Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held at Cabinet level about the adequacy of emergency funding available to support communities affected by flooding.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In the event of a major flood emergency in England the Secretary of State will liaise with Cabinet colleagues in relevant Departments, including Defra, BEIS and Treasury, to consider activation of i) the Bellwin Scheme, which can be used to provide funding to local authorities to cover the costs of immediate flood response work and ii) the Flood Recovery Framework which provides funding towards the costs of flood recovery for businesses and households.
These schemes are well-established mechanisms which can provide timely and effective support to help communities to recover.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the Building Research Establishment report The Cost of Poor Housing in England, published 11 November, that "it is costing the NHS some £1.4 billion per year to treat those people who are affected by poor housing".
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has a safe home and welcomes this updated research from the Building Research Establishment into the fiscal cost of poor-quality housing. As part of its ongoing work to ensure the quality of housing, the Government is currently reviewing the Decent Homes Standard and Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform local government finance.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Spending Review concluded last week, and the Secretary of State has written to all local authority leaders about his plans. The Government will set out the proposed approach to allocating funding in 2022-23 through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement and will engage further with the sector on wider reforms to be implemented in subsequent years.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects on high street businesses of the extensions of Permitted Development Rights to allow the conversion of commercial premises to residential premises on high streets.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We aim to publish an Impact Assessment on the measures as soon as possible and in accordance with the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the planning system supports local authorities to contribute to the net zero emissions target.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that plans should take a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change in line with the objectives and provisions of the Climate Change Act 2008.
In July 2021, we updated the NPPF to place stronger emphasis on the importance of delivering sustainable development and published the National Model Design Code to provide Local Authorities with tools and guidance to help make sure development responds to the impacts of climate change, is energy efficient and reduces carbon emissions.
We are also taking action to ensure the homes we build are fit for the future through the Future Homes Standard and the 2021 interim uplift to the energy efficiency standards for new homes.
As last week’s Net Zero Strategy set out, we will make sure that the reformed planning system supports our efforts to combat climate change and help bring greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.The Secretary of State is considering the best way forward in relation to proposals to reform the planning system and will make an announcement on next steps in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to seek locally-led proposals for local government reorganisation.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government’s approach is that locally led local government reorganisation is an option for areas where there is strong support for this and it remains the case that councils in such areas may seek an invitation to submit proposals for new unitary structures.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable local government representatives to conduct business virtually.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We launched a call for evidence on 25 March to gather views and inform a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely on a permanent basis. The call for evidence closed on 17 June.
The Department is reviewing the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support people at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to ending rough sleeping and preventing homelessness.
The Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform to homelessness legislation in decades, came into force in April 2018. It places duties on local housing authorities to take reasonable steps to try to prevent and relieve a person's homelessness. For the first time, local authorities and other public bodies must work together to prevent homelessness for people at risk.
Acting earlier and for a broader range of people means more people will get the help they need before they face a homelessness crisis. Since the Act came into force, over 375,000 households have had their homelessness successfully prevented or relieved through securing accommodation for more than 6 months.
We have provided local authorities with £375 million this year through the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG), which represents a £112 million increase on the previous year's funding, to give them the funding they need to prevent homelessness and help more people sooner. This includes an exceptional top up to the HPG for this financial year with an additional £65 million for local authorities to help vulnerable households with rent arrears to reduce the risk of them being evicted and becoming homeless. This is part of more than £750 million being spent on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in 2021/22.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to establish interest free, government-guaranteed hardship loans to support housing tenants with debts incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The UK Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support which is available to tenants.
We have targeted our interventions as non-repayable forms of support, which offer a sustainable form of support for vulnerable renters, and do not encourage more debt.
As emergency measures are lifted, support continues to be in place for renters through the welfare system. Local housing allowance rates have been maintained at their increased level in cash terms in 2021/22, meaning claimants renting in the private rented sector continue to benefit from the significant increase in the local housing allowance rates applied in April 2020. For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. For 2021-22 the Government has made £140 million available in DHP funding, building on the £180m provided last year.
The Government has also introduced a new £500 million Household Support Fund which will support millions of households in England who need it most, including for example to meet daily needs such as food, clothing and utilities. Households will continue to benefit from the energy price cap and increases in the National Living Wage.
As our recovery gathers pace, the government is continuing to help people into work and increase their earning potential – the most sustainable route to financial security. We’re investing billions through our Plan for Jobs and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
We continue to monitor the effectiveness of other examples of support, such as those from the devolved administrations in the UK, and note that uptake for loan support has been relatively low in Scotland and Wales.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve building safety.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Building Safety Bill was introduced on 5 July 2021 and began Public Committee on 9 September. Alongside the Fire Safety Act, the Building Safety Bill implements the key recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and will drive the regulatory, cultural and behavioural changes needed to make sure people are safe in their homes and that residents are at the heart of the new, robust system.
The Bill will strengthen the regulatory system for the built environment based upon the principles of safety and proportionality. It will make sure there is greater accountability and responsibility for fire and structural safety issues throughout the lifecycle of higher-risk buildings within the scope of a more stringent regime. The Bill also paves the way for a National Regulator for Construction Products with a UK wide remit to enforce the law, encourage good practice and educate the industry.