Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many people are (a) homeless, (b) in emergency accommodation and (c) in temporary accommodation in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department holds information on homelessness and rough sleeping at a local authority level. In the London Borough of Enfield, the latest figures indicate the number of households who were assessed as being owed a homelessness duty is 386. These figures are from April-June 2021. The number of households in emergency accommodation is 169 as of January 2021, the latest figures recorded. Further information about the figures can be found on gov.uk, where all live tables for homelessness data are published, here.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps he has taken to support people at risk of homelessness in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government has committed over £800 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year, further demonstrating the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping this Parliament and fully enforce the Homelessness Reduction Act. This includes a £65 million one-off top up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant, for local authorities to help vulnerable households with rent arrears to reduce the risk of them being evicted and becoming homeless, bringing total spend this year from the Homelessness Prevention Grant to £375 million.
Whilst the Department does not hold financial data for specific constituencies, Enfield London Borough council has received financial support for the following programmes:
Name of Scheme | Funding Allocated |
Homelessness Prevention Grant | £8,927,794 |
Homelessness Prevention Grant: exceptional winter top-up | £1,871,957 |
Rough Sleeping Initiative | £690,250 |
Accommodation for Ex-Offenders (AfEO) Scheme | £143,125 |
Homelessness Domestic Abuse New Burdens Funding | £28,993 |
In total, Enfield London Borough has received £11,662,119 in funding from the Department to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 to ensure that communities in London experiencing high levels of poverty are not be excluded from the Government's policies on levelling up; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Levelling up is at the heart of the Government's agenda. Levelling up means empowering local leaders and communities to drive real change; boosting living standards, particularly where they are lower; spreading opportunity and improving public services, particularly where they are weaker; and restoring local pride across the UK. SR21 announced the first places to receive £1.7 billion funding from the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, putting community priorities at the heart of our investment through delivery of local priorities. In the capital, Ealing, Newham, Brent, Wandsworth, and Tower Hamlets have all been successful in round one of the Levelling Up Fund and will receive £64.9 million to deliver community enhancing projects.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle (a) insecure tenancies and (b) overcrowding in social housing; and what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the covid-19 outbreak on equity of access to affordable housing in England.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government will improve security of tenure for renters with Assured Shorthold Tenancies by removing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, putting an end to evictions where the landlord does not have to provide a reason. At the same time, we will ensure landlords have the tools they need to gain possession of their property when they have a valid reason to do so. We have rightly been focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic but will publish a White Paper detailing these reforms.
This Government is committed to reducing overcrowding, by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock. As such we are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.
The Localism Act 2011 has also maintained the statutory 'reasonable preference' requirements which ensure that social housing is prioritised for those who need it most, including people who are in overcrowded housing. Building on this, statutory guidance recommends local authorities consider giving 'additional preference' (high priority') to families in severe overcrowding which poses a serious health hazard.
The development of policy changes and local differences across England in terms of housing pressures has meant that the national picture of allocations is a complex one. We need to better understand how the system is playing out in local areas in order to understand if it is striking the right balance between fairness, support and aspiration.
MHCLG continues to monitor the effect of lockdown on households including with regards to savings, arrears, wellbeing, and housing costs. In addition throughout the entire pandemic the Household Resilience Survey has also been monitoring changes in employment and income as a result of COVID-19, as well households who are in rent or mortgage arrears.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2021 to Question 902875 on the covid-19 evictions moratorium, how much funding from the Homelessness Prevention Grant has been allocated to Enfield Council; what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of the end of the covid-19 evictions moratorium on Enfield North constituency; and what recent steps his Department has taken to protect renters and prevent homelessness in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Enfield Council have been allocated £8,927,794 in Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2021/2022 (see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-2021-to-2022).
Legislation was in place to prevent bailiffs from serving eviction notices and carrying out evictions, except in the most serious circumstances between November 2020 and the end of May 2021. The ban has now been lifted, reflecting the easing of national restrictions and ensuring that landlords are able to exercise their right to justice. However, renters continue to be protected by longer notice periods of 4 months except in the most serious cases until the end of September, and new arrangements where a claim for possession is made in the county court, such as a new Review stage where tenants can access free legal advice, will remain in place until at least the end of November.
Evidence shows that the measures which the government has taken to protect renters during the pandemic have been successful in reducing evictions and preventing homelessness. Landlord repossessions reduced by 80% in May to June 2021 compared to the corresponding Quarter in 2019, whilst claims for possession decreased by 74%, indicating a drop in the number of cases which can progress to the stage at which someone can be evicted. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-april-to-june-2021
The Statutory Homelessness statistics for 2020-2021 show that there was a 41.4% reduction in households owed a homelessness duty following the end of an assured shorthold tenancy in 2020/21 compared with 2019/20.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to use existing powers to support local authorities to strengthen their planning enforcement powers.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is clear that effective enforcement is important to tackle breaches of planning control. We committed to a strengthening of enforcement powers in the planning white paper, Planning for the Future. Further details of our proposals will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of revising the Government’s housing targets to take into account social rent, intermediate and affordable homeownership housing-types.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Our standard method is only the starting point in the process of planning for new homes. It is not a target. For local authorities, planning to meet that need will require consideration of land availability, relevant constraints, such as the Green Belt, and whether the need is more appropriately met in neighbouring areas, when setting out targets in their local plan. In relation to the mix of specific housing types, our National Planning Policy Framework sets out that it is for local authorities to assess the housing needs of different groups, including those who require affordable housing, and to reflect this in their planning policies.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to (a) address the planning skills shortage and (b) ensure that councils have adequate resources for effective implementation of planning policy.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Planning White Paper commits to developing a comprehensive resources and skills strategy for the planning sector to support the implementation of our reforms - so that, as we implement our reforms, local planning authorities are equipped to create great communities through effective civic engagement and proactive plan-making.
Through our proposed reforms, local planning authorities will be able to focus on what they do best; plan for the long term development of their area, improve the quality of new development, and focus more on those large and special sites that need the most consideration. We want to reduce the amount of resource-consuming bureaucracy and streamline or abolish assessments and other requirements that are burdensome and slow-down planning departments. Part of achieving this will be through modernising the planning process, so that routine tasks are automated and decision-making is improved by better access to data and digital services. This will allow local authorities to focus attention on plan making and place shaping.
We will continue to work with local planning authorities as we develop our proposals.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of buildings that will have (a) dangerous cladding and (b) other fire safety defects beyond June 2022.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
For high-rise residential buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding, the Department is continuing to work with building owners to advance applications for the Building Safety Fund at pace so more remedial works can begin as swiftly as possible. We expect applicants to the Building Safety Fund to start works on site by 30 September 2021 where possible.
No estimate has been made for i) non high-rise residential buildings, nor ii) high-rise residential buildings with non-unsafe cladding defects.
The Building Safety Bill will bring about a fundamental change in both the regulatory framework for building safety and construction industry culture, ensuring those responsible for buildings make sure fire and structural safety risks are properly managed.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to decarbonise housing.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
From 2025, the Future Homes Standard will ensure that new homes produce at least 75 per cent lower CO2 emissions compared to those built to current standards. This represents a considerable improvement in energy efficiency standards for new homes. These homes will be future-proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. No further energy efficiency retrofit work will be necessary to enable them to become zero-carbon over time as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise. Our work on a full technical specification for the Future Homes Standard has been accelerated and we will consult on this in 2023. We also intend to introduce the necessary legislation in 2024, ahead of implementation in 2025.
Decarbonising existing housing stock is also vital to achieving net zero. The Government set out its ambition in the Energy White Paper that all homes should reach Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. Alongside this, the Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution set a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028. The Heat and Buildings Strategy will set out how we intend to meet our commitments and set us on a path to decarbonising homes and buildings by 2050, while continuing to deliver greater numbers of safe and affordable new homes.
The Government has committed to consult on measures to improve the energy performance of owner-occupied homes, and we recently ran a consultation on how mortgage lenders can support homeowners to improve the energy performance of their homes. We are also considering further options and will be publishing a call for evidence to seek views on these.
For the private rental sector, homes are currently required to have an energy efficiency rating EPC E or above unless a valid exemption applies. The regulations applied to new tenancies only from April 2018, and then to all tenancies in scope from 1 April 2020. BEIS recently consulted on raising this minimum standard to EPC C for new tenancies from 2025 and all tenancies from 2028. These responses are being analysed and a response will follow.
Finally, we are currently reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, and we will ensure the review considers how the standard can work to support better energy efficiency and the decarbonisation of social homes.