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 he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure people experiencing homelessness can access mental health and addiction support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department worked closely with the Department for Health and Social Care as part of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to develop our cross-government strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness. Our Plan includes measures to support people experiencing homelessness to access mental health and drug and alcohol support.
The Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping will continue to work across government to maintain collaboration and assure delivery of the commitments in this strategy. It will also publish progress reports every two years that monitor progress on the implementation of measures set out in this strategy, including our national cross-government targets.
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, if his Department will reissue existing guidance to local authorities to clarify responsibilities to individuals placed in out of area placements in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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 sanctions can be applied to councils not meeting the duty (a) of care and (b) to co-operate with receiving local authorities on out of area placements in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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, if he will set out a timetable for improving guidance issued to local authorities on out of area placements in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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, if he will consult local authorities ahead of developing guidance on out of area placements in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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, how many out of area placements there are in (a) Eastbourne, (b) East Sussex, (c) the South East and (d) England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of Out of Area housing placements on the receiving local authority.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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, whether he plans to review the model for out of area placements.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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 steps he has taken to help ensure homeless people who are displaced can return to their local authority for support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils should, wherever possible, seek to place homeless households within their own area, except where there are clear benefits for the person seeking assistance (for example, in cases of domestic abuse).
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the government’s intention to engage with councils to address poor practice – to clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. Authorities receiving out of area placements must be notified in accordance with the law – this should involve engagement with the receiving authority to minimise disruption to health services, education and vital support networks.
This work will form part of the action plan to deliver the Plan.
We have published new data on out-of-area placements, setting out which areas have received placements, the composition of households placed out of area and the type of accommodation they are placed into. You can find this data 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 steps he is taking to inform people of their housing rights under the Renters Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 13 November 2025, the government published a roadmap for implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The roadmap sets out how we are helping tenants, landlords and other interested parties understand their new rights and responsibilities. It can be found on gov.uk here.
We have already published guidance for local councils and landlords to help them prepare ahead of implementation of Phase 1 from 1 May 2026. Guidance for tenants will follow in April.
In addition, we have launched a multi-platform communications campaign to raise awareness of the Act. This includes a paid landlord-focused campaign, press work, and a new campaign site. This campaign will be extended in April to reach tenants and inform them of their rights.
We are continuing to work closely with sector representative organisations and advice providers to make sure those who may be harder to reach understand what the reforms mean for them and have access to up-to-date advice. To support this, we have increased our existing funding to Shelter’s Expert Housing Advice Line.