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Written Question
Local Government: Bankruptcy
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many local authorities they estimate are on the verge of bankruptcy; and what steps o they plan to take to address this.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The Government monitors the financial health of local authorities on a regular basis using a wide range of data as well as through extensive direct engagement with councils.

In 2023/24, the final Local Government Finance Settlement made available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23.

Individual councils are responsible for managing their budgets, and any decision to issue a Section 114 report is made locally. We stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns about its ability to manage its finances or faces pressures it has not planned for.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Social Security Benefits
Monday 19th October 2020

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent landlords and vetting agents from discriminating against, and refusing to accept, tenants who are in receipt of benefit payments.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

The Government wants everyone to have access to secure and safe housing. Blanket bans against tenants in receipt of benefits have no place in a fair and modern housing market. The Government has worked with the lettings industry to agree an approach to end this practice. Major lettings portals Zoopla and Rightmove agreed last year to stop the use of 'No DSS' adverts on their websites, and several major lenders agreed to remove restrictions on mortgages which prevented landlords from letting to tenants on benefits.

The Government will continue to strongly encourage landlords to look at all potential and existing tenants on an individual basis. Legislation exists to prohibit acts of discrimination against individuals in terms of race, age, disability, gender, religion and sexual orientation amongst others. Where a prospective tenant believes that they have been discriminated against, they should seek independent legal advice or contact Citizens’ Advice for free, impartial advice.

The Government has made a significant investment in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) of nearly £1 billion, lifting rates to the 30th percentile from April this year. The increase in LHA will help alleviate affordability challenges facing benefit claimants in the private rented sector by reducing shortfalls, benefiting over 1 million households who will see an average increase of £600 a year.


Written Question
Equal Pay: Gender
Thursday 21st May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the pressures facing employers in regard to reporting gender pay gap data for the 2019–20 reporting year.

Answered by Baroness Berridge

We recognise that employers are facing unprecedented uncertainty and pressure due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A number of employers contacted the Government, prior to the announcement on non-enforcement, to highlight their concerns about being unable to meet the gender pay gap reporting deadlines this year.

Due to the COVID 19 outbreak, the Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission suspended enforcement of the gender pay gap reporting deadlines for the 2019/20 reporting year.

Around 5,500 employers have reported their gender pay gap data to date for the 2019-20 reporting year, which includes more than 2,000 employers who published their data since the suspension of enforcement on 24 March. More employers may choose to report in the coming months and we will continue to provide support to those employers that wish to do so.

The gender pay gap is caused by a range of factors. In order to tackle it, we must ensure that everybody has equal access to opportunities. We will continue to encourage employers to take action to provide equal opportunities for men and women in the workplace.

We are currently considering the impact of the pandemic on the gender pay gap data for the current reporting year. If there are any changes to reporting in future, we will proactively communicate these to all employers.