Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
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 impact of contract inflation on the cost of district council services.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces, including remuneration. The Government recognises the challenges local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the Budget and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
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 assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that new housing developments have sufficient opportunities for residents to easily access healthy foods.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework already expects policies and decisions at the local level to enable and support healthy lifestyles, including through access to healthier food.
As part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the Framework and other changes to the planning system, the Government sought views on how the planning system could better support local authorities in promoting healthy communities, and specifically, in tackling childhood obesity. This included considering whether a more consistent approach to controlling hot food takeaways near schools though planning policies would be effective.
The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
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 economic impact of (a) building more social housing and (b) reducing the number of families living in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is clear that homelessness is too high and that too many families are living in temporary accommodation. We intend to take a long-term approach to prevent and end homelessness. Working with Mayors and councils across the country, we will develop a new cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness. The Deputy Prime Minister will chair an Inter-Ministerial Group to drive this forward.
We are also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including by delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. Our aspiration is to ensure that, in the first full financial year of this Parliament (2025-26), the number of Social Rent homes is rising rather than falling.
Our proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework include setting a clear expectation that housing needs assessments must consider the needs of those requiring Social Rent homes, and that local authorities should specify their expectations on Social Rent delivery as part of broader affordable housing policies.
We have asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise the number of Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding. The Government has started to review the increased Right to Buy discounts introduced in 2012, on which we will bring forward more details and secondary legislation to implement changes in the autumn. We have also announced new flexibilities for how councils can use their Right to Buy receipts to deliver replacement homes; these flexibilities will be in place for an initial 24 months, subject to review.
We are committed to setting out details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department provides to district councils to help reduce the levels of homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The Government is clear that homelessness is too high and too many families are living in temporary accommodation. We want to take a long-term approach and, working with Mayors and councils across the country, we will develop a new cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness. The Deputy Prime Minister will chair an Inter-Ministerial Group to drive this forward.
We are also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including by delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. We will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions with immediate effect, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
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 potential impact of (a) newbuild housing quality and (b) housing prices on health outcomes for residents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health of people in or about those buildings. The impacts of these standards are assessed when changes are made to individual parts of the Building Regulations and Approved Documents.