Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 8 January (HL3567), whether they have any target for providing social homes over the lifetime of the current Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. Our aspiration is to ensure that, from the first full financial year of this Parliament (2025-26) onwards, the number of Social Rent homes grows consistently. We will update Parliament on our progress.
We have therefore asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise the number of Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining funding from the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.
My department published an update on targets in the 2021-26 Programme on 30 July 2024. We have also made a number of changes to national planning policy that are designed to support the delivery of Social Rent homes. We will bring forward details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban all petrol and diesel motorcycles.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government has no plans to ban all petrol and diesel motorcycles.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many social homes they expect to be delivered in each of the next five years.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
With regard to our work to increase the number of new social homes, I refer to the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 19382 on 20th December 2024.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Nottingham Trent University E-scooters: Still the new kid on the transport block. Assessing e-scooter legislation knowledge and illegal riding behaviour, published on 22 November 2023, that dangerous e-scooter use is linked to a lack of knowledge of the rules.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government assesses a broad range of evidence that can assist with informing our understanding of what legislation is appropriate for e-scooters, and we recognise there are risks around the safe use of e-scooters which is why we are running trials of rental e-scooters.
Their purpose is to assess the benefits of e-scooters including their wider impacts, and to inform options for future regulation. The Government’s proposals for e-scooter regulations will take learning from the trials, academic research, stakeholder engagement and international evidence into consideration and we will consult on any new regulations before they come into force.
The Government also tracks the public’s attitudes, awareness and knowledge of e-scooters through the Transport Technology Tracker, with the most recent publication on 24 September 2024.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether landlords will have to pay a fee (1) to use the proposed Private Rented Sector Database, and (2) for the purposes of enforcement of the Decent Homes Standard, under the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Renters’ Rights Bill includes provisions for the Private Rented Sector Database to be funded through fees charged to private landlords when they register. Further details on fees will be set out in secondary legislation. We will take steps to make sure costs remain reasonable, proportionate and sustainable.
The new service will bring substantial benefits to landlords – providing a single source of information about their legal responsibilities, helping them showcase their compliance. It will also support local councils to enforce against unscrupulous landlords who undercut the responsible majority.
The Bill also provides local councils with the ability to prosecute or issue civil penalties for offences linked to Decent Homes Standard failures. Income generated from civil penalties can be used to fund further housing enforcement.
In accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine, we will ensure that, where necessary, the net additional costs that may fall on local councils as a result of our proposed reforms are fully funded.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to make training mandatory for e-scooter users.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Resolving the longstanding problems and missed opportunities of micromobility and e-scooters is a priority for the Department for Transport and we will work with colleagues across Government to tackle this as soon as possible.
No decisions have been made on the future regulation of e-scooters and the Government will consult before any regulations come into force
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to make protective equipment mandatory for e-scooter users.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Resolving the longstanding problems and missed opportunities of micromobility and e-scooters is a priority for the Department for Transport and we will work with colleagues across Government to tackle this as soon as possible.
No decisions have been made on the future regulation of e-scooters and the Government will consult before any regulations come into force
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to legalise the use of private e-scooters in public spaces.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Resolving the longstanding problems and missed opportunities of micromobility and e-scooters is a priority for the Department for Transport and we will work with colleagues across Government to tackle this as soon as possible.
No decisions have been made on the future regulation of e-scooters and the Government will consult before any regulations come into force
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have been imprisoned in each of the past five years for non-payment of the BBC licence fee.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on sentencing outcomes for a wide range of offences including Television Licence Evasion in England and Wales between 2020 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: June 2024.
In the last five years there have been no sentences of immediate custody for Television Licence Evasion in England and Wales.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to abolish marriage value in property valuations.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 removes the requirement to pay marriage value in lease extensions and freehold acquisitions.
As set out in the Housing Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement on 21 November, the Government will act as quickly as possible to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of that Act.