Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Local Government Association on the (a) effectiveness and (b) adequacy of the Homeless Prevention Grant.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The technical consultation on the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG) funding arrangement closed last year. A summary of which can be found here. Local authorities in England have been allocated a total of £654 million HPG for 2023-24 and 2024-25.
We have made good progress towards our goal to end rough sleeping, with rough sleeping levels falling 49% since 2017, according to the annual snapshot which can be found here. As has been the case with successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed. Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
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 adequacy of support given to local authorities to support Ukrainian refugees.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Homes for Ukraine scheme relies on cooperation between Government, local government, the voluntary sector, and faith / Ukrainian representative organisations. We engage with local government and other partners through several different conversations and working groups to date. This has included Ministerial roundtables attended by local government representatives, official led working group meetings, and ongoing bilateral engagement with local authority Chief Executives and senior representatives.
Further, I refer the Hon. Member to the written statement (HCWS447) made by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, on 14 December 2022.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he last met with the Local Government Association to discuss support for Ukrainian refugees.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Homes for Ukraine scheme relies on cooperation between Government, local government, the voluntary sector, and faith / Ukrainian representative organisations. We engage with local government and other partners through several different conversations and working groups to date. This has included Ministerial roundtables attended by local government representatives, official led working group meetings, and ongoing bilateral engagement with local authority Chief Executives and senior representatives.
Further, I refer the Hon. Member to the written statement (HCWS447) made by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, on 14 December 2022.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
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 effectiveness of the Everyone In scheme launched by Crisis UK at tackling rough sleeping in the UK.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 3 September 2022, the Government published 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good', building on the lessons learned during the pandemic. This set out how we will spend an unprecedented £2 billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
There are multiple, complex and overlapping drivers behind rough sleeping, which include trauma. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) sets out core principles for how care and support should be approached for people experiencing homelessness, including rough sleeping. Their guidance can be found here.
On deaths of homeless people, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 87907, on 23 November 2022.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to introduce a new Everyone In initiative to help prevent rough sleeping in winter 2022.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 3 September 2022, the Government published 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good', building on the lessons learned during the pandemic. This set out how we will spend an unprecedented £2 billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
There are multiple, complex and overlapping drivers behind rough sleeping, which include trauma. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) sets out core principles for how care and support should be approached for people experiencing homelessness, including rough sleeping. Their guidance can be found here.
On deaths of homeless people, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 87907, on 23 November 2022.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many rough sleeping deaths have been recorded between 11 May 2010 and 23 November 2022.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 3 September 2022, the Government published 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good', building on the lessons learned during the pandemic. This set out how we will spend an unprecedented £2 billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
There are multiple, complex and overlapping drivers behind rough sleeping, which include trauma. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) sets out core principles for how care and support should be approached for people experiencing homelessness, including rough sleeping. Their guidance can be found here.
On deaths of homeless people, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 87907, on 23 November 2022.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department intends to take additional steps to help tackle any potential rise in the level of rough sleeping during winter 2022-23.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 3 September 2022, the Government published 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good', building on the lessons learned during the pandemic. This set out how we will spend an unprecedented £2 billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
There are multiple, complex and overlapping drivers behind rough sleeping, which include trauma. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) sets out core principles for how care and support should be approached for people experiencing homelessness, including rough sleeping. Their guidance can be found here.
On deaths of homeless people, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 87907, on 23 November 2022.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the role of trauma in causing homelessness and rough sleeping.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
On 3 September 2022, the Government published 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good', building on the lessons learned during the pandemic. This set out how we will spend an unprecedented £2 billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
There are multiple, complex and overlapping drivers behind rough sleeping, which include trauma. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) sets out core principles for how care and support should be approached for people experiencing homelessness, including rough sleeping. Their guidance can be found here.
On deaths of homeless people, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 87907, on 23 November 2022.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what trauma-related mental health support is available to clients on the three Housing First pilots in England.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Each client on the Housing First pilots has access to wrap-around support as appropriate, including mental health, and drugs and alcohol misuse support.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
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 impact on workforce recruitment and retention in the homelessness support sector of not uprating commissioned contracts in that sector in line with inflation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Department is aware of the increasing concerns people are facing as a result of inflation and continues to monitor its effects. Local authorities have received £316 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2022/23. This is part of the £2 billion of funding committed to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years.