Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what data on guests arriving under the Homes for Ukraine scheme his Department plans to share with councils; at what point of the application process will that data be shared; and what the process is for sharing that data.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022 and Question UIN 144955 on 29 March 2022, which include links to published guidance, including Guidance for local authorities, and information at Gov.uk. The Ukraine Family Scheme is run by the Home Office.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the likely timescale between a permit to travel being issued and councils receiving the £10,500 per guest funding under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022 and Question UIN 144955 on 29 March 2022, which include links to published guidance, including Guidance for local authorities, and information at Gov.uk. The Ukraine Family Scheme is run by the Home Office.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the £350 per month payment for sponsors in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme will be included in income and expenditure calculations for debt solutions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022 and Question UIN 144955 on 29 March 2022, which include links to published guidance and information at Gov.uk.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what measures are in place to deter new-build housing developers from preventing potential buyers from choosing their own mortgage advisors and housing solicitors.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government expects all purchasers of new-build homes to be able to seek independent advice when making a purchase. We are committed to appointing a New Homes Ombudsman to help buyers of new homes when something goes wrong by determining complaints by buyers and resolving disputes. The Building Safety Bill, currently before Parliament includes powers to introduce the New Homes Ombudsman and a developers’ code of practice to set out clearly the conduct and quality of work expected of developers.
Under the Government’s Help To Buy Equity Loan scheme developers are required to comply with the Consumer Code for Home Builders. This requires developers not to restrict a buyers choice of legal representative, financial adviser or mortgage intermediary and to advise them to take independent advice. In addition most new build homes are issued with a 10 year new-build warranty which often requires a developer to be subject to a code of practice, many of which will similarly require developers not to restrict a buyers choice of adviser.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's average response time was to an enquiry from a hon. Member to the MP (a) hotline and (b) account management team in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities does not have an MP hotline.
Data on the timeliness of responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers for 2019 and 2020 is published on Gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers. Data for 2021 will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if Ministers of his Department will publish (a) written guidance and (b) discussions on the role and rules for hon. Members sponsoring bids in the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Levelling Up Fund prospectus published at Budget provides guidance for local areas on how to submit bids for the first round of funding for projects starting in 2021-22. This includes guidance on the process for submitting bids, the types of projects eligible for funding, and how bids will be assessed. Further detail on this process was made available subsequently via both a technical note and a frequently asked questions document, the former of which specifically discusses the role of MPs in the bidding process.
The Government recognises the important role of MPs in championing the interests of their constituents, and taking on a positive role in prioritising bids and helping broker local consensus within their communities. We expect bidding authorities to consult local MPs as part of submitting bids for the Levelling Up Fund, and support and engagement from local stakeholders and local MPs will be considered as part of the strategic fit assessment; however, such support from local MPs is not a necessary condition for a successful bid.
As part of the bidding process, MPs have the option of providing formal written support for one bid which they see as a priority. The lead authority must submit that letter of priority support along with their application, and a bid may have priority support from multiple MPs and local stakeholders. In addition to formally backing one bid, MPs may also want to support any or all schemes that would have a benefit to their constituencies as part of the wider stakeholder input process. Individual MPs should not provide a letter offering their priority support to more than one bid. Information on the role of MPs in future bidding rounds of the Fund will be confirmed after funding has been announced for bids from the first funding round.
There are no plans to publish further guidance on the role of MPs in supporting Levelling Up Fund bids.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if Ministers of his Department will publish (a) written guidance and (b) discussions on the role and rules for hon. Members sponsoring bids in the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Levelling Up Fund prospectus published at Budget provides guidance for local areas on how to submit bids for the first round of funding for projects starting in 2021-22. This includes guidance on the process for submitting bids, the types of projects eligible for funding, and how bids will be assessed. Further detail on this process was made available subsequently via both a technical note and a frequently asked questions document, the former of which specifically discusses the role of MPs in the bidding process.
The Government recognises the important role of MPs in championing the interests of their constituents, and taking on a positive role in prioritising bids and helping broker local consensus within their communities. We expect bidding authorities to consult local MPs as part of submitting bids for the Levelling Up Fund, and support and engagement from local stakeholders and local MPs will be considered as part of the strategic fit assessment; however, such support from local MPs is not a necessary condition for a successful bid.
As part of the bidding process, MPs have the option of providing formal written support for one bid which they see as a priority. The lead authority must submit that letter of priority support along with their application, and a bid may have priority support from multiple MPs and local stakeholders. In addition to formally backing one bid, MPs may also want to support any or all schemes that would have a benefit to their constituencies as part of the wider stakeholder input process. Individual MPs should not provide a letter offering their priority support to more than one bid. Information on the role of MPs in future bidding rounds of the Fund will be confirmed after funding has been announced for bids from the first funding round.
There are no plans to publish further guidance on the role of MPs in supporting Levelling Up Fund bids.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to outline how much of the £220 million to help local areas transition to the Shared Prosperity Fund in 2021/22 will be allocated to Wales.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
To help local areas prepare over 2021-22 for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, we will provide £220 million additional funding to support our communities to pilot programmes and new approaches. Further details will be provided soon.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support tenants who are unable to pay their rent as a result of loss of income due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
On 18 March, we announced a radical package of measures to protect renters and landlords affected by coronavirus. Emergency legislation has been brought forward as an urgent priority so that landlords will not be able to start proceedings to evict tenants for at least a three-month period. As a result of these measures, no renter in private or social accommodation needs to be concerned about the threat of eviction during this time.
Tenants will continue to be liable for their rent, and those tenants who can afford to pay should continue to do so. The Government has also announced unprecedented measures to support workers to stay in work during this period by paying up to 80 per cent of their wages, increasing the amount available to welfare claimants and raising the Local Housing Allowance rate to the 30 th percentile, supporting tenants who may have already been struggling with their rent. These significant financial measures will support tenants to continue to pay their living costs, including rental payments.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Government will publish the consultation on the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Jake Berry
As the Prime Minister announced on 27 July, the Government will bring forward plans on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We will consult on the design of the fund and welcome input for across the UK.