exercise their discretion in regard to planning enforcement, and only take action against pop up campsites or the expansion of existing campsites where there are significant adverse effects on amenity, public health and safety or the environment.</p> 2021-07-13 7 Dr Matthew Offord Hendon false Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Housing, Communities and Local Government To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to make a decision on temporarily suspending the need for planning permission on authorised temporary campsites due to the covid-19 outbreak. Dr Matthew Offord Housing, Communities and Local Government To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are in place to audit information provided to his Department by (a) regulatory bodies and (b) non-departmental public bodies. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 7 29018 2021-07-16T13:41:55.457Z Walsall North Eddie Hughes false 2021-07-16 <p>The relationship between an arm’s-length body and the department should be established through a Framework Document. Managing Public Money sets out that:</p><p><em>“3.8.2 The framework document (or equivalent) agreed between an ALB and its sponsor always provides for the sponsor department to exercise meaningful oversight of the ALB’s strategy and performance, pay arrangements and/or major financial transactions, eg by monthly returns, standard delegations and exception reporting. The sponsor department’s accounts consolidate those of its ALBs so its accounting officer must be satisfied that the consolidated accounts are accurate and not misleading”.</em></p><p><a title="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money</a></p><p>A non-departmental public body is required to submit to their sponsoring department, on an annual basis, an annual report and audited accounts prepared in accordance with the relevant statutes and guidelines. The annual report and accounts provide the sponsoring department with the financial and non-financial performance of the non-departmental public body. In addition, they will state if the non-departmental public body has met key performance indicators as set out in their business and corporate plans. The report and accounts are laid in Parliament and, where commercially possible, made available on the non-departmental public body’s website.</p> false Housing, Communities and Local Government Hendon Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Information 2021-07-07 1 Hendon Dr Matthew Offord Housing, Communities and Local Government 1 2021-06-30 Gazumping 2021-07-09T12:10:45.27Z Tamworth Christopher Pincher false 2021-07-09 <p>We would like home buyers and sellers to be able to transact with more confidence. It is for this reason that we are working with industry to develop and trial reservation agreements. These legal agreements would be entered into by both parties at the point of offer and there could be financial penalties if a party withdrew without good reason. We hope to proceed to a trial later this year.</p> 7 24949 To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent the practice of gazumping in residential house purchases and sales. Housing, Communities and Local Government false Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Hendon Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Dr Matthew Offord 7 1 To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Court of Appeal case of R (Khodari) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council and another [2017] EWCA Civ 333 (Khodari), whether he has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of (a) section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and (b) section 16 of the Greater London Council General Powers Act 1974. 2021-06-24T16:10:31.14Z Tamworth Christopher Pincher false 2021-06-24 <p>The legal provisions described are intended to provide authorities with the power to mitigate, where appropriate, adverse effects arising from development and other actions.</p><p>A local planning authority makes planning decisions based on policies in their Local Plan and other material considerations. The authority is able to seek a planning obligation under section 106 of the Town and Country Act 1990 to mitigate the implications of a specific development, to make it acceptable in planning terms. The authority must meet three legal tests in seeking to apply the section 106 planning obligation: the obligation must be necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms; it must be directly related to the proposed development; and it must be fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the proposed development.</p><p>A section 106 agreement attached to a planning permission can restrict the development or use of the land in any specified way; require specified operations or activities to be carried out in, on, under or over the land; require the land to be used in any specified way; or require a sum or sums to be paid to the authority on a specified date.</p><p>The Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 provides authorities in London with various powers, including regarding traffic management. Section 16 of the Act allows a local authority to enter into an agreement with the owner of land where the agreement is ‘given or made under seal in connection with the land'.</p><p>In our White Paper 'Planning for the Future', published in August last year, we set out a proposal to reform the system of developer contributions, including s106 planning obligations. We are analysing consultation responses thoroughly, and engaging further with authorities and developer organisations, and will be announcing our intentions shortly.</p> false Housing, Communities and Local Government 16841 Planning Permission: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 2021-06-16 2021-06-23T16:41:47.143Z Tamworth Christopher Pincher false 2021-06-23 <p>In 2019, the United Kingdom was the first G7 country to put into law our ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Following the Climate Change Committee's recommendation, the Sixth Carbon Budget targets an ambitious and world-leading 78 per cent reduction in emissions between 1990 to 2035.</p><p>The National Planning Policy Framework clearly sets out how planning authorities should support the transition to a changing climate and how to avoid vulnerability of new development to the effects of climate change. Additionally, the Climate Change Planning Practice Guidance sets out further advice on how local planning authorities can integrate adaptation and mitigation policies into their decision-making.</p><p>The <em>Planning for the Future </em>White Paper outlines how the Government will work to improve the planning system to help us meet our net zero targets and bolster environmental standards, and we will reflect very carefully on the views received in considering how best to take its vision forward. The consultation generated enormous interest and we are currently reviewing and analysing these responses and we will set out the proposed way forward.</p><p>Local leadership is important, and we are committed to working closely with local authorities across the United Kingdom, particularly when it comes to reducing our emissions. They are uniquely well positioned to harness local actors to align local needs with national interests, drive clean local growth, and influence behaviour.</p> Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 2021-06-15 false 16086 To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has published to help ensure that planning authorities take into account the Government’s commitment to achieve the Climate Change Committee’s goal to reduce emissions by 78 per cent by 2035. Housing, Communities and Local Government 7 Hendon Dr Matthew Offord Planning: Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1 Housing, Communities and Local Government 1 2021-06-18T12:11:28.583Z Walsall North Eddie Hughes false 2021-06-18 <p>We are currently considering options of how best to continue to support the camping sector this summer. Further announcements will be made shortly.</p> 7 13038 false Housing, Communities and Local Government 2021-06-09 Housing, Communities and Local Government Land Use To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of suspending the 56 day restriction to allow the temporary use of land for (a) camping and (b) other activities to occur for up to six months. Dr Matthew Offord Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Hendon 13041 7 false 2021-06-18T12:14:33.97Z Walsall North Eddie Hughes false 2021-06-18 <p>The recent rise in antisemitic attacks is completely unacceptable and we condemn it. Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms.</p><p>Since May, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has met with Jewish communities affected by the recent increase in hate crime and has met with Lord Mann, the Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism, who is providing independent advice on the most effective methods to tackle antisemitism.</p><p>This Government has an excellent track record of taking action to prevent antisemitism.</p><p>We have provided funding to a number of innovative projects to reinforce messages of tolerance for our young people and teach them about the dangers of hate and we are providing £14 million this year for the Protective Security Grant to protect Jewish schools and community buildings.</p><p> </p><p> </p> Housing, Communities and Local Government Antisemitism 1 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take in response to the latest figures published by the Community Security Trust on anti-semitism. 2021-06-09 Dr Matthew Offord Hendon Housing, Communities and Local Government Dr Matthew Offord 184424 Housing, Communities and Local Government 1 7 2021-04-27T15:37:53.64Z Thornbury and Yate Luke Hall false 2021-04-27 Biography information for Luke Hall <p>My Department does not have plans to reform the law on blasphemy.</p> Hendon Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will consider bringing forward legislative proposals to reform of the law on blasphemy. Blasphemy false 2021-04-20 150