Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish a strategy on ending all forms of homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This has a devastating impact on those affected and harms our communities.
We must address this and deliver long-term solutions. The Government is considering these issues carefully and is committed to putting Britain back on track to ending homelessness. To do this we will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the potential cost to local authorities for providing temporary accommodation for homeless people in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. Local authorities have reported the costs of providing temporary accommodation for 2023/24. This information is available at the ‘Revenue outturn housing services (RO4)’ tables at Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2023 to 2024 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
We must address homelessness levels and deliver long term solutions. The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors, councils and key stakeholders across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.
More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, building 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament, and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The Government has also confirmed £450 million for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which will support local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's timetable is for (a) establishing and (b) the first meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping; and how frequently she expects that group to meet.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of the potential costs to local authorities of providing temporary accommodation in line with their their homelessness relief duties in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. Local authorities have reported the costs of providing temporary accommodation for 2023/24. This information is available at the ‘Revenue outturn housing services (RO4)’ tables at: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2023 to 2024 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for holding the inaugural meeting of the inter-ministerial group on homelessness; and how frequently that group will meet.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will bring forward a Race Action Plan to tackle (a) systemic inequalities affecting and (b) discrimination faced by (i) Romani, (ii) Roma and (iii) Irish Travellers in the (A) education, (B) economic, (C) criminal justice and (D) health sectors.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government takes its responsibilities and statutory obligations to all our communities seriously. Simultaneously we emphasise the importance of governing on behalf of everyone, irrespective of background, race, ethnicity or any other characteristics.
Constant attempts to atomise public policy making will neither be successful nor help the communities they erroneously purport to assist.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that the lived experiences of Romani, Roma and Irish Travellers are taken fully into account in consideration of policy affecting them.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government takes its responsibilities and statutory obligations to all our communities seriously. Simultaneously we emphasise the importance of governing on behalf of everyone, irrespective of background, race, ethnicity or any other characteristics.
Constant attempts to atomise public policy making will neither be successful nor help the communities they erroneously purport to assist.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that a leaseholder who purchased a lease after 14th February 2022, and who would qualify for protection from building safety costs based on their own circumstances, does not inherit a non-qualifying status from the previous owner.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The protected status of a property and its lease is based on its status on 14 February 2022 and is automatically transferred to future buyers of the lease. This means that if the property was not eligible for the protections on 14 February 2022, when in due course it is sold, the buyer does not benefit from those protections. This applies in the other direction as well; a flat protected on 14 February remains protected when sold.
All leaseholders - qualifying or not - are now fully protected in law from paying towards the remediation of both unsafe cladding systems and non-cladding defects if their landlord is - or is associated with - the developer who is responsible for that safety defect.
The proposed Responsible Actors Scheme would require eligible developers to remediate life-critical fire-safety defects in residential buildings of 11 metres or more which they had a role in developing or refurbishing over the 30 years prior to 5 April 2022, or face being prohibited from carrying out major development or obtaining building control approvals. Already, 48 of the country's largest developers have signed a contract committing to remediate buildings the developed, ahead of the new statutory scheme being approved by Parliament.
In addition, all leaseholders can benefit from the funding the government has made for the remediation of unsafe cladding.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to support leaseholders who are not entitled to support under the Building Safety Act 2022 and who cannot meet the costs of remedial fire safety works.
Answered by Lee Rowley
There is a range of support in place for those leaseholders who do not own a qualifying lease under the leaseholder protections set out in the Building Safety Act 2022. All leaseholders in buildings above 11 metres or five storeys are protected where the developer has signed our developer remediation contract or where the freeholder is, or is associated with, the developer.
In addition, remediation contribution orders provide all leaseholders, in relevant buildings, with a new route for recovering historical safety remediation costs.
Leaseholders wishing to understand more about the support available to them can seek free information from the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), funded by the Department.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of revising the National Planning Policy Framework to permit the development of new onshore wind farms in England.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We have consulted on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework for onshore wind. We will respond in due course.