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Written Question
Disinformation: Elections
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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 tools available to verify election-related content.

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

We have a tradition of robust political debate and freedom of speech in our democracy. Policy or political arguments - both online and offline - which can be rebutted by rival campaigners or the press as part of the normal course of political debate should not be regulated. It is a matter for voters to decide whether they consider such arguments/claims to be accurate.

The new digital imprints regime, introduced by the Elections Act 2022, will increase the transparency of digital political advertising, by requiring those promoting eligible digital campaigning material targeted at the UK electorate to include an imprint with their name and address.

We are working to ensure we are ready to respond to the full range of threats to our democratic processes, including through the Defending Democracy Taskforce, and the Government regularly meets with social media companies to understand the policies and processes they have in place.


Written Question
Homes for Ukraine Scheme
Wednesday 30th March 2022

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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 expected timeframe is for applicants for the Homes for Ukraine visa sponsorship scheme to (a) have their application acknowledged, (b) have their application processed and (c) be provided with a permission to travel letter.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Phase One of the Homes for Ukraine scheme opened for applications on 18 March and is accessible via links from homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk. All those who have submitted an application to the Home Office receive automatic confirmation by return email. The first permissions to travel under the scheme were issued by the Home Office over the weekend of 19 and 20 March. Further details on applications and processing will be set out shortly.


Written Question
Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Vetting
Thursday 24th March 2022

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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 ensure that applicants for housing a Ukrainian refugee under the Homes for Ukraine programme will be checked to a standard that will prevent sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Further to the oral statement by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up on 14 March, guidance for local authorities has been published on Gov.uk at www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils. There are also published FAQs available online at www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-frequently-asked-questions as well as information for sponsors. Information is available on safeguarding checks at these links, as well as on eligibility for the scheme. Phase One of the Homes for Ukraine scheme opened for applications on 18 March and is accessible via links from homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk . Those who had recorded their interest in the scheme were also contacted on that date. Details on future phases of the scheme will be announced in due course.


Written Question
Leasehold: Fees and Charges
Monday 15th March 2021

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on removing onerous ground rents for existing leaseholders.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The Government has set out a package of measures to tackle unfair practices in the leasehold market and promote transparency and fairness for both leaseholders and freeholders. We will bring forward legislation in the upcoming session to set future ground rents to zero.

We understand the difficulties and frustrations for existing leaseholders who are unhappy with the ground rent they are required to pay and feel their leases should be changed. We are pleased that the CMA is taking enforcement action in relation to two key issues. First, to tackle certain instances of mis-selling of leasehold property. Second, to address the problems faced by homeowners from high and increasing ground rents. The Government is keeping a close eye on this issue and will consider any next steps once the CMA have progressed their enforcement action.


Written Question
Leasehold: Fees and Charges
Monday 15th March 2021

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made in bringing forward legislative proposals to protect leaseholders from unreasonable charges when they seek to extend the lease on their property.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market.

Through our reforms, the length of a statutory lease extension will increase to 990 years, from 90 years (for flats) and 50 years (for houses). Leaseholders will be able to extend their lease with zero ground rent on payment of a premium. Leaseholders will also be able to voluntarily agree to a restriction on future development of their property to avoid paying ‘development value’.

The Law Commission’s report on enfranchisement includes recommendations relating to lease extensions, including payment of costs incurred by this process and the terms of the new lease. We will bring forward a response to these and the other remaining Law Commission recommendations in due course.


Written Question
UK Shared Prosperity Fund
Tuesday 23rd February 2021

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to announce the funding criteria for applications to the Shared Prosperity Fund; and when the fund will open to applications.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK for places most in need, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and rural and coastal communities, and for people who face labour market barriers.

The November 2020 Spending Review set out the main strategic elements of the UKSPF in the Heads of Terms.  The Government will publish a UK-wide investment framework in Spring 2021 and confirm multi-year funding profiles at the next Spending Review.

In addition, to help local areas prepare over 2021/22 for the introduction of the UKSPF, we will provide additional UK funding to support our communities to pilot programmes and new approaches. Further details on the operation of the additional funding in 2021/22 will be published soon.


Written Question
Landlords: Sexual Offences
Monday 25th January 2021

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many landlords have received banning orders under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 for offering rent in exchange for sex.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

There have been no banning orders for landlords offering rent in exchange for sex. Where a local housing authority becomes aware of a landlord receiving a conviction for a banning order offence, the local housing authority may apply to the first-tier tribunal for a banning order to be granted. The Government is unequivocal that so-called ‘sex for rent’ arrangements have no place in society.


Written Question
Landlords: Sexual Offences
Monday 25th January 2021

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many landlords have been placed on the database of rogue landlords and property agents for offering rent in exchange for sex since the introduction of the Housing and Planning Act in 2016.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

There have been no landlords placed on the database for offering rent in exchange for sex. Where a landlord receives a banning order the local housing authority must place the landlord on the database. Where a landlord receives two or more civil penalties for housing related offences or a becomes aware of a conviction for a banning order offence, the local housing authority has discretion to make an entry. The Government is unequivocal that so-called ‘sex for rent’ arrangements have no place in society.


Written Question
Buildings: Insulation
Monday 14th December 2020

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2020 to Question 123639 on Buildings: Insulation, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of refining the definition of what constitutes cladding.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

Analysis and definitions relating to estimates of EWS1 requirements on residential buildings in England can be found in this release: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-ews1-requirements-on-residential-buildings-in-england/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-ews1-requirements-on-residential-buildings-in-england.

There is no regulatory definition of cladding. Definitions of cladding have been formed and applied for the purposes of this analysis only and are based on materials collected for data collection purposes on external wall systems in use on high-rise buildings.

The purpose of this analysis is to provide information on the estimated effects of policy refinements and assurances from major lenders and wider industry, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), that residential buildings with no cladding will no longer need to undergo an external wall survey (EWS1) process before dwellings can be sold or re-mortgages offered.


Written Question
Buildings: Insulation
Monday 7th December 2020

Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason tiling systems are classified as cladding according to his Department's Building Safety Programme guidance published on 21 Nov 2020; and if he will provide more information on the composition of the tiling systems which are regarded as (a) high and (b) low risk.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

Analysis and definitions relating to estimates of EWS1 requirements on residential buildings in England can be found in this release: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-ews1-requirements-on-residential-buildings-in-england/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-ews1-requirements-on-residential-buildings-in-england.

For the purposes of this analysis, materials classified as non-cladding focused on the traditional construction materials of brick, stone, concrete and glass. All other materials were classified as cladding. The risk of cladding systems has not been considered as part of this analysis, and is currently unavailable.