Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which homelessness stakeholders he has met since his appointment.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities lead on homelessness and rough sleeping and as such have regular meetings with stakeholders.
The Home Office has additionally engaged with police, local authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and other organisations including the homelessness sector on this topic. This has highlighted that more direct tools were needed to respond to begging and rough sleeping where it causes nuisance to others.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will publish a list of meetings held by her Department with stakeholders on the Telecare National Action Plan.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department has now agreed a first version of the Telecare National Action Plan (TNAP) with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Plan is now being tested with key stakeholders including the telecoms sector, the telecare sector, and Ofcom, and we plan to publish it as soon as we are able.
I do not propose to publish a list of meetings held by my department on the TNAP as this engagement is ongoing, but I can confirm that extensive discussions with stakeholders from the sectors outlined above is taking place.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to publish the Telecare National Action Plan.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department has now agreed a first version of the Telecare National Action Plan (TNAP) with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Plan is now being tested with key stakeholders including the telecoms sector, the telecare sector, and Ofcom, and we plan to publish it as soon as we are able.
I do not propose to publish a list of meetings held by my department on the TNAP as this engagement is ongoing, but I can confirm that extensive discussions with stakeholders from the sectors outlined above is taking place.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 14 December 2022 to Question 104103 on Social Rented Housing: Rents, if his Department will commission research into the (a) prevalence of tenants in social housing being incorrectly charged for services they do not receive and (b) impact of (i) caretaking, (ii) maintenance of lifts and door entry systems and (ii) other elements previously covered by rent in social housing now being paid for by service charges.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is clear that service charges should relate to costs, and that it would not be acceptable for Registered Providers of social housing to increase service charges simply as a means of boosting rental revenue. Registered Providers (including housing associations) are expected to supply tenants with clear information about how service charges are set.
Where there are concerns about the calculation, collection or communication of service charges, tenants may ask the Housing Ombudsman to investigate their complaint. The Government has strengthened the Housing Ombudsman Service, so tenants of social landlords have somewhere to turn when they are not getting the answers they need from their landlords.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities works closely with the Regulator of Social Housing, and the Department for Work of Pensions to ascertain the impact of social housing rent policy on taxpayers, tenants and providers.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
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 housing associations do not circumvent the 7.7 per cent cap on rent increases in 2024-25 by raising service charges.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is clear that service charges should relate to costs, and that it would not be acceptable for Registered Providers of social housing to increase service charges simply as a means of boosting rental revenue. Registered Providers (including housing associations) are expected to supply tenants with clear information about how service charges are set.
Where there are concerns about the calculation, collection or communication of service charges, tenants may ask the Housing Ombudsman to investigate their complaint. The Government has strengthened the Housing Ombudsman Service, so tenants of social landlords have somewhere to turn when they are not getting the answers they need from their landlords.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities works closely with the Regulator of Social Housing, and the Department for Work of Pensions to ascertain the impact of social housing rent policy on taxpayers, tenants and providers.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the letter to his Department on Tackling the Recruitment & Retention Crisis from Leading Violence Against Women and Girls organisations, published on 20 March 2024.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Home Office officials are discussing the concerns and proposals raised in the correspondence you refer to directly with some of the signatories and have also engaged with officials at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities to ensure a co-ordinated consideration of the concerns raised.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of calls from a coalition of Violence Against Women and Girls organisations for an independent taskforce to tackle recruitment and retention in that sector.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Home Office officials are discussing the concerns and proposals raised in the correspondence you refer to directly with some of the signatories and have also engaged with officials at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities to ensure a co-ordinated consideration of the concerns raised.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the costs of error in the last three financial years.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Details of measures the department is taking to prevent fraud and error are set out in the department’s annual accounts.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many staff working on Levelling Up have left his Department since its creation.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Table 42 in the annual Civil Service statistics includes information on the number of leavers for the period in question and this information can be found at the following link for the years in question: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding has been allocated from the (a) UK Community Renewal Fund, (b) Levelling Up Fund, (c) Community Ownership Fund and (d) UK Shared Prosperity Fund to projects in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) England and (iv) Northern Ireland (A) overall and (B) in each financial year for which figures are available; and if he will publish a breakdown by project.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Information on the projects that these funds have supported and the dates when commitments were announced are publicly available and can be found on gov.uk:
Delivery of UKSPF is delegated to local authorities.