Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to accelerate Government-funded remediation schemes in the context of the major fire incident in Dagenham on 26 August 2024; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including non-cladding internal life-critical fire safety defects within the scope of Government-funded remediation schemes.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Speeding up the remediation of buildings is absolutely critical. Seven years on from Grenfell, action has been far too slow and the fire in Dagenham is a horrific reminder of the risk unsafe cladding still poses to far too many people. This Government will expect more from regulators to make sure action is being taken now to make homes safe, speed up remediation and ensure that buildings in the process of being remediated are managed safely for residents. Alongside taking action to increase the pace of remediation, we are also committed to better protect leaseholders from the costs of remediation. Following consideration of the phase 2 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, we will announce further measures to accelerate remediation and protect leaseholders.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of recent trends in the number of Section 21 notices that have been issued in (a) the UK, (b) the North West and (c) Runcorn and Helsby Constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Figures relating to Section 21 eviction proceedings in individual constituencies in England are not held by the department, but we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector in the North West have real-life consequences for individuals and families. Tenants across England will benefit from the measures in the forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill, including the abolition of Section 21 evictions.
Housing policy is devolved in Scotland and Wales.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the regional disparities in Housing First services.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The previous Government commissioned an evaluation of the Housing First pilots, which is currently ongoing. Reports are made available here.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing a strategy to help tackle youth homelessness.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high and too many families are living in temporary accommodation. We will take the action needed to tackle this issue and develop a long-term, cross-government strategy, through working with mayors, councils and other key stakeholders, to end homelessness for good. Critical to tackling homelessness is building more affordable homes. We will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to work across Departments on supporting people with multiple complex needs who are homeless; and what steps he is taking to support such people out of homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending the move-on period from 28 to 56 days for refugees leaving asylum support on homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to continue funding for the Rough Sleeping Initiative after 2025.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff working on the Building Safety Programme in his Department left in the 12 months to 30 April 2024.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Building Safety Programme and initiatives are staffed by civil servants working within the Safer and Greener Buildings Group of the department which has a wider set of responsibilities than the building safety initiatives.
45 employees permanently left the department having previously worked in the Safer and Greener Buildings Group in the 12 month period ending 30th April 2024. This is broadly equivalent to 11% of staff employed in the Group during the same period and circa 1% of the department’s total workforce in the same period.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's press release, Government wins landmark case against freeholder owned by multibillion pound railway pension fund, published on 9 May 2024, if he will make an estimate of the number of non-qualifying leaseholders affected by the five successful Remediation Orders.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The five buildings where remediation orders have successfully been achieved include 461 leasehold homes, which will be made safe due to Government intervention. A further 430 homes are subject to ongoing remediation order legal action to ensure remediation work is completed quickly, with one other block of 24 homes already made safe in advance of trial. This totals 915 homes and households.
In addition, remediation contribution orders have also been taken out against three organisations – Yianis Group, Urban Splash and Hollybrook Homes – relating to nine further buildings. This action seeks to recoup the cost of building remediation, including that charged to leaseholders whether they are qualifying or non-qualifying, of around £69.45 million at current estimates. This action impacts 1,035 households.
In total, the department’s Recovery Strategy Unit actions should mean 1,950 households are safer and more financially secure.
The department has not been provided with information regarding the number of non-qualifying leaseholders within these buildings.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's press release, Government wins landmark case against freeholder owned by multibillion pound railway pension fund, published on 9 May 2024, what the (a) legal and (b) administration costs to the public purse were in relation to the five successful Remediation Orders to date.
Answered by Lee Rowley
These cases were groundbreaking and contentious, marking the first trials under the Building Safety Act. The newness of these cases inherently introduced complexity requiring careful consideration and analysis. On average each of the five successful orders incurred legal costs of approximately £170,000 (one hundred and seventy thousand pounds). We expect that, having been tested, these cases will incur lower costs in the future.
Whilst the information of administration costs is readily available, calculating the costs for this piece of work is challenging as the team handling the cases were also engaged in other tasks concurrently. Furthermore, oversight from colleagues adds to the complexity, making it harder to gauge the time spent, specifically on this work.