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Written Question
Social Problems
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help Councils to tackle (a) aggressive begging and (b) anti-social behaviour.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

In March 2023, we launched the Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) Action plan backed by £160 million of funding, to crack down on ASB, restoring people's confidence that these crimes will be quickly and visibly punished. The plan outlines Government's intention to ensure begging can be addressed where it is causing a nuisance. We continue to engage with stakeholders on the detail of the replacement proposals following our consultation last year before separate legislation is brought forward at the earliest parliamentary opportunity.


Written Question
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Buildings
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential prevalence of RAAC in buildings (a) owned and (b) occupied by departmental staff; and whether he has had discussions with local authorities on the potential prevalence of RAAC in local authority- (i) owned and (ii) occupied buildings.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Individual building owners and managers continue to be responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as RAAC.

Building owners must address safety risks of all kinds in their buildings through a risk-based, proportionate and evidence-based approach. On the 1 May 2019, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks. Local authorities, like other building owners, are advised to follow available professional guidance.

The Local Government Association has advised members to check whether any buildings in their estates have RAAC, to ensure it can be identified, assessed, and responded to accordingly. This is accessible on the LGA website and in line with the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. If further buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.


Written Question
Landlords: Databases
Monday 16th January 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many landlords are registered on rogue landlords databases in England.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

There are currently 57 entries on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents.

Local authorities are responsible for uploading and maintaining records on the Database. Where records have expired, local authorities are required to remove the entry from the Database.


Written Question
Elections: Proof of Identity
Thursday 12th January 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2022 to Question 84800 on Elections: Proof of Identity what volume of watermarked paper for voter ID documents his Department has ordered as of 6 January 2023; and what proportion of such orders has been delivered.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

An initial order of 40 tonnes has been delivered to the relevant supplier with a further 10 tonnes ordered and due for delivery by end of January 2023.


Written Question
Empty Property
Wednesday 11th January 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

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 number of empty residential properties in England.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The UK Government wants to encourage empty homes back into use, and empower local leaders to reinvest in their communities. Local authorities already have many powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus, they receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one.

The latest data tables on dwelling stock, including vacant homes can be found here.


Written Question
Elections: Proof of Identity
Tuesday 22nd November 2022

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2022 to Question 84800 on Elections: Proof of Identity, where the watermarked paper for voter ID documents will be produced.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Further to the answer given to Question UIN 84800, HH Associates Ltd, a British based company, have been awarded the contract to provide the watermarked paper and the specialist security printing. The initial paper product will be outside of the United Kingdom; the printing and production of the voter ID document will be undertaken within the United Kingdom.


Written Question
Elections: Proof of Identity
Wednesday 16th November 2022

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what companies were awarded the contract for providing watermarked paper for voter ID documents; and what is the deadline for this paper being supplied.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of Government contracts awarded greater than £10,000 are published on contracts finder.


Written Question
Elections: Proof of Identity
Wednesday 21st September 2022

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2022 to Question 17012 on Elections: Proof of Identity, when he plans to publish details on the implementation of voter ID cards.

Answered by Paul Scully

The Government recently published a letter to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee regarding the Elections Act 2022. It sets out details about voter identification and the Voter Authority Certificate, the link to the published letter can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-the-chair-of-the-public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee-regarding-the-elections-act-2022.

Further details on implementation and commencement will be published in due course.


Written Question
Local Government Finance: Spelthorne
Thursday 28th April 2022

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the financial position of Spelthorne Council.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

It is the responsibility of all local authorities to manage their own finances and ensure that they set and maintain a balanced budget position. It is also for local authorities to determine their own borrowing and investment strategies, but in doing so they have to appropriately comply with the Prudential Framework and its four statutory Codes. The government has made clear that authorities should not borrow to invest for profit. The government is taking actions to strengthen the capital system and continues to monitor risks across the sector including local authorities’ borrowing profile and associated risks, and engages with individual local authorities where appropriate.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Construction
Monday 7th March 2022

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

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 comparative cost of a new local authority-built (a) two bedroom flat and (b) a three bedroom house.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the cost of delivering affordable housing and has given councils the tools they need to build more homes. In the Levelling Up White Paper, we committed to reviewing how to support councils to deliver in greater numbers, alongside housing associations.

It is for councils to determine the size, type and tenure of the homes they build.