Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy in the level of building of new social housing; and if he will make new social housing building part of his Department's levelling up agenda.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Since 2010, we have delivered over 542,400 new affordable homes, including over 382,300 affordable homes for rent, of which over 149,400 homes for social rent. New social housing is a key priority for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
As part of our drive to level up, we are keen to see affordable homes built right across the country, supporting all communities. Sixty-five per cent of the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 is due to go to regions of England outside of London, up from 55% in the 2016-23 Programme.
To ensure Social Rent homes are built where they are most needed, we have changed the rules for Social Rent making grant available for it right across the country and provided additional funding to deliver Social Rent homes in local authority areas where affordability pressures are highest.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will include a research and innovation focus.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will help people access opportunity in places in need, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and rural and coastal communities, and for people in disadvantaged groups across the UK.
Further details on the UKSPF will be published in due course.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the finding of the Institute for Public Policy Research, published on 3 September 2021, that long term social care expenditure is £5,300 per person lower in the North East than across England as a whole, what steps he is taking to ensure that long term social care expenditure per person is equally distributed among regions.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We are committed to making sure councils continue to get the support they need to maintain key services and build back better after the pandemic. The Spending Review will be the opportunity to consider local government's future funding needs, including social care expenditure. We are committed to the delivery of world-leading health and social care across the whole of the UK, and our 7 September 2021 announcement of £5.4 billion of investment over three years marked an important step on the journey to reform adult social care.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to make an assessment of the potential effect of reductions in funding for local government on regional health disparities, including life expectancy.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government carefully considers how its policies will affect communities across the country. For example, each year, we conduct an assessment of the equality impacts of the annual Local Government Finance Settlement and publish a statement on the Gov UK website. As the equality statement makes clear, this year the Government made available an increase in overall Core Spending Power of 4.6% in cash terms and ensured that no local authority saw a reduction in Core Spending Power compared to 2020-21, which benefitted all those with protected characteristics. These increases build on the largest year-on-year increase in spending power in a decade in 2020-21.
Reducing health inequalities will also be a core aim of the new Office of Health Promotion (OHP). The OHP will systematically tackle the top preventable risk factors, improving the public's health and narrowing health inequalities. It will set health improvement priorities for government, and will work with the whole of government, the NHS, local government, industry and wider partners to deliver on these priorities.