Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homeless people have died on the street in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The Office for National Statistics began to produce estimates of deaths of homeless people in England and Wales in 2017 and the most recent publication covered deaths in 2020. There were an estimated 688 deaths of homeless people registered in England and Wales in 2020, 778 estimated deaths in 2019, 726 deaths in 2018 and 597 in 2017.
These statistics are published online at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsofhomelesspeopleinenglandandwales/previousReleases
These statistics do not indicate whether deaths occurred on the street or within accommodation. The definition of homelessness used in these statistics follows from what is available in death registrations data to identify affected individuals, which mainly includes people sleeping rough or using emergency accommodation such as homeless shelters and direct access hostels, at or around the time of death.
The Government is committed to ending rough sleeping and has published a strategy backed by £2 billion setting out how we will achieve that.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of awarding housing association tenants capital to buy in the private sector rather than allowing such tenants to buy their properties.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to helping housing association tenants realise their dream of home ownership. We also believe the housing market should work for everyone including those who rent their homes and those who wish to buy them
The Government is keeping its homeownership options under review and will announce more details in due course.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many households signed up to the Homes for Ukraine scheme are currently subject to the under-occupancy penalty.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Potential sponsors who sign up to record their interest in the Homes for Ukraine scheme are not required to provide details of whether they are in receipt of Housing Benefit. The UK government is ensuring ‘thank you payments’ do not affect benefit entitlement and will remain tax-free.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to writing to households who are subject to the under-occupancy penalty, inviting them to sign up to the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
This is a huge humanitarian crisis, and we are urging all members of the British public to come forward and help where they can. There will be no limit or cap on the sponsorship route. Anyone in the UK with a spare room or home can use this service, as long as they can offer accommodation for at least 6 months which we know is a significant ask. Potential sponsors can register their interest at: www.gov.uk/register-interest-homes-ukraine. We are exploring further steps we can take to promote the scheme.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting land-use industrial policy measures to support specific clusters within the manufacturing industry.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government recognises the role that planning policy plays in supporting business investment, expansion and adaptation, which is why the revised National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise and address the specific locational requirements of different sectors, including clusters where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Voluntary Right to Buy pilot scheme for housing associations in the Midlands, and whether he has plans to extend that pilot.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Voluntary Right to Buy pilot is giving thousands of housing association tenants in the Midlands the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of home ownership. The pilot will be fully evaluated after completion, and future policy decisions will be taken on the basis of that evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding is currently available in the Community Housing Fund; and how local communities in Birkenhead can bid to access that funding.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
A budget of £97.4 million has been established for the Community Housing Fund in 2019/20. This includes £37.4 million carried forward from 2018/19. Local communities in Birkenhead – as elsewhere in England outside London – may apply for this funding through Homes England. Contact details for all Homes England Operating Areas are given in the prospectus for the Homes England Community Housing Fund prospectus, which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-housing-fund
A similar programme, funded by my Department, is being delivered in London by the Greater London Authority.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many children in each local authority area within the Liverpool City Region have resided in temporary accommodation in each of the most recent five years for which data are available.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Figures are shown below on the number of children/expected children in each local authority area within the Liverpool City Region in accommodation arranged by the local authority at the end of the financial year for the last five years.
ONS Code | Local Authority | Region |
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| at 31 March 2018 | at 31 March 2017 | at 31 March 2016 | at 31 March 2015 | at 31 March 2014 |
E06000006 | Halton | NW | - | .. | 6 | 11 | 6 |
E08000011 | Knowsley | NW | 15 | 10 | 16 | 20 | - |
E08000012 | Liverpool | NW | 83 | 92 | 67 | 41 | 29 |
E08000014 | Sefton | NW | 21 | 8 | 12 | - | 9 |
E08000013 | St. Helens | NW | 16 | 32 | 19 | 21 | 22 |
E08000015 | Wirral | NW | 21 | 10 | - | 20 | - |
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- figure suppressed due to being less than 5 or to prevent calculation |
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.. no data received from the local authority |
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Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish details of the Government's plans to establish a housing court for tenants and landlords in the private rental sector; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We want a system that works for all users who bring housing cases to the courts and tribunal. One that is simpler, leads to swifter justice and which offers an improved service.
The Government launched a Call for Evidence in November last year to better understand the experience of courts and tribunal service users in property cases. We are exploring whether a specialist Housing Court could make it easier for all users to resolve disputes, reduce delays and to secure justice in housing cases, or whether this can be achieved in other ways.
The Call for Evidence closed on 22 January, and we are working closely with officials from the Ministry of Justice to analyse the responses before making any policy decisions.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2019 to Question 214495 on Private Rented Housing: Housing Benefit, if he will ask the UK Statistics Authority to collect data on the number of fines brought by local authorities against private landlords.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
We have no plans to collect this information centrally. It is for local authorities to decide how they work with private landlords in their area and we want to minimise the reporting burden on them.