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Written Question
Permitted Development Rights
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what is his planned timetable for the consultation on a new Permitted Development Right for subdividing houses into two flats.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Veterans: Homelessness
Friday 3rd February 2023

Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to end homelessness among veterans in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) nationally.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Data on households who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, for England including those in Hertfordshire show levels of veteran homelessness is low - less than 1% of households owed a homelessness duty had a member with a support need as a result of serving in the Armed Forces.

Latest numbers for Hertfordshire can be found within the quarterly data publication ( April - June) available here (Table A3), which shows only 4 households had a support need due to service in the Armed Forces across the 10 council areas.

For 22/23 local authorities have been provided with £366 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant to meet their homelessness strategies, including support for homeless veterans, and the funding allocations can be found here. In addition, this Government recently announced a further £8.55 million to support the delivery of new veteran supported housing.


Written Question
Antisemitism
Tuesday 31st January 2023

Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle anti-Semitism.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we are taking a strong, cross Government approach to tackling it in all its forms. The UK became the first country to adopt the Definition of Antisemitism; we support the work of Lord Mann, the Government's Independent Adviser on Antisemitism, and we provide funding to the Holocaust Education Trust. I would also refer my Hon. Friend to the answer to Question UIN 117512 which gives further detail on the steps taken to tackle this issue.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Monday 5th December 2022

Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the average time was for his Department to respond to correspondence from Members of Parliament in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament and the public.

We know that it has taken us too long to reply to some correspondence recently, and are focusing on improving the time taken to respond. As the Hon. Member will be aware, there has been significant recent changes in the ministerial team. With an excellent new team now in place, and clarity on our policy positions, the department is focused on ensuring we respond rapidly to outstanding correspondence. We are determined that we will in future provide the highest level of service which the department expects, and Members of Parliament rightly deserve.

Data on the Department's correspondence performance can be found here.


Written Question
Buildings: Insulation
Monday 24th May 2021

Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how buildings are measured when deciding whether they are entitled to cladding remediation support.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The method of determining a building’s height for the Building Safety Fund can be found in Prospectus Annex A: Technical Information of the Building Safety Fund Prospectus. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#prospectus---outlining-eligibility-for-the-fund The same method is used for the Private Sector ACM Remediation Fund.


Written Question
Flats: Insulation
Monday 24th May 2021

Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish guidance for leaseholders in flats who obtained an EWS1 certificate when they were not required to; and whether those EWS1 certificates will continue to apply.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The EWS1 is not a Government form nor a legal requirement. The industry form helps ascertain if a building has remediation requirements which may affect building value and therefore mortgage lending decisions.

The requirement for and use of the EWS1 form is determined by the lending policies of banks and building societies. Having access to an EWS1 form and the professional reports behind it should help flat owners reassure potential buyers, identify issues which may need addressing or indeed act as part evidence towards any future fire risk assessments, even if a lender no longer requires the EWS1 form. An EWS1 form remains as valid information for five years.