Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of former council-owned properties that are owned by private landlords seeking to let those properties.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to disapply the local connection tests for veterans seeking social housing who are referred through Op Fortitude.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We introduced regulations in 2012 that prevent local authorities from applying a local connection test to disqualify serving personnel as well as those within 5 years of having left the Armed Forces. Statutory guidance is also clear that members of the regular Armed Forces, their bereaved spouses and civil partners, and seriously injured reservists, must not be disqualified for an allocation of social housing because they lack a local connection to an area.
Further statutory allocations guidance issued in June 2020 makes clear that local authorities are expected to disapply any local connection requirement from divorced or separated spouses or civil partners of Service personnel who are required to move out of accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, will he make it his policy to require the introduction of male hygiene bins in public toilets.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 83564 on 17 November 2022.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 114817 on Land: Regeneration, if he will publish the results of his Department's review into existing community asset frameworks which allow communities to protect local spaces.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local communities should determine which spaces and places are most important to them.
The Government's £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps communities to acquire local assets which are important to them, this can include existing Assets of Community Value.
Details of announcements will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2022 to Question 141284 on Community Assets, when he plans to consult on options to enhance the existing Assets of Community Value Scheme.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local communities should determine which spaces and places are most important to them.
The Government's £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps communities to acquire local assets which are important to them, this can include existing Assets of Community Value.
Details of announcements will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his planned timetable is for the abolition of Section 21.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Everyone deserves to live in a safe and secure home and ensuring a fair deal for renters remains a priority for this Government. The Queen's Speech committed to introducing a Renters Reform Bill that would repeal section 21 evictions and we will do so as soon as time allows in this Parliament.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of Ukrainian refugees on the adequacy of the process for securing private accommodation after leaving the Homes for Ukraine scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 109692 on 19 December 2022
We are working across government, with councils, tenant groups, Ukrainian community representatives and landlord organisations to ensure Ukrainians are receiving the help they need to access housing and to gather feedback. We have used this feedback to consider appropriate guidance and our future policy for accommodating Ukrainians.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on requirements to record the (a) number and (b) identity details of people turned away from polling stations for not possessing required identification.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
It is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission to issue guidance to Returning Officers.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding from Levelling Up Fund Round 2 will be provided to each local authority.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 127879 on 24 January 2023. The published Levelling Up Fund Round 2 technical note set out the additional considerations that could be taken into account when making funding decisions. This included “ taking into account other investment in a local area, including investment made from the first round of the Fund to encourage a spread of levelling up funds across places.” The published explanatory note outlines the specifics of how decisions for the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 were made. Applicants to the Fund were informed of the outcome of decisions by letter sent on the 18 January.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether a person who has to temporarily surrender their driving license to DVLA on health grounds will be provided with alternative documentation to use as ID at an election during that period.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
A wide range of identification documents will be accepted at polling stations. A full list of acceptable identification can be found here.