Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 a recent estimate of the number of public car parks that charge using (a) cash and (b) app-based payments.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
All local authorities have existing statutory duties to ensure that they do not discriminate in their decision making against older people or those with vulnerabilities. The Secretary of State recently wrote to all local authorities in England setting out his expectations that parking services for which councils are responsible remain accessible. For example, it would not seem appropriate for parking on a high street to be solely available for those who have access to a mobile phone. Nor would it appear sensible for local authorities to phase out paper-based parking options such as 'scratch cards' if the only available replacement is an entirely digital option.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many houses were bought using the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme in Stockport constituency between 1 April 2021 and 31 May 2023.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Data on the number of households in England which have benefitted from the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme in each Local Authority area can be found in the latest HtB Equity Loan scheme statistics.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 adequacy of the waiting list for social housing in Stockport constituency.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government has given local councils freedom to manage their own waiting lists, so they can decide who should qualify for social housing in their area and develop solutions that make best use of the social housing stock.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the potential costs that local authorities will incur as a result of implementing Awaab’s Law on investigating and fixing damp and mould in properties within new time limits; and if he will provide earmarked additional funding for local authorities to implement those requirements.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Awaab's law was introduced following the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from the effects of damp and mould that was left untreated in his home. All landlords must ensure that their homes are safe, warm and decent.
Social landlords already have a responsibility to meet the Decent Homes Standard (which specifies homes must be free of the most dangerous 'category 1' hazards), to ensure their homes are fit for human habitation, and to remedy disrepair. Awaab's law will establish the timeframes within which landlords have to fulfil those responsibilities.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 it his policy to (a) require housing associations to provide greater transparency on how service charges are calculated and (b) provide leaseholders with additional rights to challenge unfair increases in service charges.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government strongly believes that service charges should be reasonable, transparent and communicated effectively for both tenants and leaseholders. We are committed to better protecting and empowering leaseholders by giving them more information on what their costs pay for. We will also seek to prevent unjustified legal fees when challenging costs. This will help them more effectively challenge their landlord if they consider their fees are unreasonable. We are due to bring forward further leasehold reforms later in this parliament.
With regard specifically to social housing tenants living in housing associations I refer the Hon. Member to the oral answers given on 27 March 2023 (Official Report, HC, Volume 730, Column 644) and to the answers given to Question UIN 114788 on 13 January 2023 and Question UIN 86547 on 23 November 2022.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in levels of Hinduphobia.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Anti-Hindu hatred is abhorrent and has no place in our communities. The Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.
The Home Office publishes statistics which can be found at: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 had recent discussions with Lenvi on response times to Help to Buy Equity Loan customer enquiries.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The department receives daily updates and regularly monitors the service recovery plan. A number of actions are being taken to improve the service, call centre opening times have been extended and Lenvi have increased staffing levels and are continuing to recruit and redeploy staff.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to encourage (a) businesses and (b) organisations in Greater Manchester to sign up to the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Greater Manchester's Good Employment Charter is an initiative conceived by partners in the region. It is an example of how devolution can empower local leaders to create initiatives that are locally driven. The Government remains committed to empowering local places and leaders through the creation of more devolution deals across England.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on average commercial rents per square metre in (a) Stockport constituency, (b) Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and (c) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The department does not hold data centrally on the average commercial rents per square metre by area.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 potential impact of expanding section 8 in the Renters Reform Bill on the numbers of evictions of renters in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 185473 on 22 May 2023.