Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional resources she is making available to support councils with (a) asylum dispersal and (b) homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Home Office’s current accommodation funding arrangements to support local authorities are published on gov.uk here.
To support councils with homelessness, the Government has increased funding for homelessness services by £233 million this year, taking the total for 2025/26 to £1 billion. The Spending Review has protected this record level of investment for homelessness until 2028/29 and provides £100 million, including from the Transformation Fund, to fund increased homelessness prevention activity by local authorities.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce emergency accommodation schemes for the transition from hotel accommodation for asylum seekers that have been granted status.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When newly recognised refugees leave Home Office accommodation, they are entitled to help with finding accommodation from their local authority if homeless. If in priority need, they will be provided with temporary accommodation.
The Government recognises the importance of a smooth transition out of asylum support accommodation for newly recognised refugees. Support is available to all individuals through Migrant Help and their partners. This includes providing guidance on entering the workforce, applying for Universal Credit, and connecting individuals with local authorities for housing assistance.
Since 9 December 2024, newly recognised refugees have 56 days to move on from asylum accommodation. This increases the support grace period from 28 days and is intended to support individuals and local authorities during the period of increased decision making.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish an Equality Impact Assessment of changes resulting from the Elections Act 2022.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The previous Government published the Equality Impact Assessment relating to changes resulting from the Elections Act 2022. This was published on 5 July 2021 and can be found here: Elections Bill equality assessment.
We are currently undertaking an evaluation of the impact and implementation of the Elections Act at the recent UK Parliamentary General Election, as set out in legislation. Our evaluation report will be published in due course.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an estimate of (a) the number of UK citizens living overseas who are eligible to register to vote and (b) projected levels of such registrations in the next six months.
Answered by Simon Hoare
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Impact Assessment on the Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023: The Representation of the People (Overseas Electors etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023.
The department has not made any projections of levels of registrations of UK citizens living overseas in the next six months.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to end gazundering.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government’s future legislative agenda will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to provide additional funding to local authorities to cover the cost of increasing the national living wage for social care staff.
Answered by Simon Hoare
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 made available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23. The government will look in the round at sector spending when finalising budgets at next year’s finance settlement, as we do every year. This will include considering the impact of inflation and other wider economic circumstances.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Simon Hoare
As with previous years, the government will bring forward its proposals for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2024-25 in the usual way towards the end of the calendar year.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department issues on the criteria residents need to satisfy to qualify for the over-65 discount scheme for a reduction in council tax operated by local authorities.
Answered by Lee Rowley
While local council tax support schemes are administered by local authorities, the Government sets out the circumstances in which pensioners are eligible for a reduction in council tax in The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 Regulations. These Regulations are updated annually.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what impact assessment his Department (a) undertook or (b) asked local councils to provide before waiving the cap on council tax increases for Slough, Thurrock and Croydon.
Answered by Lee Rowley
All decisions were made in line with normal processes, and appropriate impact assessment in line with duties.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to provide training for (a) polling station and (b) returning officers on determining the veracity of official documents and photo IDs before the elections in May 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 165270 on 17th March 2023.