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Written Question
Buildings: Fire Prevention
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about international action to improve fire safety in high-rise dwellings following the Grenfell Tower disaster; and what action they have taken.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Government regularly looks at construction practices in other jurisdictions, seeks to learn from any significant incidents and, where appropriate, are always willing to share our experiences with other countries and collaborate further. We should be mindful though that construction practices and methods can be quite different across different countries and so the actions and mechanisms that the UK has put in place would not necessarily be directly transferrable. Experts from the UK participate in both the CEN and ISO committees which facilitate the sharing of international standards. The UK is a member of the Inter-jurisdictional Regula-tory Collaboration Committee (IRCC) which promotes effective international collaboration concerning ‘best current practice’ building regulatory systems.


Written Question
Buildings: Construction
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what communication they have had with the governments of (1) Italy, and (2) Spain, about the regulation of building materials used in the construction of high-rise dwellings.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Government regularly looks at construction practices in other jurisdictions, seeks to learn from any significant incidents and, where appropriate, are always willing to share our experiences with other countries and collaborate further. We should be mindful though that construction practices and methods can be quite different across different countries and so the actions and mechanisms that the UK has put in place would not necessarily be directly transferrable. Experts from the UK participate in both the CEN and ISO committees which facilitate the sharing of international standards. The UK is a member of the Inter-jurisdictional Regula-tory Collaboration Committee (IRCC) which promotes effective international collaboration concerning ‘best current practice’ building regulatory systems.


Written Question
High Rise Flats: House Insurance
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Association of British Insurers plan to reduce insurance costs for leaseholders and residents in high rise buildings.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Government is very aware that leaseholders in some affected buildings have been burdened with paying extremely high premiums for too long. The industry-led Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility will be launched on 1st April. We have repeatedly called for this to be launched and it has taken too long to do so, but now it is due to launch the Government will monitor the implementation and impact of the Facility and will remain engaged with industry regarding whether any further steps may be required.


Written Question
Housing: Environment Protection
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what (a) policy and (b) regulatory steps his Department is taking to enable greater competition amongst utility providers to ensure the speedy delivery of green homes.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The department is working towards delivering the greener homes of the future and in doing so the department will collaborate with key partners across government. I would be happy to meet my Hon Friend to discuss further, should that be helpful.


Written Question
Housing: Insulation
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)

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 people in Wales with incorrectly installed cavity wall insulation.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

This is a devolved matter.


Written Question
Domestic Abuse
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by Women's Aid entitled Domestic Abuse Report 2024, The Annual Audit, published in February 2024; and whether his Department is taking steps to increase funding for the specialist domestic abuse sector.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government recognises the vital role of local domestic abuse organisations in supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse, as highlighted by the Women’s Aid 2024 Annual Report.

The Government is committed to the delivery of safe accommodation with support for victims of domestic abuse and their children who need to flee their homes and has placed a duty on councils to provide safe accommodation services to victims under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Since 2021, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has committed over £507 million, including £129.7 million in 2024/25, to councils across England to fund this duty. Funding from April 2025 will be determined at the next Spending Review.

I work closely with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, the Local Government Association, and the domestic abuse sector, including Women’s Aid, through a National Expert Steering Group on safe accommodation to ensure that councils have the support they need to deliver their duty requirements. DLUHC is also working closely with Women’s Aid, the specialist ‘by and for’ sector and local authorities to explore ways to improve the commissioning of 'by and for' services.


Written Question
Community Ownership Fund: Religious Buildings
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Lord Bishop of Bristol (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable local communities to safeguard places of worship through the Community Ownership Fund.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps communities across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets at risk of closure.

Current and former places of worship and their attached community hubs are one of the many asset types that the fund supports, though not specifically recorded as such. We recognise the important role these places have in building our social fabric and boosting pride in place by bringing people together. Some of the great projects we have already supported include The Light Church Bradford, The Open House in Sheffield, and The Old Synagogue in Belfast – all of which are providing valuable services to their community.

A full list of successful projects is available on GOV.UK at: Community Ownership Fund: successful bidders - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)


Written Question
Social Rented Housing
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 is taking to increase the number of homes available for social rent.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I give to Question UIN 17100 on 13 March 2024.


Written Question
Homelessness: Finance
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 17987 on Homelessness: Burnley, if he will provide a link to the relevant page on his Department’s website where allocations of grant funding to Burnley Borough Council are published; and whether his Department publishes information on other support provided to local authorities on gov.uk.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Burnley Borough Council have received £1,080,784 in Homelessness Prevention Grant funding since the first year of the grant, 2021/22. Burnley Borough Council have also been beneficiaries of up to £650,497 through direct allocations and as members of joint local authority bids in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding since they were first funded in 2020/21.

The funding allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant are published here: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24-2024/25. The funding allocations for the Rough Sleeping Initiative are published here:2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23-2024/25.

Policy, guidance, research and grant funding allocations for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping are published here Homelessness and rough sleeping - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).


Written Question
Homelessness: Burnley
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 17987 on Homelessness: Burnley, how much funding his Department provided to Burnley Borough Council through the (a) Homelessness Prevention Grant and (b) Rough Sleeping Initiative since 2019.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Burnley Borough Council have received £1,080,784 in Homelessness Prevention Grant funding since the first year of the grant, 2021/22. Burnley Borough Council have also been beneficiaries of up to £650,497 through direct allocations and as members of joint local authority bids in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding since they were first funded in 2020/21.

The funding allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant are published here: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24-2024/25. The funding allocations for the Rough Sleeping Initiative are published here:2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23-2024/25.

Policy, guidance, research and grant funding allocations for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping are published here Homelessness and rough sleeping - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).