Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) prevent and (b) reduce rates of homelessness among people with (i) long-term drug addictions, (ii) long-term serious mental health issues and (iii) learning disabilities.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
My department continues to work closely with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), the NHS and public health bodies to improve health and housing outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. In partnership with OHID, we are providing up to £186.5 million over three years (from 2022-25) for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to support local areas to implement evidence-based drug and alcohol treatment and wrap around support for people sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough. We are also providing up to £53 million to fund housing support interventions which will improve the recovery outcomes for people in drug and alcohol treatment with a housing need.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the causes of low levels of home ownership amongst young people in London.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We do have evidence that provides a demographic picture of home ownership in England via the English Housing Survey. All data is published centrally on gov.uk at the following link.
The Government is committed to extending ownership to a new generation.
Home Ownership could have been extended across the whole country in the Autumn of last year if the Honourable lady's colleagues in the other place had not blocked the Government's nutrient neutrality proposals.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps the Government has taken to help (a) address funding shortfalls in local council budgets and (b) prevent local councils declaring bankruptcy.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The provisional local government finance settlement for 2024-25 makes available over £64 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of almost £4 billion or 6.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country.
Through the provisional settlement we set out proposals to continue to support all councils by providing a sector-wide Funding Guarantee, ensuring all local authorities see a minimum 3% increase in Core Spending Power before local council tax decisions.
We launched a consultation on the proposals for 2024-25 through the provisional settlement, which closed on 15 January 2024. After the consultation responses are considered and any alterations are made, we will publish a final settlement early this year which will be subject to a debate in the House of Commons.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish a response to his Department's consultation A Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Announcements will be set out in the usual way.
I look forward to meeting with the Hon Member imminently and working to deliver a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector for the first time.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many buildings have registered with the Cladding Safety Scheme in Putney.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We currently have no buildings registered with the Cladding Safety Scheme in the Putney constituency.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to reform the private rented sector.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
This Government is committed to delivering the Renters (Reform) Bill which will deliver the government's commitment to a better deal for renters.
The government recognises the cost-of-living pressures that tenants are facing, and that paying rent is likely to be a tenant's biggest monthly expense. Individuals who need help to make their rent payments may be eligible for a range of financial support through the welfare system. We have maintained the Local Housing Allowance at its increased rate following a significant investment of almost £1 billion in 2020.
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. Further decisive action has been taken to support households across the UK through cost-of-living challenges, and the government will continue to provide cost of living support in 2023-24, designed to target the most vulnerable households.
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 progress made to remediate fire safety defects in housing blocks by Taylor Wimpey in Putney constituency.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
49 developers, including Taylor Wimpey, have signed a contract with the Department committing to remediate life-critical fire safety defects in buildings 11 metres and over in height that they developed. The contract with each developer lists the buildings which that developer is responsible for remediating. The developer is contractually required to submit quarterly reports to the Department on progress made towards remediating those buildings, and the Department holds the developer to account against its contractual obligations. The data submitted by developers is not broken down by Parliamentary constituency, but may well include buildings in the Putney constituency which Taylor Wimpey is responsible for remediating. Later this year, the Government will publish the first report about developer-led remediation of over 1,100 buildings covered by the developer remediation contracts.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on average commercial rents per square metre in (a) Putney, (b) Wandsworth and (c) London.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The department does not hold data centrally on the average commercial rents per square metre by area.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of HMO licensing requirements on compliance with (a) fire, (b) carbon monoxide and (c) gas safety requirements in homes in which asylum seekers are tenants; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of those licensing requirements on such tenants' (i) wellbeing, (ii) physical health and (iii) mental health.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
All licensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are required to comply with mandatory conditions which include a gas safety certificate being presented annually to the local authority; ensuring that a carbon monoxide alarm is installed in any room in the house which is used wholly or partly as living accommodation and contains a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker; and ensuring that a smoke alarm is installed on each storey on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation.
All asylum accommodation used by the Home Office will remain subject to the Home Office accommodation contracts which set out clear minimum standards for asylum accommodation including fire, carbon-monoxide and gas safety. The Home Office Contracts Assurance team will inspect each HMO property benefitting from licensing exemption at least once in the two-year exemption period to ensure that Service Providers are adhering to the housing quality standards set out in the contracts. All local authorities will retain powers to enforce wider private rented sector standards.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the importance of Local Government’s role in the (a) development of local plans and (b) determination of planning applications; and what assessment he has made of the impact of that role on the (i) strength of local democracy (ii) strength of local communities and (iii) planning outcomes.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Local government plays a pivotal role in the operation of the planning system, through the preparation of local plans and the decisions taken on planning applications. In both cases, it is essential to involve communities to ensure that development is brought forward in a way that works best for them. Recognising this, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill strengthens the role of democratically produced plans when making decisions on planning applications, so that applicants will need to give strong reasons to go against the local plan.