Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for a register of Landlords and Tenants alongside a separate register for a redress scheme for landlords and tenants.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government has committed to exploring the merits of introducing a national landlord register in England as part of a commitment to drive up standards in privately rented accommodation.
We are engaging with a range of stakeholders and potential users of a register such as private landlords, local authority enforcement officers, letting agents and private tenants to inform this work.
We are committed to giving the private rented sector access to redress. Currently half of all landlords do not use an agent to manage their property and therefore their tenants do not have access to redress where they have a legitimate complaint about their home. This means private tenants who rent directly from a landlord have little course for redress other than through the courts, unlike private tenants who rent through an agent and all social housing tenants who have access to redress schemes. Going to court can be expensive and time-consuming for tenants and landlords and takes up valuable court time and resources. This approach will avoid any confusion for private landlords and will make it easier for them to understand their obligations.
We will publish a White Paper in Spring this year that will set out our proposals for reform of the private rented sector.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for specific legislation to protect Gypsies, Roma and Travellers from hate crimes.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We have one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect communities from hostility, violence and bigotry, and to deal with the perpetrators of hate crime. Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are currently protected under these existing laws.
We asked the Law Commission to conduct a review into the coverage and approach of current hate crime legislation. We are grateful to the Law Commission for the detailed consideration it has given to its review of hate crime laws and we will consider its proposals carefully and respond to the recommendations in due course. We are also bringing forward legislation on our plans to tackle online harms – through the Online Safety Bill – which will set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens safe.
The Government will publish a new hate crime strategy in due course, which will include tackling racial hate crime, to help stamp out the abhorrent crimes that harm victims and their communities. We have sought views from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community representatives in the development of this new strategy.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to appoint the second independent expert to consider the definition of Islamophobia.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
This Government remains committed to stamping out anti-Muslim hatred and all forms of religious prejudice. It is unacceptable for anyone to feel unsafe while practicing their religion and we continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Muslim hatred.
We will outline our next steps with the review on the Definition of Islamophobia in due course, following the publication of the forthcoming Hate Crime Strategy.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to create a single appeals process for motorists if they are unfairly fined.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In its response to the Code Enforcement Framework consultation in March 2021, the Government announced a series of fairer parking measures, including the creation of a single independent appeals service for motorists to turn to if they receive a private parking charge. Before finalising a delivery model for the appeals service, the Government has committed to carry out a product Discovery to better research the needs of the users of the service. This will ensure a high-quality service in which motorists and the industry can have full confidence.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will respond to the further technical consultation on private parking charges, discount rates, debt collection fees and appeals charter, published on 30 July.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The 'Private parking charges, discount rates, debt collection fees and appeals charter: further technical consultation' contained proposals to bring private parking charges into closer alignment with Local Authority Penalty Charge Notices, along with a number of other measures to improve the private parking sector. The consultation closed on 27 August and the department is finalising its analysis of the responses. Our intention is to publish the consultation response together with the new Code of Practice as soon as possible so that motorists can benefit and industry has time to adapt itself to the new requirements.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those living in buildings with dangerous cladding do not need to pay towards the costs of remedying this danger.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is investing an unprecedented £5.1 billion to fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding for leaseholders in residential buildings 18 metres and over in England. The fire risk is lower in buildings under 18 metres and costly remediation work is usually not needed. Where fire risks are identified, they should always be managed proportionately. The new Secretary of State is looking closely at this issue to make sure everything is being done to support leaseholders.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the use of wood in the construction of new buildings.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government's England Trees Action Plan (ETAP) was published on 18 May 2021 and outlines the actions we are taking to increase the use of timber in construction, where it is safe to do so. This builds on commitments in the 25 Year Environment Plan and Clean Growth Strategy.
The Net Zero Strategy published on 19 October 2021 sets out the important role which timber and other sustainable construction materials will play in meeting our net zero targets. Guided by market analysis, fire safety and structural considerations, key opportunities for the safe growth of timber use will be in low-rise buildings using traditional and certain modern methods of construction, and in a wide range of commercial and non-residential settings.
We are working with key construction stakeholders to develop a policy roadmap on the use of timber in construction.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote awareness of the Right to Build scheme.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The promotion of further awareness of the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended), sometimes known colloquially as ‘the Right to Build’, and the creation of a custom and self-build housing delivery unit within Homes England, form part of the recommendations set out in Richard Bacon MP’s ‘Independent review into scaling up self-build and custom housebuilding’ commissioned by the Prime Minister and published on 21 August. The Government is currently considering the recommendations and will publish a response as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of creating a custom and self-build housing delivery unit within Homes England.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The promotion of further awareness of the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended), sometimes known colloquially as ‘the Right to Build’, and the creation of a custom and self-build housing delivery unit within Homes England, form part of the recommendations set out in Richard Bacon MP’s ‘Independent review into scaling up self-build and custom housebuilding’ commissioned by the Prime Minister and published on 21 August. The Government is currently considering the recommendations and will publish a response as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the development of the eight freeports designated in the March 2021 Budget.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working closely with each prospective English Freeport to agree governance arrangements and complete outline business cases and therefore is unable to comment on progress at specific sites. However, it is anticipated that the first Freeports will be operational in late 2021.