Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
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 an assessment of the impact of the building of modular homes on (a) the economy, (b) the (i) speed and (ii) cost of house building and (c) the provision of affordable homes; and if he will take steps to encourage the building of more modular homes.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is committed to supporting the development and use of modern methods of construction (MMC) which has the capability of unlocking a range of benefits including increased energy efficiency, quicker delivery of new homes and improving the diversity of the housing sector. Government support includes building at least 25% of properties through the Affordable Homes Programme using MMC and providing financial support through our Levelling Up House Building Fund.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authority enforcement of (a) selective licensing designations and (b) other existing measures against landlords in the private rented sector for (i) HMOs and (ii) other private rented accommodation, since 2015.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department continues to monitor private rent levels using the Office for National Statistics' Index of Private Rents and biannual publications on absolute rent levels by local authority and number of bedrooms. The Department also tracks the stock of private rented properties using the English Housing Survey and other market data to assess the availability of private rented accommodation and financial resilience of unwaged renters. People who need help to make their rent payments may be eligible for a range of financial support through the welfare system. The government has maintained the Local Housing Allowance at its increased rate for 2021/22 and 2022/23, and for those most in need Discretionary Housing Payments are available to help meet a shortfall in housing costs and the Household Support Fund has been extended to help with the cost of essentials.
The Government's commitment to abolish Section 21 evictions will mean tenants enjoy greater security and feel empowered to challenge poor practice and unreasonable rent rises. We want as many tenants as possible to benefit from these reforms, including students living in the private rented sector. We expect most students will continue to move in-line with the academic year. We will continue to consider the impact of our reforms as we move towards legislation and will publish an impact assessment in due course. The Government's 'A Fairer Private Rented Sector' White Paper set out our intention to bolster national oversight of local councils' enforcement, including by exploring requirements for councils to report on their housing enforcement activity and sharing of best practice.
The 2021 National Audit Office report into regulation of the private rented sector (PRS), and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee report set out several recommendations to improve the PRS, including a number concerning landlords, to which the department has responded. We are also currently assessing the recommendations from the 2019 Independent Review into the effectiveness of selective licensing and will respond in due course. We will work with local authorities to gather more information about their selective licensing schemes to ensure they are continuing to deliver the intended outcomes and to help share best practice. There are additional regulatory standards for HMOs than other privately rented accommodation. Duties for the landlords of HMOs are set out in HMO management regulations. We reformed HMO licensing in 2018, requiring that HMOs with five or more tenants must be licensed.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
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 an assessment of the potential impact of repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 on the student housing market.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department continues to monitor private rent levels using the Office for National Statistics' Index of Private Rents and biannual publications on absolute rent levels by local authority and number of bedrooms. The Department also tracks the stock of private rented properties using the English Housing Survey and other market data to assess the availability of private rented accommodation and financial resilience of unwaged renters. People who need help to make their rent payments may be eligible for a range of financial support through the welfare system. The government has maintained the Local Housing Allowance at its increased rate for 2021/22 and 2022/23, and for those most in need Discretionary Housing Payments are available to help meet a shortfall in housing costs and the Household Support Fund has been extended to help with the cost of essentials.
The Government's commitment to abolish Section 21 evictions will mean tenants enjoy greater security and feel empowered to challenge poor practice and unreasonable rent rises. We want as many tenants as possible to benefit from these reforms, including students living in the private rented sector. We expect most students will continue to move in-line with the academic year. We will continue to consider the impact of our reforms as we move towards legislation and will publish an impact assessment in due course. The Government's 'A Fairer Private Rented Sector' White Paper set out our intention to bolster national oversight of local councils' enforcement, including by exploring requirements for councils to report on their housing enforcement activity and sharing of best practice.
The 2021 National Audit Office report into regulation of the private rented sector (PRS), and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee report set out several recommendations to improve the PRS, including a number concerning landlords, to which the department has responded. We are also currently assessing the recommendations from the 2019 Independent Review into the effectiveness of selective licensing and will respond in due course. We will work with local authorities to gather more information about their selective licensing schemes to ensure they are continuing to deliver the intended outcomes and to help share best practice. There are additional regulatory standards for HMOs than other privately rented accommodation. Duties for the landlords of HMOs are set out in HMO management regulations. We reformed HMO licensing in 2018, requiring that HMOs with five or more tenants must be licensed.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of private rented accommodation to the unwaged.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department continues to monitor private rent levels using the Office for National Statistics' Index of Private Rents and biannual publications on absolute rent levels by local authority and number of bedrooms. The Department also tracks the stock of private rented properties using the English Housing Survey and other market data to assess the availability of private rented accommodation and financial resilience of unwaged renters. People who need help to make their rent payments may be eligible for a range of financial support through the welfare system. The government has maintained the Local Housing Allowance at its increased rate for 2021/22 and 2022/23, and for those most in need Discretionary Housing Payments are available to help meet a shortfall in housing costs and the Household Support Fund has been extended to help with the cost of essentials.
The Government's commitment to abolish Section 21 evictions will mean tenants enjoy greater security and feel empowered to challenge poor practice and unreasonable rent rises. We want as many tenants as possible to benefit from these reforms, including students living in the private rented sector. We expect most students will continue to move in-line with the academic year. We will continue to consider the impact of our reforms as we move towards legislation and will publish an impact assessment in due course. The Government's 'A Fairer Private Rented Sector' White Paper set out our intention to bolster national oversight of local councils' enforcement, including by exploring requirements for councils to report on their housing enforcement activity and sharing of best practice.
The 2021 National Audit Office report into regulation of the private rented sector (PRS), and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee report set out several recommendations to improve the PRS, including a number concerning landlords, to which the department has responded. We are also currently assessing the recommendations from the 2019 Independent Review into the effectiveness of selective licensing and will respond in due course. We will work with local authorities to gather more information about their selective licensing schemes to ensure they are continuing to deliver the intended outcomes and to help share best practice. There are additional regulatory standards for HMOs than other privately rented accommodation. Duties for the landlords of HMOs are set out in HMO management regulations. We reformed HMO licensing in 2018, requiring that HMOs with five or more tenants must be licensed.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the disabilities facilities grant and the speed of disbursement of the grants to their recipients.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 requires local authorities to make decisions on Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) applications within six months of receipt, and adaptations must be completed within 12 months of the DFG approval date.
On 28 March this year the Government published new guidance for local authorities in England on effective delivery of the grant. This includes information on how local authorities can speed up DFG delivery. A link to the guidance is available on GOV.UK here.
Additionally, Government provides funding to Foundations, the national body for DFGs and home improvement agencies, to promote best practice in the delivery of home adaptations. Foundations analyse annual voluntary data returns from local authorities in England on their DFG delivery, including unaudited data on DFG approval and completion times. Their most recent report for 2020-21 can be found here. This indicates an average DFG delivery time of 89 days from approval to completion.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
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 number of homeless ex-service personnel in (a) England and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data on households who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, for England show levels of veteran homelessness are low but there is no room for complacency and Government is committed to doing more. Annual Statutory Homelessness Data 2021-22, published in September 2022, shows that 1,850 households in England owed a homelessness duty had a member of the household with a support need due to service in the Armed Forces. This represents less than 1% of all households owed a homelessness duty.
Data for all local housing authorities within Staffordshire can be found within the annual data publication available here (Table A3). This shows 13 households across 5 local authorities included a member with a support need to service in the Armed Forces with 4 local authorities with zero households.
The Government is committed to reducing veteran homelessness. In September 2022, we published our 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good' strategy. This ensures local areas can provide tailored support, including for veterans, where required.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of (a) the effectiveness of CCTV cameras in tackling fly tipping and (b) the adequacy of support available to help local authorities obtain CCTV footage in roadside areas.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This year, as part of the Fly-Tipping Interventions grant scheme, we provided over £450,000 across 11 councils to help them implement a range of measures to tackle fly-tipping.
Many of the projects are utilising CCTV to support enforcement activity, such as Artificial Intelligence enabled CCTV and the integration of CCTV with a digital education tool. Initial feedback from these projects is positive and case studies will be made available on the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group website in due course.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to school play areas for children with disabilities; and what plans she has to improve access for disabled children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department does not collect information on the adequacy of access to school play areas for children with disabilities. The department publishes area guidelines for schools in Building Bulletin 103: Area Guidelines for Mainstream Schools, and specific guidance for special educational needs and disability (SEND) schools and alternative provision (AP) sites in Building Bulletin 104: Area Guidelines for SEND and alternative provision, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905692/BB103_Area_Guidelines_for_Mainstream_Schools.pdf and here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905693/BB104.pdf.
These documents include guidance and expectations around size, type, and design of outdoor PE space, informal and social areas, and the use of habitat areas.
Schools must also comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010, including making reasonable adjustments and carrying out accessibility planning for disabled pupils. Schools must prepare and implement accessibility plans which should include plans for improving the physical environment of schools to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided. Ofsted may review a school’s accessibility plan as part of school inspections.
In March 2022 the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding is to support local authorities to deliver new places for academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25, and improve the suitability and accessibility of existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities, including improving the accessibility of school play areas, and they can work with any school in their local area to do so.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Veterans' ID card scheme for (a) those who left the Armed Forces before 2018 and (b) other veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Veterans’ Recognition Scheme has a two-phase rollout. Phase one is complete, with Service leavers receiving a HM Armed Forces Veterans’ Recognition Card as part of the discharge process since December 2018. Phase two will extend the scheme to existing veterans so they can more quickly, easily and securely prove they served in the UK Armed Forces. The Government remains committed to delivering Veterans’ Recognition Cards and will advise of a timescale for the final delivery of phase two when this work is complete
The ID card is just one way to recognise veterans for their service to the UK. The further roll-out of cards will also help services and charities confirm veteran status quickly and effectively.
The Ministry of Defence is confident that the ID cards supplied to veterans effectively fulfil their purpose. In order to measure their effectiveness, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs are conducting a ‘Veteran ID Card Use and Experience’ survey which was launched in October, the results of which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Christopher Pincher (Independent - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) national water infrastructure and (b) steps being taken by water companies to reduce leaks.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
HM Government recognises the need to improve the resilience of our water supplies and is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves investing in new supply infrastructure and action to reduce water company leaks and improve water efficiency.
The National Framework for Water Resources, published in March 2020, sets out the strategic water needs for England to 2050 and beyond. The Framework sets out how we will reduce demand, halve leakage rates, develop new water supply infrastructure, move water to where itis needed, increase drought resilience of water supplies, and reduce the need for drought measures.
Before the end of this year, water companies will publish their statutory draft Water Resources Management Plans for consultation, that will set out how they will improve drought resilience, secure water supplies, reduce leakage and improve water efficiency in the long term.
HM Government expects water companies to take action to reduce levels of leakage and has consistently challenged them on their performance. Water companies have committed to a government endorsed target to reduce leakage by 50% sector-wide by 2050. As a first step, Ofwat has set requirements for water companies to cut leaks by 16% and reduce mains bursts by 12% by 2025. In July, Ofwat reported that industry wide leakage has reduced by 11% since 2017-18.