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 takes steps to tackle the use of drugs in social housing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department expects social landlords in England to take appropriate action to tackle the use of drugs in social housing and the Regulator of Social Housing requires them to work in partnership with other agencies to prevent and tackle all forms of anti-social behaviour in the neighbourhoods where they own homes.
Landlords already have a discretionary ground under the Housing Act 1985 to seek possession against a tenant who has been convicted of using their property or allowing it to be used for immoral or illegal purposes.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 goes further and includes an absolute ground for possession which makes it easier to evict anti-social tenants who have already been convicted for specific offences including drug-related offences.
The Government’s 2017 Drug Strategy sets out a balanced approach which brings together police, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drug trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with a drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around.
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 (a) tenants of social housing feel safe and (b) people carrying out antisocial behaviour are reprimanded.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
It is crucial that social homes are safe and that appropriate action is taken to tackle anti-social behaviour.
We are addressing building safety concerns in light of the Grenfell Tower fire to ensure that residents of higher risk buildings are safe and feel safe now and in the future. As part of our comprehensive response to the fire we have established the Building Safety Portfolio. This has four stages: to identify unsafe buildings, make buildings safe, identify system problems and fix the system.
To address wider safety measures in social housing, we consulted on a proposal in our social housing Green Paper to review the Decent Homes Standard to make sure it covers the right issues. We also invited views on whether new safety measures introduced in to the private rented sector should apply in the social rented sector. We plan to set out the Government response to the Green Paper in Spring 2019.
We have already taken action to address anti-social behaviour in neighbourhoods. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies including social landlords with a range of flexible powers, to respond quickly and effectively to different forms of anti-social and nuisance behaviour.
The Green Paper also included proposals to help tackle anti-social behaviour, including through the introduction of key performance indicators for social landlords in England around anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood management.
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 a policy of replacing fire alarms every few years in its properties.
Answered by Jake Berry
The facilities management services in buildings managed directly by MHCLG, including maintenance of the fire alarms, are outsourced under facilities management contracts.
The fire alarms are maintained by suppliers in a way which ensures that they are effective as means of warning. They replace them when there is a need to do so or at the end of their effective working life.
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 recent discussions has his Department has with the Local Government Association on funding for local authorities.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
I met representatives from the Local Government Association on 9 January to discuss the 2019-20 provisional local government final settlement. Departmental Ministers maintain regular engagement with the Local Government Association on a range of issues.
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 discussions he has had with local councils in Northern Ireland on business rates.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
Business rates are a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and should be a matter for a future Executive.
In the absence of an Executive, the Northern Ireland Office and the Secretary of State for Northen Ireland work closely with the Northern Ireland Civil Service on a range of issues, including finance related matters such as the setting of regional rates.
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 older people on low incomes who need supported accommodation.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government values the important role supported housing plays in enabling vulnerable, older people to live independently. In England, my Department, along with the Department for Health and Social Care, provides capital grant funding to supported housing providersto promote development of increased supply of sheltered and supported housing for rent in the social housing sector at subsidised levels and also for low cost home ownership including Older Persons’ Shared Ownership. Social housing, including supported and sheltered housing in the social sector, is prioritised for people in identified housing need, including those who have medical and welfare needs. Older residents of sheltered, extra-care and other supported housing on low incomes may be eligible for Housing Benefit to help with rental costs. This is a means tested benefit so if they are on a low income this will be reflected in how much Housing Benefit they might receive. In addition, they may also be eligible for other income support through the welfare system.
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 private landlords let properties to those eligible for council houses.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department does not hold this information. Eligibility for social housing is decided upon by local authorities when an application is made to join the housing waiting list.
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 he is taking to improve the quality of social housing.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
It is only right that tenants of social housing expect their homes to be safe and decent. In England, all registered providers of social housing must comply with the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. This includes the requirement that they meet all the relevant legal health and safety requirements for the occupants in their homes, and that tenants’ homes meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard and continue to maintain their homes to at least this standard. They must also provide a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service that responds to the needs of, and offers choices to, tenants and has the objective of getting repairs and improvements right the first time.
Non-decent homes made up 13 per cent of all social housing in England in 2016 – down from 20 per cent in 2010. We are committed to ensuring that the Decent Homes Standard is demanding enough and delivers the right standards for social housing alongside other tenures. That is why, in our recent Green Paper on social housing, we asked if there are changes to what constitutes a decent home we should consider and if we need additional measures to make sure social homes are safe and decent. The consultation will close on 6 November 2018.
In terms of new build, all grant funded affordable housing must meet minimum criteria set by local authorities, and independent authorities in the design and quality of housing.
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 social houses have been purchased by the tenants of those homes in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The following numbers of social tenants bought their homes in the last three years. These figures include the Statutory Right to Buy, the Preserved Right to Buy, the Right to Acquire and the initial Voluntary Right to Buy pilot where appropriate.
2014/15: 16,899
2015/16: 16,623
2016/17: 18,690
Comparable figures for 2017/18 are not yet available as we are still awaiting figures on the Preserved Right to Buy and Right to Acquire.
These figures are taken from tables 677 (for the Right to Acquire) and 678 (for all Right to Buy schemes), viewable online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales
Please note that figures for the Right to Acquire are rounded to the nearest 10.
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 people are on the waiting list for social housing; and what steps he is taking to reduce the waiting time for social housing.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department publishes figures on social housing waiting lists in Live Table 600 which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies.
We have given local authorities flexibility to manage their waiting lists since 2012.
We are committed to increasing the supply of social housing and have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver 250,000 new affordable homes of a wide range of tenures, including social rent.
The Prime Minister has announced that we will be lifting the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap. This will enable local authorities to borrow prudentially to support a new generation of council housing.