Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Cadbury Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Paul Scully)]

I thank my hon. Friend, who does amazing work in tackling this issue in his area. In June, an uplift in energy efficiency standards for new homes came into force. There is a transitional period of one year to minimise disruption to projects that are already under way. To stop developers sitting on this, however, it will be about not just each project but each house, because homes must be built to the new standards.

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

T8. Local councils such as Hounslow have a statutory duty to assess and care for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children placed in local hotels by the Home Office. Many of these children are clearly 13 or 14 years old, and on one day alone 72 arrived in hotels in the borough. What discussion has the Department had with affected boroughs about the additional support they need to provide their statutory duty to these hugely vulnerable children?

[Andrew Stephenson]

We are working closely with local councils to understand where the pressures are, and actively exploring options to find suitable long-term accommodation for a range of different asylum-seeker cohorts. I would be more than happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss the specific challenges in her area.