Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
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 roll out the First Homes scheme in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We recently launched the first batch of First Homes in Bolsover, Derbyshire. This is the first step in making this manifesto commitment a reality. We will be bringing more pilots out in other areas across England, and will shortly be launching a larger grant-funded programme aiming to deliver 1,500 First Homes from the end of the year. This will be open to bids to support First Homes in Wakefield and West Yorkshire from developers, local authorities and housing associations, and we hope to see strong bids from the area so that residents can benefit from First Homes as soon as possible.
Additionally, on 24 May we issued a written ministerial statement implementing new planning policy to ensure that First Homes will be delivered in all parts of England in the future.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been purchased using the Right to Buy Equity Loan Scheme in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire since 2013.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
There is no Right to Buy Equity Loan Scheme; however, Government has provided the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme since 2013.
Between 1 April 2013 and 31 December 2020, 11,433 homes were purchased within the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire (which is comprised of the boroughs of Bradford, Leeds, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield) using the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme. Further data on the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-data-to-31-december-2020/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-data-to-31-december-2020
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of home owners in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Department does not hold this information.
The English Housing Survey can provide estimates of housing tenure for each region of England and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2019-to-2020-headline-report. In 2019-20, 63% of households in Yorkshire and the Humber were owner occupied households.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether women recorded as staying in women-only shelters are counted towards the total homelessness figure for England.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in all its forms is a key priority for this Government and we have taken unprecedented steps this year, working with local authorities and their partners to protect vulnerable rough sleepers during the pandemic. The ‘Everyone In’ campaign has supported over 37,000 people with over 11,000 in emergency accommodation and over 26,000 already moved on into longer-term accommodation.
We do not have a breakdown of the number of women recorded as staying in women-only shelters within the homelessness case level collection (H-CLIC) data in England.
At the Budget the Chancellor announced £4.2 million for MHCLG to trial ‘Respite Rooms’ across the country. The Respite Rooms programme will provide support to vulnerable homeless women affected by violence and abuse who need specialist support to enable them to better engage with, and be ready for, domestic abuse safe accommodation including refuge.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to reopen applications for Pocket parks.
Answered by Luke Hall
The Government recognises the value of parks and green spaces in providing vibrant and inclusive locations for communities to socialise, volunteer, work, and exercise. We have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic how important access to parks and green spaces are to local communities. We recognise that green spaces foster health, well-being, integration, and social engagement. There are no immediate plans to continue the Pocket Parks Scheme. However, as we move beyond the threat of COVID-19, we will explore how we can best support all urban parks and green spaces, taking into account the Government’s environmental, social, and health priorities.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with religious leaders on supporting uptake of the covid-19 vaccine among followers of their religion.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Alongside the Minister for Vaccines, MHCLG ministers have met regularly with faith leaders to discuss the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, address any concerns raised by leaders and encourage take up throughout religious communities. This has included discussion at the Places of Worship Taskforce and wider faith leader roundtables. We have also encouraged faith leaders to volunteer places of worship to become vaccine sites and support take up in their local community
My Department is also providing regular FAQ updates to faith leaders to be disseminated through their networks, including tackling the spread of disinformation on the vaccine.