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Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Rents
Wednesday 14th December 2022

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will commission research into the impact of elements previously covered by rent in social housing now being paid for by service charges, including caretaking, and maintenance of lifts and door entry systems.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

Further to the answer I gave to Question UIN 86547, on 23 November 2022, the Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively. The way a service charge is organised (for example, what it covers and how it is worked out) is set out in the lease or tenancy agreement.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Rents
Wednesday 14th December 2022

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that social landlords do not circumvent the 7 per cent cap on rent increases in 2023-24 by increasing service charges.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

Further to the answer I gave to Question UIN 86547, on 23 November 2022, the Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively. The way a service charge is organised (for example, what it covers and how it is worked out) is set out in the lease or tenancy agreement.


Written Question
Rents: Arrears
Monday 21st March 2022

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will enable local authorities to roll-over unspent funding from the £65 million support package for vulnerable renters announced on 23 October 2021 into 2022-23 to enable them to continue to meet the ongoing needs of renters in arrears and facing eviction as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The Government announced £65 million funding in October 2021 to help prevent renters with COVID related arrears in England from becoming homeless. This was provided to meet the pressures that local authorities faced this financial year (2021/22).

We will be providing a further £315.8 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2022/2023. This can be used flexibly for local authorities to meet homelessness and rough sleeping strategies – for example, to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions or to provide temporary accommodation, among other preventative measures. Local authorities were informed of their allocations in December 2021 and this funding this will be provided to local authorities in the new financial year.

In addition, and to prevent households falling into arrears in the first place, we are providing support with the cost of living worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next. This includes significant financial support through the Energy Bills Rebate to support households with rising energy costs, reducing the Universal Credit taper rate, maintaining the increase to Local Housing Allowance rates in cash terms this year, and the Household Support Fund which provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. Discretionary Housing Payments are also available to help those who need extra support with housing costs.


Written Question
Rents: Arrears
Monday 29th November 2021

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if she will commission independent research to estimate the (a) number of tenants in rent arrears as a result of the covid-19 outbreak and (b) total sum of those arrears.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The Department has commissioned survey research to understand the financial resilience of privately and socially renting households throughout the pandemic. The Household Resilience Study is a follow up study to the 2019-20 English Housing Survey. It examines how household and housing circumstances have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Household Resilience Study Wave 3 results are based on surveys conducted between April-May 2021.

This data is used, alongside regular engagement with stakeholders, to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on tenants and the efficacy of the significant support measures put in place to support tenants and sustain tenancies.


Written Question
Rents: Arrears
Monday 29th November 2021

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of tenants in rent arrears as a result of the covid-19 outbreak and (b) total amount of those arrears.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

According to the Household Resilience Study (Wave 3, Apr-May 2021), 7% of privately renting households are in arrears, and of these, over 60% are in arrears of 1 month or less. 13% of socially renting households are in arrears, and of these, almost 40% are in arrears of 1 month or less


We continue to closely monitor the impacts of the pandemic, as well as the efficacy of the significant support measures put in place to support tenants and sustain tenancies.


Written Question
Housing: Disability
Thursday 28th October 2021

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster 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 an adequate supply of housing for people with disabilities.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government has consulted on raising accessibility standards of new homes recognising the importance of suitable homes for older and disabled people. The consultation considered whether a change could be made to the existing standards by either mandating a higher standard or reconsidering the way existing optional standards are used. The Government will publish a response. The new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21 contains a target for 10% of delivery to be for specialist and supported housing. This will include housing suitable for those with disabilities. The Programme will deliver up to 180,000 homes in total, should economic conditions allow.


Written Question
Environmental Health: Apprentices
Monday 12th July 2021

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

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 scope for increasing the numbers of Environmental Health apprenticeship schemes.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

The Department has convened the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group to help coordinate central government's expectation of regulatory services teams in local government, which includes Environmental Health, and propose short and long-term options to support the sector.

The Group consists of senior officials from government departments and representatives from local government and professional bodies. The Group is now focussed on developing a suite of recommendations, including measures that could support the attraction and recruitment of environmental health officers and increase the number of regulatory apprentices in local authorities.


Written Question
Environmental Health: Recruitment
Monday 12th July 2021

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

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 is taking to encourage recruitment in the environmental health profession.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

The Department has convened the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group to help coordinate central government's expectation of regulatory services teams in local government, which includes Environmental Health, and propose short and long-term options to support the sector.

The Group consists of senior officials from government departments and representatives from local government and professional bodies. The Group is now focussed on developing a suite of recommendations, including measures that could support the attraction and recruitment of environmental health officers and increase the number of regulatory apprentices in local authorities.


Written Question
Environmental Health: Staff
Wednesday 7th July 2021

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of environmental health practitioners in local authorities in England in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

The Department has convened the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group to understand the pressures facing regulatory services teams in local government, which includes Environmental Health, and propose short and long-term options to support the sector.

The Group consists of senior officials from government departments and representatives from local government and professional bodies. The Group has worked collaboratively with partners on several priority work areas, including understanding the size and composition of the environmental health workforce.


Written Question
Towns Fund
Wednesday 23rd June 2021

Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster 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 publish the amounts allocated under the Towns Fund by (a) region and (b) nation of the UK to date.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

So far over £2 billion has been announced over 86 Town Deals as part of the Government's flagship Towns Fund, delivering on our commitment to Levelling Up communities who have long felt left behind.

Final funding awards for these towns can be found on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/towns-fund

The Towns Fund is England only. The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund is a UK-wide fund.

Further Town Deals are set to be announced in due course. In addition, the initial bids of the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund and £220 million Community Renewal Fund are now being assessed, meaning even more funding is on the way to help communities build back better from the effects of the pandemic.