Written questions by Goldsborough.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will initiate an external assurance review following Norfolk County Council's application for Exceptional Financial Support.

Any support agreed through the Exceptional Financial Support framework is usually agreed in-principle and may be subject to conditions, including ensuring there is appropriate assurance around the circumstances of the request. My department is continuing to engage with Norfolk County Council on their request for support.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to support community ownership of businesses.

This government is committed to doubling the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector. Diverse business models are important, not only in terms of our growth mission, but also to support our communities to thrive. That is why we welcomed the independent Co-operatives and Mutual Business Council, formed in March, to help us explore how working together, we can fulfil our ambition to grow the sector. And, earlier this month DBT and HMT Ministers hosted a reception at No.10 Downing Street to celebrate the Co-operatives and Mutuals sector and set out the Government’s next steps – including launching a Call for Evidence later this year, on how we can continue to support co-operatives and mutual businesses to start, grow and scale, as well as support existing businesses transition to become a co-operative or mutual. We are also delivering on the pledge to replace the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a strengthened ‘Right to Buy’ for Assets of Community Value, creating a clearer route to community ownership.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of community ownership to businesses in rural areas.

This government is committed to doubling the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector. Diverse business models are important, not only in terms of our growth mission, but also to support our communities to thrive. That is why we welcomed the independent Co-operatives and Mutual Business Council, formed in March, to help us explore how working together, we can fulfil our ambition to grow the sector. And, earlier this month DBT and HMT Ministers hosted a reception at No.10 Downing Street to celebrate the Co-operatives and Mutuals sector and set out the Government’s next steps – including launching a Call for Evidence later this year, on how we can continue to support co-operatives and mutual businesses to start, grow and scale, as well as support existing businesses transition to become a co-operative or mutual. We are also delivering on the pledge to replace the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a strengthened ‘Right to Buy’ for Assets of Community Value, creating a clearer route to community ownership.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the total Government budget to tackle homelessness was allocated to allocated to Norfolk County Council in this financial year.

Homelessness funding across Norfolk is provided through allocations to Norwich, North Norfolk, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, South Norfolk & Broadland, and Breckland. Individual programme allocations for the 2024/25 financial year can be accessed using the following links: Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-2023-to-2025 (Collection)https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F63a1880dd3bf7f37654767a3%2FHomelessness_Prevention_Grant_2023_to_2025_allocations.ods&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK (Dataset)Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleeping-initiative-2022-to-2025-updated-funding-allocations/rough-sleeping-initiative-2022-to-2025-updated-funding-allocationsRough Sleeping Winter Pressureshttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleeping-winter-pressures-2024-25-funding-allocations/rough-sleeping-winter-pressures-2024-25-funding-allocations

Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to local authority planning departments in each of the last ten financial years.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.Local authorities routinely publish their spending information in Revenue Outturn data, which includes information on how much money they have spent on planning services. The latest Revenue Outturn information can be found on gov.uk here: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2022 to 2023 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a devolution deal for Norfolk on (a) local housing supply and (b) economic growth.

I met with the Leader of Norfolk County Council on 13 November to discuss next steps for devolution in the area. The Government is committed to transferring power out of Westminster and into local communities, with landmark legislation to expand devolution across England. This will devolve further powers to local leaders over areas such as employment support, housing and strategic planning, adult education, and skills to drive economic growth.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of building a new settlement in Norfolk.

This government’s New Towns Programme will include large-scale new communities built on greenfield land and separated from other nearby settlements, but also a larger number of urban extensions and urban regeneration schemes that will work with the grain of development in any given area.The New Towns Taskforce will advise ministers on appropriate locations for our next generation of new towns. It will deliver a final shortlist of recommendations within 12 months, but will have the freedom to share conclusions in respect of specific sites earlier if beneficial to the government’s housebuilding drive.On 4th November, the New Towns Taskforce launched a call for evidence to explore opportunities for large developments. This call for evidence will be open until Friday 13 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will publish the findings of Lord Banner KC's review of national infrastructure projects.

We intend to publish the review in question in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to work with local authorities to reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation.

Homelessness levels are far too high and too many families are living in temporary accommodation. We will take the action needed to tackle this issue and develop a long-term, cross-government strategy, through working with Mayors, councils and key stakeholders, to end homelessness for good.Homelessness legislation sets out that local authorities should try to place individuals within their own area, and when this is not possible, they should place the household as near as possible to the original local authority. The Government is clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, avoid placing households out of their borough. However, this is not always possible when there is a limited supply of suitable accommodation. If a local authority places a household into accommodation in another local area, they are required by law to notify the local authority of any placement, to ensure there is no disruption to education or employment.