Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to strengthen communities in the aftermath of the recent riots.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has made £15 million available to the places most severely affected by disorder through the Community Recovery Fund to support the immediate recovery. Officials from my department have also carried out an extensive engagement process with these places to understand the underlying causes of the unrest.
The disorder that affected communities across the UK following the Southport tragedy this summer has made clear that a new approach to community cohesion is urgently needed. This is a priority for the Government and I have stood up a cross-government Communities & Recovery Steering Group to oversee this work.
We are listening to communities across the country to understand the challenges they face and this will inform how this government works to empower communities and build greater cohesion.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken to communicate the recent changes to the Right to Buy scheme to eligible social housing tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government made clear in its manifesto that it intended to review the increased right to buy discounts introduced in 2012 and reiterated this in a Written Ministerial Statement on 30 July. The Right to Buy discounts review was published alongside the Budget on 30 October, and we announced that discounts would reduce to between £16,000 and £38,000 (varying by region).
We have taken a number of steps to communicate this announcement to social landlords and tenants. We wrote to both councils and registered providers through the National Housing Federation. We ensured the government’s helpline, the Right to Buy Agent Service, immediately had the new information. We also updated all relevant online materials, including the Right to Buy summary booklet, and the guidance documents that we provide for both tenants and landlords.
All the documents explained that the changes would come into force on 21 November, whilst making it clear that applications received by social landlords from eligible tenants before 21 November 2024 would be eligible for the previous maximum cash discounts. We also released press notices highlighting the discount changes and the timeframe for their implementation.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.72 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on social care of a £600 million investment.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government recognises the pressures on councils delivering social care services. Including the £600 million of new grant funding announced at the Autumn Budget, the Government is providing over £10 billion in 2025-26 Settlement funding for social care through the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF), the Better Care Fund (including discharge funding), Social Care Grant, Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant and Children and Families Grant.
This funding, alongside income from unringfenced sources including council tax, can be used to address the range of pressures facing the social care sector. We provided more information on funding for local government in the Policy Statement published on 28 November, and further details will be included in the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.