Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to remove the requirement for a local connection for (a) homeless veterans, (b) survivors of domestic abuse and (c) care leavers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On the 24 September the Prime Minister announced an ambition to improve access to social housing for veterans, survivors of domestic abuse and young care leavers.
Statutory guidance recommends that local authorities exempt victims of domestic abuse and care leavers from local connection and residency tests, and we know that most local authorities already do this. We are clear that a victim of domestic abuse, a care leaver or a veteran should not be disqualified from social housing on the grounds of having no local connection.
The Department laid regulations on 27 November which will require local authorities to exempt all veterans from local connection requirements for social housing allocations.
We will bring forward similar regulations covering survivors of domestic abuse and care leavers when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of rules on local connection for housing allocations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On the 24 September the Prime Minister announced an ambition to improve access to social housing for veterans, survivors of domestic abuse and young care leavers.
Statutory guidance recommends that local authorities exempt victims of domestic abuse and care leavers from local connection and residency tests, and we know that most local authorities already do this. We are clear that a victim of domestic abuse, a care leaver or a veteran should not be disqualified from social housing on the grounds of having no local connection.
The Department laid regulations on 27 November which will require local authorities to exempt all veterans from local connection requirements for social housing allocations.
We will bring forward similar regulations covering survivors of domestic abuse and care leavers when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to consult on the draft of the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on establishing a Jewish History Month.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to celebrating the positive contributions to society made by this country’s faith and belief groups, including our Jewish communities. We are proud of the contribution that Jewish people have made and continue to make to the UK in so many areas of life.
We continue to support Britain’s Jewish communities on areas such as Holocaust education, our commitment to the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, and our resolve to tackle antisemitism in all its forms.
Initiatives to mark specific cultural events or history months are best led from within the community, and the Government is fully supportive of these efforts.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on recent trends in the cost of service charges for leaseholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building.
By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes measures designed to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation need to bring the various provisions of the Act into force.
Leaseholders in shared ownership properties whose leases qualify for protections set out in the Building Safety Act are protected from the costs of internal building safety defects, with a cost cap proportionate to their equity stake in the property.
All leaseholders can benefit from the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme or Developer Scheme for the removal of unsafe cladding. The Government understands the difficulties some leaseholders are still experiencing and has committed to review how to better protect leaseholders from costs and to accelerate the pace of remediation.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of short-term letting websites on recent trends in private rental prices in Cities of London and Westminster constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Whilst short-term lets can benefit local economies, the government appreciate that excessive concentrations in some areas of the country can impact the availability and affordability of homes both to rent and buy. We have committed to introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets and removing the furnished holiday let rules to ensure all income from property will be treated the same for tax purposes. We also recognise that more needs to be done and are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Audit Office report entitled The effectiveness of government in tackling homelessness, published on 23 July 2024, what steps her Department is taking in response to (a) that report's findings that (i) funding sources are complex, fragmented and uncertain and (ii) there has been limited progress in improving the quality and suitability of temporary accommodation and (b) other findings in that report.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved. That is why we will take the action needed to tackle this issue and develop a long-term, cross-government strategy working with Mayors and Councils to put us back on track to end homelessness for good. The NAO’s report shines a light on this important issue, and we will consider their recommendations as we develop our strategy.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much of the previous Government’s £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund remains (a) unspent and (b) unallocated.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is now fully allocated to HIF projects. As of the end of June this year, £1.8 billion had been drawn down by local authorities.
The Department estimates that HIF has unlocked c260,000 homes. Local Authorities report starts and completions on housing developments facilitated by HIF investment to Homes England and the Department. Based on these returns, c29,000 homes have been started of which c18,500 have been completed.
It should, however, be noted that these Local Authority returns are not verified by government and should not be regarded as official statistics.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of homes that have been unlocked by the Housing Infrastructure Fund and (b) number and proportion of those homes that have (i) received planning consent, (ii) started on site and (iii) been completed as of 9 September 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is now fully allocated to HIF projects. As of the end of June this year, £1.8 billion had been drawn down by local authorities.
The Department estimates that HIF has unlocked c260,000 homes. Local Authorities report starts and completions on housing developments facilitated by HIF investment to Homes England and the Department. Based on these returns, c29,000 homes have been started of which c18,500 have been completed.
It should, however, be noted that these Local Authority returns are not verified by government and should not be regarded as official statistics.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 has made an assessment of the potential merits of utilising unallocated funds from the Housing Infrastructure Fund to directly fund delivery of new social homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is now fully allocated to HIF projects. As of the end of June this year, £1.8 billion had been drawn down by local authorities.
The Department estimates that HIF has unlocked c260,000 homes. Local Authorities report starts and completions on housing developments facilitated by HIF investment to Homes England and the Department. Based on these returns, c29,000 homes have been started of which c18,500 have been completed.
It should, however, be noted that these Local Authority returns are not verified by government and should not be regarded as official statistics.