<\/p>
The closing date for responses to the discussion document was 28 March. We have received almost 300 substantive responses and these are currently being considered. We plan to publish an analysis of the replies and proposed next steps in the Summer.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/strong><\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4043", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kris Hopkins"}
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, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Keighley"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kris Hopkins"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-05-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-05-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to publish the Government's response to the review of property conditions in the private rented sector.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/413", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Hilary Benn"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Leeds Central"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Hilary Benn"}
], "uin" : "198174"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/49612", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/49612/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " <\/p> The Government is currently negotiating a \u2018Growth Deal' with every Local Enterprise Partnership, based on the Strategic Economic Plans they submitted in March 2014. The criteria being used to assess the plans are set out in the guidance published in July 2013. These are: ambition and rationale for intervention; value for money; and deliverability and risk. Combined authorities, where they exist, are represented in Local Enterprise Partnerships and will have been involved in the development of the Strategic Economic Plans.<\/p> Notwithstanding, as I indicated to the rt. hon. Member in my answers to him of 3 April 2014, Official Report<\/em>, Column 778W and 6 May 2014, Official Report<\/em>, Column 24W, we should be cautious about any measure which had the effect of transferring power upwards away from elected local councils. Decentralisation should devolve power to the lowest appropriate level.<\/p> Combined authorities are relatively new bodies. They now should focus on using the functions and powers that they currently have and prove themselves on delivering local growth; we do not intend to repeat the \u201cfunction creep\u201d mistakes of the Regional Development Agencies which just became unwieldy and unfocused, taking on too much and failing to deliver.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4043", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kris Hopkins"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Keighley"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kris Hopkins"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-05-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-05-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria he will use to assess requests for extra powers from local enterprise partnerships and combined authorities.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newcastle upon Tyne East"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Nicholas Brown"}
], "uin" : "197627"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/48449", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/48449/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " <\/p> The Department is undertaking a wider evaluation of the New Homes Bonus; its findings will be published in due course.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4043", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kris Hopkins"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Keighley"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kris Hopkins"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-05-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-04-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to publish the findings of the research he commissioned from the University of Sheffield into the New Homes Bonus.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "true", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/171", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Nick Raynsford"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Greenwich and Woolwich"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Nick Raynsford"}
], "uin" : "196708"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/48171", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/48171/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " <\/p> Consideration will be given to the position of Chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service later this year, when the current term of office is due to end.<\/p> This will be carried out in line with the Code of Practice for Ministerial appointments to Public Bodies published by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4043", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kris Hopkins"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Keighley"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kris Hopkins"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-05-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-04-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to appoint a new chariman to the Leasehold Advisory Service.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/117", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Peter Bottomley"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Worthing West"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sir Peter Bottomley"}
], "uin" : "196398"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/34374", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/34374/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " <\/p> [Holding Reply: Monday 27 January 2014]<\/em><\/p> The Department does not collect constituency level data. A table has been placed in the Library of the House with data for Chelmsford City Council and Essex. To assist my rt. hon. Friend, I have provided quarterly data back for the last ten years; the table illustrates how there are fewer households in temporary accommodation than the average under the last Administration.<\/p> This Government has retained a strong homelessness safety net protected in law, supported by £470 million in the current Spending Review period to prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions. We are seeing this investment making an impact with households now spending on average 7 months less in temporary accommodation than at the start of 2010.<\/p> We have also made some changes to the rules under the Localism Act to enable local authorities to end the main homelessness duty by arranging an offer of suitable accommodation in the private rented sector. This means households are likely to spend less time in temporary accommodation waiting for social housing to become available.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4043", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kris Hopkins"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Keighley"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kris Hopkins"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-05-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : ""}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : ""}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-01-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families were based in temporary accommodation in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex in each quarter of the last five years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/46", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Simon Burns"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chelmsford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Simon Burns"}
], "uin" : "184755"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/33630", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/33630/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " <\/p> [Holding Reply: Thursday 23 January 2014]<\/em><\/p> The Government does not have a Whitehall building target. The last Administration had a state target to increase house building to 240,000 dwellings a year, yet house building then fell to its lowest peacetime rate since the 1920s.<\/p> By contrast, the Coalition Government has put in place a range of measures to get Britain building again, fix the broken housing market and help hard-working people get the home they want.<\/p> Action taken includes wide-ranging planning reform through National Planning Policy Framework; new incentives to deliver housing growth through the New Homes Bonus; as well as the Government's broader long-term economic plan to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration and keep interest rates down. I would note:<\/p> · We have already delivered 420,000 new homes since 2010.<\/p> · New orders in residential construction have risen to their highest level since 2007 according to the Office for National Statistics;<\/p> · Housing starts are at their highest since 2007 according to DCLG figures;<\/p> · The number of first time buyers is at its highest since 2007 according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders;<\/p> · Repossessions are at their lowest since 2007, according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders; and<\/p> · New home registrations rose by 30 per cent in 2013 in England, the highest since 2007, and are up 60 per cent in London, according to the NHBC.<\/p> In relation to specific programmes:<\/p> Affordable housing<\/em><\/p> 170,000 affordable homes have been delivered in England since April 2010.<\/p> Our Affordable Homes Programme will deliver 170,000 homes over the current spending review period (2011-2015) levering in £19.5 billion of public and private funding. We have announced a new \u2018Affordable Rent to Buy' scheme which will deliver affordable homes through a recoverable fund. We have also published details of a new Affordable Homes Programme for the next spending period, which will lever in up to £23 billion in public and private funding to deliver 165,000 homes from 2015 to 2018.<\/p> The Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme is worth up to £3.5 billion (with further lending capacity held in reserve according to demand) and supported by up to £450 million grant funding in England. Up to 30,000 additional affordable homes will be underway by December 2017. Affordable Housing Finance Plc was awarded the licence for the Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme in June 2013. The first eight housing associations to be approved to borrow through the scheme were announced in January 2014, who will raise over £400 million of debt to facilitate the delivery of over 4,000 new affordable homes. We also announced a European Investment Bank loan facility worth £500 million. More borrowers will follow.<\/p> The Right to Buy Scheme, allowing eligible social tenants to buy their homes at a discount has achieved almost 24,000 sales since April 2010, with the majority (16,200) since we reinvigorated the scheme in 2012. A total of 2,845 council properties were sold between October and December last year, a 42 per cent increase on the same period in 2012. The reinvigorated Right to Buy ensures, for the first time, that the receipts from the additional sales, that is those over what was forecast prior to the change, are reinvested in helping to fund new homes for affordable rent. So far, £300 million has been generated from additional sales and already over 2,000 homes have been started on site or acquired since April 2012.<\/p> Home ownership schemes (Help to Buy)<\/em><\/p> Since April 2013, the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme has offered buyers a 20 per cent equity loan that can be used towards the cost of buying a new build homes, allowing people to buy with a 5 per cent deposit. There were over 30,000 reservations and 19,394 completed loans across England by the end of March 2014, with funding for up to 74,000 sales by March 2016. Alongside this, the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme has so far supported a further 5,173 households purchase new build homes by the end of March 2014. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme was extended through the 2014 Budget announcement to 2020 to help 120,000 more households purchase a new build home.<\/p> The FirstBuy scheme was announced in the Budget 2011 to help support 10,000 first time buyers on the property ladder. The scheme was replaced in April 2013 with Help to Buy. There were 11,590 FirstBuy sales to the end of March 2014.<\/p> Since the end of last year, the Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee scheme is providing up to £12 billion of Government guarantees to support people to buy with a 5 per cent deposit, and over 2,500 homes have so far (by the end of January 2014) been brought through this route, and has helped lower interest rates for those with smaller deposits. The three Help to Buy schemes complement each other, and their success can be taken in the whole.<\/p> Private rented sector<\/em><\/p> The £1 billion Build to Rent programme, which provides development phase finance, is supporting new high quality development purpose built for private rent and is on track to create up to 10,000 new homes. The programme received £1.4 billion of bids under Round One, which is expected to support 15 developments which will provide over 2,600 homes across England in locations which include Durham, Liverpool, Manchester and London. Five contracts to the combined value of over £74.5 million have already been agreed which will deliver over 1,000 new homes for private rent; construction has already started in Southampton (Centenary Quay) and Manchester (Three Towers); more contracts will follow.<\/p> Bidding for Round Two of the Build to Rent Fund was significantly oversubscribed receiving 126 bids to the value of around £3 billion. 36 projects on the shortlist from Round Two are now going through a competitive due diligence process, with successful bids receiving funding to deliver thousands of new homes. A list of all shortlisted bids has been placed in the Library of the House. The shortlist is over-programmed, meaning not all shortlisted projects will receive funding. Shortlisting and due diligence are the first stages of the Build to Rent approval process. The Homes and Communities Agency will continue to work with bidders until exchange of contracts in order to ensure value for money for taxpayers.<\/p> In addition to direct funding, the Government's Private Rented Sector Taskforce is continuing to build the private rented sector as an investment market and have identified £10 billion of domestic and foreign investment available in the private rented sector.<\/p> The Private Rented Sector Guarantees scheme will provide a government guarantee for up to £3.5 billion debt (with further lending capacity held in reserve according to demand) for borrowers investing in new build private rented sector homes across the UK. The guarantees will use the UK Government's hard earned fiscal credibility to help lower the cost of borrowing and incentivise investment in the sector. DCLG is open for business to issue direct guarantees and is actively discussing potential applications with a number of borrowers looking to invest in large scale developments. On 18 March, we also launched a procurement inviting bids from the market to be our delivery partner for Private Rented Sector Housing Debt Guarantees, with the aim of maximizing take up of guarantees including for small and medium enterprises. My Department will be evaluating bids to perform the role in due course.<\/p> Infrastructure and development finance<\/em><\/p> The Get Britain Building investment fund has been provided over £500 million of finance to unlock smaller stalled sites. As at February 2014, it has helped kick start 11,893 new homes on stalled sites.<\/p> The Growing Places Fund is providing £770 million to deliver the infrastructure needed to unlock stalled schemes that will promoted 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. Progress updates in June 2013 reported that £652 million of capital funding had been allocated to 305 projects across England. Local Enterprise Partnerships expect these projects to create 4,900 businesses, 94,000 jobs and 27,000 houses. A further update will be published in due course.<\/p> The £474 million Local Infrastructure Fund is helping to unlock large scale housing developments. To date, we have unlocked 15 sites capable of delivering almost 80,000 homes through a combination of financial and non-financial support. We are currently working to unlock a further 13 stalled schemes to deliver up to 40,000 new homes. In addition to the capital investment, we have made available £13 million of capacity funding to support local authorities in fulfilling their local housing ambitions.<\/p> The 2013 Autumn Statement also announced a further £1 billion to unlock development on large housing sites and a Prospectus inviting bids was published on 14 April. During the Easter Recess, we also published the Local Growth Fund (Housing Infrastructure) prospectus. This sets out the detail on how to access the £50 million part of the Local Growth Fund in 2015-16. It is designed to help speed up and restart housing developments between 250 and 1,499 units that have slowed down or stalled.<\/p> The 2014 Budget announced further funding for driving up housing supply including a £525 million Builders Finance Fund to provide development finance for small sites to support the construction of 15,000 new homes; the prospectus has also recently been published.<\/p> The Budget announced the intention to create an Urban Development Corporation for the Ebbsfleet area to accelerate the construction of a garden-city style development which will unlock up to 15,000 homes \u2013 with up to £200 million capital being made available. We have also published a prospectus to support further locally-led garden cities.<\/p> A new Estate Regeneration Fund of £150 million of recoverable investment will help kick start and accelerate the regeneration of some of our most deprived estates. And we will work with the Greater London Authority to support the regeneration of Brent Cross and unlock 11,000 homes at Barking Riverside.<\/p> We have also taken steps to scale back economically unrealistic Section 106 agreements, such as from the last Administration's housing bubble, which result in no housing development, no regeneration and no community benefits.<\/p> Self-build<\/em><\/p> The £30 million investment fund for Custom Build Homes is currently assessing loan funding of £22.6 million with the potential to deliver 270 units. At the 2014 Budget, we announced that the Government will consult on a new \u2018Right to Build' to give self builders a right to a plot from councils, a new £150 million investment fund to help provide up to 10,000 service plots, and announced will we look to extend Help to Buy equity to custom build. We have also exempted self-build from the Community Infrastructure Levy and we are consulting on a similar policy change for Section 106 tariffs.<\/p> Empty homes<\/em><\/p> This Government has provided £235 million of funding which aims to bring up to 12,000 homes back into use by March 2015. This is part of a wider package of measures to get empty homes and empty buildings back into productive use, in contrast to the last Administration's policy of wholesale demolition. The numbers of empty properties in England have fallen to a 10-year low, and the number of long-term vacant properties has fallen by around a third since 2009.<\/p> Public sector land<\/em><\/p> The Public Sector Land Programme has identified land with capacity for over 100,000 homes which we aim to release to the private sector by March 2015. At the end of December 2013, we had released land capable of delivering 68,000 homes to be built.<\/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 \u2013 creating opportunities for housing and economic development.<\/p> This was part of a series of measures to support brownfield development, as outlined in more detail in the answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report<\/em>, Column 780W.<\/p> There is more to do, but I hope this illustrates how this Government's long-term economic plan is helping build more houses, help people move on and up the housing ladder and clean up the mess left by the last Administration.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4043", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kris Hopkins"}
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, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Keighley"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : ""}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : ""}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-01-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on plans to increase house building by 2030.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4023", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Karen Lumley"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Redditch"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Karen Lumley"}
], "uin" : "183915"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/447", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/447/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " <\/p> [Holding Reply: Monday 1 July 2013]<\/em><\/p> The Government is taking considerable steps to devolve power and freedom to local government and Local Enterprise Partnerships.<\/p> Through the Localism Act, councils now have the general power of competence that enables them to do anything that an individual might do, apart from that which is specifically prohibited. In addition we have radically reformed the local government finance system putting levers and incentives in the hands of local authorities, for instance:<\/p> · The removal of ring-fencing from local government grants has given councils the freedom and flexibility over the money they receive and allows them to work with their residents to decide how best to make their spending decisions to fit their local priority needs.<\/p> · rewarded places that deliver growth, through the New Homes Bonus and Business Rate Retention.<\/p> · Local authorities now directly retain 50% of business rates locally which amounts to nearly £11 billion, instead of returning it to Whitehall.<\/p> · We established five pilot Rural Growth Networks aimed at tackling the barriers to economic growth in rural areas, such as a shortage of work premises, slow internet connectivity and fragmented business networks. These pilots expect to create up to 3,000 new jobs and support up to 700 new businesses, offering a local approach to local problems. We will share the lessons they learn with other Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Authorities to help them promote growth in other rural areas.<\/p> We have also given councils the ability to borrow against their Housing Revenue Account.<\/p> Through the city deals programme we have devolved powers and responsibilities to 26 cities. For example we have:<\/p> \u2022provided levers to deliver the skills and jobs that local businesses and people need;<\/p> \u2022created joint investment programmes; and<\/p> \u2022 devolved greater financial powers and incentives to invest in growth to all cities.<\/p> As we made clear in our response to Lord Heseltine's review of Growth, we intend to go further. We have committed to negotiating Growth Deals with every Local Enterprise Partnership through which we will allocate the Local Growth Fund and negotiate broader powers, freedoms and flexibilities where a strong case for decentralisation can be made. The Local Growth Fund brings together funding from skills, housing and transport and we have committed £2 billion in 2015/16 and it will continue to be at least £2 billion a year up to 2021. The Local Growth Fund includes:<\/p> <\/p> We are also for the first time putting £5 billion of European Structural Investment Funds for the 2014-20 period under the strategic direction of Local Enterprise Partnerships, bringing the total resource (including the Local Growth Fund) under the control of Local Enterprise Partnerships to over £17 billion up until 2020.<\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4043", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kris Hopkins"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Keighley"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kris Hopkins"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-05-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : ""}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : ""}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2013-06-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what powers and freedoms relating to (a) skills and employment, (b) housing and (c) economic development have been devolved since May 2010 to (i) local government and (ii) local enterprise partnerships.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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