Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to roll out a nationwide annual women's rough sleeping census that is gender informed.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We know that women sleeping rough have different experiences and needs to men, particularly relating to violence and abuse, and that female rough sleepers can be less visible than other rough sleepers as a result. It is important rough sleeping services meet the needs of women.
As part of our Ending Rough Sleeping Strategy, we committed to the creation of an operational risk assessment tool which will help local authorities to prevent rough sleeping. The tool will be developed to consider various factors that contribute to rough sleeping, including how best to support different cohorts such as women.
The tool will enable local networks to allocate Rough Sleeping Initiative and other funding streams appropriately to support tailored and targeted interventions for groups like women sleeping rough who are not known to outreach services.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to ensure that local government is funded to cover increased cost pressures facing the sector in the upcoming medium term fiscal plan.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available substantial funding in 2022/23 for local government in England. In addition, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme is providing a discount on energy prices this winter for local authorities whose bills have been significantly inflated by the global energy crisis.
We know that inflation forecasts are higher than they were at the Spending Review. We are working closely with councils and their representatives, as we always do, to monitor the impact on service delivery and budgets.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, what steps his Department is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social care to increase the supply of (a) older people’s housing and (b) housing with care.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Ensuring older people have access to the right homes that suit their needs can help them to live independently for longer and feel more connected to their communities. The Government is committed to improving the diversity of housing options available to older people and boosting the supply of specialist elderly accommodation, including housing with care.
My department works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
DHSC's Adult Social Care Reform White Paper reiterated the Government's commitment to the important role of supported housing.
In February 2022, the Levelling Up White Paper announced a taskforce on older people's housing to explore how we can improve the choice of and access to housing options for older people.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring that local government is funded to cover increased cost pressures facing the sector as part of the upcoming Medium Term Fiscal Plan.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Spending Review settlement took into account a wide range of cost pressures. We announced around £1.6 billion additional grant for local government in 2022/23, including funding for Supporting Families and Cyber Resilience. The Local Government Finance Settlement made available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22.
We acknowledge that inflation forecasts are higher than they were at the Spending Review. How that interacts with the finances of local government is not straightforward. For example, some councils will have energy contracts expiring soon, whereas others will be fixed for some time. We are working with local authorities to more fully understand the nature of the issues that have emerged in recent months, considering the issue of rising inflation along with other challenges such as energy price rises and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Chancellor will set out further details of it’s the government’s Medium-Term Fiscal Plan on Monday 31 October. The OBR forecast will also be published on that date.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will reconsider the decision to remove the third people and skills pillar from years one and two of UK Shared Prosperity Fund funding.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The primary goal of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK.
The Fund will focus on communities and place and local business interventions to boost pride in place in 2022-23 and 2023-24, alongside support for people and skills through the Multiply adult numeracy programme.
As well as funding allocated directly to local areas to deliver innovative local numeracy interventions we will also launch a new digital platform to support flexible and blended learning and a programme of evaluation and Randomised Control Trials to improve evidence about what works to improve adult numeracy.
In year three, when the Fund has ramped up to £1.5 billion per annum, local authorities will be able to choose from a full range of people and skills investments to meet local needs and opportunities.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his policy is on how the remediation of non-cladding items which pose dangers to life will be funded in a block between 11 and 18 metres where resident tenants have purchased the freehold to the building and the developer of the building cannot be found via Operation Apex as a result of insolvency of the developer.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The new funding schemes will make sure leaseholders never pay a penny to fix dangerous cladding.
On non-cladding, we are clear that we have to make sure there is a proportionate approach – there are too many incentives currently to try to find new problems and declare buildings unsafe. We recognise there is a specific heightened safety risk with cladding which can accelerate fires. That is why our new plan to apply common sense is so important. If there are any remaining non-cladding costs, we want to support leaseholders across the board – they should not be bearing an unfair burden.
That is why:
· Developers will be expected to fix all fire defects in the buildings they built
· We will work with MPs and stakeholders on statutory protections for leaseholders; and
· We are working across government to ensure leaseholders will be protected against eviction for any fire safety defect costs.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government plans to take to (a) reduce health disparities and (b) improve healthy life expectancy through the levelling up white paper.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The forthcoming levelling up white paper will set out the UK Government’s approach to tackling spatial inequalities across the country in order to improve outcomes in places where they are weakest. Addressing stark disparities in health outcomes between places is an important part of levelling up, because people should have the opportunity to live long, healthy lives wherever they live.
The Government is already taking action to address disparities in health outcomes, including through a £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics over the Spending Review period, which will increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres, expanding diagnostic capacity across the country whilst targeting investment at areas of deprivation.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to make assessment of the potential merits of establishing a housing-with-care task force, as proposed by the integrated retirement community sector.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Both this department and the Department of Health and Social Care are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people. We believe that offering older people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them to live independently and feel more connected to their communities.
Boosting the supply of a range of specialist housing for older people will be key to achieving this aim. We already work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to provide capital funding to incentivise their supply.
As set out in the Department of Health and Social Care’s recent white paper, People at the Heart of Care , a new £300 million investment will embed the strategic commitment to connect housing with health and care in all local places and drive the stock of new supported housing
Our National Planning Policy Framework already states that local authorities should assess the types of specialist housing needed for older people in their areas, and this should be reflected in their local planning policies.
We will continue to work closely with colleagues across government and with a range of stakeholders to look at how we can further support the growth of a thriving older people’s housing sector. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-Government taskforce.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department plans to take together with the Department for Health and Social Care to engage across Government for the purposes of increasing housing-with-care provision for older people as set out in the Government's adult social care reform white paper.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Both this department and the Department of Health and Social Care are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people. We believe that offering older people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them to live independently and feel more connected to their communities.
Boosting the supply of a range of specialist housing for older people will be key to achieving this aim. We already work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to provide capital funding to incentivise their supply.
As set out in the Department of Health and Social Care’s recent white paper, People at the Heart of Care , a new £300 million investment will embed the strategic commitment to connect housing with health and care in all local places and drive the stock of new supported housing
Our National Planning Policy Framework already states that local authorities should assess the types of specialist housing needed for older people in their areas, and this should be reflected in their local planning policies.
We will continue to work closely with colleagues across government and with a range of stakeholders to look at how we can further support the growth of a thriving older people’s housing sector. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-Government taskforce.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to review planning guidance to local authorities to help expand provision of (a) housing-with-care and (b) integrated retirement communities for older people in the context of the Government's adult social care reform white paper.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Both this department and the Department of Health and Social Care are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people. We believe that offering older people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them to live independently and feel more connected to their communities.
Boosting the supply of a range of specialist housing for older people will be key to achieving this aim. We already work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to provide capital funding to incentivise their supply.
As set out in the Department of Health and Social Care’s recent white paper, People at the Heart of Care , a new £300 million investment will embed the strategic commitment to connect housing with health and care in all local places and drive the stock of new supported housing
Our National Planning Policy Framework already states that local authorities should assess the types of specialist housing needed for older people in their areas, and this should be reflected in their local planning policies.
We will continue to work closely with colleagues across government and with a range of stakeholders to look at how we can further support the growth of a thriving older people’s housing sector. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-Government taskforce.