Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee's Books

Incorporating HCP 972-i, ii, iii and iv, session 2003-04. An earlier volume of written evidence on this topic published as HCP 972-II, session 2003-04 (ISBN 0215019393). The draft Bill was published in July 2004 as Cm 6285 (ISBN 0101628528)

Affordability and the supply of Housing : Session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

Coastal Towns : Session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Written Evidence

Is there a future for regional Government? : Session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Written Evidence

Fire and Rescue Service : Session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

Planning gain Supplement : Vol. 2: Written Evidence

Incorporating HCP 977-i to viii, session 2005-06. An earlier volume of written evidence published as HC 977-II, session 2005-06 (ISBN 9780215027849)

Draft planning policy Statement 6 : Planning for town centres, twelfth report of session 2003-04, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written Evidence

House of Lords business Plan 2006

This White Paper sets out the Government's proposals for a Marine Bill designed to establish a new UK-wide strategic system of marine planning to balance conservation, energy and resource needs, based on the principle of sustainable development and working with the devolved administrations. Key provisions of the proposed Bill will be: the creation of a new Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to provide a holistic approach to marine policy covering planning, licensing and enforcement issues; a more streamlined, transparent and efficient marine licensing system; new mechanisms to supplement existing tools for the conservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, including marine conservation zones for important species and habitats that cannot be protected under European law; and reform of the management of inshore fisheries and recreational sea angling, including stronger enforcement powers and the recovery of costs of fishing vessel licence administration.

The £40bn Decent Homes Programme has had a positive effect on the living conditions of most social housing tenants, this report finds, but the Government has failed to invest enough resources in the parallel programme to improve homes occupied by vulnerable people in the private sector. The Government must also clarify future funding: it is still unclear how the elimination of the remaining backlog of disrepair (around 3 per cent of social homes) will be funded; and how much will be available to maintain standards in the future. The Government must prevent another backlog of disrepair from building up after the current programme comes to an end in 2010. Carbon emissions reduction targets mean that the entire UK housing stock must be made more energy efficient. The decent homes standard has an important part to play and should be updated to enable this. The use of arm's-length management organisations (ALMOs) to manage council housing has led to improved standards and better planning, though not all councils were able to follow this model. The decent homes standard remains a low benchmark, however. The target for decency applied to private housing should be retained and strengthened by creating a National Indicator for private sector accommodation. A clear long term target should be set at a national level to bring all private sector homes (not just those occupied by vulnerable people) up to the decent homes standard.

The Committee's report examines the contribution of historic buildings to urban regeneration; the role and effectiveness of public agencies responsible for the built environment; the impact of the planning system and listing of historic buildings on urban regeneration; the role played by government departments to promote the historic environment; and fiscal and legislative reform options. The Committee concludes that regenerating historic buildings can reinforce a sense of local community and act as a catalyst for urban regeneration. However, historic buildings cannot be retained as relics of a bygone age, but new uses and sensitive adaptations allowed where the original use is no longer viable. The report highlights the shortage of conservation officers and the skills deficit in knowledge of regeneration and funding issues. It also call on the DCMS and the ODPM to working more closely together on their cross-cutting responsibilities, in order to boost the potential contributions made by historic buildings to the local economy. The current planning system is also criticised for causing delays and uncertainty, with developers being subject to as many as nine different regimes, including planning controls, listed building consent and conservation area controls.

Rented housing accounts for some 30 per cent of Britain's housing stock. The supply of rented housing is a crucial element of the programme of action necessary to achieve the aim of a decent home, at a price people can afford, within a sustainable community. More supply of rented housing is needed: 50,000 social rented homes need to be completed each year to meet new demand and tackle the backlog. Further significant increases in supply in the private rented sector will require large institutional investors to be attracted back to the sector. Tax and regulatory reform are the levers which will encourage such investment. Meanwhile, there are improvements to be made to the existing stock in both the private and the social rented sectors which will both improve supply and improve the experience of the tenants. The efficiencies which have been brought to the refurbishment and construction of social rented homes by the growth of housing associations, the ring-fencing of local authority landlord accounts and the introduction of ALMOs now need to be applied to the management of the existing social rented stock. Better regulation is the imperative in the private rented sector. Good foundations exist to introduce a system of accreditation devised by trade bodies and enforced by local authorities, with the ultimate oversight of the new regulator of social housing, Oftenant. The Government now needs to build on those foundations, and to add to them further financial and regulatory incentives to private landlords to manage and maintain their stock effectively. The Committee calls for the creation of mixed communities to pervade all spatial and housing policy, and for local authorities to be given the freedom, support and resources necessary to pursue this aim.

Protecting and preserving our Heritage : Vol. 2: Written Evidence

Attitudes towards the council tax are influenced by views as to its fairness, with one of the concerns being that it does not take sufficient account of a household's income. Council tax relief enables the liability of some households to be reduced. Although it is not a benefit, it is called a benefit and in many ways operates like a benefit. People only receive it if they make a claim and as a result there is an estimates £1.8 billion unclaimed each year. The Committee believe that there are two main weaknesses in the operation of the current system. Firstly the rules of eligibility are too tightly drawn to adequately reduce the burden to those in greatest need. Secondly the take up is low. They call on the Government to take urgent actions to tackle these problems

Annual report For 2004 : First report of session 2004-05, report, together with appendices and formal Minutes

This Report from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution examines the 'environmental footprint' of our towns and cities in the light of the government's Regional Spatial Strategies and the Sustainable Communities Plan, which will usher in a building boom that will shape the UK's built environment for centuries to come. The Report looks at the current context, with particular attention to urban expansion and regeneration. The Royal Commission also looks at environmental issues, including: tackling carbon dioxide emissions from urban areas; the role of the environment in health and wellbeing; maximising community benefits of the natural environment; and creating green infrastructure. the framework right, seeing a specific need for: public policy to promote the environmental component of sustainable development; and incentives and information to raise environmental standards over time. environmental sustainability.

Incorporating HCP 680, session 2005-06.

The Committee's report was originally intended to improve the draft Regional Assemblies Bill (Cm 6285, ISBN 0101628528) published in July 2004. Although the draft Bill is now unlikely to proceed through Parliament in the near future, the report identifies key points which the Government should consider if, in the light of the result of the referendum in the North East in November 2004, it decides it wishes to return to the issue of introducing elected regional assemblies. The report discusses a range of issues including: the powers and resources of regional assemblies; their relations with local and central government; policy areas such as economic performance, skills development, transport and housing; funding aspects; constitutional and electoral issues, including the voting system used; and stakeholder participation. The Committee concludes that any future legislation needs to be more ambitious than the draft Bill to create regional bodies that are fit for their purpose.

This report examines the Government's Supporting People Programme, launched in April 2003 to provide housing related support services to help vulnerable people to live as independently as possible in the community. In particular, the Committee's report focuses on: the reasons behind the commissioning of a review less than one year after the programme's launch; capital and revenue funding allocation and the need for fairer distribution of grants; Home Improvement Agencies; and the significance of the transfer of administrative responsibility for the programme within ODPM. Conclusions reached by the Committee include: Home Improvement Agencies are good value for money and should be expanded; although the tighter financial controls introduced by the ODPM are welcome, any effects on services should be minimised by targeting grant reductions on authorities with excessive spending; and that, given the chequered history of the programme to date and its scale and significance for vulnerable people, the ODPM should give a full account of its management of the programme in its 2005 Departmental Report.

Data and facts about the state of the United Kingdom can be found in this comprehensive, up-to-date yearbook. It provides a wide range of information about the nation's spheres of activity, including economic activity, the environment, social and cultural affairs, and more.

This is the 44th edition of this annual directory on the structure, departments and key personnel of the UK Civil Service. It contains information on ministerial responsibilities, government departments and devolved administrations, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, as well as a wide range of other organisations such as museums, libraries, galleries and research councils. It also includes data on: civil service salaries and staffing levels, freedom of information, purchasing and better quality service contracts and the charter mark scheme. Indexes are given by individual officers, department and subject.

Local government Finance : Oral and written Evidence

The Committee's report finds that the Government's plans for a major house-building programme are based on the widespread belief that increasing the volume of housing stock is the most important way to tackle the crisis of unaffordable housing in the UK; however, as housing policy is increasingly based on household growth projections, it is important that these projections are kept under review as firmer information becomes available. Promoting homeownership is an underlying objective of the Government's programme, but although it offers unparalleled opportunities for some households to accumulate wealth, it is not a viable option for many others, and therefore the provision of social housing for rent should be given equal priority. A simple supply and demand model cannot be applied to the housing market, and the multitude of factors affecting house prices means that it is very difficult to support an increase in housing supply simply on the basis of improving affordability. The report also highlights concerns that local authority powers to prioritise developments on brown field sites in urban areas should not be eroded; and that the house-building programme in the wider South East will have to be carefully managed as it is an area with major water shortages and significant flood plains.

Affordability and the supply of Housing : Session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

This research paper presents a selective literature review on the effects of land use planning on the competitiveness of the UK economy. It has been commissioned by the Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee in order to inform their inquiry into the current planning system and its effects on the competitiveness and productivity of the UK economy and regional development. Conclusions reached include that there is a need for more research into the benefits to business of the planning system, since there is a strong bias in existing studies into the costs and adverse effects.

Book's by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee

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