Tag: Department for Levelling Up

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 24 November 2022.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) will not receive its expected £1m funding from the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP 2021-26) or receive any new AHP contracts for new homes, until the Regulator of Social Housing has concluded its investigation and it can prove it is a responsible landlord. The Government will also continue to monitor housing standards of RBH tenancies closely, working with the Regulator and Ombudsman, to ensure that tenants have appropriate housing.

As part of a wider crackdown on poor standards, the Housing Secretary will also block any housing provider that breaches the Regulator’s consumer standards from new AHP funding until they make improvements. Michael Gove will also consider stripping providers of existing AHP funding, unless construction has already started on site.

The move comes after Michael Gove wrote to all councils and housing associations this weekend, saying they must raise the bar dramatically on standards and demanding urgent action where people complain about damp and mould.

Holding failing landlords to account for poor safety and quality is not just an issue in social housing.

That is why the Government has today awarded a share of £14m for seven areas with high numbers of poor privately rented homes to crack down on rogue landlords and test new approaches to driving up standards. Projects include:

• £2.3m for Greater Manchester – including Rochdale and surrounding councils – to increase the use of fines where a landlord is found to have committed an offence
• £678k for Leeds to use behavioural science to change culture among landlords, improving knowledge and skills
• £1.14m for Cornwall to create a database of private rented accommodation in the area and record standards to target better enforcement action.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said:

RBH failed its tenants so it will not receive a penny of additional taxpayers’ money for new housing until it gets its act together and does right by tenants.

Let this be a warning to other housing providers who are ignoring complaints and failing in their obligations to tenants. We will not hesitate to act.

Everyone deserves the right to live in safe, decent home and this Government will always act to protect tenants.

The Regulator of Social Housing has demanded evidence from all housing association and local authority landlords this week, showing they are identifying and dealing with damp and mould issues in their homes. The Regulator will take action where standards are not being met.

The Social Housing Regulation Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, will also ensure tenants’ complaints are listened to and dealt with quickly and fairly, with new powers for the Housing Ombudsman to take action on complaints.

A stronger Regulator will have powers to enter properties with only 48 hours’ notice and make emergency repairs where there is a serious risk to tenants and the landlord has failed to act, with landlords footing the bill.

To make sure tenants know their rights and can hold housing providers to account, the Government is also launching a £1 million public information campaign early next year.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 22 November 2022.

Proposals for how developers would pay to fix unsafe buildings have been set out today by the government as it moves a step closer to imposing its new Building Safety Levy.

The government has now begun consulting developers and other interested parties on the plans, which will see an estimated £3 billion collected over the next 10 years.

Under the proposals drawn by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, developers of residential buildings, regardless of their height, will have to pay the levy contribution as part of the building control process.

This will mean that unless the levy is paid, a developer could not move on to the next stage of the building process, which could lead to project delays and impact future revenues.

Minister for Local Government and Building Safety Lee Rowley said:

We have been clear that developers must pay to fix building safety issues and the Building Safety Levy is an important part of making that a reality.

Today’s consultation will give industry and local authorities an opportunity to work with us going forward.

By having these plans in place, we can ensure that all leaseholders are protected, regardless of whether their developer has pledged to remediate or not.

The government’s proposals include an option to alter levy rates depending on where in the country the building is, with lower rates in areas where land and house prices are less expensive. It also suggests that local authorities will be best placed to act as the collection agents as they have the necessary systems, data, knowledge, and relationships in place with the developer sector.

In order to protect the supply of affordable homes, it is proposed they be exempt from a levy charge. This is alongside a number of community buildings, including NHS facilities, children’s homes and refuges, including those for victims of domestic abuse.

The levy will be reviewed regularly so that it can be adjusted to take account of changing circumstances, such as wider economic conditions. There are also plans to protect small and medium sized enterprises by excluding smaller projects.

The Building Safety Levy will run alongside the developer pledges which were announced earlier this year. Under the pledges, 49 of the UK’s biggest homebuilders have committed to fix life-critical fire-safety defects in buildings over 11 metres where they had a role in developing those buildings in the last 30 years. This amounts to a commitment of at least £2 billion.

The Building Safety Levy was first announced in February 2021 and plans to extend it to cover all residential buildings were confirmed in April 2022. The Building Safety Levy is one of the ways we will ensure that the burden of paying for fixing historic building safety defects does not fall on leaseholders or taxpayers.

The consultation seeks views on the delivery of the Levy, including how it will work, what the rates will be, who must pay, what sanctions and enforcement will apply, and who is responsible for collecting the levy.

The consultation will be open for ten working weeks from today (22 November) and seeks the views of all interested parties, especially developers of all sizes, building control professionals and local authorities. Their views will be taken into account before any final decisions are made next year.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 19 November 2022.

Thousands of new homes will be built on derelict land to create thriving communities and help level up the country, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced today (19 November 2022).

Almost £35 million from the £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 has been allocated to 41 councils to help kickstart regeneration in towns and cities.

The funding will bring unloved, council-owned land back into use, by transforming redundant industrial sites, disused car parks and derelict buildings into new places for people to live.

A total of 59 regeneration projects from Exeter to Sunderland will see over 2,200 homes – including over 800 affordable homes – built for local communities. This will help more young people and families onto the housing ladder and generate up to 7000 new jobs in housing and construction.

The new fund, announced today, forms part of the government’s plan to level up the country – ensuring local areas can achieve their full potential, while also protecting the country’s green spaces.

Local areas were invited to bid for a share of the first round of funding from the new scheme. The remaining £140 million is to be allocated over the next two years – creating up to 17,600 new homes in total across the country, as well as support up to 54,000 jobs in the sector.

This scheme builds on the success of the first Brownfield Land Release Fund, which saw £77 million help councils release over 160 brownfield sites for around 7,750 new homes across the country.

Today’s allocations will now support the transformation of more previously developed, council-owned sites, by funding infrastructure and remediation work to release the land for new homes. Examples include:

• Lancaster – one of two successful projects will see over £1.6 million will transform the city centre with 140 new homes, including new affordable homes, cultural venues, and facilities to the Canal Quarter regeneration area.
• Hull – £175,000 will release land to deliver 10 new affordable homes for the local community, as part of the city’s regeneration drive.
• Mid-Devon – a total of £280,000 will release land for two modular, affordable housing sites in Tiverton and Cullompton to build 14 quality, low-carbon homes for the community.
• Great Yarmouth – £219,155 for one of two successful projects will boost the city centre by helping to transform old industrial buildings into 32 high-quality affordable homes, turning the area into a vibrant place for people to live.

Increasing housing supply is central to the levelling up agenda and supports the government’s ongoing target to deliver 300,000 new homes a year. Just before the pandemic in 2019/20 over 242,000 homes were delivered – the highest number for over 30 years.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 18 November 2022.

Delivering much-needed housing, boosting local infrastructure and strengthening environmental protections are at the heart of government levelling up plans tabled in parliament.

Key amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill put forward this week, will put power in the hands of local people to bring forward development they want to see and clamp down on slow build out by developers.

The new measures will follow the Government’s BIDEN principles:

• making sure new development is Beautiful
• supported by the right Infrastructure
• a more Democratic system where communities have their say
• enhances the Environment
• and creating better Neighbourhoods shaped by the people who live in them

This will help to regenerate communities and deliver on the levelling up missions set out in the White Paper earlier this year.

Minister of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer MP said:

Levelling Up means creating vibrant and beautiful communities where local people and businesses can thrive. The measures we are setting out today will put protecting the environment at the heart of our plans, while bringing forward much needed new homes across the country.

We will make sure that new development is surrounded by the right infrastructure and that local people are given an opportunity to shape their neighbourhood.

Amendments being tabled will:

• Tackle slow build out by developers to make sure much needed new homes are delivered. Developers will have to report annually to councils on their progress and councils will have new powers to block planning proposals from builders who have failed to deliver on the same land.
• Improve our environment and enshrine in law an obligation on water companies to clean up our rivers by upgrading wastewater treatment works. Considering all catchments covered by the amendment, our initial estimates indicate that there will be around a 75% reduction in phosphorus loads and around a 55% reduction in nitrogen loads in total from wastewater treatment works, although this will vary between individual catchments. These upgrades will enable housebuilding to be unlocked by reducing the amount of mitigation developers must provide to offset nutrient pollution. This will be accompanied by a Nutrient Mitigation Scheme that will make it easier for developers to discharge their mitigation obligations.
• Give residents a new tool to propose additional development on their street, like extensions to existing homes, through ‘street votes’. Planning permission will only be granted when an independent examiner is satisfied that certain requirements, such as on design, have been met and the proposal is endorsed at a referendum by the immediate community. Pilot Community Land Auctions – testing a new way of capturing value from land when it is allocated for development in the local plan to provide vital infrastructure, including schools, roads, GP surgeries, and the affordable housing that communities need.
• Enhancing powers for mayors to support them to managing their key route networks and increase transport connectivity across their area.
• Help Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects such as wind farms and new major transport links be delivered more quickly, by enabling a small number of public bodies to charge for their statutory services to help them provide a better, reliable, quality of advice to developers and support faster planning decisions.

Water Minister Rebecca Pow said:

These measures will help us to deliver the homes that this country needs, whilst protecting our precious environment.

It is vital that some of our most important wildlife sites are protected against nutrient pollution and water companies will need to step up and play their part to clean up our rivers. These new environmental requirements will ensure this happens.

Today’s announcement builds on measures already announced in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which will see the biggest shift of power from Whitehall in modern times to make sure local leaders have the tools they need to harness the full potential of their area.

The Bill will deliver the right homes in the right places in keeping with local styles, tackle the scourge of boarded up shops on high streets and make it easier for councils to regenerate disused land to create thriving communities.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 14 November 2022.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 12 November 2022.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 11 November 2022.

The UK government has hosted the 38th British-Irish Council Summit in Blackpool where the discussions included topics such as the war in Ukraine, the rising cost of living and sustainable economic growth.

Building upon the Prime Minister’s calls to the First Ministers on his first day in office, and demonstrating the importance of pragmatic and constructive working, the Prime Minister travelled to Blackpool on Thursday to open the summit and welcome delegates – the first Prime Minister in 15 years to attend.

Established in 1999, the British-Irish Council was created two decades ago by the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement to promote positive, practical relationships among the people of the islands and to provide a forum for co-operation.

Membership includes the UK and Irish government, devolved administrations and crown dependencies. There were no devolved leaders in attendance from Northern Ireland due to the current suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Summit was chaired by the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP. He said:

This British-Irish Council has given us an opportunity to discuss the challenge all parts of these islands face with the rising cost of living and how we can do more to support the most vulnerable in our communities.

The Prime Minister’s attendance and constructive conversations with the First Ministers is a clear signal of our renewed ambition to work more closely together, with an absolute focus on tackling the most pressing issues across the UK.

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement next year, which established the British-Irish Council, everyone in attendance agreed that restoring devolved government in Northern Ireland is an absolute priority over the coming months.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on 11 November 2022.

A significant regeneration project that will deliver new leisure facilities, create jobs, boost tourism, and help level up Blackpool has been announced by Michael Gove today in his first major intervention since being reappointed as Secretary of State for Levelling Up.

The ambitious Blackpool Central project had stalled because there was no funding to move the Magistrates and County Courts currently situated within the proposed site, and this risked scuppering the entire £300 million private sector-led regeneration scheme.

But the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has today committed £40 million to relocate the courts to a new state-of-the-art complex in the Blackpool town centre, with the specific location to be announced in due course.

This will enable the Blackpool Central regeneration scheme to go ahead as planned, creating an estimated 1,000 jobs. It will also attract 600,000 more visitors to the seaside town each year in a massive boost to the local economy.

This is the latest intervention by government, which has been working with partners, including the local authority, to help turn the tide on deprivation in Blackpool and provide greater opportunities for people who live in the town. Previous work includes cracking down on rogue landlords, finding new opportunities for regeneration, and delivering new homes and jobs for the community.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said:

Blackpool is a town full of life, energy, and immense potential but for too long it has been overlooked and its communities undervalued. Our £40 million Levelling Up investment will revitalise this great town by delivering much-needed homes, more jobs and new opportunities for local people.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, said:

The new Magistrates’ and County Court will be modern, efficient, and help deliver effective justice for local residents. It will be fitted with the latest courtroom technology to ensure that we can continue delivering justice in the North West and provide victims with a better experience.

This wider investment will provide a real boost to the town and its economy, kickstarting the regeneration that local people have long been waiting for.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said:

We are delighted by the support to enable our exciting scheme to go ahead. This is a real example of joined-up Government at its very best with the objectives of the government, Ministry of Justice, Department for Levelling Up, Blackpool Council and the developer Nikal all being met as a result of this welcome action by the Secretary of State.

The funding will enable this huge development in the heart of Blackpool to bring jobs, investment and visitors to our town. When finished, the scheme will be an amazing future-proofed attraction for all to enjoy for many years to come.

Blackpool Central will be the largest single investment in Blackpool for over a century. It will see the area transformed into a year-round leisure destination, home to new entertainment centres, hotels, restaurants and a new public square and Heritage Quarter.

This announcement comes as the UK government is set to host the 38th British-Irish Council Summit in Blackpool today, inviting representatives from the Irish Government, devolved administrations and crown dependencies to discuss matters of shared importance.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 31 October 2022.

99% of eligible households have received £150 council tax rebate
The government is extending the deadline for councils to ensure as many eligible households as possible receive the payment
Council tax rebate forms part of £37 billion package rolled out across the year to help people with cost of living
Over 99% of eligible households have received the government’s £150 core council tax rebate to help with the cost of living.

Figures published today show more than 19 million households in England were handed payments by the end of September with many councils reporting that 100% of eligible households in their area have now received their payment.

Today’s figures show a total of £2.87 billion of the core council tax rebate has gone to households under the scheme, an increase of £217 million from the previous month.

To ensure as many eligible households as possible receive the payment, the government is today extending the deadline for claims, helping councils support the most hard to reach households such as those that moved and did not provide any payment information.

Eligible households have until 30 November to claim the £150 payment, which does not have to be paid back. Anyone who is yet to receive their rebate is urged to check their local council for more information and make a claim.

Councils are being urged to do everything they can to encourage the remaining households to claim their rebate and ensure as many eligible households as possible get the money that they are owed.

Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison said:

Thanks to the tireless work of councils, more than 99% of eligible households up and down the country have received their council tax rebate.

We are now extending the deadline to claim the £150 payment to ensure as many eligible households as possible receive this payment – I urge everyone to check their eligibility and contact their local council if they have not already.

The rebate is part of £37 billion of government support being targeted at those most in need to help with the cost of living. This includes at least £1,200 of extra support for millions of the most vulnerable households this year, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400 towards their bills.

The rebate is available to most households living in council tax bands A to D on 1 April. This includes those who receive Local Council Tax Support, even if their council tax bill for the year is less than £150.

Since announcing the rebate in April, the government has provided £28 million for councils to set up software and recruit staff and will top this up as necessary to cover all reasonable delivery costs. Councils have been given a host of options to make payments quickly and securely including bank account transfers, council tax account credits or a voucher-based system.

Local authorities must also make arrangements for those who cannot access the internet.

The press release issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 9 October 2022.

• First step in legal action taken against freeholder failing to fix building safety defects
• Owners of Vista Tower told to start remedial works or be forced to by the courts
• Act marks next step in using new powers to ensure action on building safety

The Department for Levelling up has taken the first step in legal action against Grey GR, an organisation ultimately owned by RailPen, protecting residents and ensuring proper building safety.

Grey GR Limited Partnership, the freeholder of Vista Tower, a fifteen-storey tower block in Stevenage, has been given 21 days to commit to remediating the tower’s fire safety defects or an application will be made to the courts.

This action follows two years of delays for more than 100 residents living in the tower and reaffirms the government’s commitment to making sure building owners, landlords and developers meet their legal obligations and protect tenants in their own homes.

The freeholder is one of the first to face action by the newly created Recovery Strategy Unit, set up to identify and pursue firms who repeatedly refuse to fix buildings, working closely with other enforcement authorities.

Levelling Up Secretary of State, Simon Clarke said:

“The lives of over 100 people living in Vista Tower have been put on hold for over two years whilst they wait for Grey GR to remediate unsafe cladding.  Enough is enough.

“This legal action should act as a warning to the rest of industry’s outliers – big and small. Step up, follow your peers and make safe the buildings you own or legal action will be taken against you.”

Sophie Bichener, leaseholder in Vista Tower said:

“We thank the Government for helping us, and leaseholders across the country – Vista Tower residents simply want to live in safe and secure homes.

“This action is a step in the right direction for the innocent leaseholders still desperately pleading with their building owners to take responsibility.

“Now the leaseholder protections are in force – it should serve as a warning to those entities still playing games and doing all they can to dodge their legal obligations.”

Leaseholders of Vista Tower have been handed bills and unable to sell, despite unsafe cladding being identified on the building over two years ago.

Whilst the building registered with the Building Safety Fund in 2020, the funding agreement is yet to be signed, meaning the government cannot release any money.

There are at least 23 other buildings registered with the Building Safety Fund that have been unable to progress due to unnecessary delays. The department is examining these cases closely and considering next steps.

The Secretary of State will also consider issuing an application for a Remediation Contribution Order against other entities associated with Grey GR including Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited (RailPen) and Railtrust Holdings Limited (Railtrust), requiring them to financially contribute to the remediation costs.

Leaseholders are now able to apply for a remedial order and are encouraged to do so if the owner of their building is failing in their responsibilities. More guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-sure-remediation-work-is-done#how-does-this-affect-me-the-leaseholder