Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) empty properties and (b) empty properties subject to Empty Dwelling Management Orders in Gloucester.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
According to the latest published statistics, excluding second homes, there are 719,470 vacant dwellings in England. 265,061 of these dwellings are classed as Long-Term Empty Homes, meaning they have been empty for more than six months.
A breakdown of vacant dwellings by local authority district can be found on gov.uk here.
The Department does not collect data on the number of Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMOs) that have been issued.
Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years.
Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an EDMO when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of empty homes in Gloucester.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
According to the latest published statistics, excluding second homes, there are 719,470 vacant dwellings in England. 265,061 of these dwellings are classed as Long-Term Empty Homes, meaning they have been empty for more than six months.
A breakdown of vacant dwellings by local authority district can be found on gov.uk here.
The Department does not collect data on the number of Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMOs) that have been issued.
Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years.
Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an EDMO when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of social rented homes with (a) mould and (b) damp in Gloucester.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold data on the number of social rented homes with damp and mould in Gloucester.
However, the English Housing Survey (EHS) provides findings on housing quality and condition in England, including damp and mould. The EHS found that, in 2022-23, 7% of local authority renters and 4% of housing association renters lived in homes affected by damp.
The government is committed to working with social housing providers to ensure that homes are safe, decent, warm, and free from damp and mould.
The Deputy Prime Minister made a Written Ministerial Statement on 6 February (HCWS423) confirming that the government will be bringing Awaab’s Law into force for damp and mould in October 2025.
Awaab’s Law is vital legislation that will empower social tenants to hold their landlords to account using the full force of the law if they fail to investigate and fix hazards within their homes within set timescales. It will also allow tenants to access the Housing Ombudsman if their landlord does not adhere to strict timelines for action.
The government is also committed to consulting on a new Decent Homes Standard and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards this year.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support (a) parents and (b) single parents to access employment in Gloucester.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Get Britain Working White Paper, which was published in November 2024, we set out our aspirations, backed by a £55million investment for 2025/26, to transform Jobcentre Plus and create a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone, including parents and single parents in Gloucester to access support to find good, meaningful work, and to help people to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.
The Get Britain Working White Paper also committed DWP to supporting and providing all areas in England with resource to produce a local Get Britain Working Plans. We are asking local areas to develop detailed plans that address the challenges related to labour force participation (employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity) and progression in work. Local Get Britain Working plans will enable all areas to take the lead in shaping a coherent offer of support for their local citizens, including the offer of support for parents, across work, health, and skills.
Parents have existing support from Work Coaches, who provide individual, tailored help to all customers across the country, this includes supporting the development of skills needed to look for and obtain sustained employment, advice to parents on childcare support or help to address their skills gaps to aid career progression.
We are also considering how we can improve our support to help parents into work as part of our Child Poverty Strategy which will be published later this year.