Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the introduction of voter ID on adults living with disabilities.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the response given to the Urgent Question on 21 February 2023 (Official Report, HC, Volume 728, Column 138), to Question UIN 165271 on 20 March 2023 and Question UIN 171447 on 31 March 2023.
The Government published an Equality Impact Assessment of the Elections Act. This included consideration of the impact on people with protected characteristics.
The Electoral Commission is responsible for the communications campaign to help voters understand the new requirement to present identification to vote. This has included work with civil society groups and other stakeholders, including organisations that represent disabled people.
As is already publicly available, an easy read version of the application form for the Voter Authority Certificate is on gov.uk and from the Electoral Commission and easy read instructions are available to support people to apply online. The Government has also legislated to require that accessible information be sent with the Voter Authority Certificate to electors that request it, including in easy read.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of how much Official Development Assistance has been spent on payments to Homes for Ukraine hosts.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Relevant published guidance on international development aid spending are being followed. Details of spending will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his planned timetable is for the publication of data on spending on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Relevant published guidance on international development aid spending are being followed. Details of spending will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the cost of the £350 a month Homes for Ukraine payments to hosts is being charged to the Official Development Assistance budget; and what the estimated cost of Homes for Ukraine payments will be in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Relevant published guidance on international development aid spending are being followed. Details of spending will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will ensure that the existing right to manage guidance for Tenant Management Organisation is reviewed in the context of the provisions of the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We do not believe that the Social Housing Regulation Bill will have a significant impact on either existing right to manage guidance or contracts between Tenant Management Organisations and local authorities. Separately, we will work with and expert steering group to review the guidance on the responsibilities of Tenant Management Organisations and local authorities.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Social Housing Regulation Bill on (a) existing right to manage guidance and (b) contracts between Tenant Management Organisations and local authorities.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We do not believe that the Social Housing Regulation Bill will have a significant impact on either existing right to manage guidance or contracts between Tenant Management Organisations and local authorities. Separately, we will work with and expert steering group to review the guidance on the responsibilities of Tenant Management Organisations and local authorities.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the 2022 Windrush Day Grant Scheme awards.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
This year’s Windrush Day Grant Scheme awards will focus on bringing people together – across different ages and ethnic backgrounds – to commemorate, celebrate and educate communities about the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants to our national life.
All application assessments for this year’s scheme are complete and a formal announcement of the successful projects is set to take place soon.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to support local authorities to manage increased costs for the purchase or lease of trucks in response to alleged price fixing by truck manufacturers.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Local authorities should not lose out as a result of illegal anti-competitive activity. Civil claims for damages or other redress arising from infringements of competition law may be brought before the High Court or the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which is the UK’s specialist judicial body for determining competition law disputes
On 16 December, the Government announced the provisional Settlement, which makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion next year.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of alleged price fixing by truck manufacturers on (a) local authorities finances and (b) costs of essential services.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Local authorities should not lose out as a result of illegal anti-competitive activity. Civil claims for damages or other redress arising from infringements of competition law may be brought before the High Court or the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which is the UK’s specialist judicial body for determining competition law disputes
On 16 December, the Government announced the provisional Settlement, which makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion next year.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate has his Department made of the number of section 21 eviction notices been issued in each year since 2019 in (a) London and (b) England.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
There is no requirement on landlords to notify the Government when they serve notice of their intention to seek possession to their tenant. As such, the Department does not hold data on the number of Section 21 notices issued.
The Government remains firmly committed to the Renters Reform programme, including abolishing section 21 evictions. We will publish a White Paper that sets out government's plans in 2022.