Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many residential buildings have registered with the Cladding Safety Scheme in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) Bexley Borough as of 22 February 2024.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
As of 26 February 2024, 2 residential buildings located in the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency have registered with the Cladding Safety Scheme; and in the wider Bexley borough, a further 3 residential buildings have registered with the Cladding Safety Scheme.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many people have arrived in (a) Bexley Borough and (b) Greater London through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme as of 16 June 2022.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The most up to date data on arrivals through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority .
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes were purchased by first-time buyers in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, (b) Bexley Borough and (c) Greater London, in each month of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We have taken steps to keep the housing market open during the Covid-19 and allow people to buy, sell and view properties during periods of national restrictions. This is supported by the temporary cut to Stamp Duty Land Tax for home buyers and underpinned by our guidance for consumers and industry on how the process can operate while minimising the risks presented by the virus.
This Government is committed to helping people get on the housing ladder across the country. Over 717,000 households have been helped to purchase a home since spring 2010 through government-backed schemes such as Help to Buy: Equity Loan and Right to Buy. New initiatives including First Homes, improving shared ownership and a new £11.5 billion affordable homes programme will bring more affordable housing to those who need it.
In addition, the Government has launched a new mortgage guarantee scheme to support a new generation in realising the dream of home ownership. This will increase the availability of 95% loan-to-value mortgage products, enabling more households to access mortgages without the need for prohibitively large deposits.
The English Housing Survey is published annually and reports on housing trends in England, including homeownership rates. Data for 2019-20 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/english-housing-survey. Data for 2020-21 will be published at the end of this year.
Data on the number of first-time buyers using Help to Buy: Equity Loans is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-data-to-31-december-2020.This data indicates that, despite a drop in the earlier stages of the pandemic, the number of first-time buyers who bought a home in England in Q4 2020 using a Help to Buy Equity Loan, exceeds the number in Q4 2019 before the pandemic, with 17,348 and 12,262 first-time buyers respectively. A similar rate of recovery can be seen in the number of first-time buyers in Bexley Borough and across London. Data for Help to Buy: Equity Loan first-time buyer purchases are not published at monthly or parliamentary constituency level.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the level of housebuilding in England (a) in 2020 and (b) from 2007 to 2010.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
House building statistics are not yet available for 2020. The time series covering the period up to the end of December 2019 is available on the Department's website https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/house-building-statistics .
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of (a) lettings and (b) estate agents on the effect of covid-19 on the property sector.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
My Department has had initial discussions with letting and estate agents about the effect that coronavirus is having on their businesses and I expect these discussions to continue over the coming period.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what deterrents are in place to stop rogue landlords illegally evicting a tenant.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Tenants are protected from illegal eviction through the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, the Housing Act 1988, and the retaliatory eviction provisions in the Deregulation Act 2015. Under the Eviction Act 1977, local authorities have the power to prosecute landlords in the criminal courts who break the law.
We want to go further, and we recently announced that we will abolish ‘no-fault’ evictions by repealing section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. By ending ‘no fault’ evictions, landlords will always have to provide a reason for ending a tenancy. This more secure tenancy framework will give tenants greater confidence that they can complain about problems with their home without the fear of eviction.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when all local authorities will retain 100 per cent of business rates.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The business rates retention scheme is yielding strong results. Local authorities estimate that in 2019-20 they will keep around £2.5 billion in business rates growth. The Government is committed to increasing business rates retention and is aiming to move to 75 per cent retention of business rates from 2020/21. The Government will continue to work with the sector to identify other opportunities to further increase business rates retention when it is right to do so.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the need for investment in housing in the Thames Estuary.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government is committed to driving up housing supply where homes are most needed and in March 2016 established the independent Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission to develop an ambitious vision and delivery plan for north Kent, south Essex and east London up to 2050.
The Commission has now produced its report. Government will respond in full to the Commission’s report by the end of the calendar year.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to respond to the report of the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission; what plans he has to implement the recommendations of that Commission; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government will respond in full to the report of the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission by the end of the calendar year.
At Budget 2018 we announced that, drawing on the Thames Estuary Commission report, the government will be supporting a study to develop options and consult the local area on a Great Thames Park.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to the London Borough of Bexley from the Affordable Homes Programme; and how much money from that programme has been allocated to Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Mayor has overall responsibility for affordable housing policy and delivery in London. In recognition of the acute affordability pressures in London, the Government has agreed a £4.8 billion deal with the GLA, including £1.67 billion announced at Spring Statement, to deliver at least 116,000 affordable housing starts by March 2022.
London Affordable Homes Programme allocations are published on the GLA website which can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/record-17bn-deal-for-new-homes