Oral Answers to Questions

Felicity Buchan Excerpts

Monday 4th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Felicity Buchan)]

I remind the hon. Gentleman that our target is 300,000 homes per year which, when multiplied by five, equals 1.5 million. In the autumn statement we had three measures to address the challenges of temporary accommodation: we uprated the local housing allowance to the 30th percentile; there is a new £120 million for a homelessness fund; and an extra £450 million for the local authority housing fund.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

T7. Does my hon. Friend agree that Stoke-on-Trent City Council should invest its share of the £200 million that it recently secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund on one of the three beautiful “beasts” of Burslem, including the indoor market, in order to regenerate the mother town, for which the leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council is a local ward councillor?

--- Later in debate ---

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Sadly, a second homeless person died over the weekend. The number of rough sleepers is increasing, and the temperatures are falling. Will my hon. Friend take immediate action to ensure that rough sleepers are provided with a decent place to sleep, particularly during this cold weather?

[Felicity Buchan]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. Clearly, the death in Manchester was tragic. Local authorities can activate the severe weather emergency protocol measures. Manchester did activate those, but sadly the man was not known to local services. I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and we will do everything to support rough sleepers over the winter period.

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Government announced in the autumn statement £120 million of new money for homeless prevention for next year, but that is just a drop in the ocean, with Enfield Council alone facing a £9.8 million overspend on temporary accommodation for this year. When will this Government recognise the scale of the crisis and provide top-up funding for the homelessness prevention grant and discretionary housing payments?

[Felicity Buchan]

I remind the hon. Lady that our total package for homelessness and rough sleeping over three years is £2 billion. The £120 million is in addition to that, but I agree with her that there are real pressures on homelessness, particularly in London, and that is why there were three measures in the autumn statement.