Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what enforcement mechanisms are in place to ensure developers implement and maintain Sustainable Drainage Systems to the required standards in new developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 37386 on 18 March 2025.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 issued guidance on redress in circumstances where adding a storey to a property under permitted development regulations results in the blocking of the sun to pre-existing solar panels on an adjoining property.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not issued any such guidance.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 adequacy of suicide prevention training provided to fire and rescue staff.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The health and wellbeing of firefighters is of the utmost importance. The government recognises the risks that firefighters face and is grateful to them for their bravery. Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) are ultimately responsible for the health and wellbeing of firefighters and the government-issued National Framework directs that all Fire and Rescue Authorities should have a people strategy which sets out the mental and physical health and wellbeing support available to firefighters.
National organisations such as The Fire Fighters Charity and Mind also offer valuable support to individuals and services. Their resources can assist Fire and Rescue Authorities in developing local approaches to managing mental health risks and promoting the wellbeing of their workforce.
The health and wellbeing support provided by Fire and Rescue services is considered by the fire inspectorate (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) in the course of their work.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who migrate from income-related Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit are not affected by reductions in Council Tax Support.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Councils are required to provide a Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) scheme to support low-income households. Support for working age households, including the treatment of benefits, is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Each year, councils must consider whether to revise or replace their scheme. For pension age households, councils administer a centrally prescribed LCTS scheme, which is reviewed annually.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with social housing providers on (a) the decent homes standard and (b) the provision of furnished tenancies in social housing to reduce levels of furniture poverty.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages actively with Registered Providers of social housing on all issues facing social housing tenants and with a range of stakeholders on issues facing residents and has engaged with groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their research on this issue.
We will be consulting this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
People in need may be able to get support from their local authorities via the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.
The Deputy Prime Minister is also part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing on children.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 considered the potential merits of increasing funding to local authorities to support higher hourly rates for care staff to (a) attract and (b)retain care workers from within the UK.
Answered by Jim McMahon
We have delivered a Settlement that begins to fix the foundations of local government by providing significant investment redirecting funding towards the services and places that need it most. The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, including making available up to £3.7 billion in additional funding for social care authorities.
The government has introduced legislation to establish the first-ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals to ensure care workers are fairly rewarded for the work they do. The Fair Pay Agreement aims to resolve the recruitment and retention crisis in the profession, alleviating pressures on public services in the longer term.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 plans to issue updated guidance to local authorities to ensure (a) fair and (b) consistent access for young people to homelessness support services.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people. Youth homelessness will be considered as part of our long-term, cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness for good. Local authorities need to consider homelessness support for young people as part of the Homelessness Code of Guidance (Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities - Guidance - GOV.UK), which includes the duties, and obligations on local authorities towards people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 monitors levels of furniture poverty.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages actively with a range of stakeholders on issues facing residents and has engaged with groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their research on this issue.
People in need may be able to get support from their local authorities via the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.
The Deputy Prime Minister is also part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing on children.
The government will consult later this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her timeline is for (a) consultation and (b) implementation of the updated Decent Homes Standard.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 discussions with anti-poverty campaigners on strengthening the Decent Homes Standard for social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages a wide range of external stakeholders, including campaigners, on issues facing social housing tenants.
The government intends to consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.