Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce a legal right to (a) suitable emergency accommodation and (b) adequate support for people at risk of street homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high and we must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.
The Homelessness Reduction Act, which came into force in April 2018, places duties on local housing authorities to take reasonable steps to try to prevent and relieve a person’s homelessness. These duties provide help to all eligible people, including single people who do not have priority need. If homelessness cannot be prevented or relieved, the local authority may owe the applicant a duty to provide them with temporary accommodation until settled accommodation is secured.
Homelessness legislation includes eligibility criteria, consideration of vulnerability and whether someone is intentionally homeless to ensure that resources, including temporary accommodation and access to settled housing, are prioritised effectively and accommodation is there for people who need it most. The Homelessness Code of Guidance, which local authorities must pay regard to, contains advice for assessing vulnerability.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Buckinghamshire Council's financial planning, in the context of increases in levels of demand for services.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, and the department does not monitor their day-to-day business.
The Government is under no illusions about the scale of the pressures that local authorities are facing. We recognise the vital work that local councils do for their communities and stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.
The Government will work closely with councils to provide more stability through multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system. Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the financial health of Buckinghamshire council; and what steps her Department takes to support councils that may be at risk of financial difficulties.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, and the department does not monitor their day-to-day business.
The Government is under no illusions about the scale of the pressures that local authorities are facing. We recognise the vital work that local councils do for their communities and stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.
The Government will work closely with councils to provide more stability through multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system. Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions her Department has had with Buckinghamshire Council on that Council's (a) financial resilience and (b) long-term sustainability.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, and the department does not monitor their day-to-day business.
The Government is under no illusions about the scale of the pressures that local authorities are facing. We recognise the vital work that local councils do for their communities and stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.
The Government will work closely with councils to provide more stability through multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system. Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions her Department has had with Buckinghamshire Council on the adequacy of its financial reserves.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, and the department does not monitor their day-to-day business.
The Government is under no illusions about the scale of the pressures that local authorities are facing. We recognise the vital work that local councils do for their communities and stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.
The Government will work closely with councils to provide more stability through multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system. Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide details of their proposals, including timetables, for the implementation of each of the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As outlined in the King’s Speech, the Government will implement the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 so that leaseholders can benefit from more rights, power and protections over their homes. A small number of provisions came into force on 24 July, two months after Royal Assent, relating to rentcharge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners. The implementation of many of the reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will require a programme of secondary legislation. Any reforms to leasehold law are highly complex, and the Government will take the time required to get those changes right.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the removal of the presumption of a five-year land supply for local authorities with an up-to-date local plan as part of the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework does not lead to a significant increase in speculative applications and planners' workload.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Our consultation on national planning policy delivers on our manifesto commitment to reversing the changes made to the NPPF in December 2023 that were detrimental to housing supply. These changes are an essential part of meeting our commitment to building 1.5m new homes. Alongside this, we have set out clear plans for improving the operation of the presumption and for boosting the capacity of LA planners.
Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing district councils to be constituent members of Combined County Authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Existing combined county authority legislation provides that only upper tier local authorities in the area of a combined county authority can be constituent members. District councils are an important part of local government, and as non-constituent members can play an active role in any combined county authority in their area, should they wish.
It is important that all local authorities are engaged and actively involved in improving their areas, working across all levels of government for the interests of the local community.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Local Government Finance Settlement will contain measures to reform adult social care funding.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the financial pressures that local authorities face and remain committed to supporting local government to deliver improved outcomes for local people through the adult social care system. We are committed to delivering a multiyear settlement in this Parliament giving certainty on allocations going forward to create a more sustainable, simplified adult social care funding system. Our Government’s manifesto set out our intention for a programme of reform to create a National Care Service. The National Care Service will deliver consistent and high quality care across the country, which will be locally delivered, supporting people to live independently for as long as possible. We will engage with local government as we develop this programme of reform.
Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged. The department will work with local government leaders to ensure they are better able to fulfil their statutory duties.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to promote shared ownership for potential homeowners.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Prospective buyers can find out more about shared ownership from the information provided on Gov.UK. This information includes a search tool that prospective buyers can use to find social landlords in their local area offering homes for sale on shared ownership terms. The Government would always encourage prospective buyers to take independent professional and legal advice before purchasing a shared ownership home.