Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting a percentage target spend to be allocated to the VCSE sector in future guidance to (a) mayors and (b) unitary authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The majority of funding within scope of the Local Government Finance Settlement is un-ringfenced in recognition that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, for example investing in their Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sectors.
Similarly, the funding for Mayoral Strategic Authorities does not include a target spend for the VCSE sector. Mayors are best placed to decide how to use their resources to deliver outcomes and best serve their communities.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' publication Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 12 March 2025, whether she will make it her policy to adopt the Committee's recommendations on guarantees for (a) safe and (b) adequate living conditions in temporary accommodation through a comprehensive regulatory framework.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government notes the UN Committee's recommendations on ensuring safe and adequate living conditions in temporary accommodation.
Our Homelessness Code of Guidance provides a summary of the homelessness legislation duties, powers and obligations on local housing authorities, including the quality standards of temporary accommodation.
Legislation is clear that temporary accommodation must be suitable for the needs of the household and that suitability of accommodation should be kept under review. Households may ask for a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.
Through the Renters’ Rights Bill, the government will consult on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors in due course. It is the government’s intention that the Decent Homes Standard should apply to as much of the temporary accommodation sector as possible.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to review the limit for adaptions under the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government recognises how important home adaptations are in enabling disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding helps adapt around 55,000 homes annually, helping disabled people and their families to live independently and well in their own homes for longer.
This Government is reviewing the suitability of the current grant upper limit. We expect the review to conclude later in 2025. Given that any rise in the upper limit will require additional funding, the Government will say more about its future approach after the Spending Review. In the meanwhile, local authorities have considerable discretion and may fund adaptations above the current £30,000 upper limit in line with a local policy or in exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on each reform set out in her Department's Written Ministerial Statement on Leasehold and Commonhold Reform, of 21 November 2024, HCWS244.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
On 31 January 2025, provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to remove the two-year qualifying period in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.
On 10 February, we laid regulations in Parliament to implement the reforms contained in the Act concerning the Right to Manage and these will come into force on Monday 3 March.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking any steps to (a) identify and (b) tackle fraudulent activity by (i) landlords and (ii) freeholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The reforms introduced in the Renters’ Rights Bill will be underpinned by an effective, consistent and proportionate enforcement framework.
We are extending councils’ powers to collect and retain revenue for future enforcement work from financial penalties against landlords in the private rented sector who flout the rules. Initial or minor non-compliance will incur a civil penalty of up to £7,000 and serious, persistent or repeat non-compliance a civil penalty of up to £40,000, with the alternative of a criminal prosecution.
We are also providing local authorities with a range of new investigatory powers which will allow them to enforce our new reforms, including powers to require information from relevant persons and any persons and powers of entry to business and residential premises.
The Remediation Acceleration Plan published in December 2024 committed the government to supporting regulators to hold bad actors – whether freeholders or landlords – to account in relation to fixing dangerous buildings, including via robust new powers to enforce remediation.
Freeholders who breach the terms of their lease, or fail to hold service charge monies in a trust fund, may be challenged by leaseholders in the courts.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 merits of amending planning permission regulations to make the local water supplier a statutory consultees in applications to build data centres.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 15758 on 3 December 2024.
The hon. Member may also wish to know that we will be introducing secondary legislation later this year to prescribe data centres, gigafactories and laboratories as types of business or commercial development capable (on request) of being directed into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects consenting regime.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of new housing targets on sewerage infrastructure.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 9948 on 23 October 2024.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether funding for the Rough Sleeping Initiative will continue after April 2025.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to addressing current high levels of rough sleeping and deliver long term solutions. We will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.
As announced by the Chancellor on 29 July 2024, spending plans for 2025-26 will be set alongside the Budget on 30 October 2024. Following departmental review and processes, funding allocations for rough sleeping services will be announced via gov.uk.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the effect of removing the Council Tax discount for single people.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government currently has no plans to change the single person discount. Decisions on future local authority funding will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are fully engaged.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households qualifying for the Council Tax Discount for single people are (a) living in poverty, (b) have a dependent under the age of 18 and (c) are pensioners.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government does not collect data on the individual characteristics of residents of households receiving the single person discount.