Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 61–77 of 77 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with the Migration Advisory Committee on (a) population growth projections and (b) her Department's housebuilding targets.
MHCLG ministers have had no recent discussions with the Migration Advisory Committee about the government’s ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England this parliament.
Communities and Local Government, how many full-time equivalent diversity, equality and inclusion staff are employed by HM Land Registry.
Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) matters are embedded within the work of the wider HR Strategy and Policy Team (which is 1.5 FTE in total) within HM Land Registry .
Communities and Local Government, how many people are living in emergency accommodation in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
South Holland District council had 21 households in temporary accommodation as of 30 June 2024. The most recent temporary accommodation numbers by local authority are available at Tab TA1 Detailed_LA_202406_fix.xlsx.
Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to help ensure that district councils receive business rates from (a) all energy infrastructure and (b) sub stations located within their boundaries.
District councils collect and retain a share of Business Rates in their local area where properties are in the local list. Where a property is found to cross local authority boundaries, the Valuation Office Agency follow legislation which stipulates that the VOA assess which local authority is considered to contain the greatest amount of rateable value and allocate the business rates for the whole property to this authority.
Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been provided via the Disabled Facilities Grant in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in the last three years.
South Holland and the Deepings constituency is part of Lincolnshire. Government provided the following Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding to South Holland, South Kesteven (which covers Deeping) and to Lincolnshire for each financial year since 2022-2023. DFG Allocation 2022-20232023-20242024-2025South Holland£772,382£839,780£842,476South Kesteven£975,298£1,060,402£1,063,807Lincolnshire£6,976,485£7,585,253£7,609,604 This information is publicly available on the Foundations website: Disabled Facilities Grant Annual Allocations.
Communities and Local Government, when she plans to make an announcement on the status of applications to the Community Ownership Fund Round 4.
I refer the rt hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 11941 on 8 November 2024.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that elections are accessible to (a) blind and (b) partially sighted people.
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 10319 on 29 October 2024.
Communities and Local Government, what external bodies her Department consulted before calculating revised housing targets.
The government’s proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, including the proposed new standard method for assessing housing needs, were informed by engagement with a wide range of stakeholders from across local government, the planning profession, and the development industry.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of unoccupied shops in town centres in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
This Government is committed to supporting our high-street businesses. At Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it is retaining and reforming the Long-Term Plan for Towns, with Spalding being one of 75 towns to receive up to £20 million in extra support for local growth.High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA), a new power for English local authorities, introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA), will provide local authorities with a tool to tackle vacancy, promote minimum letting standards for commercial units and flexible rents.More generally, the English Devolution Bill will introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets which will help safeguard our high streets. More details will be announced in due course.
Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to block applications for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects which include solar photovoltaic panels on grade 1, 2 and 3a farmland.
The government’s ambition is to triple solar capacity by 2030. However, planning policy is clear that where development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be prioritised and there is no intention to reduce this protection.For planning decisions made through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime, there is a rigorous process designed to scrutinise larger projects and developers must work closely with local authorities and communities before approval is granted.In our recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, we proposed raising the thresholds for NSIP solar developments. The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.
Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of families living in temporary accommodation in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected.The Government is taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) will chair, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including:Delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.Abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.The £450 million third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund will support local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families and will also provide safe and suitable housing for those on the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (ACRS) who are fleeing persecution. Of this, South Holland will receive £817,861 and local authorities within Lincolnshire will receive £3,520,298.
Communities and Local Government, how much funding was provided through the Community Ownership Fund to projects in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each year since 2019.
The Community Ownership Fund was initially launched in 2021 under the previous government. Across its lifetime It has awarded around £100 million to over 300 projects across every region of the UK. Applications have been assessed by a fair and transparent framework that is publicly available on gov.uk.Projects must demonstrate their ability to run a sustainable business under community ownership and meet minimum scoring criteria to be considered for funding. Development support has been on offer to assist applicants. To date there have been no projects from South Holland and The Deepings who have met the threshold to be considered for funding.
Communities and Local Government, how much funding was provided through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to projects in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each year since 2019.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) was launched in 2022/23. Funding is allocated to lead local authorities; data is not collected at a constituency level. Details of full funding allocations for lead local authorities, including the hon. Member’s local authority area can be found at the following link. An annual breakdown of allocations can also be found in the spreadsheet here.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support first-time buyer households in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers in Lincolnshire and across the country mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership.In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the Government has committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme and to giving first-time buyers the first chance to buy homes.
Communities and Local Government, if she will make the Fens a designated area for food production in planning policy.
The Government place great importance upon our agriculture and food production, and this is reflected in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework is clear that local planning authorities should recognise the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, including that found in the Fens. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, the relevant planning authority should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.
Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of population growth on housing supply.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 2451 on 5 September 2024.
Communities and Local Government, if she will introduce new protections under the National Policy Planning Framework to protect historically significant landscapes.
The National Planning Policy Framework already includes safeguards for a range of sites and landscapes that may be of historic significance, including those areas designated as National Parks, the Broads, National Landscapes (formerly known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty), Heritage Coasts, registered battlefields, grade I and II* registered parks and gardens, World Heritage Sites and scheduled monuments. Our recent consultation on proposed reforms to the Framework retains these important protections.