Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he is putting in place to ensure that there is no increase in homelessness as a result of the reintroduction of late rent evictions.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government has taken unprecedented action to support renters during the pandemic. On 5 June we announced that the suspension of evictions from social or private rented accommodation had been extended by a further two months. This means that no action to evict a tenant will proceed before 24 August 2020.
We are supporting those at risk of homelessness, with an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system. This includes increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that they are set at the 30th percentile of market rents.
The Homelessness Reduction Act came into force in April 2018 and means more people are entitled to support than ever before. Local authorities and other public bodies must now work together to actively relieve people of their homelessness or prevent homelessness for people at risk, irrespective of whether they are a family or single person, the reason they are at risk, or if they have a local connection to the area. Acting earlier and for a broader range of people means more people will get the help they need before they face a homelessness crisis.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will prioritise the building of additional homes and additional homes that people on low incomes can afford to rent.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures, including Social Rent.
Building on this, we announced at Budget 2020 that we are investing £12 billion to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26 and that this will deliver up to 180,000 affordable homes. This will be the biggest cash investment in affordable housing for a decade.
A mix of different tenures is vital to meet the needs of a wide range of people, and allow the sector to build the right homes in the right places. Alongside affordable home ownership to help those struggling to purchase their first home, our programme also offers affordable rent and social rent homes.
We will announce full details of the homes the programme will deliver in due course.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce longer minimum rental contracts to provide renters with more financial stability.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
As announced in the Queen's Speech, the Government has committed to introduce a package of reforms to deliver a better deal for renters, and a fairer and more effective rental market. A Renters’ Reform Bill will enhance renters’ security and improve protections for tenants by abolishing ‘no-fault’ evictions.
The Government is committed to bringing forward legislation to abolish section 21 but such legislation must be balanced and considered to achieve the right outcomes for the sector. It is only right that providing tenants with greater security of tenure is balanced with an assurance that landlords are able to recover their properties where they have valid reasons to do so. This is vital to ensuring the future supply of good quality housing in the rented sector.
We will bring forward the Renters Reform Bill as a priority once the urgencies of responding to the pandemic have passed.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department takes to ensure that landlords are obligated to carry out essential maintenance on private rented property in a timely manner.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Local authorities enforce standards in privately rented homes. If they identify health and safety hazards or poor conditions, they have strong powers to oblige landlords to remedy these. Local authorities can also carry out remedial works themselves in cases where hazards are very serious or where landlords do not comply with enforcement action. We strengthened these powers in 2016 when we introduced banning orders and the rogue landlord database and gave local authorities the power to impose financial penalties of up to £30,000.
We also supported the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which empowers tenants to take their landlords to court, and extended Rent Repayment Orders. And this month our Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations came into force, providing even more protection against poor conditions.
Of course, the Covid-19 outbreak has meant people are spending more time in their homes, so standards are more important than ever. That’s why we’ve written comprehensive, common-sense guidance for tenants, landlords and local authorities to help everyone ensure rented homes are safe as possible during this difficult time. We have also issued guidance on working safely in people's homes which landlords should take account of when carrying out maintenance work. We recommend that no repair or maintenance work should be carried out in any household which is self-isolating or where an individual is being shielded, unless that work is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household. We expect local authorities to take a pragmatic approach to enforcement that ensures tenants are kept safe and landlords are supported.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to fund women’s refuges.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Since 2014 the Department has invested £55.5 million in services to support victims of domestic abuse, including refuges.
MHCLG recently consulted on a new statutory duty which would require local authorities to assess the need for and commission support for victims and their children in safe accommodation.
The consultation closed on 2 August. We have analysed the responses to the consultation on support within safe accommodation and will be publishing a full government response in due course.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a decrease in the number of people immigrating to the UK after the UK leaves the EU on house prices.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Office of Budget Responsibility is responsible for monitoring macro-economic conditions, including house price changes, and produces short term forecasts based on leading indicators and medium-term forecasts informed by their house price model. The Department uses these forecasts to inform policy. We remain committed to delivering safe, secure and affordable housing to people across the country. Our exit from the EU will not change this priority. A key pillar of realising this commitment is our ambition to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement, Government announces new generation of council housing, published on 3 October 2018, what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to build adequate numbers of social housing.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Prime Minister announced on 3 October at the Conservative Party Conference that the caps on local authorities borrowing to fund the construction of new homes will be removed, enabling them to fund a new generation of council housing that meets the needs of local people. This ground breaking announcement will enable councils to build up to 10,000 homes per year in the short term, with potential to go even further over time.
In addition, local authorities can bid alongside housing associations for the £9 billion Affordable Homes Programme to build affordable homes. We are also providing a longer term rent deal for 5 years from 2020 to provide local authorities with a stable investment environment to deliver new homes and we have consulted on options for allowing local authorities more flexibility in the use of their Right to Buy receipts, including extending the time limit for spending Right to Buy receipts from three years to five years for existing receipts.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average cost is of developing a local plan for a county council.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Plan preparation is a matter for local authorities and information on costs is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many core planning strategy documents have been withdrawn by local authorities in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Since 2010, 34 local plans have been withdrawn by local authorities from examination.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average cost has been for the development of neighbourhood plans by town and parish councils in each of the last three years.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Government does not hold this data. Research on a sample of early plans carried out by the Department in 2014 showed the costs of producing neighbourhood plans ranged from £4,000 to just under £30,000 for more complex plans, with the average being under £15,000. Case studies of the cost of neighbourhood plans can be found at: https://mycommunity.org.uk/?s=total+spend
The Government’s new £23 million support programme for neighbourhood planning (2018-2022) will provide resources and expertise to enable communities to plan for the future of their areas.