Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact changes to planning regulations will have on the number of affordable homes.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
To aid small and medium-sized (SME) builders through economic recovery, we have consulted on a proposal to increase the current threshold at which affordable housing contributions can be collected on new developments. Details of the impact of this proposal are set out in the Changes to the current planning system consultation, which closed on 1 October. It is important that we analyse the consultation feedback thoroughly. We will respond to the consultation in due course.
We are proposing this as a short-term measure before introducing radical reform through the Planning for the future white paper, in which we are proposing a new nationally-set ‘Infrastructure Levy’ that delivers at least as much on-site affordable housing as at present. The Planning for the future consultation closes on 29 October.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they are making to provide all rough sleepers with face masks so that they can comply with the requirements to use such masks on public transport.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
£3.2 billion has been provided to support councils to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including meeting the costs of accommodating some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support vulnerable rough sleepers. This funding is specifically to assist local authorities in dealing with the impacts of the challenges faced by the most vulnerable in society during this difficult time.
Local authorities are able to use this funding flexibly to ensure that the rough sleepers they are supporting are given the support they require. This includes supporting rough sleepers in a variety of ways, potentially including travel if necessary.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to provide homeless people with free access to public transport to enable them to travel greater distances to access support services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
£3.2 billion has been provided to support councils to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including meeting the costs of accommodating some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support vulnerable rough sleepers. This funding is specifically to assist local authorities in dealing with the impacts of the challenges faced by the most vulnerable in society during this difficult time.
Local authorities are able to use this funding flexibly to ensure that the rough sleepers they are supporting are given the support they require. This includes supporting rough sleepers in a variety of ways, potentially including travel if necessary.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all refuge centres for the homeless have sufficient funds to continue their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Almost 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the start of the COVID-19 emergency, according to returns from local authorities to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.
£3.2 billion has been provided to support councils to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which councils can use to provide support for vulnerable rough sleepers. This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support vulnerable rough sleepers.
Local authorities are able to use this funding flexibly to ensure that those being offered accommodation to self-isolate are given the support they require. This funding is alongside significant investment including £112m across England in 2020/21 for the Rough Sleeping Initiative to help around 270 areas tackle rough sleeping across 2020/21.
MHCLG also recently announced the?Coronavirus (COVID-19) Homelessness Response Fund, granting £6 million to charities, including those who run hostel accommodation. This is to be spent on organisational sustainability in order to ensure the ongoing activities that help keep people who are homeless safe and supported during the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend their contracts with hotels and bed and breakfasts to offer temporary accommodation for those who require it until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Nearly 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the COVID-19 emergency began. This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.
The Government asked Dame Louise Casey to?spearhead a specialist taskforce to lead the next phase of the Government’s support for rough sleepers during the pandemic. The taskforce will work hand-in-hand with councils across the country on plans to ensure rough sleepers can move into long-term, safe accommodation once the immediate crisis is over – ensuring as few people as possible return to life on the streets.
We announced on 24 May radical plans to provide thousands of long-term, safe homes for vulnerable rough sleepers taken off the streets during this pandemic. This ambitious commitment will be backed by £160 million this year through accelerating plans for the £381 million announced for rough sleeping services at Budget, bringing the total to £433 million over the lifetime of this parliament. This funding will ensure that 6,000 new housing units will be put into the system, with 3,300 units of this accommodation becoming available in the next 12 months.
We are working intensively with local authorities to design plans for next steps which includes consideration of the role of hotels. We continue to explore this and are working with national organisations to do so, alongside councils.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with religious authorities about opening places of worship for (1) personal private devotions, (2) formal services, and (3) funerals and weddings, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government has been working closely with all major faith groups on a wide variety of issues relating to its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this engagement will continue.
The Faith Minister has held meetings with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu faith leaders and representatives since the outbreak. Officials also maintain regular contact with Faith leaders across all major faiths, ensuring the Government is responding to issues relating to COVID-19 as they arise.
This engagement will continue at both ministerial and official level as the Government looks to lift restrictions, as outlined in the recovery strategy – “Our Plan to Rebuild”, which was launched on 11 May can be found (attached) here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/884760/Our_plan_to_rebuild_The_UK_Government_s_COVID-19_recovery_strategy.pdf. As the document makes clear in Step 3, the Government’s ambition is to open places of worship; the current assumption is that this Step will be no earlier than 4 July.
As part of the recovery strategy, the Government has launched a Taskforce to look at the possible re-opening of places of worship. The Taskforce will be led by the Secretary of State for Communities, or the Faith Minister, and comprise of representatives from the country’s major faiths. The aim of the Taskforce is to work towards the safe reopening of places of worship, including for private devotions, services and ceremonies like funerals and weddings.?It will?address the?specific?issues that places of worship face?in the course of?reopening safely.
Places of worship are essential in bringing our communities together, which is why we want to reopen them as soon as we can. However, we will not compromise the safety of those who visit and work at our places of worship. The Government’s priority is to protect the public and save lives. We are committed to ensuring our faith communities have access to the latest public health advice, and to support them to adapt their practices in line with the Government’s COVID-19 guidance.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to local authorities to prepare communities to readjust following the end of the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We understand that local authorities know better than anyone the needs of local people, and that they are trying incredibly hard to balance the need to maintain services alongside wider responsibilities for the health and wellbeing of residents.
Ministers and officials have led regular engagement with local authorities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes dedicated Government Liaison Officers, support through Local Resilience Forums, and £3.2bn of additional funding – the details of which can be found (attached) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-confirms-allocations-of-1-6-billion-funding-boost-for-councils
The Government will continue to work closely with local authorities over the coming weeks and months to ensure they are managing as the pandemic progresses and we have a collective understanding of the costs they are facing.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to using the former RAF Sealand station to accommodate homeless people and others in need of temporary housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We do not currently have any specific plans to use RAF Sealand to accommodate homeless people during the Covid-19 pandemic but we are exploring all options, working closely with colleagues across Government, including the Ministry of Defence.
Over 90% of those on the streets and in communal night shelters known to local authorities at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis have now been made offers of safe accommodation – ensuring some of the most vulnerable in society are protected from the pandemic.
Councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding as they continue to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic. With this funding councils can provide support to those who need it most. This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to over £3.2 billion. This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding to ensure that we minimise the risk to those currently unable to self-isolate.
In addition, we have been working with the Greater London Authority and a number of hotel chains across the country to secure accommodation for rough sleepers and we have now introduced a centrally coordinated process across Government for block booking hotels.