Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that a lack of pet-friendly emergency and temporary accommodation has on levels of rough sleeping.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities must ensure that temporary accommodation is suitable for applicants and members of their household, taking account of their needs, requirements, circumstances and the location of the accommodation. Applicants may ask for a review on request of the housing authority’s decision that the accommodation offered to them is suitable.
The statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance encourages housing authorities to be sensitive to the importance of pets to applicants, particularly people sleeping rough and elderly people who may rely on pets for companionship and to give careful consideration to this aspect when making provision for applicants who wish to retain their pet. Local authorities do their upmost to try and accommodate this, however not all types of temporary or emergency accommodation are suitable for pets, as there may be limited facilities and space available.
Recognising the importance of pets, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 introduced an implied term into private sector assured tenancies, that enables tenants to ask the landlord for permission to keep a pet, and when they do so consent cannot be unreasonably refused.
No specific assessment has been made of the impact on mental health and wellbeing when people experiencing homelessness are separated from a companion animal in order to have access to accommodation, or the impact that pet policies have on levels of rough sleeping.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on mental health and wellbeing when people experiencing homelessness are separated from a companion animal in order to have access to accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities must ensure that temporary accommodation is suitable for applicants and members of their household, taking account of their needs, requirements, circumstances and the location of the accommodation. Applicants may ask for a review on request of the housing authority’s decision that the accommodation offered to them is suitable.
The statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance encourages housing authorities to be sensitive to the importance of pets to applicants, particularly people sleeping rough and elderly people who may rely on pets for companionship and to give careful consideration to this aspect when making provision for applicants who wish to retain their pet. Local authorities do their upmost to try and accommodate this, however not all types of temporary or emergency accommodation are suitable for pets, as there may be limited facilities and space available.
Recognising the importance of pets, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 introduced an implied term into private sector assured tenancies, that enables tenants to ask the landlord for permission to keep a pet, and when they do so consent cannot be unreasonably refused.
No specific assessment has been made of the impact on mental health and wellbeing when people experiencing homelessness are separated from a companion animal in order to have access to accommodation, or the impact that pet policies have on levels of rough sleeping.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - 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 temporary and emergency housing landlords make reasonable provision for homeless households with pets when arranging temporary accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities must ensure that temporary accommodation is suitable for applicants and members of their household, taking account of their needs, requirements, circumstances and the location of the accommodation. Applicants may ask for a review on request of the housing authority’s decision that the accommodation offered to them is suitable.
The statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance encourages housing authorities to be sensitive to the importance of pets to applicants, particularly people sleeping rough and elderly people who may rely on pets for companionship and to give careful consideration to this aspect when making provision for applicants who wish to retain their pet. Local authorities do their upmost to try and accommodate this, however not all types of temporary or emergency accommodation are suitable for pets, as there may be limited facilities and space available.
Recognising the importance of pets, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 introduced an implied term into private sector assured tenancies, that enables tenants to ask the landlord for permission to keep a pet, and when they do so consent cannot be unreasonably refused.
No specific assessment has been made of the impact on mental health and wellbeing when people experiencing homelessness are separated from a companion animal in order to have access to accommodation, or the impact that pet policies have on levels of rough sleeping.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the availability of pet-friendly emergency, temporary, and supported accommodation in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities must ensure that temporary accommodation is suitable for applicants and members of their household, taking account of their needs, requirements, circumstances and the location of the accommodation. Applicants may ask for a review on request of the housing authority’s decision that the accommodation offered to them is suitable.
The statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance encourages housing authorities to be sensitive to the importance of pets to applicants, particularly people sleeping rough and elderly people who may rely on pets for companionship and to give careful consideration to this aspect when making provision for applicants who wish to retain their pet. Local authorities do their upmost to try and accommodate this, however not all types of temporary or emergency accommodation are suitable for pets, as there may be limited facilities and space available.
Recognising the importance of pets, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 introduced an implied term into private sector assured tenancies, that enables tenants to ask the landlord for permission to keep a pet, and when they do so consent cannot be unreasonably refused.
No specific assessment has been made of the impact on mental health and wellbeing when people experiencing homelessness are separated from a companion animal in order to have access to accommodation, or the impact that pet policies have on levels of rough sleeping.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 18 March (HL15076), whether the baseline report will quantify the reduction in child poverty they aim to achieve for the 10 year strategy period.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Child Poverty Strategy fulfils our commitment to reducing poverty this Parliament, lifting 550,000 children out of poverty in 2029/30. The commitments set out in the Strategy are set to lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (Child Poverty Strategy: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework - GOV.UK), published alongside the Strategy, sets out our plans. Further details on our approach will follow in a baseline report this Summer which will set out the latest statistics and evidence.
Government already has a statutory duty to publish poverty statistics annually and we will also hold ourselves to account on our progress through the monitoring and evaluation arrangements we have put in place, from this year and in future years, so that the progress we make is transparent for all.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 18 March (HL15076), when they expect to publish the baseline report.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Child Poverty Strategy fulfils our commitment to reducing poverty this Parliament, lifting 550,000 children out of poverty in 2029/30. The commitments set out in the Strategy are set to lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (Child Poverty Strategy: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework - GOV.UK), published alongside the Strategy, sets out our plans. Further details on our approach will follow in a baseline report this Summer which will set out the latest statistics and evidence.
Government already has a statutory duty to publish poverty statistics annually and we will also hold ourselves to account on our progress through the monitoring and evaluation arrangements we have put in place, from this year and in future years, so that the progress we make is transparent for all.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to understand how the building of 1.5 million new affordable homes is likely to impact on the number of empty homes; and what precautions are in place to prevent the number of empty homes rising.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use. But the sheer scale of the housing crisis demands historic levels of housebuilding, which is why we have committed to building 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.
The government does not publish correspondence relating to the location of empty homes in the UK. Statistics on empty properties in England are published annually and can be found on gov.uk here (attached).
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish correspondence relating to efforts to ascertain the location of empty homes in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use. But the sheer scale of the housing crisis demands historic levels of housebuilding, which is why we have committed to building 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.
The government does not publish correspondence relating to the location of empty homes in the UK. Statistics on empty properties in England are published annually and can be found on gov.uk here (attached).
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of including binding targets and milestones for reducing child poverty in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to grouped questions HL15158, HL15156, HL15157, HL15155 HL on 18 March 2026
Our Child Poverty Strategy fulfils our commitment to reducing poverty this Parliament, lifting 550,000 children out of poverty, and sets out our ambition to tackle its structural drivers as part of a long-term, 10-year strategy. This Government has taken decisive action, with the interventions in the Strategy set to lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework Child Poverty Strategy: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework - GOV.UK, published alongside the Strategy, sets out our plans and further details on our approach will follow in a baseline report this Summer. We will continue to have a dedicated team in government that, with Ministerial oversight, will work across government, the public and private sectors and civil society to maintain focus on tackling child poverty and build on the Strategy.
Government already has a statutory duty to publish poverty statistics annually and we also hold ourselves to account on our progress through the monitoring and evaluation arrangements we have put in place, from this year and in future years, so that the progress we make is transparent for all. Deep material poverty estimates based on two-year averages will be published for each of the UK nations in the March 2026 HBAI publication.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what discussions the Home Office have had with the Department for Education about the guidance to local authorities on statutory duties under section 17 of the Children Act 1989; and what steps they have taken to ensure that safeguarding and the best interests of children are considered in that guidance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 establishes the general duty of local authorities in England to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need and, so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families.
I can confirm that the Home Office is working with the Department for Education alongside other government departments and the NRPF network to produce guidance to assist local authorities in their duties to those with No Recourse to Public Funds as part of the Child Poverty Strategy.
The duty Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 duty does not apply to the Home Office. Instead, Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 places a duty on the Home Office to make arrangements for ensuring that immigration, asylum, nationality and general customs functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.
The statutory guidance, called ‘Every Child Matters’, issued under Section 55 (3), sets out the key arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as they apply both generally to public bodies who deal with children in the UK (Part 1) and specifically to the Home Office (Part 2).