Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of administrative and immigration check fees on those on low incomes seeking to rent a home.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Not all letting agents charge fees for right to rent checks and when right to rent was rolled out in the West Midlands, it was found that the majority of letting agents were not charging a fee for conducting the right to rent immigration checks. Letting agents are required to be fully transparent about their fees and publicise a complete tariff of fees in their offices and on their website. The Government believes that full transparency gives consumers the information they need. We intend to carry out a review later this year into how well this approach is working.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to limit the number of times a person applying to rent a home would be subject to fees for administration and immigration checks.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We have no plans to limit the number of times a person applying to rent a home may be subject to fees for administration and immigration checks. However, letting agents are required to be fully transparent about their fees and publicise a complete tariff of fees in their offices and on their website. The Government believes that full transparency gives consumers the information they need. We intend to carry out a review later this year into how well this approach is working. Not all letting agents do charge fees for right to rent checks and when right to rent was rolled out in the West Midlands, it was found that the majority of letting agents were not charging a fee for conducting the right to rent immigration checks.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what fees estate agents are able to include within administration charges when letting homes.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Letting agents can set their own administration charges when letting homes, but they must publicise a full tariff of their fees prominently in their offices and on their website. Agents that fail to do so can be fined up to £5,000.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 September (HL2300), why empty dwellings in London are not being filled in order to tackle the housing shortage.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
My answer of 24 September showed a trend of decreasing empty dwellings in London; from 42,600 in 2004 to 20,795 in 2014. Local authorities across the country have powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus they can earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. Councils may also charge up to 150% council tax for homes empty for over two years.
My Department will continue to encourage London councils to use these empty dwellings for housing.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support is in place to help local authorities to resettle Syrian refugees.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Under the expanded Vulnerable Persons scheme, local authorities costs for the first year of a Syrian refugee's resettlement are funded from the Official Development Assistance budget. To ensure that local authorities can plan ahead we will also provide additional funding to assist with costs incurred in future years (2 to 5). The Government is working closely with the Local Government Association and individual councils on the details of how funding arrangements for years 2 to 5 will operate.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they give to local authorities which, in determining the site for a new school, approve a location that would require pupils to walk two to five miles in order to attend.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In England, specific guidance is not provided on the location of schools. The Government places great importance on ensuring that a sufficient choice of school places is available to meet the needs of existing and new communities. It expects local authorities to work collaboratively with school promoters to find suitable locations, while considering statutory duties around home to school transport and sustainability as well as other relevant factors. It is not always possible for children to be able to attend a school within walking distances, particularly in more rural areas, in which case the local authority would be under a duty to make travel arrangements where they considered it necessary to secure a child’s attendance at school.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidelines they give to local authorities when discussing planning proposals that could have a measurable impact on the environment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Planning Policy Framework, which is a material consideration in decisions on planning applications, recognises the environment as one of the three dimensions to the delivery of sustainable development. The framework sets out strong planning policy for the protection and enhancement of the natural environment. In addition web-based planning guidance is available and includes a section dedicated to the natural environment.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of houses that were unoccupied in each of the regions in England in (1) 2000, (2) 2010, and (3) 2014.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The table below shows the number of long-term empty homes, i.e. those dwellings which have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for over six months, by region. Data for the year 2000 are not readily available and so we have provided the earliest available year, 2004.
Region | 2004 | 2010 | 2014 |
East Midlands | 26,219 | 26,427 | 19,490 |
East of England | 25,020 | 25,597 | 17,202 |
London | 42,600 | 34,422 | 20,795 |
North East | 21,599 | 20,337 | 16,052 |
North West | 68,594 | 66,410 | 40,461 |
South East | 35,459 | 33,998 | 23,956 |
South West | 22,434 | 24,226 | 18,550 |
West Midlands | 40,167 | 30,395 | 22,257 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 36,550 | 38,187 | 27,058 |
England Total | 318,642 | 299,999 | 205,821 |