Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps he has taken to help people living in supported housing; and whether his Department monitors how councils commission housing providers.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government is committed to ensuring all supported housing residents receive good quality support and accommodation. We are supporting the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill which will introduce national standards for supported housing and local authority led licensing schemes.
We are also investing £20 million in the Supported Housing Improvement Programme to drive up quality in the supported housing sector in some of the worst affected areas, while we develop regulatory measures.
The Department does not routinely monitor how councils commission housing providers.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on the adequacy of funding for homeless charities and shelters.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Department has regular discussions with local authorities and voluntary organisations about their work to end rough sleeping.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reasons the Government has entered into partnership with DP World to run Thames Freeport given its criticism of the business in 2022.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Businesses operating in Freeports are subject to the same UK employment laws and protections as they would be elsewhere in the country, including the Seafarers' Wages Bill which received Royal Assent on 23 March 2023 and will make access to UK ports conditional on operators of regular services demonstrating that they will be paying at least an equivalent rate to the UK National Minimum Wage whilst in UK waters.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that partially sighted and blind people are able to easily participate in elections; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that (a) at least one large version of the ballot paper is displayed inside each polling station to assist voters who are partially-sighted and (b) a mechanism is made available to enable voters who are blind or partially-sighted to cast their vote without need for assistance from the presiding officer or a companion.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The changes in the Elections Bill aim to strengthen the support for all voters with disabilities in the polling station and improve the way that this support is delivered. Rather than a blanket provision, we want disabled voters to get the support that is right for them and for Returning Officers to tailor their approach to suit the needs of disabled electors in their area - including blind and partially sighted voters. The provision of a large print ballot paper will remain in law and there are no plans to change this.
The Government is working with the Electoral Commission to support guidance which will provide a consistent framework for Returning Officers. This guidance will be twofold in setting out clear and thorough details of what support should be provided to disabled voters and providing practical guidance to assist Returning Officers in carrying out the new responsibilities effectively. The guidance will also be produced in partnership with the Government’s expert Accessibility of Elections Working Group, which includes representation from a number of disability charities and civil society organisations. The Commission will review the implementation of this guidance and ensure it is being implemented effectively through its performance standards used to monitor and assess how well Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers manage their duties.