Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to provide additional security of tenure rights for people who have a rented a property for five or more years.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
This Government is committed to protecting the rights of tenants and giving them more security. We are aware that people are living in the private rented sector for much longer. That is why we recently consulted on ways to overcome the barriers to landlords offering longer, more secure tenancies in the private rented sector.
We are considering responses to the consultation and will be bringing forward proposals that make the system work for both tenants and landlords. Our proposals relate to tenancies in England only. We will be providing more information on our consultation response shortly.
In the meantime, there is nothing to stop tenants asking their landlord for a longer tenancy. We have published a model tenancy agreement which landlords and tenants can use as the basis for longer, family friendly tenancies, available for free at www.gov.uk/government/publications/model-agreement-for-a-shorthold-assured-tenancy. In addition, the measures announced in the Housing White Paper resulted in many of the largest build to rent operators offering their tenants the option of longer tenancies.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to repair play facilities in parks.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Secretary of State recognises the importance of parks and green spaces in building safer, stronger and more integrated communities and announced on 17 February £9.7 million funding for local authorities. The fund will be allocated directly to all local authorities with the expectation that they undertake remedial work and renovation of existing parks to enhance the green spaces available to their local communities. This direct funding to local authorities will enable them to target funds to those parks in need of greatest support and repair. We intend to confirm individual local authority allocations and transfer the funds before the end of March
The Government has also been expanding our existing £1 million Pocket Parks Plus programme by a further £2.75 million, to respond to the large numbers of high-quality applications we have received from communities across the country. The programme will provide funding for hundreds of community-led projects either to develop new parks or to renovate existing parks that have fallen into disuse through disrepair. By increasing both the number of new parks and improving the standard of existing parks, communities have better access to good quality green spaces.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support his Department provides to rehouse victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse. In January, Government published its landmark Domestic Abuse Bill in draft form, alongside its consultation response which sets out a package of other non-legislative support measures for victims of domestic abuse. The draft Bill includes provisions to ensure that, where local authorities in England grant a new tenancy to a victim of domestic abuse who has or had a lifetime tenancy, the new tenancy must be a further lifetime tenancy.
Since 2014 MHCLG will have invested £55.5 million in accommodation-based services to support victims of domestic abuse. We have also carried out a review of how domestic abuse services are locally commissioned and funded across England. Following the review, we intend to consult on potential measures for sustainable delivery of support for victims and their children in accommodation-based services for domestic abuse across England shortly.
In November 2018 we issued new statutory guidance for local authorities in England to improve access to social housing by victims of domestic abuse who are in a refuge or other form of safe temporary accommodation:
The guidance makes clear that local authorities are expected not to apply residency tests for those victims who have fled to another district, sets out how they can give appropriate priority to victims, and encourages them to use their existing powers to support victims to remain safely in their homes if they choose to do so.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department allocates to organisation that provide advice to people that self-build on planning applications.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department has allocated £32,205,600 of new burdens funding for the period 2016/17 - 2019/20 to 326 English local authorities, 9 National Park Authorities and the Broads Authority in discharge of their duties under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding legislation.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that social housing in equipped with adequate (a) heating and (b) insulation.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
In England, the Regulator of Social Housing requires registered providers to maintain their homes to the Decent Homes Standard, which says homes must have efficient heating and effective insulation. Homes are also required to be free of serious hazards, such as excess cold, identified using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
In August 2018, the Government’s Social Housing Green Paper asked whether there are any changes to what constitutes a decent home that Government should consider. The consultation closed in November 2018 and we are currently analysing responses.
In January 2019, Government also commissioned the first stage of a review to assess how well the HHSRS works in practice. We have also supported the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act which will allow social tenants to seek redress in the courts if their home contains a hazard.
In addition, the Government sets minimum standards for energy efficiency and the safety of heating appliances through Building Regulations Part L (Conservation of fuel and power) and Part J (Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems) respectively. In the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, we committed to reviewing the Part L standards including consulting on improving energy efficiency requirements in new and existing buildings where the evidence suggests there are cost effective, affordable and safe opportunities to do so. We plan to consult on these matters in 2019.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Help to Buy equity loans were agreed in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The total number of Help to Buy equity loans given in each of the last three years is:
2016 38,383
2017 46,300
2018 (to end September) 36,310 Data has only been published to end September 2018.
Details of quarterly and annual totals are set out in Table 1 of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan quarterly statistical release to end September 2018, published on 26 February 2019:
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help people with mobility issues to find properties that meet their needs.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Government policy, as put in place by my Department, provides a clear and robust framework to support the delivery of accessible housing in England. My Department has strengthened national planning policy so that local planning authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people and local planning authorities can require higher access standards for new homes where this is justified. Two optional standards were introduced in Part M of the Building Regulations in October 2015 – higher standards for accessible and adaptable housing and wheelchair accessible homes.
Through the Localism Act 2011 we have retained the statutory reasonable preference requirements which ensure that people with disabilities are given priority for social housing. We grant fund new supply of supported housing for vulnerable people, which can include those with mobility issues. In addition, in England, Disabled Facilities Grant funding to local authorities can contribute towards meeting the cost of adapting a person’s home, including for people with mobility challenges - since 2015 funding for the grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015/16 to £505 million in 2019/20.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to families affected by domestic abuse.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime that nobody should have to suffer. The Government is absolutely committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse and their families.
This is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
Since 2014 my Department has invested £33.5 million in accommodation-based services, including refuges. On 10 November 2018 we announced the allocation of a further £22 million fund to support victims of domestic abuse over 2018-2020. The fund will support 63 projects covering 254 local areas across England and will provide support to over 25,000 victims and their families, and more than 2,200 additional bed spaces in accommodation-based services, including refuges. Full details of the fund can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/22-million-for-projects-to-support-domestic-abuse-survivors.
Additionally, since 2015 we have provided over £1 million to Women’s Aid for two projects, Routes to Support and No Woman Turned Away. Routes to Support (formerly UK Refuges Online) is part-funded by the Government and is a UK-wide online database containing information about domestic abuse and other violence against women services, including refuge. No Woman Turned Away provides additional caseworker support to women facing difficulties in accessing refuge, including victims with children. We are continuing to fund these vital projects to 2020.
My Department has carried out a review of how domestic abuse services are locally commissioned and funded across England. The Review has been informed by an audit, run by Ipsos MORI, of provision of domestic abuse services across England, which enables us to understand what impact services are having and to identify any gaps. We are working with the Domestic Abuse Sector and Local Authorities, drawing on their expertise and data, to develop future, sustainable delivery options for Domestic Abuse Services.