Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what checks will be carried out on (a) sponsors and (b) sponsors housing children under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
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 the Homes for Ukrainians scheme, whether people who rent properties will be able to offer a spare room in that property as accommodation to Ukrainian refugees.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support the Government plans to provide to third party organisations providing support services to Ukrainian refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, to account for the extra demand on their services.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in relation to the Homes for Ukraine, will the Minister consider a dedicated phoneline, or support service for Ukrainians who need assistance if their home placement fails.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how his Department calculated the £350 monthly sum to be offered to people in the UK who accommodate Ukrainian refugees; and what assessment he has made of what that sum should be spent on each month.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support will be given to sponsors in the Homes for Ukraine scheme who may come to be housing sufferers of trauma and PTSD.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the new taskforce on older people’s housing announced in the Levelling Up White Paper will (a) involve collaboration between his Department and the Department of Health and Social Care, and (b) include a focus on housing options with onsite social care provision.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 120902 on 15 February 2022.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the new task force on older people’s housing announced in the Levelling Up White Paper will hold its first meeting.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
As part of the Levelling Up White Paper, we have now announced a new taskforce to look at ways we can provide greater choice, quality and security of housing for older people, and support the growth of a thriving older people's housing sector. This includes considering how to increase the supply of a range of specialist housing, including housing with care, across the country.
This work will be taken forwards in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care, with secretariat provided by officials from both departments.
Further details regarding panel membership, as well as the timing and frequency of meetings will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned research on the potential relationship between levels of anti-social behaviour and the proportion of houses in multiples occupancy in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Between 2019 and 2021, the Department neither conducted nor commissioned research on the relationship between levels of anti-social behaviour and the proportion of houses in multiple occupation.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
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 prevent the construction of inappropriate developments in flood risk areas.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Flood risk is an important consideration in the planning system and there are strict policy tests to protect people and property from flooding. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Where development is necessary, it should be made safe and resilient – and without increasing flood risk elsewhere. In July 2021 the NPPF was amended to make sure that all sources of flood risk need to be considered (including areas that are at risk of surface water flooding due to drainage problems), taking into account future flood risk, to ensure that any new development is safe for its lifetime without increasing the risk of flooding elsewhere.
Where a developer is proposing a development in a flood risk area, or where the development is of one hectare or more, they will need to submit a site-specific flood risk assessment with their planning application. This should identify all flood risks both to and from a development, and demonstrate how these risks will be managed.