Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether she plans to publish guidance for parish and town councils on how to engage with her Department on shaping the parish council role in local government devolution.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Town and parish councils are the first tier of local government and play a crucial role in community engagement and provide key local services.
The English Devolution White Paper emphasises the value of governance on a community scale and that the government wants to see stronger community arrangements during reorganisation, enhancing how councils engage at a neighbourhood level. At present, there are no plans to publish specific guidance for parish and town councils on how to engage with the Department on shaping their role in local government devolution.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions The Gardens Trust has (a) not provided a timely response to a request for feedback and (b) provided feedback that was in conflict with matters settled in the relevant local plan as a statutory planning consultee in the last three years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Garden Trust publish data on their work as a statutory consultee as part of their annual general meeting reports. Their 2023/24 Conservation Committee Report, which can be found here, makes clear that in the year to April 2024, they received 1733 statutory consultations. The Department does not collect data on whether feedback from the Garden Trust is in conflict with matters settled in the local plan.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of modern dehumidifying technologies can play on tackling damp and mould in the social and private rented housing sectors.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has published consolidated guidance for social and private landlords relating to the health impacts of damp and mould and what actions they should consider when responding to reports of it.
Whether or not dehumidifiers form part of the way damp and mould is addressed is a decision for landlords to make. However, the guidance is clear that it is the responsibility of landlords to identify the underlying causes of damp and mould, including structural issues or inadequate ventilation, and to find long-term solutions.
A range of experts in damp and mould and related areas were engaged with and contributed to the guidance in question which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has provided funding to children's therapists to support families residing in women's refuges.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and supporting victims of domestic abuse, including children.
Since 2021, local authorities in England have had a duty under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure victims and their children have access to support in safe accommodation, including women’s refuges. In delivering this duty, local authorities should provide support to children, in line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which makes it clear that affected children and young people are victims of domestic abuse in their own right.
For 2025/26, £160 million has been allocated to local authorities to deliver this duty, a £30 million uplift from the previous year. This funding is for crucial support within safe accommodation, including therapeutic support for children. To deliver this duty in 2025/26, Hertfordshire County Council has been allocated £2,615,252 and St Albans District Council has been allocated £37,869 for relevant administrative costs.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 introducing a cap on rent increases for those shared ownership properties not purchased from a registered social landlord.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government requires that all leases for shared ownership properties funded with government grant, regardless of whether the shared ownership provider is a registered social landlord, must include a clause limiting rent increases to a maximum of RPI +0.5% for leases prior to October 2023, or CPI +1% for leases from October 2023.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 prevalence of alleged aggressive council tax debt collection practices.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Councils are responsible for the collection and enforcement of council tax. The government’s clear expectation is that councils will be proportionate and sympathetic to those in hardship when determining the most appropriate action to collect tax. The government will publish a consultation in 2025 to consider options to improve council tax billing and wider council tax administration changes to support taxpayers.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28103 on Flats: Fire Prevention, whether she has held recent discussions with (a) mortgage lenders and (b) insurers on the form of alternative evidence they would accept in place of an EWS1 form issued by Adam Kiziak and Tri Fire.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
As per the answer given to Question UIN 28103 on 11 February 2025, my officials continue to regularly engage with the mortgage lending and insurance industries.
Where a mortgage lender who is a signatory to the statement on cladding is not accepting an EWS1 for a building which requires work to remediate building safety defects, then leaseholders should provide alternative evidence that their building is in the Cladding Safety Scheme, Building Safety Fund or covered by a developer that has signed the Developer Remediation Contract. This evidence could be, for example, a letter from MHCLG or the developer. Leaseholders can also complete a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate to evidence they qualify for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.
For buildings which do not need remedial works, then lenders or insurers may accept Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 had recent discussions with (a) mortgage lenders and (b) insurers on their approach to (i) mortgages and (ii) building insurance policies relating to buildings that hold an EWS1 certificate issued by (A) Tri Fire and (B) Adam Kiziak.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement. They are a mortgage valuation tool and the use of EWS1s is a commercial decision by industry.
The Department engages regularly with the mortgage lending and insurance industries. Officials are working closely with industry representatives to ensure they take a proportional approach to buildings with an EWS1 issued by Adam Kiziak and Tri Fire. Where a mortgage lender will not accept one of these EWS1s, we would expect them to consider alternative evidence.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23431 on Local Government: Employers' Contributions, whether she made a comparative assessment of the potential impact of this approach to calculating National Insurance Contribution funding on compensation for increased payroll costs for (a) district councils and (b) county councils and unitary authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government has announced an additional £515 million of support for local government in England specifically to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget.
Final allocations to local authorities will be published alongside final positions on methodology as part of the final Local Government Finance Settlement in early February 2025.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 estimate of how many people with acquired brain injury are experiencing (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
According to the 2020 Rough Sleeping Questionnaire, 7% of respondents reported an acquired brain injury, with 82% reporting a mental health vulnerability and 83% of respondents reporting at least one physical health condition. More Rough Sleeping questionnaire information on the health and support needs of rough sleepers can be accessed here: Rough Sleeping Questionnaire: initial findings Chapter 3.5.
MHCLG does not collect information about how many households with acquired brain injury are experiencing homelessness. There is information relating to support needs of households presenting as homeless available here: Tables on homelessness - GOV.UK Tab A3.