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Written Question
Construction: Warranties
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the buildings warranty market.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11533 on 8 February 2024.


Written Question
First Homes Scheme
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's eligibility criteria for a First Home scheme is.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Eligibility criteria for the First Homes Scheme is publicly available and can be found here: First Homes scheme: first-time buyer's guide: Overview - GOV.UK.


Written Question
High Rise Flats: House Insurance
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Association of British Insurers plan to reduce insurance costs for leaseholders and residents in high rise buildings.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Government is very aware that leaseholders in some affected buildings have been burdened with paying extremely high premiums for too long. The industry-led Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility will be launched on 1st April. We have repeatedly called for this to be launched and it has taken too long to do so, but now it is due to launch the Government will monitor the implementation and impact of the Facility and will remain engaged with industry regarding whether any further steps may be required.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 increase the number of homes available for social rent.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I give to Question UIN 17100 on 13 March 2024.


Written Question
Temporary Accommodation: Children
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 reduce the number of children being housed in temporary accommodation.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 14761 on 26 February 2024.


Written Question
Housing: Roads and Sewage
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential financial impact on homeowners of nearby (a) sewage systems and (b) highways not being completed.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

It is for local planning authorities to make an appropriate assessment of infrastructure and its effect on residents. Equally, it is for local planning authorities to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate where infrastructure provision, subject to Section 106 agreement or subject to planning condition, is not delivered.

Specifically on sewage, Section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991 places a duty on a sewerage company to maintain public sewers, and water services regulation authority Ofwat can take enforcement action if a company is in breach.

The Government will continue to look at national policy on this matter to ensure, rightly, our infrastructure continues to support communities up and down the country.


Written Question
High Rise Flats: Fires and Floods
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many high rise buildings above 11 metres required (a) demolition, (b) rebuilding and (c) refurbishment as a result of (i) fire and (ii) flooding in the last year.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The department’s latest released data on building safety can be found here.


Written Question
Housing: Standards
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a statutory regulator to improve the quality of new-build housing developments.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Government legislated in the Building Safety Act 2022 to establish a statutory New Homes Ombudsman. They will provide dispute resolution for, and determine complaints by, buyers of new build homes against developments.


Written Question
Temporary Accommodation
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he make an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's data collection on the number of households in emergency temporary accommodation.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The department’s temporary accommodation statistics are classified as accredited official statistics by the Office for National Statistics.


Written Question
Temporary Accommodation
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of regulation for emergency temporary accommodation.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Local authorities procure temporary accommodation from a range of sources, including council-owned stock, from housing associations, and from private landlords, and must ensure it is suitable.

Government has an ambition to increase quality of all accommodation, including temporary accommodation.