Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 6182 on Levelling Up Fund: County Durham, if he will make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of and (b) impact of levelling up funding on Easington constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young
The UK Government is investing £13.9 billion in Levelling Up projects to improve everyday life for people across the UK. Through interventions such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Community Renewal Fund, amongst others, the Government is supporting local communities to transform the places where they live.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information the Government holds on how many people have died while homeless in each of the last five years.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual statistics on the estimated number of deaths of people experiencing homelessness in England and Wales which can be found here Deaths of homeless people in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2023 to Question 5542 on Levelling Up Fund: County Durham, what proportion of the funding identified in his response was allocated to Easington Constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young
County Durham has benefited from a range of funds totalling almost £100 million that will bring significant benefits to the whole area, including the constituency of Easington. The funds referenced in my answer on 11 December are allocated to local institutions at different geographies including the County Durham authority area and wider, depending on the nature of the fund. This funding mix allows local organisations to determine the areas and priorities to direct investment towards their key priorities
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 4394 answered 4 December 2023 on Evictions, what data his Department holds centrally on housing evictions.
Answered by Jacob Young
The department monitors the volume of repossessions by county court bailiffs in landlord cases using quarterly statistics published by the Ministry of Justice. The statistics also include volumes of accelerated possession claims brought to the courts where the landlord has served a section 21 notice.
The statistics can be accessed here.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to monitor the number of private tenants evicted under Section 21 notices.
Answered by Jacob Young
The department monitors the volume of repossessions by county court bailiffs in landlord cases using quarterly statistics published by the Ministry of Justice. The statistics also include volumes of accelerated possession claims brought to the courts where the landlord has served a section 21 notice.
The statistics can be accessed here.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason County Durham was not selected as a Priority Place for Levelling Up Fund Round 3.
Answered by Jacob Young
For Round 3, funding was targeted to places assessed in need through the Levelling Up Needs metrics, which take into account skills, pay, productivity and health. These metrics draw on the extensive evidence base of what matters for levelling up, as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, and represent our most up to date assessment of levelling up need. Further details of the selection methodology for Round 3 are set out in the published LUF R3 Explanatory and Methodology Note on Gov.uk.
County Durham has been awarded funding from multiple levelling up funds, including £146,000 from the Community Ownership Fund; £20 million from the Long-Term Plan for Towns; £836,000 from the Community Renewal Fund; £19 million from the Future High Streets Fund; £33 million from the Town Deal; £85,000 from the Levelling Up Parks Fund; and £30.8 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. They were also awarded £20 million from round 1 of the Levelling Up Fund for the Bishop Auckland project, and £1.9 million in round 2 as part of the Transport Decarbonisation in the North East project.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the national statistics entitled English indices of deprivation 2019, published on 26 September 2019, when his Department plans to publish updates statistics.
Answered by Jacob Young
The most recent iteration of the English Indices of Deprivation was published in September 2019 and all resources are available online here.
Following a competitive tender process this Summer, Deprivation.org and Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) have been commissioned to update the English Indices of Deprivation.
Provisionally, we anticipate a release date in 2025. Once a date is confirmed it will be announced on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Section 21 notices have been issued in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 183090 on 9 May 2023.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Section 21 notices have been issued in each month in 2023.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 183090 on 9 May 2023.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the average time was between initial contact and first payment from the Flood Recovery Framework in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Jacob Young
I extend my sympathy to all those affected by the impacts of Storm Babet, flooding is a devastating experience for anyone. I also recognise the efforts of councils and emergency responders and thank them for their ongoing work in affected areas.
The Secretary of State activated the Flood Recovery Framework on Wednesday 25 October. The activation of the Storm Babet Flood Recovery Framework will be reviewed following implementation by local authorities.
For the Storm Babet Flood Recovery Framework activation, eligible areas are those upper and lower tier authority areas:
Local Authorities and Lead Local Flood Authorities are responsible for distributing funding to affected people. They are able to do as soon as their area becomes eligible. Government funding for eligible properties will be paid to Local Authorities retrospectively, based on the certified cost of providing relief.