Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the use of contract-based tenures in older people's housing-with-care.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87630 on 11 November 2025.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to build affordable homes for young people.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and contribute to our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 25 March 2025 (HCWS549).
The investment made at Spring statement follows the £800 million in new in-year funding which has been made available for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme and that will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being Social Rent homes.
We will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.
Homes England and GLA will assess bids received in the usual way before awarding funding. Exact funding to different places and the locations of homes that will be built will depend on the bids received from local councils and housing associations.
Local authorities are responsible for their own allocation scheme for social housing within the framework of legislation. By law, people who are homeless must be given ‘reasonable preference’ (priority) and local authorities can give ‘additional preference’ (high priority) to those who have urgent housing needs.
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning authorities should assess the size, types and tenure of housing needed for different groups, including disabled people, and to reflect this in their planning policies. My Department has set out guidance for councils in preparing planning policies on housing for disabled people. This can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will hold discussions with local authorities on increasing the provision of furniture for (a) vulnerable people, (b) families with young children and (c) people who have escaped domestic violence living in social rented accommodation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department holds discussions with local authorities on a wide range of issues, including how to improve housing quality in the social rented sector. We will be consulting later this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard.
In relation to furniture provision, local authorities may be able to provide support through the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally. The Deputy Prime Minister is also part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing on children.
In relation to those who are victims of domestic abuse and need to flee their homes, local authorities also have a statutory duty to assess the need for and provide appropriate support in safe accommodation. Such emergency domestic abuse safe accommodation is furnished, and workers would provide support for victims, including help with finding appropriate and safe longer-term housing, and sources of financial support to furnish that home if needed.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Decent Homes Stand to ensure at least 10% of social rent homes are offered as furnished.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
The Deputy Prime Minister is part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is aiming to publish a Child Poverty Strategy. As part of the development of the strategy, the Taskforce is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing.
People in need may be able to get help for essential furniture from their local council through the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all new social housing developments include a proportion of homes to be let as furnished.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
The Deputy Prime Minister is part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is aiming to publish a Child Poverty Strategy. As part of the development of the strategy, the Taskforce is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing.
People in need may be able to get help for essential furniture from their local council through the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 making the use of Nazi (a) symbolism and (b) salutes illegal in non-academic settings.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government has a robust legislative framework in place to deal with the perpetrators of racist and other forms of hate crime and expect the perpetrators of these abhorrent offences to be brought to justice. We are deeply concerned about the unprecedented levels of antisemitism we have seen over recent years. That is a stain on society, and we must never relent in our work to root out hatred in all its forms.
The government has been working closely with the Independent Adviser on Antisemitism Lord Mann along with Jewish community voices such as the Community Security Trust on the most effective methods to tackle antisemitism. Government has committed funding of £72m for the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant to provide protective security measures (such as security personnel services, CCTV and alarm systems) at synagogues, Jewish educational establishments and community sites until 2028.
It is vital that the government continues to offer support and reassurance to communities targeted by hatred and that we are firm in pushing back on those seeking to incite hatred and promote extremist narratives.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether their Department offers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not have a policy which explicitly covers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers. Employees are able to take paid time off work to deal with an emergency involving a dependant, and non-emergency medical appointments. In addition, employees are able to request other unpaid leave to provide or arrange care for a long-term care need, as well as annual and flexi leave as required to support them when they become a kinship carer. Employees are also able to request flexible working to support both short term and longer-term arrangements.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many council houses were built in the West Midlands between 2010 and 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Data on new affordable housing delivery by provider and region, including West Midlands, broken down by new build and acquisitions is available on gov.uk here.
The number of new affordable housing delivered without provider information (unknown provider) was higher prior to 2014-15 than it is currently. As such, breakdowns by provider, including the delivery by local authorities, should be interpreted with care prior to 2014-15.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the residential conveyancing system to (a) speed up and (b) reduce costs to users.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 3887 on 10 September 2024.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people live in temporary accommodation in each region.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high. Local authorities report the numbers of households in temporary accommodation and this data is published each quarter as part of the Homelessness Case Level Collection (H-CLIC). The most recent figures for January-March 2024, including regional breakdowns, are available here (see tab TA1): Statutory homelessness in England: January to March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).