The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the size is of the area of land available for the direct commissioning site for housing at Connaught Barracks.
Brandon Lewis
The planning process is ongoing for these sites. This will be completed in due course working closely with the local communities and local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the new town of Northstowe will be developed to schedule.
Brandon Lewis
We are committed to the first housing starts on the land owned by the Homes and Communities Agency at Northstowe by the end of 2018, following the necessary infrastructure and other preparatory works. We envisage around 400 homes being started by March 2020 and the cumulative total rising to around 3,000 by March 2025. The detail of the tenure mix will be confirmed following the conclusion of negotiations with the local authority but there will be a very strong focus on the delivery of starter homes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23605, whether he plans to publish the thresholds for council homes to be taken into account when calculating the levy on councils contained in Part 4 of the Housing and Planning Bill before the relevant part of that Bill is debated at Committee Stage in the House of Lords.
Brandon Lewis
The high value threshold will be informed by the data that local authorities have supplied regarding their council housing. This data is currently being validated. Further details will be available shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy that provisions to end lifetime tenancies in the Housing and Planning Bill will maintain the secure tenancies of tenants who choose to move to more suitable accommodation because of a disability.
Brandon Lewis
Where existing lifetime tenants transfer to another social home, local authorities will retain a discretion to offer the tenant a further lifetime tenancy. We will set out the circumstances in regulations, and will give serious consideration to whether these should include disabled tenants who need to move to more suitable accommodation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the publication of the Bonfield Review, due to be published in March 2016, has been delayed; and when he expects that review to be made available.
Margot James
The report of the Independent Review of Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for UK home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures is in the course of completion and will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement of 4 January 2016, The Government will directly build affordable homes, for what reasons the Homes and Communities Agency was ultimately unable to reach a commercially acceptable agreement for the development in Lower Grayling Well.
Brandon Lewis
The holding costs for the site relate to the entirety of the site and are consistent with the legal and health and safety obligations of the Homes and Communities Agency as land owner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many leases of what tenure are planned for the new homes to be built on the direct commissioning sites at (a) Northstowe, (b) Old Oak Common, (c) Daedelus Waterfront, (d) Connaught Barracks and (e) Lower Grayling Well.
Brandon Lewis
The holding costs for the site relate to the entirety of the site and are consistent with the legal and health and safety obligations of the Homes and Communities Agency as land owner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will place in the Library a copy of the loan agreement that was reached with UK Coal in relation to the closure of Thoresby Colliery.
Anna Soubry
The loan agreement is a private document between UK Coal Production Limited and other UK Coal companies and The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. It covers both UK Coal Thoresby Limited and also UK Coal Kellingley Limited, the latter of which is still trading.
The loan document is classified as Confidential Information and permission is required from UK Coal to release the loan document to third parties. We have sought permission from UK Coal and after due consideration the UK Coal board of directors have declined consent to release the loan document.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the statistics it produces on homelessness and rough sleeping comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics in relation to each of the requirements identified by the UK Statistics Authority in its report, Assessment of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics: Statistics on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping in England, published in December 2015.
Mr Marcus Jones
Departmental statisticians are currently using the report to help plan future developments in homelessness statistics.
In 2010, we overhauled the way local authorities count rough sleepers, to provide a more accurate assessment of the scale of the problem and reflect the reality on the streets.
Under the Labour Government, including when the rt hon Member was Housing Minister, the process did not actually require all local authorities to submit a return, meaning the number of rough sleepers was consistently under estimated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Higher Stamp Duty Land Tax rates announced in Budget 2016 will be levied on properties acquired by social landlords under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Mr David Gauke
The higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for additional properties was introduced to try to make it fairer for people trying to get their foot on the property ladder. Under SDLT legislation, there are exemptions to the tax, including the higher rates, for certain acquisitions by registered social landlords.