Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of eligible voters who may be unable to vote at polling stations due to the new Voter ID legislation, either because of (1) a lack of acceptable ID, or (2) a lack of awareness of the new requirements; and what training is being provided for (a) polling station officers, and (b) returning officers, to ensure that they prepared to judge the (i) veracity of official documents, and (ii) the authenticity of photo IDs.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Noble Lady to the Commons UQ response here, to the Cabinet Office published survey on levels of ownership of photographic identification, and to the New Burdens funding methodology for the Elections Act 2022 available here.
Information regarding applications for Voter Authority Certificates is published online. The rejection of an application is a matter for the relevant Electoral Registration Officer.
The Association of Electoral Administrators is providing relevant training for Returning Officers.
The Office for Students encourages higher education providers to promote electoral registration. Students can register at their home address or their term-time address or both.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how successfully local authorities will be able to implement the new Voter ID legislation at the local elections in May.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Noble Lady to the Commons UQ response here, to the Cabinet Office published survey on levels of ownership of photographic identification, and to the New Burdens funding methodology for the Elections Act 2022 available here.
Information regarding applications for Voter Authority Certificates is published online. The rejection of an application is a matter for the relevant Electoral Registration Officer.
The Association of Electoral Administrators is providing relevant training for Returning Officers.
The Office for Students encourages higher education providers to promote electoral registration. Students can register at their home address or their term-time address or both.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in England had applied for the Voter Authority Certificate by 1 March; how many applications had been rejected; how many Voter Authority Certificates had been issued; what estimate they have made of the number of voters that will need a Voter Authority Certificate; and what estimate they have made of the number of people who will apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the noble Lady to the answer given to Question UIN 165271 (attached) on 20 March 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of households at risk of being made homeless over the coming year by landlords who cannot meet their costs at current levels of rent given the increase in interest rates; and what steps they intend to take to protect such households.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No such assessment has been made. The causes of homelessness are complex, and it is driven by a range of factors, both personal and structural.
Government is committed to preventing homelessness where possible. We have announced the allocation of £654 million in funding through the Homelessness Prevention Grant that will be made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and 2024/25. This is in addition to the £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant for 2022/23 announced earlier in December.
This is on top of the action Government has taken to support households with the cost of living. At Autumn statement, the Chancellor announced further support for 2023/24. This included a 10.1% increase in benefits from April 2023, and extra support provided to all households with the Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the planning barriers to the installation of significantly scaled battery storage units in England; and what plans they have to boost their rollout.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for local authorities to determine planning applications for battery storage installations where development comes forward, taking into account the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as a material consideration which is clear that the planning system should support our transition to a low carbon future. As set out in the Net Zero Strategy, and as part of our programme of changes to the planning system, we will review the NPPF to ensure it contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation as fully as possible.
The Government's British Energy Security Strategy reflects the importance of flexibility for our energy security.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to support local councils in the protection of individuals who are dependent on life-critical support machines during power blackouts.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer to Question UIN 77488 (attached) on 11 November 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many homes which were adapted for disabled users have been sold under the right to buy programme in the last 20 years; and what was the rate of replacement of these homes, either by (1) construction, or (2) adaptation.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government does not collect statistics on this particular area.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the total reduction in funds available for social housing in England since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Funding for new build affordable and social housing is made available through the Affordable Homes Programme. Since 2010 there have been 4 main programmes:
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to devolving the control of the social rent cap to local government.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government believes that there is considerable benefit in providing a consistent national framework for calculating maximum rents on Social Rent and Affordable Rent properties, regardless of whether the landlord happens to be local authority or a private registered provider. This framework, although set nationally, takes local factors into account and gives individual social landlords the discretion to set lower rents where they wish to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government which local authorities have submitted expressions of interest for Investment Zones; whether they will publish this information as a map; and which of these sites fall into (1) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, (2) National Parks, and (3) the Green Belt.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are assessing the proposals received through the recent Expression Of Interest process. Policy announcements will be made in the usual way.