Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to issue the latest consultation on a code of practice for parking charges and debt recovery fees.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities. This government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector and will announce its plans for the new Code in due course.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the number of individuals in England on the parliamentary electoral register, and what percentage this represents of the number of those eligible to vote.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Office for National Statistics publishes annual electoral statistics. Its most recent report, published in April 2024, shows that the numbers of parliamentary electors registered to vote in England stood at 38,969,669.
There are no official statistics on, or Government estimates of, the numbers eligible to vote in parliamentary elections in England but not registered. The best available estimate, produced by the Electoral Commission in 2023, is that the parliamentary register in England is 86% complete.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist local authorities in taking action to bring empty dwellings back into occupation and to expedite the administrative and legal process.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to the latest published statistics, excluding second homes, there are 719,470 vacant dwellings in England. 265,061 of these dwellings are classed as Long-Term Empty Homes, meaning they have been empty for more than 6 months. These statistics are published annually and accessible on gov.uk.
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 6686 on 14 October 2024 regarding the support government is providing to help local authorities tackle empty homes.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - 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 empty dwellings in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to the latest published statistics, excluding second homes, there are 719,470 vacant dwellings in England. 265,061 of these dwellings are classed as Long-Term Empty Homes, meaning they have been empty for more than 6 months. These statistics are published annually and accessible on gov.uk.
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 6686 on 14 October 2024 regarding the support government is providing to help local authorities tackle empty homes.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help Councils to tackle (a) aggressive begging and (b) anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
In March 2023, we launched the Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) Action plan backed by £160 million of funding, to crack down on ASB, restoring people's confidence that these crimes will be quickly and visibly punished. The plan outlines Government's intention to ensure begging can be addressed where it is causing a nuisance. We continue to engage with stakeholders on the detail of the replacement proposals following our consultation last year before separate legislation is brought forward at the earliest parliamentary opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential prevalence of RAAC in buildings (a) owned and (b) occupied by departmental staff; and whether he has had discussions with local authorities on the potential prevalence of RAAC in local authority- (i) owned and (ii) occupied buildings.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Individual building owners and managers continue to be responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as RAAC.
Building owners must address safety risks of all kinds in their buildings through a risk-based, proportionate and evidence-based approach. On the 1 May 2019, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks. Local authorities, like other building owners, are advised to follow available professional guidance.
The Local Government Association has advised members to check whether any buildings in their estates have RAAC, to ensure it can be identified, assessed, and responded to accordingly. This is accessible on the LGA website and in line with the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. If further buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many landlords are registered on rogue landlords databases in England.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
There are currently 57 entries on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents.
Local authorities are responsible for uploading and maintaining records on the Database. Where records have expired, local authorities are required to remove the entry from the Database.