Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 support local authorities with housing vulnerable homeless families in (a) Romford and (b) England.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 201711 on 23 October 2023. This is part of the £2 billion of funding committed to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over three years.
The right housing can play a vital role in delivering improved wellbeing and health, and greater independence, for many older people. It is for local authorities such as London Borough of Havering in Romford to plan for the right housing options, working with local partners, based on the needs of older people locally.
The £11.5 billion Affordable Homes programme (2021-26) (England) includes delivery within the programme of new supply of supported and sheltered housing. This is alongside other investment in specialist housing for older and disabled people with personal care needs, through the Department for Health and Social Care.
The Government has established an independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce to look at how a greater choice of housing might be provided for older people. The year-long Taskforce launched in May 2023 and the Government is looking forward to receiving its final recommendations in 2024.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to increase the Help to Buy equity loan scheme regional purchase price cap for properties in Greater London.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme closed to new customers on 31 October 2022.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with the Mayor of London on the demand for new homes in the Greater London Authority area.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the capacity of delivery agencies for delivering the aims of the Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We regularly review resourcing requirements with our delivery partners - Homes England and the Greater London Authority - on the Affordable Homes Programme.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department holds data on the number of local authorities that have frozen non-essential spending in (a) England and (b) Greater London.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion, or 9.4% in cash terms, on 2022/23.
The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced, in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with the Mayor of London on potential steps to improve the quality of new housing stock in Greater London.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The department regularly engages with the Greater London Authority and the London Boroughs to maintain awareness of new housing stock across the city. All new housing stock is required to comply with building regulations. Details of external meetings are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had discussions with officials in the London Borough of Havering on the quality of new housing stock in the borough.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The department regularly engages with the Greater London Authority and the London Boroughs to maintain awareness of new housing stock across the city. All new housing stock is required to comply with building regulations. Details of external meetings are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support London Councils who have reported a 120 per cent rise in requests by landlords for return of properties used as temporary homes and a 41 per cent reduction in the number of properties available for private rental since 2020.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government is investing over £1 billion into the Homelessness Prevention Grant between 2022 and 2025. In London, this includes over £350 million for 2023/24 and 2024/25 which funds local authorities to offer financial support for people to find a new home or to work with landlords to prevent evictions, among other preventative measures, or to provide temporary accommodation where needed.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding the Greater London Authority received from the public purse in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
A breakdown of government grants and other sources of income for each of the seven constituent bodies of the Greater London Authority (GLA) Group can be found in the Mayor of London's annual budgets. Copies can be found here.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of the £2 billion funding announced for housing projects at the Spending Review 2021 has been allocated; and when the next round of funding allocation will take place.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
At Spending Review 2021, a package of £1.8 billion investment was announced to drive economic growth, regenerate underused land and deliver transport links and community facilities. £1 billion from the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) programme has been distributed to Homes England, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, West Midlands Combined Authority and London. A further £360 million has been made available to local authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities through the Brownfield Land Release Fund and the Brownfield Housing Fund. The funding will boost local areas by transforming disused sites and investing in vital infrastructure to help create vibrant communities for people to live and work, while also protecting our cherished green spaces; in England. An announcement about the allocation of the remaining funds will be made in due course.