The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the cost of a retrospective planning application is covered by the (a) applicant and (b) local authority.
Gavin Barwell
The Department does not collect the data requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of helping to provide a legal address at which homeless people can register better to enable them to apply for jobs.
Mr Marcus Jones
One person without a home is one too many. That is why the Government has increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million, including a new £10 million fund to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, and a new £10 million Social Impact Bond to support rough sleepers with the most complex needs. This will build on the success of the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond in London, which aimed to turn around the lives of 830 entrenched rough sleepers. So far, over half have achieved positive outcomes, including employment outcomes.
Employment can be an important part of an individual’s recovery from a homelessness crisis, and homeless people can use addresses at hostels and day centres to make job applications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to change the proportion of the cost of retrospective planning applications currently paid by developers.
Gavin Barwell
A nationally set fee is payable where a retrospective planning application is submitted to regularise a breach of planning control, to support the council with the costs of determining the application. We are clear that unauthorised development is unacceptable and unfair to the majority who abide by the rules. However, the retrospective planning application process is there to give those who have made a genuine mistake the opportunity to rectify the situation. We have no plans to review the way fees are calculated for retrospective applications at this point.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to restrict the amount spent by local authorities on legal support and advice in special educational needs and disability tribunals.
Edward Timpson
It is up to local authorities to decide how best to spend their Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) budgets, based on an analysis of local need. The reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014 were designed to make the SEND system less adversarial for parents and young people, as well as for local authorities. The process of Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and plan development is designed to be collaborative, meaning that most disagreements should be resolved early on. Where disagreements persist, we have introduced a requirement to consider mediation, which has often proved effective in reducing the need to make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. For example, in 2015, 75% of disagreements over EHC plans for which mediation sessions were held did not result in a Tribunal appeal in that year.
The SEND Tribunal aims to be facilitative and accessible, so that it should not be necessary for either parents or local authorities to employ legal support when making or defending an appeal. No additional weight is given to evidence because it is presented by a lawyer and many parents and local authorities successfully pursue their case without legal representation.
The Department is currently conducting a Review of Disagreement Resolution Arrangements, as required by the 2014 Act, which will report to Parliament by 31st March 2017. The Review is looking at how the system of disagreement resolution is working for children, young people and their families, which includes enquiring about the costs incurred by both families and local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what powers he intends to devolve to city regions; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Percy
It is for a city region or any other place to put forward proposals for any powers that it wishes to be devolved to it, together with its proposals for the necessary strong governance arrangements to support these.
The Government has already agreed devolution deals with nine areas which provide for the devolution of wide ranging powers and budgets on planning, transport and skills and the election of mayors in 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to (a) reduce delays in minor planning applications and (b) increase the number of homes built by local building firms.
Gavin Barwell
In the Budget, the Government announced £3 billion of loans to house builders. The fund will consist of £2 billion in long term loans and £1 billion in short term loans. The long term element is focused on delivering infrastructure to support a strong future pipeline of housing supply, and will help unlock 160,000 – 200,000 homes. The short term element aims to diversify and support innovation in the house building industry by supporting small and medium builders, custom builders, and the use of innovative methods of construction.
In July, the Government launched the £100 million Housing Growth Fund, a partnership between the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Lloyds Banking Group to help smaller builders access the finance they need to build more homes and grow their businesses. The Fund is a £100 million vehicle capitalised by Lloyds and the HCA and is supporting the growth of SME house builders and expansion in the UK housing stock. The Government has also created the British Business Bank which has facilitated £782 million of new lending and investment in 2013/14 and aims to unlock up to £10 billion of financing for smaller business over the next 5 years.
Small builders will soon be able to apply to their local planning authority for ‘permission in principle’ which will enable them to gain more upfront certainty on the suitability of small sites for housing-led development, before they need to develop detailed and often costly development proposals. This will reduce the risk for small local builders to enter the market.
Through the Neighbourhood Planning Bill introduced on 7 September, the Government proposes to reform and speed up the planning process by minimising delays caused by unnecessary or overly burdensome planning conditions. The Bill measures will ensure that pre-commencement planning conditions are only used by local planning authorities where they are absolutely necessary, and that applicants are in agreement before they are imposed.
The Government took powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to enable us to extend to non-major planning applications the successful performance regime for major applications, which has seen the proportion of major applications determined on time rising from 57% in July to September 2012, the quarter in which the performance regime was first announced, to 82% in the most recent quarter, the highest figure on record.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage local authorities to consider minor and major planning applications with equal priority.
Gavin Barwell
Every planning application should be determined in a timely and efficient manner, irrespective of the scale of the proposed development. We took powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to enable us to extend to non-major planning applications the successful performance regime for major applications that has been running, which has seen the proportion of major applications determined on time rising from 57 per cent in July to September 2012, the quarter in which the performance regime was first announced, to 82 per cent in the most recent quarter. We have also announced our intention to tighten the Planning Guarantee for minor applications, with the applicant being eligible for a refund of their fee after 13 weeks instead of the current 26 weeks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to require local authorities to prioritise homeless people in the allocation of social housing.
Mr Marcus Jones
We have maintained the protection provided by the statutory reasonable preference criteria which ensure that overall priority for allocation of social housing continues to be given to those in the greatest housing need. The reasonable preference categories include people who are homeless and those owed certain duties under the homelessness legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making compulsory the accessibility standards outlined in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Gavin Barwell
National planning policy is clear that in developing their local plans, planning authorities should consider the needs of a wide range of households, including older and disabled households.
The role of higher accessibility standards for new housing was considered during the Housing Standards Review undertaken by the Coalition Government. As a result, Optional Requirements for higher levels of accessibility were introduced into the Building Regulations and came into force on 1 October 2015. It was decided at that time that the application of these standards should remain a matter for Local Planning Authorities taking into account local needs and viability.
Details of relevant consultations and impact assessments can be found at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-building-regulation/2010-to-2015-government-policy-building-regulation#appendix-5-technical-housing-standards-review
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps her Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.
Matt Hancock
The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including DCMS, and a wide range of other interested parties.