Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department includes local authority (a) owned and (b) managed Gypsy and Traveller sites within its definition of social housing under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All registered providers of social housing, including local authorities, are required to deliver the outcomes of the consumer standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing (‘the regulator’).
The regulatory standards apply to social housing as defined by the Housing and Regeneration Act (2008). The Act defines low-cost rental accommodation as accommodation rented below market rate and made available to those whose needs may not be adequately served by the commercial market.
Socially rented residential homes on local authority owned or managed Gypsy and Traveller sites will be subject to the regulator’s consumer standards if they meet the definition of social housing under the Act.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help tackle landbanking.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system that began on Tuesday 30 July includes proposals designed to support increased build out rates and promote mixed-tenure schemes that meet the housing needs of local people. In conjunction with the start of that consultation, the housebuilding industry made a public commitment to increase the pace at which homes are delivered and to get on and build where sites are viable and have implementable consent. The Government has also taken swift action to unblock stalled sites through the creation of New Homes Accelerator Task Force.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Right to Buy for housing association tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is currently reviewing the increased Right to Buy discounts that were introduced in 2012, with a view to better protecting existing social housing stock. The Government will also review the Right to Buy more widely, including looking at eligibility criteria and protections for newly-built social housing and will launch a public consultation in the autumn. More information about the consultation and the position on extending the Right to Buy for housing association tenants will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure holiday caravan owners have the same protections under the Mobile Homes Act 2013 as residential park home owners.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The protections under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 apply to park home owners living on caravan sites with planning permission for residential use.
The protections do not extend to owners of caravans on holiday caravan sites, because the planning permission granted permits the use of those sites for holiday and recreational purposes only.
Holiday caravan owners have protections under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 undertake a review of the effectiveness of the (a) Social Housing Act 2023 and (b) Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 in relation to (i) the protection of and (ii) the provision of opportunities for recourse to action for residents living on local authority-owned Gypsy and Traveller sites that are in need of repair.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Responsibility for the provision, repairs and maintenance of traveller sites is with local authorities.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 assessment of the potential effectiveness of the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Since 2010 Government has invested £5.4 billion billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) (2010-11 to 2023-24), delivering an estimated 550,000 home adaptations in England. Adaptations funded through the DFG include stairlifts, level-access showers and grab rails. These adaptations can reduce emergency admissions to hospital, speed up a return home following a hospital stay and delay, or even prevent, the need for costly residential care in future.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) annually collects voluntary local authority-level data returns on local DFG delivery. Raw data from local authorities is analysed by Foundations, the DLUHC funded national body for DFGs and home improvement agencies. The 2021-22 report on local DFG delivery is available online at the following link.
There is good evidence of the impact and effectiveness of housing adaptations generically, and the DFG specifically. For example, Public Health England’s falls prevention toolkit (2018) compared the impact of different interventions on preventing falls, including exercise classes and home adaptations. It found that adaptations produce significantly higher returns on investment with £1 of investment in home assessment and modification saving £3.17 on health and care costs. If quality of life gains for the individual are considered, savings rise to £7.34 per £1 spent.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department is providing to women's refuges in City of Durham constituency.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has provided £3,531,383 since 2021/22 to County Durham and have committed a further £1,216,337 for 2024/25. This funding is for County Durham to commission support for victims of domestic abuse who are residing in refuges and other types of domestic abuse safe accommodation locally.
Statutory Guidance and Regulations provide further details to local authorities on how the duties should be delivered on the ground. The Department continues to work closely with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, the domestic abuse sector and the LGA in supporting local authorities, including best practice workshops.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 financially support community and voluntary organisations that support homeless people in City of Durham constituency.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government recognises that local authorities are best placed to make decisions on what services they provide and what community and voluntary organisations they commission, based on local priorities and circumstances. We are investing over £2 billion over three years in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. Funding through the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 provides local areas and their community and voluntary partners with resources to offer accommodation, support, and a route off the streets for people sleeping rough; the City of Durham has been allocated £680,591.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many registered houses in multiple occupation there are in County Durham.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Government publishes the Local Authority Housing Statistics annually. These statistics include the estimated number of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and estimated number of HMOs which require mandatory licences, broken down by local authority. The data sets can be found here.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authority enforcement of electrical safety standards in houses in multiple occupation in (a) County Durham and (b) England since 2021.
Answered by Jacob Young
All house in multiple occupation (HMO) licences in England require the landlord to ensure that every electrical installation in the house is in proper working order and safe for use. Landlords are also required to supply their local authority with a declaration as to the safety of such installations when requested. Where a landlord fails to comply, local authorities have power to take enforcement action, including prosecution or issuing fines of up to £30,000.