Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was allocated to rugby clubs in Strangford constituency as part of the Levelling Up Fund in the last 12 months.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
A list of all successful Round 2 Levelling Up Fund projects can be found on gov.uk. The Ulster Rugby project will support clubs in 29 locations across Northern Ireland including Ards RFC club in Strangford, which will receive up to £110,700.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive on trends in the level of demand for social housing.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Department engages regularly with counterparts in devolved administrations on a range of issues, including housing.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had discussions with the devolved administrations on trends in the level of demand for social housing across the UK.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Department engages regularly with counterparts in devolved administrations on a range of issues, including housing.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information her Department holds on how many rural planning applications have been made in the last six months.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The requested information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Ukrainian people have found homes through the Homes for Ukraine scheme since the establishment of that scheme.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Published data on the number of visa applications, issued and arrivals in to the UK by sponsor location for Ukrainian guests and at a local authority level can be accessed here.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will meet housing associations to address the issue of damp and mould in housing association homes.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
All social housing must be safe and decent, providing those living in homes with security and dignity. Following the Coroner's Report into the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, the Secretary of State took immediate action to address the risks of damp and mould in social housing. The Secretary of State has written to all social housing providers making it clear all homes must meet the Decent Home Standard (DHS), that, with regard to damp and mould, landlords should go further than the letter of the DHS, and that when tenants complain, landlords must take prompt action to remedy issues. The Regulator of Social Housing also wrote to landlords to seek information on their approach to damp and mould with returns due by 19 December.
The Secretary of State recently announced a review of damp and mould guidance and that new consolidated guidance for the housing sector will follow. More details of the review will follow.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reductions in the number of housing sales on the housing market.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Office for Budget Responsibility produces forecasts on the housing market, which can be found here.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to local authorities of dealing with damage caused by the increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather due to climate change.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Local authorities have a crucial role to play in managing climate impacts at the local level. The upcoming National Adaptation Programme by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs due next year will respond to the 61 risks and opportunities set out in the Climate Change Risk Assessment earlier this year. The Programme will set out how we are working together with local authorities to adapt to climate impacts.
The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available an additional £5 billion to councils in England, an increase of 9% in cash terms compared to 2022/23. Taking 2022/23 and 2023/24 together, we have increased the funding available to local government in England in real terms. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities, including dealing with extreme weather.
For councils in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the respective devolved administrations may hold this information.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to help tackle homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to tackling homelessness and ending rough sleeping. For 2022/23, we are investing £366 million into the Homelessness Prevention Grant in England, which includes an additional £50 million top-up announced in December 2022 to support local authorities to help prevent vulnerable households from becoming homeless this winter.
This is all part of £2 billion of investment over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to local authorities to replace older refuse vehicles with new zero emission vehicles.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
My Rt. Hon. Friend, The Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, and her department lead on this policy area.