Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what was the total (a) value and (b) number of grants and funding awarded via competitive bidding processes by his Department in each of the last four years; and how many competitive bidding applications have been received by the Department in each of the last four years.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to information provided to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee in recent correspondence .
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the letter he received from Professor Paul Ekins and colleagues on the climate impact of approving new coal mines.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Department has noted the letter from Professor Ekins relating to coal and climate change.
The National Planning Policy Framework approach to coal extraction proposals is that planning permission should not be granted unless it is environmentally acceptable, or its likely effects are clearly outweighed by national, local or community benefits (taking all relevant matters into account, including any residual environmental effects).
We are currently consulting on a reform of the planning system which recognises that the planning system has a role to play in the efforts to combat climate change. There is an opportunity for Professor Ekins to engage in that consultation process and I would welcome his views on how our proposed planning system should address the concerns he raises.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) Islamophobia and (b) the number of Islamophobic incidents.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This Government remains committed to stamping out anti-Muslim hatred and all forms of hate crime. It is unacceptable for anyone to feel unsafe while practising their religion and we continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to Islamophobia.
We have continued to work closely with Muslim communities, to tackle hate against them, including underlying issues and trends, and continue supporting the work of the cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group which provides valuable advice to Government on challenges faced by Britain’s Muslim communities and how to address those challenges. We have also supported Tell MAMA?(Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks)?with?just over £2.8 million between 2016 and 2020 to monitor and combat anti-Muslim hatred.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of children in temporary accommodation in the last three years.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities seek to place families into settled accommodation at the soonest possible opportunity. However, where this is not possible, temporary accommodation plays an important role in ensuring that no child is ever without a roof over their head, and this is particularly important when we are dealing with the impacts of Covid-19.
Reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation has been a priority for this Government and, a result, the numbers of households in temporary accommodation, 87,410 (as of?September 2019), remains below the September 2004 peak, when they hit 101,300. The number of children living in?temporary accommodation?is down from its peak in June 2006 at?134,470, with?127,890?in?September 2019.
The Chancellor recently announced that for 2020/21, we will increase the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that they are set at the 30th percentile of local rents. This will mean that many people renting in the Private Rented Sector see an increase in their housing support from April 2020, providing extra security during these uncertain times. The average claimant will gain an additional £600 per year in increased housing support.
The Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform to homelessness legislation in decades, came into force on 3 April 2018. The Act requires local authorities and other public bodies to work together to actively prevent homelessness for people at risk. This is backed by the £63 million Homelessness Reduction Grant in 2020/21 which provides an uplift on previous years’ new burdens funding to implement the Homelessness Reduction Act and will enable local authorities to do more to prevent and relieve homelessness in their areas.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make it an objective of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to (a) reduce the level of and (b) alleviate child poverty.
Answered by Jake Berry
The government will create the UK Shared Prosperity Fund following our departure from the European Union.
We will consult in due course.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the amount of funding that will be allocated to local welfare assistance provision in the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020-21.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Proposals for the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020/21, including provision for local welfare assistance, will be finalised following the outcome of the planned Spending Review.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect women's eligibility for the right to buy discount in situations when they are not entitled to that discount due to their previous tenancy being entirely in their ex-husband or partner’s name.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Where a married couple live together under a public sector tenancy, they individually accrue tenancy periods which count towards eligibility for the Right to Buy. This applies whether the tenancy is in both names; or if the tenancy is only in a single name. The accrued periods still apply individually if the couple separate or divorce. This is set out in Schedule 4 of the Housing Act 1985; and in the department's booklet for tenants: Your Right to Buy Your Home ; and in the guidance for landlords: Right to Buy - A Guide for Local Authorities.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has read the report, The hidden costs of poor quality housing in the North, published in October 2018 by the Northern Consortium; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
My officials have noted the contents of the Report. The Report recognises that the Decent Homes Standard has made a real difference to the lives of tenants by driving improvements to standards in social housing. Since 2010, the proportion of social homes failing to meet the Decent Homes Standard is down 7 percentage points and the proportion of private rented homes is down 10 percentage points.
Most landlords provide decent, high quality accommodation, but a minority of them are not keeping their properties in a safe condition. We have strengthened local authorities’ enforcement powers, introduced civil penalties, extended rent repayment orders, introduced banning orders and extended licensing of higher-risk houses in multiple occupation. These measures will go a long way to crack down on landlords who neglect their properties, and rogue landlords will have to improve their properties or leave the business.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is being reviewed to assess how well it works in practice and whether it needs to be updated. The Government is also supporting the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill which will require landlords to ensure that their properties are free from potentially serious hazards at the start of and throughout a tenancy.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support young carers in the UK.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The carers action plan sets out the Government’s commitment to supporting carers and outlines the cross-government programme of work to support carers in England over the next two years, building on the National Carers Strategy.
Over this spending period councils in England will also be able to access more than £200 billion to spend on local services. The majority of this funding is non-ringfenced as it is for local authorities, who are independent of central government, to manage their budgets in line with locally determined priorities.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve support for people who sleep rough who are non-UK nationals.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
No one should ever have to sleep rough, regardless of background or nationality. That is why we have committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and ending it by 2027.
On the 13 August 2018 the government published the Rough Sleeping Strategy in which we laid out a number of new interventions to improve support for non-UK nationals who sleep rough. This includes:
These interventions compliment the £100 million Controlling Migration Fund, which has already supported a number of projects to help non-UK nationals away from the street and is currently open to further bids from local authorities.
The Rough Sleeping Strategy is published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733421/Rough-Sleeping-Strategy_WEB.pdf