Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Section 21 notices have been issued in (a) Lancashire and (b) Preston in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to support tenants facing eviction under a Section 21 notice.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN HL2677 on 6 March 2024. We are abolishing Section 21 evictions as part of the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the number of (a) social and (b) affordable housing properties built by developers; and what steps his Department is taking to encourage more affordable housing to be built.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes, both for rent and to buy, right across the country.
The Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes, and a large number of the new homes delivered through our Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent.
The government is on track to deliver its target of building around 250,000 affordable homes through the Affordable Homes Programme.
Local planning authorities can secure addition contributions towards affordable housing through section 106 planning obligations.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act contains powers for the Government to create a new mandatory, non-negotiable Infrastructure Levy which will aim to generate more funding for affordable housing and infra-structure to support sustainable development.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether regulations are in place to ensure that reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is not used in the future building of (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) public sector buildings.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The manufacture and sale of RAAC panels is covered by construction products regulations 2013 by the designated standard BS EN 12602:2016. Buildings undergoing “building work” must meet the safety and performance requirements in the building regulations no matter how they are constructed or what materials are used, including RAAC.
The Institute of Structural Engineers (IStructE) advise that RAAC can be an appropriate construction material if properly designed, manufactured, installed, and maintained, though they understand that use in UK has declined since 1990.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 reduce planning approval times for new electric vehicle charging installations.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs) without the need for a planning application. We are currently consulting on changes to the rights to provide increased flexibility to individuals and organisations wishing to install EVCPs. The consultation is open until 9 April and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-various-permitted-development-rights-consultation.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 address the shortage of social housing in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, and (c) the North West.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It is for local authorities to identify the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and reflect this in planning and other policies.
This Government continues to be fully committed to increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country, including social rent.
Local authorities themselves can deliver new affordable housing. We have given them greater flexibilities in their Housing Revenue Account as to how they spend their Right to Buy receipts and implemented a preferential borrowing rate for council housebuilding from the Public Works Loan Board, which has now been extended to June 2025.
Local authorities can also use Section 106 planning obligations to secure affordable housing and infrastructure required to mitigate the impacts of new development and support sustainable growth. The new Infrastructure Levy will aim to secure at least as much if not more, affordable housing than the current system of developer contributions. This will be secured through regulations and policy, supported by provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 commit to providing more funding to local authorities to increase the availability of social-rented housing in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, and (c) the North West.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It is for local authorities to identify the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and reflect this in planning and other policies.
This Government continues to be fully committed to increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country, including social rent.
Local authorities themselves can deliver new affordable housing. We have given them greater flexibilities in their Housing Revenue Account as to how they spend their Right to Buy receipts and implemented a preferential borrowing rate for council housebuilding from the Public Works Loan Board, which has now been extended to June 2025.
Local authorities can also use Section 106 planning obligations to secure affordable housing and infrastructure required to mitigate the impacts of new development and support sustainable growth. The new Infrastructure Levy will aim to secure at least as much if not more, affordable housing than the current system of developer contributions. This will be secured through regulations and policy, supported by provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Annual Review of Local Government complaints in England for 2022-2023, published on 26 July 2023, on trends in the number of upheld complaints for (a) special educational needs and disabilities provision for children and young people, (b) adult care services and (c) housing.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's Annual Review of Local Government Complaints forms one part of the wider intelligence on the health of the local government sector, including on emerging trends, which the Ombudsman provides the Department. We are grateful for the Ombudsman's ongoing valuable work to improve public services.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of potential racial disparities in eviction cases brought by private landlords against Black British people.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
It is unlawful for a landlord to seek to end a tenancy based on an individual’s ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic.
As private landlords are not required to record when they serve a notice of possession, it is not possible to break down the volume of notices served by ethnicity. Upon the expiry of a possession notice, a landlord can make a claim for possession in the county court if the tenant does not vacate the property. Landlords are not required to record the ethnicity of the tenant(s) against whom they are making a claim.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on Black renters.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department gathers a range of evidence to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on renters. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department commissioned the Household Resilience Study – a follow-up to the English Housing Survey, conducted in 3 waves between June 2020 and May 2021. The research collected examines how households have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and includes information on protected characteristics, including ethnicity.
The third and final wave of the survey was run in April-May 2021 and published in October 2021. Data tables and a report of the main findings are provided on Gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-resilience-study-wave-3.
We consider the impact of all decisions on those with protected characteristics, including on different ethnicities, in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons places of worship can remain open during the 2021 covid-19 national lockdown.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We understand the importance of communal worship, and the positive impact that this has on people’s mental and spiritual health during a very difficult time for us all. We have worked hard with faith leaders to produce guidance for the safe use of places of worship. We are grateful for the efforts of Faith Leaders, and their communities, to follow that guidance and to keep worshippers safe. Their efforts mean that all places of worship that comply with COVID-secure guidance, including implementing strict social distancing, wearing face coverings ensuring that worshippers do not mingle with others outside of their households have been able to remain open for communal worship during the latest period of restrictions.