argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Secretary of State for his response. He will be aware that communities welcome development all the more if the architecture is sympathetic to the local vernacular, artisan builders are involved in the development, and the environment is respected. In achieving all of those ends, what role do garden villages have to play?
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): We will be supporting a number of garden villages—those that are committed to being well-designed communities and that will stand out as exemplars of good development for years to come. We will ensure that there are real and important benefits that are rightly secured from the outset: quality, design, cutting-edge technology, local employment opportunities, accessible green space, and fantastic access to public transport.
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): The Chairman of the Select Committee asks a number of questions. [Interruption.] I will answer most of his questions, but we have a number of opportunities to speak and perhaps I can give more detail then. The high priority the Government place on affordable homes was made clear by the Chancellor last week, and I can confirm that the £1.4 billion he announced is additional money. We estimate that it will lead to about 40,000 additional units. We have given housing associations the flexibility to decide on the types of unit—whether they are to rent or otherwise—which is precisely what they have asked for.
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Maria Frances Lewis Miller (Conservative, Centre-right): Under Labour, when more homes were built there was not the investment in infrastructure in constituencies such as mine. That has changed under this Government, particularly with last week’s announcement of £2.3 billion in the housing infrastructure fund. Can the Secretary of State confirm to my constituents that they will also see the sort of investment we need to see in roads and rail, particularly on the Wessex route, which is now chronically overcrowded?
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point about the importance of infrastructure if we are to unlock our housing sites. She rightly referred to the £2.3 billion of additional funding announced last week. There is over £1 billion of new money for transport projects as well, which will also go towards releasing homes and easing congestion, which she can also make use of locally.
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I have referred to this at the Dispatch Box a number of times. We have seen a massive increase in affordable homes in England, involving more than £8 billion during this Parliament and an additional £1.4 billion announced last week. This is leading to thousands of new affordable homes, which is something that Scotland could learn from.
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady might be interested to know that Shelter’s chief executive welcomed the autumn statement for increasing the number of affordable homes and for providing some of the flexibility that had been asked for. Shelter is an organisation that we work with and listen to, and we will continue to do so.
House Building — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Peter James Bottomley (Conservative, Centre-right): Given that half the new homes will be leasehold, and that part of the problem stems from the present and potential abuse of the system, will my right hon. Friend please get together with representatives of The Sunday Times and The Guardian, and others who are covering these abuses, to ensure that ordinary people buying their first home do not find that it is unsaleable and of no value when they decide to leave it?
Local Authority Planning Departments — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern that local authorities should use their enforcement powers. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 has given local authorities substantial additional powers to tackle rogue landlords through the creation of a database, the use of banning orders, the extension of rent repayment orders and an increase in civil penalties. The powers are there, and I would be happy to meet him to discuss how they should be used.
Local Authority Planning Departments — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Richard Benyon (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the best ways to ensure that local planning departments have sufficient resources to carry out their duties is to allow local authorities to charge the full cost of planning applications. This is something that the Government promised to introduce a long time ago, and I very much hope that this Minister will bring it in.
Local Authority Planning Departments — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. As I have said, we are consulting on the issue of greater resourcing for local authority planning departments, and virtually everyone I have met in the four months since I became Housing Minister has said that there is an issue that needs to be addressed. If my hon. Friend bears with us, he will see a solution in the housing White Paper.
Local Authority Planning Departments — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is quite right to say that local authority planning departments have a crucial role to play in tackling the housing problems that this country faces, but she undersells their record of achievement under this Government. She talked about local plans. When Labour left office, 17% of councils had a local plan; today, the figure is 72%.
Local Authority Planning Departments — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Minister also bear in mind that there is great support for local flexibility on planning fees and that many respectable developers and builders would value that flexibility, provided that it was ring-fenced and reinvested in local planning authorities? That is particularly important in areas such as London, where the cost pressures are especially great.
Local Authority Planning Departments — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. If we increase the resources raised through planning fees, it is essential that that money is spent on extra resourcing in planning departments. He is quite right to say that both local authorities and developers are pressing the case to solve the issue.
Planning Applications — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: What guidance his Department provides on the weighting of site allocations in local plans, neighbourhood planning and town frameworks when (a) local authorities consider planning applications and (b) planning inspectors consider appeals.
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for that answer. Housing developer Wainhomes recently submitted a planning application for 300 homes on a site in St Austell that was not allocated for development in the town framework. The local council consulted widely when producing the framework and found that 95% of local residents who responded did not want the site to be developed. I know that the Minister cannot comment on specific applications, but does he agree that if permissions are granted on sites that are not allocated for development, that does little to promote the public’s confidence in the planning system?
Planning Applications — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: What guidance his Department provides on the weighting of site allocations in local plans, neighbourhood planning and town frameworks when (a) local authorities consider planning applications and (b) planning inspectors consider appeals.
Maria Colette Caulfield (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Minister agree that the Secretary of State’s actions last week completely undermined the neighbourhood plan of Newick in my constituency with the overturning of the decision on the Mitchelswood Farm site? Some 89% of people in Newick voted for their neighbourhood plan, which excluded that site. Does that not suggest that neighbourhood plans are not worth the paper they are written on?
Planning Applications — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: What guidance his Department provides on the weighting of site allocations in local plans, neighbourhood planning and town frameworks when (a) local authorities consider planning applications and (b) planning inspectors consider appeals.
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): Neighbourhood plans are a vital part of an area’s development plan. Where a local authority does not have a five-year land supply in place, my hon. Friend is quite right that that is an alternative consideration. With the White Paper, we want to consider how we can change policy so that the people who work hard to produce such plans have more confidence that they will have an effect on all applications.
Planning Applications — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Other
Questions: What guidance his Department provides on the weighting of site allocations in local plans, neighbourhood planning and town frameworks when (a) local authorities consider planning applications and (b) planning inspectors consider appeals.
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): I gently remind right hon. and hon. Members that they should not leave the Chamber until all the exchanges on the question to which they have contributed have been concluded. One fellow has just beetled out of the Chamber having popped his question, taking precisely zilch interest in anybody else’s. I am sure that the discourtesy was inadvertent, but it is in breach of a long-standing convention of this House, of which all Members ought to be aware. Modesty and kindness forbid me to mention the name of the offending individual on this occasion.
Community Pubs — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Mixed Topics
Andrew Theakstone Percy (Conservative, Centre-right): I note my hon. Friend’s interest as chairman of the all-party beer group. I am happy to work with local authorities to develop community pubs. Listing a pub as an asset of community value gives communities time to bid to buy it should the owner decide to sell. We have supported community buying through the £3.6 million "More than a Pub" programme.
Community Pubs — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Graham Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): Many pubs will have welcomed the news about rural rate relief in the autumn statement, but they still face an immense challenge on business rates. What further steps could the Minister take with local authorities to help ease the burden of business rates on pubs?
Community Pubs — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Andrew Theakstone Percy (Conservative, Centre-right): We are permanently doubling the level of small business rate relief from next year, meaning that 600,000 small businesses will pay no business rates at all. In addition, 17,000 pubs may be eligible for small business rate relief from 1 April next year, depending on their rateable value. Around 13,000 are potentially eligible for 100% relief, compared with some 4,000 now.
House Building: Rural Areas — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): We want to see all areas with an up-to-date plan in place that meets housing need. We are doubling annual capital spending on housing over the course of this Parliament, and we will be announcing further measures, some specific to rural areas, in the forthcoming White Paper.
House Building: Rural Areas — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for his response, and I am keen to see more local housing. With 75% of my constituency designated as areas of outstanding natural beauty, my district councils are in the midst of delivering a much-needed five-year land supply. Will he assure me that the Government will implement robust measures to prevent opportunist developers from applying to build anywhere in our AONB in the meantime?
House Building: Rural Areas — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): I am delighted to hear that my hon. Friend’s local councils are getting their five-year land supply in place, as that is crucial. In the meantime, I can reassure him that the national planning policy framework says that great weight should be given to conserving landscape and scenic beauty in AONBs, so the protection is there in national policy.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Infrastructure Projects — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Public Lands
Questions: What his policy is on the ability of organisations responsible for areas of outstanding natural beauty to intervene in important infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement.
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister’s colleague has just confirmed that the NPPF makes it clear that AONBs should have the highest status of protection, yet the Chilterns Conservation Board, the public body set up to protect the Chilterns AONB, had its proposal for a fully bored tunnel under the Chilterns rejected. When it comes to projects such as HS2, it appears that there is one rule for some AONBs and another for the Chilterns AONB. What is the Minister going to do to try, still, to persuade the promoters to have a fully bored tunnel under the Chilterns and to live up to his promise to protect our AONBs?
Adult Social Care — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Other
Marcus Charles Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a sensible point. These issues are often important, and we need to speak to a wide group of people to make the right decisions. We are certainly interested in speaking to anyone who wants to come up with sensible and practicable solutions in relation to this vital issue.
Adult Social Care — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: [R] The Care Quality Commission says that the social care system is about to topple over. The LGA says that councils cannot cope with the cost pressures, and much of the funding that the Minister has discussed is either repackaged funding or funding that will not kick in until late in this decade. When is he going to come clean about the scale of the crisis, take his head out of the sand and lobby the Treasury to make sure that the promised money for 2020 is brought forward and we get to grips with the care crisis?
Marcus Charles Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I refer the hon. Lady to the indicative allocations that have been made through the better care fund, which takes into account councils’ ability to raise council tax. In terms of its average spending power per dwelling, Liverpool gets £100 more than the national average. She might want to discuss with her council leader how the council can improve its collection of council tax, which in Liverpool is well below the national average.
Property Management Agents — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: What recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of the regulation of property management agents working on newly developed housing; and if he will make a statement.
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is right to raise concerns about the quality of service provided by some managing agents. That is why we are introduced legislation to ensure that property management agents belong to an approved redress scheme.
Property Management Agents — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: What recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of the regulation of property management agents working on newly developed housing; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair James Hendrie Burt (Conservative, Centre-right): I am working with constituents who, despite a number of complaints about management services on a relatively newly built estate, find that the management agents are not prepared to meet them as a group. They find that their local parish council has discontinued contact with the management agents, and the management agents have not held an annual general meeting, as they promised in their agreement. If this is in any way familiar to my hon. Friend, will he tell me what more my constituents can do to redress the balance of power between themselves and the people who seem to have them over a barrel?
Property Management Agents — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: What recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of the regulation of property management agents working on newly developed housing; and if he will make a statement.
Gavin Barwell (Conservative, Centre-right): It certainly would be good to see longer tenancies in the private rented sector, but in terms of regulating to force all private landlords to let for longer periods and to introduce rent controls, we have only to look at the record in our own country and around the world to see what the result of such policies would be: a smaller private rented sector, which would make our housing problems worse.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure that the whole House will welcome the latest official house building numbers showing housing starts at an eight-year high, but there is still a lot more we need to do. That was why last week’s autumn statement contained billions of pounds of funding to get Britain building, and it is why our White Paper, which is due to be published in January, will set out a range of radical plans to boost the housing supply. I can also confirm that we will start announcing local growth fund allocations later this week, and I hope to have all the deals announced before Christmas.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Further to my recent question to the Leader of the House and a written parliamentary question, I would like to raise once again the importance of protecting ancient woodland from hostile development. In terms of delivering much-needed appropriate housing, do Ministers agree that once we bulldoze ancient woodland, it can never come back, and that options B and C in Eastleigh Borough Council’s emerging local plan are completely inappropriate and will destroy a valued local community landscape?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right: ancient woodland is an irreplaceable habitat. The national planning policy framework is clear that "planning permission should be refused for development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, including ancient woodland", unless there are very exceptional circumstances. However, without a local plan, local people do not have the certainty they need. Once again, my hon. Friend has demonstrated that Eastleigh Borough Council is letting its residents down.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce
Questions: The Valuation Office Agency appears to be a law unto itself. At the click of a mouse, it seems to be able to change the way in which large sites such as the Vodafone headquarters and the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston are rated, wiping millions off the income of a small unitary local authority such as West Berkshire. Will the Minister agree to look into this matter?
Marcus Charles Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises an important question. When a council’s income is impacted by a successful business rates appeal or other losses in business rates income, there is a safety net, as I am sure he will be aware. However, he will be reassured by the fact that, during the design of the new 100% business rates retention scheme, we are looking at how risks around business rates income will be managed in the future.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: The Valuation Office Agency appears to be a law unto itself. At the click of a mouse, it seems to be able to change the way in which large sites such as the Vodafone headquarters and the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston are rated, wiping millions off the income of a small unitary local authority such as West Berkshire. Will the Minister agree to look into this matter?; As North East Lincolnshire Council is being forced to shut down its credit union services, does the Minister agree that his Department’s funding cuts to councils have been great news for loan sharks?; Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agree that the actions announced in last week’s autumn statement will improve not only access to housing but the living standards of ordinary working people and their families?
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): I could not agree more. Definitive action is what is required, and that is exactly what the Government are providing. The autumn statement detailed £7.2 billion of investment in housing, which is the biggest dedicated investment in housing in a generation. The Government expect to double in real terms annual capital spending for housing over the course of this Parliament. That is great news for Essex and great news for the country.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-11-28
Topic: Housing
Questions: The Valuation Office Agency appears to be a law unto itself. At the click of a mouse, it seems to be able to change the way in which large sites such as the Vodafone headquarters and the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston are rated, wiping millions off the income of a small unitary local authority such as West Berkshire. Will the Minister agree to look into this matter?; As North East Lincolnshire Council is being forced to shut down its credit union services, does the Minister agree that his Department’s funding cuts to councils have been great news for loan sharks?; Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agree that the actions announced in last week’s autumn statement will improve not only access to housing but the living standards of ordinary working people and their families?; As my hon. Friend the Minister will know, Bath and North East Somerset Council recently voted in favour of entering the west of England devolution deal. Will he join me in congratulating the council on making this decision, which will devolve powers to the region and allow it to invest in affordable housing projects across Bath and the west of England?
Andrew Theakstone Percy (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely congratulate local leaders in the west of England on their grown-up approach, and my hon. Friend on his work on this deal, which will bring an additional £1 billion of investment in infrastructure, as well as devolving powers from this place to the local community on transport, adult skills, and housing and planning.