Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants are assigned to work in the Land Registry’s London office; and how many desks there are for those civil servants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry’s Head Office is in Croydon and it does not have any other London-based offices. It had 416 staff based in the Croydon office on 13 December 2024 with 280 desks available for HM Land Registry’s use.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each of her Department's offices; and how many desks are available in each office.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 9071 on 28 November 2024.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in her Department since the dissolution of the last Parliament; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has spent £33,790.50 on the refurbishment of Ministerial offices since the dissolution of the last Parliament. This includes a spend of £16,554.89 to ensure Ministers are able to work outside of London.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of desks were occupied in each of her Department's offices in the most recent four weeks for which figures are available; and how many staff attended each office in person in the same period.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Heads of Department have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published today, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) section 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and (b) fire safety regulations introduced since the Grenfell Tower fire on the financial viability of arms-length management organisations.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the Housing Minister's answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024, he set out the measures the Government is taking to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
The Government is committed to working with social housing providers to ensure that homes are safe, decent, warm and free from damp and mould. That is why we have committed to bringing forward regulations to improve the quality of social housing, for example Awaab’s Law, and to ensuring that landlords meet fire safety regulations. The costs and impacts of new regulatory requirements are set out alongside the relevant consultation and subsequent consultation response.
The Government is providing funding for social housing landlords through the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund, the Building Safety Fund and Cladding Safety Scheme for 11m+ buildings. The Government’s Warm Homes Plan also offers grants and low interest loans which support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other improvements.
As we set out in July, details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing will be brought forwards at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) section 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and (b) fire safety regulations introduced since the Grenfell Tower fire on the level of social housebuilding.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the Housing Minister's answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024, he set out the measures the Government is taking to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
The Government is committed to working with social housing providers to ensure that homes are safe, decent, warm and free from damp and mould. That is why we have committed to bringing forward regulations to improve the quality of social housing, for example Awaab’s Law, and to ensuring that landlords meet fire safety regulations. The costs and impacts of new regulatory requirements are set out alongside the relevant consultation and subsequent consultation response.
The Government is providing funding for social housing landlords through the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund, the Building Safety Fund and Cladding Safety Scheme for 11m+ buildings. The Government’s Warm Homes Plan also offers grants and low interest loans which support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other improvements.
As we set out in July, details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing will be brought forwards at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposals to require all rented homes to reach an EPC C standard by 2030 on the level of social housebuilding.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the Housing Minister's answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024, he set out the measures the Government is taking to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
The Government is committed to working with social housing providers to ensure that homes are safe, decent, warm and free from damp and mould. That is why we have committed to bringing forward regulations to improve the quality of social housing, for example Awaab’s Law, and to ensuring that landlords meet fire safety regulations. The costs and impacts of new regulatory requirements are set out alongside the relevant consultation and subsequent consultation response.
The Government is providing funding for social housing landlords through the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund, the Building Safety Fund and Cladding Safety Scheme for 11m+ buildings. The Government’s Warm Homes Plan also offers grants and low interest loans which support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other improvements.
As we set out in July, details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing will be brought forwards at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when her Department plans to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform for broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the King’s Speech, the Government intend to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this parliamentary session.