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Written Question
Household Support Fund
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of ending the Household Support Fund on 31 March on (1) the number of people experiencing destitution, and (2) wider public services including the NHS, social care, and homelessness services.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.

The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families.

Our approach to tackling poverty is based on clear evidence that parental employment, particularly where its full time, reduces the risk of poverty. In the financial year 21/22, children living in households where all adults work were around five times less likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those living in workless households.

The Government is putting significant additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by 6.7% while the Basic and New State Pensions will be uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple lock”.

To further support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the Government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefitting 1.6 million low-income households by on average £800 a year in 24/25. Additionally, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Foreign Nationals
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of social homes outside London have a non-British citizen as the lead tenant.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Using English Housing Survey data, we estimate that in 2021-22, 6.8% of social households outside London had a household reference person who was not a UK or Irish national. For London, this figure is 14.7%.


Written Question
Housing: Construction
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report of the Home Builders Federation State of Play: Challenges and opportunities facing SME home builders, published on 22 January, regarding the number of small and medium-sized enterprise builders going out of business; what assessment they have made of the impact of this on the supply of new homes; and whether they have plans to support this subsector.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government wants to see a diverse and competitive housebuilding sector. We are aware of the challenges that small and medium sized (SME) housebuilders are facing, which is why we are supporting them through the £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund (LUHBF) and the £1 billion ENABLE Build guarantee programme. LUHBF provides loans to SMEs to help build around 42,000 homes across the country. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act will also help SMEs by making the planning process easier to navigate, faster and more predictable.


Written Question
Housing: Construction Methods
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been allocated to promote Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in the past five years, and whether they intend to publish a strategy to encourage the use of MMC.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government is committed to supporting the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) sector and tackling the barriers to growth it faces. Our support includes funding to build MMC homes through the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, developing a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for MMC with the British Standards Institution (BSI), and providing financial support for MMC manufacturers through the £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund.

We are considering the Lords’ Built Environment Committee’s recommendations including the recommendation to publish the strategy.


Written Question
Local Government Finance
Thursday 21st September 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many councils do not have an up-to-date council plan; and, of these, how many have plans that are respectively more than (1) five years, (2) 10 years, and (3) 15 years out of date.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that up-to-date local plans should provide a framework for addressing housing needs and other economic, social and environmental priorities.

All the information requested and more, on the status of Local Plan, is published by the Planning Inspectorate can be found on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-plan-monitoring-progress


Written Question
Local Government Finance
Thursday 21st September 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many councils have withdrawn their council plan within the last year.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that up-to-date local plans should provide a framework for addressing housing needs and other economic, social and environmental priorities.

All the information requested and more, on the status of Local Plan, is published by the Planning Inspectorate can be found on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-plan-monitoring-progress


Written Question
Local Government Finance
Thursday 21st September 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many councils have an up-to-date council plan.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that up-to-date local plans should provide a framework for addressing housing needs and other economic, social and environmental priorities.

All the information requested and more, on the status of Local Plan, is published by the Planning Inspectorate can be found on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-plan-monitoring-progress


Written Question
Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme
Thursday 27th July 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the extension of the public guarantee scheme for the social housing sector.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Department keeps its housing guarantee schemes, including the £3 billion Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme 2020, under review to ensure they continue to support the housing market. When these schemes, which are demand-led, approach their maximum deployment, we will consider their extension.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Rents
Thursday 27th July 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to a long-term settlement for social housing rent.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government continues to support the principle that social housing rents should be index-linked over the long-term, to support investment in both new and existing social homes.

We also intend to consult this year on social housing rent policy from April 2025.


Written Question
Buildings: Safety Measures
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce updated regulations following the consultation Sprinklers in care homes, removal of national classes, and staircases in residential buildings, published 23 December 2022; and what assessment they have made of claims that the uncertainty has led to new home construction being paused.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Sprinklers in care homes, removal of national classes, and staircases in residential buildings consultation set out proposals to amend Building Regulations statutory guidance (Approved Document B). It closed in March 2023. More than 270 responses were received from industry, trade professions, residents’ groups and others, which are being analysed now. We recognise the construction industry’s need for clarity and we will provide that to the sector as soon as possible.