Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled, Building a safer future: proposals for reform of the building safety regulatory system, whether he plans to undertake a consultation on banning the use of combustible materials on the external walls of (a) hospitals, (b) care homes and (c) sheltered housing.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 291436 answered on 1 October.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including adult social care provision within housing development plans.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Provision of Adult Social Care is a Government priority, which is why this Government has given councils access to £10 billion dedicated funding that can be used for adult social care in the three year period to 2019-20.
Government has continued to subsidise the supply of new supported and sheltered housing as well as investing more than £2.7 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) between 2012-13 and 2019-20. The DFG has been funded through the Better Care Fund since 2015 in in recognition of the crucial role which home adaptations can play in supporting the integration of housing, health and social care.
The Department has also strengthened the revised National Planning Policy Framework so that local planning authorities are expected to have policies which identify the size, type and tenure of homes required for different groups in the community.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new forms of tenure for older people in specialist housing-with-care settings.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government currently does not have any plans to introduce other forms of tenure.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of trends in the level of under-occupation of larger houses on the supply of specialist housing for older people.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government’s Housing White Paper underlines our commitment to do more to provide the homes we need for all in our society, including for older and disabled people. We also recognised and committed to explore the barriers for older people moving at the right time to the right property and explore ways to stimulate the market to deliver new homes for older people.
This will involve building on evidence to deliver outcomes that are best for older people, including finding sustainable solutions, drawing on the expertise of a wide range of stakeholders, and by considering the impact on the housing market caused by older people moving home - and how this could contribute to a stronger evidence base to inform our policy making. These approaches will sit alongside our commitments to continue to fund the development of supported and sheltered housing.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Housing Delivery Test: 2018 measurement, what the requirements are for the provision of specialist housing-with-care.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Housing Delivery Test is a percentage measurement of net homes delivered against the number of homes required. The test cannot be disaggregated into different types of housing, but incentivises authorities to deliver housing for older people by allowing them to count communal accommodation (such as care homes).
In preparing the Housing White Paper ‘Fixing the Broken Housing Market’, and the revised National Planning Policy Framework published last year, we consulted a wide range of groups, including Age UK and the Retirement Housing Group. For the draft Framework we conducted 3 key stakeholder roundtables, and carried out 40 individual meetings with interested parties on specific topics or wording.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with representatives of providers of specialist housing-with-care for older people on the requirements of the Housing Delivery Test.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Housing Delivery Test is a percentage measurement of net homes delivered against the number of homes required. The test cannot be disaggregated into different types of housing, but incentivises authorities to deliver housing for older people by allowing them to count communal accommodation (such as care homes).
In preparing the Housing White Paper ‘Fixing the Broken Housing Market’, and the revised National Planning Policy Framework published last year, we consulted a wide range of groups, including Age UK and the Retirement Housing Group. For the draft Framework we conducted 3 key stakeholder roundtables, and carried out 40 individual meetings with interested parties on specific topics or wording.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to introduce additional forms of tenure for older people in specialist housing-with-care settings.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government currently does not have any plans to introduce other forms of tenure.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC has introduced new guidance on the payment of VAT on costs for the provision of site-based staff at (a) sheltered units of accommodation and (b) other such developments.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
There has been no change in government policy in this area. Service charges payable by residents to a landlord are exempt from VAT and continue to be so. Equally, the supply of any on-site staff to an individual, landlord or company has, since the inception of VAT, been a taxable supply.
HMRC became aware that a number of property management and similar companies had not been correctly accounting for VAT on their services, thereby giving them an unfair advantage over their competitors.
To address this, on 7 September 2018, HMRC issued a Revenue and Customs Brief 06/2018 and associated documents to publicise the correct VAT treatment in respect of goods and services, including staff, supplied by a property management company or similar to a landlord or a “Right to Manage” (RTM) company. These documents are available via the gov.uk website.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help older people on low incomes who need supported accommodation.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government values the important role supported housing plays in enabling vulnerable, older people to live independently. In England, my Department, along with the Department for Health and Social Care, provides capital grant funding to supported housing providersto promote development of increased supply of sheltered and supported housing for rent in the social housing sector at subsidised levels and also for low cost home ownership including Older Persons’ Shared Ownership. Social housing, including supported and sheltered housing in the social sector, is prioritised for people in identified housing need, including those who have medical and welfare needs. Older residents of sheltered, extra-care and other supported housing on low incomes may be eligible for Housing Benefit to help with rental costs. This is a means tested benefit so if they are on a low income this will be reflected in how much Housing Benefit they might receive. In addition, they may also be eligible for other income support through the welfare system.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether tenants living in supported housing will have their housing benefit replaced with universal credit as a result of the roll-out of universal credit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In October 2017 we consulted on proposals to achieve a sustainable funding provision for supported housing. This included a ring fenced local authority grant for short-term provision and an enhanced regulatory regime for sheltered and extra care housing (“Sheltered Rent”).
We took note of all the consultation responses and opinions, in particular listening to views expressed by the sector throughout the process, working closely with providers and others.
As a result, on 9th August, we announced that we will maintain all of supported housing in Housing Benefit. This decision reflects our commitment to protecting the most vulnerable people in our society.
At present, there are no plans to replace housing benefit for those in supported accommodation and claiming universal credit, as a result of universal credit roll-out. .