Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support families at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Temporary accommodation ensures no family is without a roof over their head, however the Government is committed to reducing the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness before it occurs.
That is why Government has provided local authorities in excess of £1 billion over the next 3 years through the Homelessness Prevention Grant. Local authorities can use the funding flexibly to work with landlords to prevent evictions and offer financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation.
This is on top of total government support of over £94 billion over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable, meaning around 8 million households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in payments this year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the data on homelessness published on 25 July that showed that more than 131,000 children were living in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2023, what steps they are taking to reduce the number of children living in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Temporary accommodation ensures no family is without a roof over their head, however the Government is committed to reducing the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness before it occurs.
That is why Government has provided local authorities in excess of £1 billion over the next 3 years through the Homelessness Prevention Grant. Local authorities can use the funding flexibly to work with landlords to prevent evictions and offer financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation.
This is on top of total government support of over £94 billion over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable, meaning around 8 million households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in payments this year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish details of how the £150 million funding for local authorities to support people on Ukraine visa schemes into longer term accommodation will be allocated.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The £150 million funding will be allocated between the different parts of the UK in relation to their proportion of Ukrainian guests. We are seeking to provide clarity for local authorities and devolved governments on the allocation of funding as quickly as possible, and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when people who arrived in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme will be able to be re-matched with hosts who offer their homes through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This department is not responsible for the Ukraine Family Scheme route. Details of re-matching for Homes for Ukraine arrivals are available online on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a reduction in (1) the number of, and (2) the proportion of, children living in (a) relative poverty, and (b) absolute poverty, in (i) every local authority, and (ii) across the UK, is an intended outcome of the levelling up agenda.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
While talent is spread equally across our country, opportunity is not. Levelling up means people everywhere living longer and more fulfilling lives, and benefitting from sustained rises in living standards and well-being.
Reducing the number and proportion of children living in poverty across the UK is a central part of this vision and that is why the Government set out 12 missions in the Levelling Up White Paper to not only specifically improve outcomes in the most left-behind places but also improve the lives of all people. In particular, one of the twelve missions is focused on boosting people's living standards, particularly where they are lagging (mission 1). Another mission aims to spread opportunities for children in part by boosting the proportion of children meeting the expected standards in the worst-performing areas (mission 5).
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the ‘exhaust all options’ approach, as outlined in the Rough Sleeping Strategy, includes supporting individuals to have their No Recourse to Public Funds conditions lifted through a ‘change of condition’ application.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We recognise that rough sleepers with restricted eligibility for homelessness assistance, including individuals with a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, face particular challenges moving away from the streets. The Rough Sleeping Strategy committed to building on our expectation that local authorities exhaust all options to support this group.
This may include supporting individuals with leave under the family and human rights routes who are destitute, at risk of destitution, the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income or there are other exceptional financial circumstances, to apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a 'change of conditions' application to the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the ministerial visits mentioned in the Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper, published on 2 February, will take place in the North of East of England.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Ministers and officials are visiting all parts of the UK, including the North East, to hear from a range of voices from all tiers of government, the public and private sectors, and community and voluntary groups.
In March, Ministers and senior officials have visited Newcastle, Blyth, Hartlepool, Darlington and Sunderland. Further activity will be undertaken after the local elections in May.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will be carrying out cause-based consultations in the North East following the Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper, published on 2 February, as part of the ministerial level visits.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We are creating a range of opportunities for people to give their views on Levelling Up including focus groups in local areas and a national public survey, both launching in March. Further activity will be undertaken after the local elections in May.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the local panels mentioned in the Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper, published on 2 February, will take place following ministerial visits in the consultation phase.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We are creating a range of opportunities for people to give their views on Levelling Up including focus groups in local areas and a national public survey, both launching in March. Further activity will be undertaken after the local elections in May.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any of the funds pledged to the Integration Areas Programme in the September spending round will be used for the provision of childcare services for English for Speakers of Other Languages participants.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the September Spending Round, it was announced that MHCLG will be provided with an additional £10 million to create a second wave of Integration Areas in 2020/21.
As the Chancellor stated, MHCLG shall ensure that English language provision is a major component of these new areas - helping to support thousands of the estimated 1 million adults in the UK who do not speak English well or at all.
We shall bring forward further details on this second wave of the Integration Area programme in due course.