Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press notice entitled Pat McFadden vows to make the state more like a start up as he deploys reform teams across country, published on 9 December 2024, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on sharing the lessons learned from his Department’s temporary accommodation pilot with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness.

In December the Government launched the £100 million Innovation Fund to pioneer Public Service Reform by deploying new test-and-learn teams around the country to find innovative ways to fix some of our biggest challenges, including temporary accommodation.

My officials are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on this programme, ensuring they build on and complement the extensive programme of work the Secretary of State is taking forward on temporary accommodation and homelessness, including the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots announced on 18 December 2024. I am a member of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Inter Ministerial Group on homeless and temporary accommodation. I have also met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping and we have jointly met with council leaders to discuss this issue.

Trialling new, innovative ways of doing government is right at the heart of the Public Service Reform agenda, and we will be sharing the lessons learned from our pilots across government, including with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness.