Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the system of installer self‑certification through Competent Person schemes on consumer protection for Green Deal participants.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Both the Green Deal and the competent person schemes contain consumer protections but they work independently of each other. Therefore, work paid for through the Green Deal and carried out by a competent person scheme installer will benefit from both sets of consumer protections. The Department has done no recent research of the effects of competent person schemes on consumer protection for Green Deal participants.
The Green Deal is a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero policy. It was a loan scheme that existed to help people make energy saving improvements to their home that was mostly active during 2013-2015. The Green Deal has its own consumer protection system provided for by the Green Deal Framework Regulations and Code of Practice, and its own system of participant authorisation requiring certification of installers by the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body.
Competent person scheme operators register and oversee installers who can self-certify that their work meets the building regulations. These schemes have existed for more than 20 years and cover small building work such as plumbing and electricity. The scheme operators offer consumer protections such as ensuring registered installers are properly qualified and dealing with complaints.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 121 of the Law of Property Act 1925.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Announcements will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 open applications for the Levelling Up Fund Round 3.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Further announcements will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of (a) ordinary and (b) named-day written questions their Department answered on time in 2022.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Departmental performance data for the previous parliamentary session is published here.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the thank you payments to sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme will be extended beyond 12 months.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Further to my answer given in response to Question UIN 94794 on 01 December, guidance for Homes for Ukraine guests, hosts, and councils is available here.
Sponsoring households might have been deemed unsuitable for several reasons, and full sponsor suitability guidance is available here. The privacy notice for the Homes for Ukraine scheme is available here.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department will provide to local authorities to assist those refugees wishing to move into their own accommodation after being housed with a sponsor.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Further to my answer given in response to Question UIN 94794 on 01 December, guidance for Homes for Ukraine guests, hosts, and councils is available here.
Sponsoring households might have been deemed unsuitable for several reasons, and full sponsor suitability guidance is available here. The privacy notice for the Homes for Ukraine scheme is available here.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if the Government will make additional funding available to local authorities to support the implementation of voter ID requirements included in the Elections Act 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Schedule 1 of the Elections Act 2022 sets out the forms of identification that will be accepted at polling stations in order to receive a ballot paper. Driving licences are an accepted form of identification, and this includes provisional driving licences.
Everyone who is eligible to vote will continue to have the opportunity to do so. Research has shown that the overwhelming majority of electors already have accepted identification. Any eligible voter who does not have one of the wide range of acceptable forms of photographic identification will be able to apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate from their local authority.
The Electoral Commission will deliver a national communications campaign for voter identification. Funding will be provided to local authorities to cover additional costs as a result of the changes, in line with established government policy. Further information will be announced in due course in the appropriate way.
A range of security features will be present on both the Voter Authority Certificate and Anonymous Elector's Document and these have been developed in conjunction with suppliers and HM Passport Office.
There will be overt security measures present to allow quick and easy confirmation should a document's validity be in question. However, it is established good practice not to publish the full details of all security features, as doing so would expose them to those who may attempt to forge or tamper with them. Withholding a degree of information is essential to ensure these documents' security remains intact.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government is taking to support (a) vulnerable individuals and (b) local authorities with the upcoming requirement to show photo ID for voting in UK Parliamentary elections; and whether the Government will be running public information campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Schedule 1 of the Elections Act 2022 sets out the forms of identification that will be accepted at polling stations in order to receive a ballot paper. Driving licences are an accepted form of identification, and this includes provisional driving licences.
Everyone who is eligible to vote will continue to have the opportunity to do so. Research has shown that the overwhelming majority of electors already have accepted identification. Any eligible voter who does not have one of the wide range of acceptable forms of photographic identification will be able to apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate from their local authority.
The Electoral Commission will deliver a national communications campaign for voter identification. Funding will be provided to local authorities to cover additional costs as a result of the changes, in line with established government policy. Further information will be announced in due course in the appropriate way.
A range of security features will be present on both the Voter Authority Certificate and Anonymous Elector's Document and these have been developed in conjunction with suppliers and HM Passport Office.
There will be overt security measures present to allow quick and easy confirmation should a document's validity be in question. However, it is established good practice not to publish the full details of all security features, as doing so would expose them to those who may attempt to forge or tamper with them. Withholding a degree of information is essential to ensure these documents' security remains intact.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence from Members of Parliament and the public, and is committed to providing the highest level of service and making continuous improvements.
The department's PQ performance for the previous parliamentary session can be found here. The department's annual correspondence performance can also be found here.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 merits of extending the Homes for Ukraine Scheme to enable Afghan refugees in bridging hotels to be housed with a host.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We continue to review options for housing Afghan families. Afghan families have been given Indefinite Leave to Remain, and we are matching them to more long-term accommodation options.