Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to help leaseholders with premium insurance rates for multi-occupancy residential buildings affected by (a) flammable cladding and (b) other material safety risks.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government continues to put extreme pressure into ensuring more fair and proportionate premiums for leaseholders living in multi-occupancy buildings with fire safety issues.
The FCA recommended that the insurance industry develop a risk-sharing facility for buildings with fire-safety issues. The Association of British Insurers’ Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility launched on 1 April 2024 in response to this recommendation. We are closely monitoring the Facility to understand the extent to which it improves outcomes for leaseholders.
On 31 December 2023, FCA changes came into force to give leaseholders rights under Fair Value rules and require the disclosure of key policy information. We welcome these changes and expect that they will help reduce the unfair costs facing leaseholders.
On 27 November 2023, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill was introduced into Parliament. The Bill bans insurance commissions being passed to freeholders and managing agents, replacing these with transparent handling fees. This will stop leaseholders being charged excessive and opaque commissions on top of their premiums.
The Government has also published a commitment by 14 insurance broker companies to cap their commissions to 15%, stop sharing commissions with managing agents, landlords and freeholders, and share policy information with leaseholders when requested. The pledge will benefit leaseholders in buildings over 11 metres (or four storeys) in height with identified fire safety defects, where these details have been made known to the insurance broker.
We will continue to monitor the impact these changes have had on leaseholder premiums, and will remain engaged with industry regarding whether any further steps may be required.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
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 merits of updating the National Planning Policy Framework to enable local planning authorities to use the most recent Office for National Statistics household projections in the standard method of calculating local housing need.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
A review of the standard method formula was undertaken in 2020. As part of the consultation, we asked if we should incorporate more recent household projections data into the formula. Following careful consideration of the responses received, to provide stability and certainty for local authorities and other stakeholders we decided to retain the existing formula.
We have kept the standard method under review. Through a consultation on changes to national policy held in 2022/23 we committed to review our approach to assessing housing needs once new household projections data, based on the 2021 Census, is released in 2025.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the resources available to district councils in England to provide temporary accommodation for people who are homeless or who are at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government is committed to tackling homelessness. We are investing over £1billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years to help councils prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation, with a further £120 million UK-wide funding announced at Autumn Statement for 2024/25 to help prevent homelessness.
The Local Authority Housing Fund enables councils in England to buy or build housing stock to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for those owed a homelessness duty and provide a lasting affordable housing asset for the future. We recently announced a third round of funding, bringing the total funding to £1.2 billion.
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 has taken to ensure that when a building owner enters administration, qualifying leaseholders remain protected from non-cladding remediation costs under the Building Safety Act.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The costs of remediation will only fall on leaseholders in the event some or all of the leaseholders choose to buy the freehold collectively and take over the rights and responsibilities of being the freeholder. Otherwise, the responsibilities will remain with the freeholder or, following the conclusion of any insolvency proceedings, with the party who acquires the freehold following termination of the insolvency. In which case, the leaseholder protections will apply.
As a result, qualifying leaseholders under the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022 will remain protected in law from the costs of non-cladding historical safety defects being passed on to them through the service charge (under the terms of the protections).
Should a building owner become insolvent and enter administration, interested parties including leaseholders can also potentially look to pursue a previous freeholder, developer and any associated company or person for remediation costs through a Remediation Contribution Order and also have the potential to pursue developers, contractors or manufacturers where they are liable for defects which meant one or more dwellings in the building was not fit for habitation when the relevant works were completed.
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 information his Department holds on the average time taken between a building entering the Cladding Safety Scheme pipeline for investigation and entering the pre-application stage of the scheme.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The time taken to enter the pre-application stage depends on the speed of the applicant providing the necessary information. On average, applicants who enter the pre-application stage of the scheme do so two months after receiving the initial communication from Homes England which requires them to provide information about the status of their building.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
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 British citizens with lawful dual citizenship are able to (a) vote and (b) stand for elections in all parts of the UK and overseas territories.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
A British citizen with dual nationality can register to vote and qualify to stand in UK parliamentary, local and police and crime commissioners (PCC) elections as a British citizen, as long as they meet the other qualifying requirements, such as age and residency.
The online Register to Vote service includes information to assist individuals with more than one nationality. On the section of the service requesting nationality information, text below that question advises applicants with more than one nationality to include them all. The same guidance appears on paper application forms.
The Electoral Commission produces guidance for EROs to use when processing applications to register to vote. This guidance advises that when an application is received from a dual national, the ERO “should always process an application in accordance with the nationality that provides the higher level of franchise”.
Elections in UK overseas territories are determined by each territory and the Government has no plans to change this. Each Overseas Territory has its own rules and regulations regarding voting and candidacy eligibility.
The UK Government believes that the current fundamental structure of our constitutional relationships with the Overseas Territories is the right one. Elected governments of the Territories have powers to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the UK retaining those powers necessary to discharge its sovereign responsibilities.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
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 the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of designating veterans ID cards as an accepted form of voter identification at polling stations.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government reviewed the list of accepted identification as part of the wider evaluation of the impact and implementation of voter identification at the May 2023 local elections in England. We concluded that, at this time, there are no suitable additions to be made to this list. This review included consideration of the Veteran Card.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a revised version of his Department's Planning Policy Guidance to reflect recent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Since 19 December 2023, we have updated Planning Practice Guidance multiple times to include new guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain, and updated existing guidance on the Community Infrastructure Levy, Housing Supply and Delivery, the Green Belt, Natural Environment and Viability. Further guidance updates will be published as necessary in due course.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the UK's constitutional arrangements on the strength of the Union.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
In line with the longstanding practice of successive administrations, Cabinet discussions are confidential, and details are not normally disclosed. But I will say that the United Kingdom is one of the world’s most successful political and economic unions. When we work together as one United Kingdom, we are safer, stronger and more prosperous.
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 his Department will make an estimate of the number of leaseholders who purchased leases between 14 February and 20 July 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
For information on land purchases I would encourage you to contact HM Land Registry.