Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, what recent estimate he has made of the total number of households in the UK that are resident in homes which are not fit for human habitation.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal wellbeing in formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jake Berry
We use Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics to inform Health and Wellbeing policy within the Civil Service. The Department also measures personal wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the ONS use for the UK population as a whole.
The four personal well-being questions are: Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness, and Anxiety. Further details can be found at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/july2017tojune2018.
We make use of a wide range of data and evidence in developing our policies, including data sources which focus on well-being. This includes the above estimates of personal wellbeing, as well as our own surveys and data collection tools which include questions and data which are highly relevant to the well being agenda such as the English Housing Survey and English Indices of Deprivation. We also continue to use and support the development of the wider evidence base on well-being, as we are one of the HMG funders of the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much of the £77 million funding allocated to local authorities for the purpose of no deal preparations has been allocated to each local authority.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Department has made available £77 million to help local areas to prepare for Brexit. Of this, £60 million has been shared between all local authorities across 2018/19 and 2019/20 (in three separate payments): unitary authorities have each received £314,952; county councils have each received £262,500; district councils have each received £52,452; and combined authorities have each received £272,727. £8.15 million has also been allocated to those councils which either have, or are near to, a major air, land or sea port to increase capacity to plan for and accommodate changes and ensure the councils continue to operate efficiently. £5.79 million has been allocated to Local Resilience Forums to support them with their core administration costs for preparing, testing, assuring and delivering plans for supporting the delivery of Brexit.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping statistics.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
MHCLG publishes statistics on statutory homelessness and rough sleeping.
a) From the 1 April 2018, the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC) data system replaced the aggregated data return (collected using the P1E form) for all new homelessness applications. The statistics measure statutory homelessness and excludes anyone who has not approached their local authority for assistance who would otherwise be considered homeless. The data from H-CLIC provides much more detailed, case-level information on the characteristics households experiencing homelessness and associated factors.
These statistics are designated as experimental statistics as they are in the testing phase and not yet fully developed. Work continues to develop processes for handling gaps in coverage and improve data quality until the statistics are of sufficient quality to be designated as National Statistics. More detail on these issues and how these have been dealt with are covered in the Technical report published alongside the statistical release available at this link. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831153/Statutory_Homelessness_Technical_Note.pdf
b) Since 2010 all local authorities in England have been required to provide a snapshot of rough sleeping using either a count or an evidence-based estimate.
We are confident these Rough Sleeping Statistics provide a pragmatic way of estimating the number of people sleeping rough across England on a single night and of assessing change over time. The data is collated by outreach workers, local charities and community groups and is independently verified by Homeless Link. Accurately counting or estimating the number of people sleeping rough is inherently difficult given the hidden nature of rough sleeping. More detail about data quality and limitations of the latest Rough Sleeping Snapshot Statistics can be found in the technical information section of the latest statistical release available at this link:.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018
The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) have previously raised concerns about the reliability of the rough sleeping snapshot statistics due to a number of areas changing their approach for measuring rough sleeping. The recently published Rough Sleeping Initiative Impact evaluation looked at this concern and found there was no evidence that areas changing from estimates to counts and vice versa was responsible for the fall in rough sleeping in areas funded by the initiative. More information is available at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleeping-initiative-2018-impact-evaluation
We also have a programme of work underway to improve the broader evidence base for homelessness and rough sleeping. Further information about this work is available at this link:
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Ministerial Statement of 9 September 2019 on Local Government update, HCWS 1830, if he will place in the Library a copy of the selection criteria by which the 100 places invited to develop proposals for town deals were decided.
Answered by Jake Berry
As part of the process of identifying the initial 100 places, towns have been chosen on the basis of a robust selection methodology. This took into account various qualitative and quantitative indicators. These included income deprivation, skills, productivity, EU exit exposure, economic shocks, investment opportunities, and policy alignment.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the Towns Fund prospectus.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Government will publish a Towns Fund prospectus shortly in order to provide greater detail on how the fund will operate.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of frequent house moves on the well-being of (a) adults and (b) children.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Our consultation on Overcoming the barriers to longer tenancies sought views on the potential benefits of longer tenancies in the private rented sector. A number of people responded that increased security would improve tenants’ mental health and well-being. In particular, respondents mentioned that fewer house moves could help tenants have better access to local amenities, such as schools and GP clinics, and feel more integrated into their communities.
Earlier this year, the Government announced its commitment to improve security for renters, and intends to introduce a new, fairer deal for both tenants and landlords.
As part of this new deal, we will put an end to ‘no-fault’ evictions by repealing section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. Under the new framework, a tenant cannot be evicted from their home without good reason, providing tenants with more stability, and enabling them to put down roots and plan for the future.
On the 21st July we launched a 12 week consultation on the details of our proposals. The Government will collaborate with and listen to tenants, landlords and others in the sector to develop a more effective system that works for everybody.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions the rough sleeping advisory panel has met since its inception, (a) when and (b) where those meetings took place;and who attended each such meeting.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel has met a total of eight times since its inception. The meetings were all held either at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF or in the House of Commons, SW1A 0AA. Full details of members can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-government-backed-advisory-panel-commits-to-help-eradicate-rough-sleeping.
The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.
The expert Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel formed of key representatives from across local government, homelessness and housing sectors, informed the development of a truly cross-Government strategy to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it altogether.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will list the 10 local authorities with the greatest real terms reduction in central government funding since 2010.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Due to changes in the finance and function of local government, there is no consistent measure of central government funding since 2010. The Department’s preferred measure of local government funding is Core Spending Power. Core Spending power is comparable over the period 2015-16 to 2019-20 and published in cash terms on the Department's website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2019-to-2020
The 10 local authorities with the greatest reduction in Core Spending Power over the period 2015-16 to 2019-20 are listed below:
Basingstoke and Deane
Brentwood
East Cambridgeshire
Epsom and Ewell
Forest Heath
Gedling
Huntingdonshire
North Dorset
St Albans
Watford