Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of people living in overcrowded housing in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not collect data on overcrowding at a constituency level. The government’s Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament will help tackle overcrowding across the country.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many high street businesses in (a) England and (b) Aldershot constituency closed in each of the last five years; and whether she plans to make changes to the business rates system.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Whilst there is no strict definition for a high street business, the Office for National Statistics publishes business demographic information on an annual basis. The latest release was published on 18 November: Business demography, UK - Office for National Statistics.
At Budget 2024, the government published ‘Transforming Business Rates,’ this sets out the government’s first steps to reform the business rates system.
As part of this reform plan, the government has announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27, and has introduced primary legislation to deliver on this commitment.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of the number of unoccupied dwellings in (a) Hampshire and (b) Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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 can be found on gov.uk here. They include a breakdown of vacant dwellings by local authority district. We do not hold records on vacant homes on a constituency basis.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 estimate of the average increase in private rents in Aldershot constituency in the last 12 months; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those increases on people in that constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on the average increase in rent. Private rents across the UK increased by 9.1% in the 12 months to November 2024 (provisional estimate), up from 8.7% in the 12 months to October 2024.
While there is no data available on Aldershot specifically, Aldershot is located in Rushmoor. The ONS found that the average monthly rent in Rushmoor was £1,257 in November 2024, an annual increase of 6.9% from £1,176 in November 2023.
The government recognises that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The Renters’ Rights Bill will empower private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable within-tenancy rent increases.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the prevalence of damp and mould in social housing in (a) Aldershot constituency and (b) Hampshire.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The English Housing Survey includes data on dwelling condition, including damp and mould. It can be found on gov.uk here. In 2022/23 the survey found that 11% of homes in the South East of England did not meet the Decent Homes Standard. Nationwide, 10% of private rented households, 7% of local authority rented households, 4% of households renting from housing associations and 2% of owner occupier households were living with damp and mould.
The government is committed to working with social housing providers to ensure that homes are safe, decent, warm, and free from damp and mould. We have committed to bringing forward the regulations necessary to introduce Awaab’s Law in the Social Rented Sector this Autumn. This will set new time limits for social landlords to fix dangerous hazards, including damp and mould. We have also committed to extending Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector.
Social rented sector homes must also meet the Decent Homes Standard and all rented homes must be free of serious ‘category 1’ hazards, including damp and mould, as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. The government has published consolidated guidance on the health impacts of damp and mould.
We also intend to consult on and implement a new Decent Homes Standard and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards early next year.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
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 taken recent steps to increase the construction of (a) social housing and (b) affordable homes in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
On 30 July we announced a number of changes in planning policy designed to support the delivery of affordable homes. We also confirmed a range of new flexibilities for councils and housing associations, both within the Affordable Homes Programme and in relation to how councils can use their Right to Buy receipts, and a further £450 million for councils through the Local Authority Housing Fund enabling councils to grow their housing stock.
At the Budget on 30 October, the Chancellor set out details of an immediate one-year cash injection of £500 million to top up the existing Affordable Homes Programme which will deliver up to 5,000 new social and affordable homes. This comes ahead of the multi-year Spending Review next spring, where the Government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.
The Chancellor also confirmed that we will reduce Right to Buy discounts to their pre-2012 regional levels and allow councils to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales.
In addition, the government will consult on a new 5-year social housing rent settlement to provide the sector with the certainty it needs to invest in new social housing.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Help to Buy homeowners are waiting for a decision on a loan redemption application in (a) Aldershot constituency and (b) Hampshire.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homes England do not hold information on redemptions initiated and redemptions concluded by constituency or local authority. In the last three months to November, for Help to Buy and associated legacy schemes, an average of 2320 redemptions per month were initiated and an average of 2288 concluded. Please note that these numbers are not directly comparable.
In order to be able to redeem a Help to Buy loan, several steps need to be completed by the customer, their surveyor, their solicitor and by the Help to Buy Mortgage Administrator. Timescales are therefore dependent on each of the parties. Redemptions may also be initiated by customers who subsequently decide not to proceed.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the supply of adapted housing for (a) adults and (b) children with disabilities in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The English Housing Survey includes data on adaptions within the home at a national level. Data is not held at constituency level.
The right housing arrangements are crucial in supporting people to live independently and well. The National Planning Policy Framework outlines that it is for local planning authorities to assess the housing needed for different groups in their area, including disabled people, and reflect this in their local plan.
Local housing authorities also have a statutory duty to provide Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding for home adaptations to disabled people of all ages and tenures subject to a means test, eligibility criteria and a needs assessment.
Government provided funding of £1,312,512 to Rushmoor Borough Council which covers the town of Aldershot for the DFG for 2024 – 2025.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the proportion of houses that have an EPC rating of (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D and (e) E in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
All EPC data is available for download by parliamentary constituency at https://epc.opendatacommunities.org/.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) protect and (b) enhance green spaces in Aldershot constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is firmly committed to creating better access to parks and green spaces for all sections of society. They are an essential part of local social infrastructure which supports more connected, stronger communities. Two green spaces in the Aldershot constituency, Wellesley Woodlands and Farnborough Business Park, have been recognised for their quality through the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Award. The Green Flag Award scheme sets the national quality standard for parks and green spaces.
Furthermore, changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will bolster environmental requirements that are already in place for new developments, including an objective for new residents to be able to access good quality green spaces within a short walk of their homes. Local authorities are mainly responsible for the provision and maintenance of green spaces and they are best placed to identify how to direct their resources. The Autumn Budget announced over £4 billion in additional funding for local government services, £1.3 billion of which will go through the Local Government Finance Settlement.