Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people are currently accessing mental health services who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in a) Eastbourne b) East Sussex c) Sussex.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Data on substance misuse treatment is available on the ViewIt statistics viewer on National Drugs Treatment Monitoring System website (NDTMS - ViewIt - Adult). This data is only available at an upper tier local authority level, therefore data for East Sussex and West Sussex only have been provided below.
In East Sussex, there were 1,280 new treatment presentations with known housing status during 2024/25. Of these, 345 people were identified as experiencing homelessness, accounting for 27% of the total new presentations. In West Sussex, there were 1,465 new treatment presentations with known housing status during 2024/25. Of these, 350 people were identified as experiencing homelessness, accounting for 24% of the total new presentations.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people are currently accessing both mental health and addiction services who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in a) Eastbourne b) East Sussex c) Sussex.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
NHS England publishes data at a national level on accommodation status for people in contact with mental health services. Using accommodation types associated with homelessness, including rough sleeper, squatting, sofa surfing, staying with friends or family as a short‑term guest, bed and breakfast accommodation to prevent or relieve homelessness, sleeping in a night shelter, hostel to prevent or relieve homelessness, and temporary housing to prevent or relieve homelessness, the dataset at the end of November 2025 shows around 21,429 people fall into these groups out of 2,088,415 people in contact with services nationally (approximately 1.03%).
78% of all service users have an ‘unknown’ recorded accommodation status, meaning the true number experiencing homelessness while accessing mental health services may be higher.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people are currently accessing addiction support services who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in a) Eastbourne b) East Sussex c) Sussex.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
NHS England publishes data at a national level on accommodation status for people in contact with mental health services. Using accommodation types associated with homelessness, including rough sleeper, squatting, sofa surfing, staying with friends or family as a short‑term guest, bed and breakfast accommodation to prevent or relieve homelessness, sleeping in a night shelter, hostel to prevent or relieve homelessness, and temporary housing to prevent or relieve homelessness, the dataset at the end of November 2025 shows around 21,429 people fall into these groups out of 2,088,415 people in contact with services nationally (approximately 1.03%).
78% of all service users have an ‘unknown’ recorded accommodation status, meaning the true number experiencing homelessness while accessing mental health services may be higher.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance or policy support is being offered to local authorities to help maintain viable council housing services.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
For steps the government is taking to support the sustainability of the Housing Revenue Account, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 2 July (HCWS771) and 28 January (HCWS1283).
Specific guidance for councils on the operation of the Housing Revenue Account can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional funding and resources he plans to allocate to local authorities to aid housing repairs.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. This includes providing an effective, efficient, and timely repairs service for the homes and communal areas they are responsible for, including setting timescales for completion, and communicating these to tenants.
The government has introduced additional safety legislation to protect tenants from health and safety hazards through the introduction of Awaab's Law which came into force for damp, mould, and all emergency hazards on 27 October 2025.
On the 28 January the government also announced further measures to support local authorities in building and maintaining safe and decent social and affordable homes, including a new, modernised Decent Homes Standard. Details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1283).
Finally, my Department launched a call for evidence with the Ministry of Justice on 4 December to hear from tenants, landlords, legal professionals and claims management companies about their experiences of housing disrepair claims. It can be found on gov.uk here. The exercise will allow us to gather further evidence on how the current process works, including the roles of companies and solicitors in these cases. We want to understand what doesn't work or is unclear so that we can make sure the process is as effective as possible. The call for evidence will be open for 12 weeks and close on 12 February 2026.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of houses in disrepair on national housing stock levels.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department monitors the condition of homes through the English Housing Survey. This provides an assessment of disrepair across the national housing stock and helps inform our understanding of its impact on overall housing supply.
In addition, my Department has published its response to the consultation on a new Decent Homes Standard for all rented housing, accompanied by an impact assessment setting out the potential effects of the proposed housing quality regulations on housing supply. It can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average turnaround time is for urgent and non-urgent repairs in social housing; and whether targets have been set for improvement.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. This includes providing an effective, efficient, and timely repairs service for the homes and communal areas they are responsible for, including setting timescales for completion, and communicating these to tenants.
The government has introduced additional safety legislation to protect tenants from health and safety hazards through the introduction of Awaab's Law which came into force for damp, mould, and all emergency hazards on 27 October 2025.
On the 28 January the government also announced further measures to support local authorities in building and maintaining safe and decent social and affordable homes, including a new, modernised Decent Homes Standard. Details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1283).
Finally, my Department launched a call for evidence with the Ministry of Justice on 4 December to hear from tenants, landlords, legal professionals and claims management companies about their experiences of housing disrepair claims. It can be found on gov.uk here. The exercise will allow us to gather further evidence on how the current process works, including the roles of companies and solicitors in these cases. We want to understand what doesn't work or is unclear so that we can make sure the process is as effective as possible. The call for evidence will be open for 12 weeks and close on 12 February 2026.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 help reduce the turnaround time for repairs in social housing managed by local authorities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. This includes providing an effective, efficient, and timely repairs service for the homes and communal areas they are responsible for, including setting timescales for completion, and communicating these to tenants.
The government has introduced additional safety legislation to protect tenants from health and safety hazards through the introduction of Awaab's Law which came into force for damp, mould, and all emergency hazards on 27 October 2025.
On the 28 January the government also announced further measures to support local authorities in building and maintaining safe and decent social and affordable homes, including a new, modernised Decent Homes Standard. Details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1283).
Finally, my Department launched a call for evidence with the Ministry of Justice on 4 December to hear from tenants, landlords, legal professionals and claims management companies about their experiences of housing disrepair claims. It can be found on gov.uk here. The exercise will allow us to gather further evidence on how the current process works, including the roles of companies and solicitors in these cases. We want to understand what doesn't work or is unclear so that we can make sure the process is as effective as possible. The call for evidence will be open for 12 weeks and close on 12 February 2026.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding has been allocated to mental health services to support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programme funds drug and alcohol treatment and wraparound support for people sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough. It aims to improve access to treatment, including for those with co-occurring mental health needs. For 2025/26, the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programme has provided £419,394 to East Sussex County Council. From 2026/27 to 2028/29, we have committed £185 million to the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programme overall and East Sussex will continue to receive funding.
As set out in A National Plan to End Homelessness, we recognise the need for specialist mental health support for individuals who are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless. The NHS England Mental Health Rough Sleeping programme is supporting better access to specialist homelessness mental health support. Across the country, 37 multi-agency teams have developed services that have significantly reduced mental health crisis admissions to emergency departments as well as the length of stay in hospital.
The independent evaluation of the NHS England Mental Health Rough Sleeping Programme will be published shortly and we will engage with local system leaders to share the full findings. It is the responsibility of local systems to commission mental health services for their population based on their assessment of local need.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding has been allocated to addiction support services to support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programme funds drug and alcohol treatment and wraparound support for people sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough. It aims to improve access to treatment, including for those with co-occurring mental health needs. For 2025/26, the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programme has provided £419,394 to East Sussex County Council. From 2026/27 to 2028/29, we have committed £185 million to the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Programme overall and East Sussex will continue to receive funding.
As set out in A National Plan to End Homelessness, we recognise the need for specialist mental health support for individuals who are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless. The NHS England Mental Health Rough Sleeping programme is supporting better access to specialist homelessness mental health support. Across the country, 37 multi-agency teams have developed services that have significantly reduced mental health crisis admissions to emergency departments as well as the length of stay in hospital.
The independent evaluation of the NHS England Mental Health Rough Sleeping Programme will be published shortly and we will engage with local system leaders to share the full findings. It is the responsibility of local systems to commission mental health services for their population based on their assessment of local need.