Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 support the provision of emergency co-responders in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Collaboration between emergency services has a vital role to play in keeping the public safe in a way that optimises efficiency and effectiveness. However, it is for local emergency service providers to decide what collaborative activities will best serve their communities’ needs.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Planning Reform Working paper: Reforming Site Thresholds, published on 28 May 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Medium site threshold category's requirement for (a) an area of between 0.5 and 1 hectares and (b) between 10-49 dwellings on developers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 28 May 2025, the government published the Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds which can be found on gov.uk here. We are currently considering the responses received and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of abolishing fixed-term assured tenancies in England on the housing market.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published an Impact Assessment for the Renters' Rights Bill on 22 November 2024. It received a 'Green' rating from the Regulatory Policy Committee, indicating that it is 'fit for purpose'.
My Department has also engaged with a wide range of stakeholders during the development and passage of the Bill, and will continue to do so, as it is implemented.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the ratio between revenue raised by the Building Safety Levy, and building remediation expenditure, in rural areas.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The building safety levy has built in measures to minimise impact on housing while balancing the need to raise the revenue required to make homes safe. Measures to achieve this include:
The Building Safety Levy is an industry contribution towards building safety remediation. Revenue is raised from new, non-exempt, residential development which principally occurs in and around urban areas. Expenditure is directed at buildings over 11m in height which are principally located in urban areas.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to regulate increases in service charges; and what steps she is taking to bring into force the legislative provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 relating to service charges.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 26965 on 4 February 2025.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help Ukrainian refugees on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme secure private rented accommodation.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The Government provides guidance for Ukrainian guests on renting private accommodation at Renting private accommodation: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. They have the flexibility to use the funding to support households as best suits the local area. This could include measures to support guests to access employment, English language provision and provide integration measures that support Ukrainians to access private rented accommodation. Councils are also using the funding to support measures such as 12 month rent guarantees, or paying rent in advance.
Ukrainians who hold a Homes for Ukraine visa permission may be entitled to Universal Credit, which could help with the cost of rent. Homes for Ukraine visa holders could be entitled to a 50% Council Tax discount if they live alone or if all adults in the property have a Homes for Ukraine visa.
We know that English language is a key factor to integration and economic independence, a critical enabler of access to the private rented sector, whilst in the UK. The Government has provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for up to 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. This will support their integration whilst in the UK, and economic independence - a critical enabler of access to the private rented sector (PRS). Ukrainians can also access the Adult Education Offer through councils which provide ESOL classes.
We engage closely with councils and the voluntary and community sector to ensure that we understand the needs of Ukrainians living in the UK and that adequate support is available.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the readiness of the construction industry to help meet her housing targets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 28369 on 13 February 2025.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Council funding to be overhauled to deliver better outcomes, published on 28 November 2024, what methodology her Department will use to measure (a) the impact of rurality and (b) levels of (i) demand and (ii) deprivation to calculate the funding to replace the Rural Services Delivery Grant.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, a real terms increase.
The Rural Services Delivery Grant (RSDG) seen in previous Local Government Finance Settlements does not properly account for need and a large number of predominantly rural councils receive nothing from it – a sign we need to allocate funding more effectively. We are currently consulting on local government funding reform from 2026-27 onwards and we are keen to hear from councils on the impact of rurality on the costs of service delivery, and demand.
For 2025-26, the RSDG has been repurposed alongside a number of other grants to form the Recovery Grant, although this is not a direct replacement. The Recovery Grant will go to places where, weighted by population, deprivation outweighs council tax raising ability. This is explained fully in our accompanying methodology note.