Blake Stephenson MP: written questions
1633 published records · newest first.
Written questions
New Towns TaskforceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36502More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled New Towns Taskforce: Terms of Reference, published on 18 September 2024, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy o
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36501More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Minister for Housing and Planning's oral contribution of 3 March 2025, Official Report, columns 3 and 4, whether the New Towns Taskforce can recommend more
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: LandMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36500More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Minister for Housing and Planning's oral contribution of 3 March 2025, Official Report, columns 3 and 4, what her Department's policy is on whether housing
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew Towns: Local PlansMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36499More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Minister for Housing and Planning's oral contribution of 3 March 2025, Official Report, columns 3 and 4, what her Department's policy is on whether local au
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: Sustainable DevelopmentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36498More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Minister for Housing and Planning's oral contribution of 3 March 2025 in response to a Question from the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire, Official Report,
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36497More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Minister for Housing and Planning's oral contribution of 3 March 2025, Official Report, column 4, if she will set out the incentives her Department will off
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36496More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Minister for Housing and Planning's oral contribution of 3 March 2025, Official Report, columns 3 and 4, for what reasons her Department has not discussed t
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDerelict Land: RegenerationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36495More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government unveils plans for next generation of new towns, published 13 February 2025, whether the £51.5m funding to inc
Answer: The £51.5 million package announced on 13 February 2025 is additional to the funding outlined at the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered 31 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew Towns: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36494More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government unveils plans for next generation of new towns, published on 13 February 2025, how the £20 million to help tr
Answer: This funding will be made available through the next round of the Brownfield Land Release Fund. Further details on the application process and funding criteria will be announced in due course.
Answered 18 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36228More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number of homes expected to be built between July 2024 and July 2025.
Answer: The government do not routinely publish a supply forecast or projected profiles of housing delivery.Our Plan for Change includes an ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament. Progress will be measured ...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36227More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government unveils plans for next generation of new towns, published on 13 February 2025, if she will publish a list of
Answer: To date, ten sites with a combined capacity to deliver over 35,900 homes have been announced as benefitting from site-specific government support through the New Homes Accelerator. These are: Liverpool Central Docks, Northstowe, Worcestershire Parkway, La...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36226More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Press Release Government unveils plans for next generation of new towns, published on 13 February 2025, if she will publish a list of the sites unlocked thr
Answer: To date, ten sites with a combined capacity to deliver over 35,900 homes have been announced as benefitting from site-specific government support through the New Homes Accelerator. These are: Liverpool Central Docks, Northstowe, Worcestershire Parkway, La...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew Towns: Mid BedfordshireMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36225More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government unveils plans for next generation of new towns, published on 13 February 2025, whether any of the proposals r
Answer: The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce ...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNew TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36224More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government unveils plans for next generation of new towns, published on 13 February 2025, if she will publish a list of
Answer: The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce ...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36223More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number of houses that would be built if all active planning permissions were approved.
Answer: The Department does not hold the information requested.
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPlanning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36222More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the amount of land in hectares which has an active planning permission.
Answer: The Department does not hold the information requested.
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36221More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what she expects the average density per hectare to be of housing developments built during this Parliament.
Answer: Development density is influenced by a range of factors, such as the type of land use, building types and form, and building heights. The National Design Guide and National Model Design Code provide guidance on these elements.Local Design Guides and Desig...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make a comparative assessment of the cumulative housing target for (a) Tower Hamlets, (b) Broxtowe, (c) Nottingham, (d) Greenwich, (e) Oldham and (f) Tameside under (
Answer: The government published the revised standard method for assessing local housing need on 12 December 2024. This aligns with our ambition for 1.5 million new homes to be delivered over this parliament and better directs new homes to where they are most nee...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLand UseMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36219More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the land use breakdown of (a) the average Parliamentary constituency, (b) Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, (c) Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton c
Answer: The Department publishes an annual release entitled “Land use statistics: England”, which presents summary statistics showing how different land uses are distributed across England, as at 2022.This is broken down into regions, local authorities, and Parli...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordFilm: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36218More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department’s news story entitled, Lights, Camera, Action! 40% business rates relief for film studios rolled out, published on 16 February 2025, whether her announcement on film business rates o
Answer: At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBanks: ClosuresTreasuryTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35858More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28664, whether it is her Department’s policy to ask retail banks to keep High Street branches open during their discussions with them.
Answer: Banking has changed significantly in recent years with many customers benefitting from the ease and convenience of remote banking. While branch closures are commercial decisions for banks, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance expects firms to ca...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Highways: Flood ControlDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35857More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 30745 on National Highways: Flood Control, if she will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing additiona
Answer: The ownership and management of National Highways’ assets, at this level, fall within National Highways’ delegated authority. The Department does not plan to make an assessment on the future ownership of balancing ponds owned by National Highways.
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35856More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her plans for Great British Railways will end the practice of cancelling stops to make services run faster once trains have set off.
Answer: The Government’s plans for rail reform will deliver an accountable and integrated public body, Great British Railways (GBR), which will take decisions on the use of the railway in the public interest and deliver Government priorities. GBR will plan and im...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordGovia Thameslink Railway: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35855More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to increase capacity on Thameslink services through its Great British Railways proposals.
Answer: Currently all train operators are required to plan services and timetables designed to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. Improving railway performance is a top priority for this Government...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordGovia Thameslink Railway: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35854More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to increase reliability on Thameslink services through its Great British Railways proposals.
Answer: Currently all train operators are required to plan services and timetables designed to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. Improving railway performance is a top priority for this Government...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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