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Housing: Construction
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2013, Official Report, column 189W, on housing: construction, what his latest estimate is of the number of residential units under construction or progressing towards a start; and what assessment he has made of the recent Local Government Association report on that topic. [169958]
Nick Boles: The information is as follows.
In my answer of 9 July 2013, Official Report, column 189W, I noted that there were claims being made by politicians that there were 400,000 homes with planning permission which were not being built because of “land banking”. I explained how these claims were inaccurate and misleading, and not actually backed up by the evidence.
The original 400,000 figure stems from a report commissioned by the Local Government Association undertaken by Glenigan on units with “unimplemented” planning permissions using data sourced in December 2011. Yet, of that 400,000 top-line figure cited in the press release, 191,000 was private housing already under construction. A further 83,000 units were unimplemented provisions for social housing (and therefore, in no sense private sector developers “hoarding land”). The underlying report also noted that the amount of unimplemented
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schemes had fallen by a third from 2008 to 2011, and the number of private, unstarted units had fallen from 206,000 in March 2008 to 127,000 in December 2011.
The Local Government Association published a further press release on 22 August, repeating that canard, citing Glenigan but declining to publish any detailed evidence base. In the spirit of helpfulness, given my Department also subscribes to Glenigan's commercial data, I have asked my officials to undertake some more detailed analysis.
I can inform the House that, as of October 2013, there were an estimated 507,000 units with planning permission. Of these:
249,800 (49%) had started on site.
257,200 (51%) had yet to start.
Of the 257,200 units yet to start:
184,600 (72%) were progressing towards a start.
13,500 (5%) were being sold or information was not available.
Just 59,100 (23%) were classed as on hold or shelved.
The LGA's 400,000 figure excludes some types of residential development (e.g. elderly people's homes, student accommodation, hostels, mixed use development), and does not include planning permissions older than three years. This explains the methodological difference with the 500,000 figure. My figures above are the most comprehensive and recent in the public domain.
This table shows our progress towards getting unstarted units moving:
| Unstarted units | Percentage of units on hold | Percentage of units progressing towards start |
A pipeline of planning permissions is vital to feed through to higher starts and completions. This involves house builders having a suitable selection of sites at various stages, including some which have not yet been developed. Indeed, our national planning policy actively requires councils to identify a five-year land supply.
In my previous answer I cited research from the Office of Fair Trading which stated:
“We have not found any evidence to support the view that, at the national level, homebuilders are hoarding a large amount of land with implementable planning permission on which they have not started construction.” (OFT, ‘Homebuilding in the UK; A market study’, September 2008, para 5.89)
Such claims were also dismissed in Kate Barker's report in 2004.
In August, market reports from Savills noted:
“The demand for land is increasing as developers are working through their land banks more quickly than at any time since 2007-08. . . Some commentators have claimed development land is being hoarded unnecessarily as landowners wait for values to increase. Our analysis of the permissioned landbanks of the top eight listed housebuilders would suggest otherwise.”
“Help to Buy will aid the rate of delivery of land in marginal locations. An emerging build to rent sector offers the opportunity to increase delivery while creating a reliable income stream” (Savills, ‘Market in Minutes: UK Residential Development Land’, August 2013)
This Government have introduced a wide-ranging package to support stalled house building. These include making £570 million available through the Get Britain Building investment fund aiming to unlock new homes on stalled sites, and a £474 million investment fund in local infrastructure for stalled locally-supported, large- scale housing sites and commercial development. Our investments to date are helping to bring forward new homes, boosting the construction industry and stimulating economic growth.
The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 enables developers with any Section 106 agreement, irrespective of the date of signature, to apply for a review of the affordable housing component to ensure development is not being made unviable by unrealistic requirements. Such unrealistic Section 106 agreements result in no
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development, no regeneration and no community benefits; a sensible review can result in more housing and more affordable housing.
Since September 2013, we have let lapse the temporary measure (introduced by the last Administration) which allowed developers to roll forward their planning permissions; this ending of the measure will increase the incentive for developers to start on site before permission expires. We are also now seeking to tackle the inappropriate use of planning conditions and speed up the process of gaining non-planning consents.
In addition, we have a comprehensive programme to sell surplus and redundant public sector land and property, freeing up taxpayers' money and providing land for new homes.
The assertion of widespread “land banking” by certain politicians is not backed up by the evidence. Indeed, the policy solutions recently advocated by HM Opposition may actually have an adverse effect in reducing house building. If developers fear new development taxes or state confiscation of land, they will be less willing to undertake complex land assembly projects; they will let their existing planning permissions lapse; or they will simply be more cautious in applying for planning permission in the first place. The result would be a slower planning system and fewer homes.
The housing crash under the Labour Government certainly led to an increase in unimplemented planning permissions, as house builders unsurprisingly stopped building due to lack of finance, reduced demand and due to a decreased tolerance for risk. But under this Government, the housing market has turned the corner, and our housing support schemes and action to tackle stalled sites are helping getting Britain building once again.
Local Government: ICT
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has issued to local authorities on the “End User Devices Security Guidance: Enterprise Considerations”, published by CESG. [174282]
Brandon Lewis: My Department has not issued any guidance on the guidance.
The Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), a branch of GCHQ, has published security guidelines for public sector organisations on how best to configure devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets and maintain information security.
Mortgages: North West
Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to promote the Help to Buy scheme in the North West. [173650]
Kris Hopkins:
The Help to Buy: equity loan scheme has got off to a great start with over 15,000 reservations by the end of September, a good proportion of which have been in the North of England. It is for individual
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house builders to promote their developments locally, but we are supporting them with a series of national campaigns to raise awareness of both the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme and the mortgage guarantee scheme launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October.
Public Buildings: Disability
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the total cost of ensuring that all public buildings have changing facilities for disabled adults. [172217]
Mrs Grant: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Government Equalities Office.
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold any information about the current level of provision of such facilities nor has it made any assessment of the cost of providing these.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the availability of public changing facilities for disabled adults in (a) Sunderland, (b) the North East and (c)England. [172218]
Mrs Grant: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Government Equalities Office.
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold any information about the current level of provision of such facilities.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the provision of changing facilities for disabled adults in (a) public buildings and (b) other premises open to the public. [172219]
Mrs Grant: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Government Equalities Office.
In providing changing facilities for disabled adults in public buildings and other areas open to the public, those providing a service or carrying out a public function are required to act in accordance with the disability discrimination provisions in the Equality Act 2010, and in particular the duty to make reasonable adjustments in Section 20 of that Act.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer parliamentary question 169282, tabled on 11 September 2013. [173992]
Brandon Lewis: Parliamentary question 169282 was answered on 1 November 2013, Official Report, columns 621-22W.
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Business, Innovation and Skills
Alcoholic Drinks: Prices
Mr Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what involvement Mr David Frost has had with alcohol pricing policy in the last 12 months. [174359]
Jo Swinson: Home Office Ministers have the lead responsibility on Minimum Unit Pricing and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has been only peripherally involved. Mr Frost had some very limited involvement in official-level discussions between Departments in autumn 2012 about the policy from an EU and trade policy perspective.
Construction: Complaints
Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many builders were prosecuted after being reported to their trade association in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years; [174493]
(2) how many builders faced no further action after being reported to their trade association in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years; [174543]
(3) how many builders were required to pay compensation or received an equivalent punishment after being reported to their trade association in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years; [174544]
(4) what estimate his Department has made of the number of rogue builders and building companies operating in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK; [174545]
(5) how many builders in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK were reported to their trade association in each of the last five years. [174551]
Jo Swinson: Local authorities are responsible for delivering and monitoring local trading standards activity, including the number of prosecutions. The information requested is not collected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) co-ordinates and funds the delivery of the Scambuster Teams in England, which provide enforcement protection across local authority boundaries.
In addition, BIS has set up the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP) for the Government-funded consumer bodies to take a joint approach to identify areas where there is greatest threat to consumers. On 4 November they published a priorities report which used consumer complaint data to identify areas where consumers faced the most harm (mobile phone and mobile technology contracts, used cars, home improvement, scams and doorstep crime). A working group will now identify the best approach to tackling those rogue traders in the building sector. The report can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consumer-protection-partnership-priorities-2013-to-2014
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Alongside this, consumers can rely on code schemes in order to find a trader they can trust. The TrustMark scheme operates under BIS's licence and aims to marginalise unscrupulous traders and provide confidence to consumers in their selection of firms by identifying those firms that have been independently assessed for both trade competence and good trading practice. Although my Department does not hold information on a geographic basis, TrustMark (2005) Ltd has estimated that nationally its members carry out 2 million jobs per annum and complaints run to a little under one in 10,000 jobs undertaken. TrustMark (2005) Ltd operates a complaints procedure with most disputes being resolved between the contractor and the consumer without requirement of any further escalation.
Since April 2012 all consumers who are in a dispute with their builder have been able to call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06 or contact them online at
www.adviceguide.org.uk
Although it cannot intervene, it can give advice and refer matters to trading standards, which can take action on local matters.
Education: Prisons
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) which organisations provide education services in each prison in England and Wales; [174361]
(2) when contracts were signed with each of the providers delivering education services in prisons in England and Wales; [174362]
(3) when the contracts with each of the providers delivering education services in prisons in England and Wales come to an end; [174363]
(4) how much was spent on each contract to deliver education services in prisons in England and Wales in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; [174364]
(5) how much is budgeted to be spent on each of the contracts to deliver education services in prisons in England and Wales in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15. [174365]
Matthew Hancock: I am replying as Minister responsible for prison education in England.
I have asked the interim chief executive of Skills Funding to write to the right hon. Gentlemen with details of prison education contractors, contracts and spend in England, and I will place a copy of that letter in the Libraries of the House.
In Wales, education in the public sector prisons is delivered through funding from the Welsh Government.
Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what the budget allocation for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI) was in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13; how much was spent by EASI in each of these years; and what the planned budget allocation is for 2013-14 and any future years for which an amount has been planned; [174283]
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(2) what the budget allocation for the enforcement of the national minimum wage by HMRC was in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13; how much was spent on this work in each of these years; what the planned budget allocation is for the enforcement of the national minimum wage by HMRC for 2013-14 and any future years for which an amount has been planned; and whether any budget allocation previously made to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has been transferred to HMRC. [174284]
Jo Swinson: The information sought by the hon. Gentleman is being researched and will be placed in the Libraries of the House as soon as possible.
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate were (a) seconded to the National Minimum Wage Compliance section at HMRC in November 2013 and (b) in his Department by (i) total number, (ii) full-time equivalent and (iii) grade; and how many such staff are front-line staff who meet employers. [174285]
Jo Swinson: On 4 November 2013, nine staff transferred on loan from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to HM Revenue and Custom's National Minimum Wage Compliance team.
Two full-time front-line inspectors, one Higher Executive Officer and one Executive Officer, remain in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to enforce the recruitment sector legislation. They are supported by one Administrative Officer.
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff were employed by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in (a) May 2010, (b) October 2012 and (c) October 2013. [174286]
Jo Swinson: The number of staff employed by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) was as follows:
May 2010—29 staff
October 2012—12 staff
October 2013—11 staff
The following shows activity undertaken by EAS between 2010 and 2013:
| Investigations | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
During this time EAS adopted a more risk-based approach to assessing and handling the complaints and this resulted in more targeted enforcement.
Pesticides: Exports
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any pesticides banned for use in the UK are manufactured in the UK and exported. [173957]
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Mike Penning: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
In 2012, 16 pesticides that are banned or severely restricted for use in the UK were notified to HSE for export from the UK under European Regulation (EC) 689/2008 on the Export and Import of Dangerous Substances. These included five exported solely for industrial rather than pesticidal use in the importing country. In addition to export notification many of them needed the explicit consent of the importing country before the export could proceed.
These chemicals may either have been manufactured in the UK or imported and then exported to countries outside the European Union. We do not hold information on which were manufactured in the UK.
Post Offices
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many expressions of interest there have been in taking on the franchise of Rhyl Crown Post Office; [168509]
(2) what definition his Department adopted of expression of interest in reference to taking on the franchise of Crown post offices; [168510]
(3) what the (a) names and (b) constituencies are of Crown post offices which are planned to be closed or relocated; [168522]
(4) when the criteria for Crown post offices to be closed were (a) finalised and (b) circulated; [168523]
(5) if he will place in the Library a copy of the criteria for the closure and relocation of Crown post offices. [168455]
Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd is responsible for commercial and operational matters concerning the Post Office network, which includes the information requested. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive, to respond directly to the hon. Gentleman and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Regional Growth Fund
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what future targets he has set for the total amount of investment made in England under the Regional Growth Fund. [174550]
Michael Fallon: To date £2.6 billion has been awarded to over 400 projects and programmes in rounds 1 to 4 of the regional growth fund (RGF). These schemes have committed to delivering £14.7 billion of private sector investment over their lifetimes. The combined total of RGF plus private sector investment is £17.3 billion between 2011 and the mid-2020s.
In addition a further £600 million will be made available in rounds 5 and 6 of the RGF and in making this money available to bidders we expect levels of private sector investment in line with previous rounds.
Royal Mail
Mr Umunna:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he expects a decision on whether to pay the discretionary element
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of fees to underwriters in relation to the sale of Royal Mail; and what targets, milestones and deadlines have been set for this to take place. [174546]
Michael Fallon: The Department will make a decision on the discretionary element of the underwriters' fees shortly.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which factors he has considered as part of the Government's decision on the discretionary element of the fees to underwriters in relation to the sale of Royal Mail; and what framework or guidance applies to this decision. [174547]
Michael Fallon: The decision on the discretionary element of the underwriters' fees will take into consideration a number of factors set out in the agreement with the underwriters. These include the relevant underwriters' contribution to the efficient preparation of the IPO and its overall success. We will also look at their success in generating demand for the IPO alongside the quality and success of roadshow meetings and resulting investor feedback. In addition, we will consider the final price achieved and the aftermarket performance of the shares.
Students: Barrow in Furness
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many entrants to higher education who are resident in Barrow and Furness constituency were in receipt of maintenance loans in each year since the coming into effect of the Higher Education Act 2004. [174556]
Mr Willetts: Statistics on student support awards and payments are published annually by the Student Loans Company in the Statistical First Release “Student support for Higher Education in England”. The latest figures available refer to the 2012/13 academic year for student support awards and 2011/12 for actual payments, and are available at the following link:
http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics/national-statistics/newnationalstatistics1.aspx
Statistics covering student support awards in the 2013/14 academic year and payments in 2012/13 will be published on 28 November 2013.
Figures at parliamentary constituency level are not published in this Statistical First Release. For the table, the parliamentary constituency of the student has been derived by the Student Loans Company using the postcode of the student's residence at the time of their application for support, where this postcode is reported. The figures for Barrow-and-Furness reflect all students rather than entrants as the system for recording payments data, unlike the system used for applications, does not distinguish between new and continuing students.
| Number of full-time students to higher education who were paid maintenance loans in Barrow-and-Furness parliamentary constituency1, academic years: 2006/07 to 2011/122, English domiciled | |
| Academic year | Number of students3 |
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| 1 Based on the student's address at the time of the application. 2The data position as at 31 August 2012. 3 All students either new or continuing. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Student Loans Company (SLC). | |
UK Membership of EU
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of a decision for the UK to leave the EU for UK trade with (a) China, (b) the US and (c) Canada; and if he will make a statement. [174270]
Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds), on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 709W. The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Women and Equalities
Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund
Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2013, Official Report, column 552W, on Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund (1) how many people have applied to that fund to date; how many such applications have been successful; and how many recipients of grants have stood for office for each political party [174271]
(2) what assessment she has made of the effects of grant payments being processed in arrears on the ability of potential candidates to stand for office. [174272]
Mrs Grant: The Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund helps disabled people with any additional disability-related cost they incur as a result of either participating in a selection process or standing for election, including standing as an independent candidate.
To date, 53 people have applied to the fund, of which 21 applications have been fully approved. A further 14 applications have been approved in principle by the fund administrator, subject to receipt of supporting evidence and documentation. The remaining 18 applications are pending a decision.
Nine applications have been from candidates representing the Conservative party, 21 from the Labour party, seven from the Liberal Democrat party, seven from other parties and nine from independent candidates.
Payments are generally processed in arrears but applicants are able to request that the fund pays the supplier directly. The ability of potential disabled candidates to stand for office should not therefore be affected.
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Equality: Impact Assessments
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what her policy is on the future use of equality impact assessments. [174442]
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Jo Swinson: All Departments must consider equality in policy development as a matter of course. Equality impact assessments (EqIAs) can be a useful tool, but are not always necessary for the proper consideration of equality.