Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the inclusion of Northern Ireland infrastructure projects in the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my Hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up (Dehenna Davison) to Question UIN 129836 on 26 January 2023.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of homeless people living in England in each year since 2018.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Levels of homelessness in England can be best estimated by looking at the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each year. In Q4 2018 this was 83,540; in Q4 2019 this was 88,310 and Q4 2020 is provisionally 95,370.
We are putting in place an unprecedented level of support to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over 2021/22, over £750 million. This includes the £310 million Homelessness Prevention Grant, giving local authorities more control and flexibility in managing homelessness pressures and supporting those who at risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they have provided to religious groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Government recognises the huge contributions places of worship and faith groups have provided to the response effort in supporting communities during the pandemic.
We are only too aware of the financial impact the pandemic has caused to our places of worship and faith groups.
In England, charity registered faith groups and places of worship have been able to access the range of government-backed financial support measures available during the pandemic. These include the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, Historic England’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Funds and the Local Authority Discretionary Grants.
We regularly engage with faith groups through our Places of Worship Taskforce and faith roundtables and will continue to work with them to further understand how Government can further support their response to the pressures they face during this time.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress made to date on their plans to reinvigorate fishing towns and communities.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
This Government recognises the unique challenges facing coastal communities and is committed to levelling up all areas of the UK. Through our £229 million Coastal Communities Fund we are supporting communities across England, including fishing towns. Now, through the £3.6 billion Towns Fund we are investing up to £25 million in fishing towns such as Blyth and St Ives. Coastal communities will further be supported through our flagship Fisheries Bill, creating new powers to set fairer fishing opportunities.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to address (1) homelessness, and (2) rough sleeping, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation in England, thanks to the hard work of local councils and charities – saving hundreds of lives.
On 13 October, we announced a new £10 million Cold Weather Fund to support councils get rough sleepers off the streets during the winter by helping them to provide more self-contained accommodation. This is in addition to £2 million for faith and community groups to help them provide secure accommodation?for rough sleepers. Alongside this, comprehensive guidance will be shared with the sector, produced with Public Health England, Homeless Link and Housing Justice, to help shelters open more safely, where not doing so would endanger lives.
On 18 July, we launched the Next Steps Accommodation Programme (NSAP), making available the financial resources needed to support English local authorities and their partners to prevent people from returning to the streets. On 17 September we announced local authority allocations for the short-term funding aspect of NSAP. £91.5m was allocated to 274 councils in England to help vulnerable people housed during the pandemic. The remaining £13.5 million of funding will be used to support local authority to tackle new and emerging challenges over the winter.
We are also supporting those at risk of homelessness, with an injection of over £9 billion into the welfare system. This includes increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that they are set at the 30th percentile of market rents.
In addition, we have introduced legislation that means, from 29 August 2020, landlords must give tenants six months’ notice before they can evict in most circumstances. This helps ensures those most at risk are protected and provides time for tenants to agree a solution with their landlord if they are unable to pay their rent. The Government is providing £4.8 billion to help councils to manage the impacts of COVID-19 which includes their work to support homeless people.
We will continue to focus on delivering support to those who are most vulnerable from this pandemic, and these measures further demonstrate our commitment to assist the most vulnerable in society.