Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking, or planning to take, to address the concentration of empty homes in low-value housing markets, with specific regard to the housing markets in (1) northern England, and (2) coastal communities.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
We continue to support local authorities to encourage efficient use of our existing stock, making best use of homes that have been empty long term. Local authorities have powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus, they earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. The Ratings (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill will permit a charge of up to 200 per cent of normal council tax on properties that have been empty for two years or more, instead of the current limit of 150 per cent. Great progress has been made in recent years and the number of empty homes stands at its lowest since records began. At May 2010, over 300,000 homes in England had been standing empty for longer than 6 months. As of October 2017, the number of long term empty properties had fallen to 205,293.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - 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 recommendations in Centrepoint's report, More than a number: The scale of youth homelessness in the UK, published on 3 May.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
We welcome opportunities to work with Centrepoint and discuss their research on youth homelessness. We are committed to working collaboratively with the voluntary and local government sectors and across government to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. Officials from the department are arranging to meet Centrepoint to discuss the research.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what analysis they have undertaken, or plan to undertake, on the impact on introducing fire safety legislation requiring high rise residential buildings in England to provide two means of escape.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government has commissioned Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an independent review of the Building Regulations and fire safety system. Any decision on future fire safety requirements will be taken following the completion of that review, which is expected to be published this Spring, and will involve consideration of the likely impact of those changes. The department is taking preliminary steps to gather information that would assist us in doing so.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what analysis they have undertaken of domestic fire safety measures implemented internationally, including regulations relating to (1) the use of sprinkler systems, (2) the use of flammable cladding materials, and (3) means of escape.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government has commissioned Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an independent review of the Building Regulations and fire safety system. Any decision on future fire safety requirements will be taken following the completion of that review, which is expected to be published this Spring, and will involve consideration of the likely impact of those changes. The department is taking preliminary steps to gather information that would assist us in doing so.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, or intend to make, of the effectiveness of legislation mandating the provision of means of escape for (1) residential buildings, and (2) office buildings in preventing injury or deaths in fires.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government has commissioned Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an independent review of the Building Regulations and fire safety system. Any decision on future fire safety requirements will be taken following the completion of that review, which is expected to be published this Spring, and will involve consideration of the likely impact of those changes. The department is taking preliminary steps to gather information that would assist us in doing so.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 22 December 2017 (HL4184), what assessment they have made of the introduction of mandatory sprinkler systems for new buildings in Wales in considering (1) the benefit of introducing such measures in England, and (2) the cost of such measures in England.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government has commissioned Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an independent review of the Building Regulations and fire safety system. Any decision on future fire safety requirements will be taken following the completion of that review, which is expected to be published this Spring, and will involve consideration of the likely impact of those changes. The department is taking preliminary steps to gather information that would assist us in doing so.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there will be a full and public consultation on the detail of the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and whether they will engage with young people currently benefiting from projects supported by EU funds.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The government will be holding a public consultation on the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund later this year, as announced in the Industrial Strategy. This will give all interested parties the opportunity to contribute their views directly to the government.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish a specific funding stream within the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund to focus on tackling child poverty and providing opportunities to disadvantaged young people, as exists under the current European Social Fund programme.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The government continues to develop the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The new Fund will allow us to invest money according to our own priorities, rather than those set by the EU, and will seek to reduce inequalities and boost productivity across the whole of the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) assessment they have made, and (2) what representations they have received, concerning the access to legal redress of (a) rough sleepers, (b) the hidden homeless, and (c) other homeless people, in circumstances where their human rights have been infringed.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department has not made any assessment of compliance nor has it received any representations concerning the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights or access to legal redress of rough sleepers, the hidden homeless and other homeless people.
However, we are clear that one person without a home is one too many. We are committed to do more to prevent more people becoming homeless in the first place.
That’s why we are implementing the most ambitious legislative reform in decades, the Homelessness Reduction Act. It significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.
This Government is committed to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027. We will now be working to create a cross-Government rough sleeping strategy to achieve our commitment.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their compliance with the UK’s human rights obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to housing under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ratified by the UK in 1976, in relation to (1) rough sleepers, (2) the hidden homeless, and (3) other homeless people.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department has not made any assessment of compliance nor has it received any representations concerning the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights or access to legal redress of rough sleepers, the hidden homeless and other homeless people.
However, we are clear that one person without a home is one too many. We are committed to do more to prevent more people becoming homeless in the first place.
That’s why we are implementing the most ambitious legislative reform in decades, the Homelessness Reduction Act. It significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.
This Government is committed to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027. We will now be working to create a cross-Government rough sleeping strategy to achieve our commitment.