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Written Question
Disabled Facilities Grants
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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 introducing a fast-track route for the Disabled Facilities Grant when the applicant has a progressive health condition.

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

The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely. Government funding for Disabled Facilities Grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24.

Local areas already have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can provide grants above the £30,000 cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. In 2022, Government published guidance for local authorities on the Disabled Facilities Grant, which includes information on using discretion in local delivery of the grant. The guidance can be found here.

As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant, the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.

Unaudited data provided voluntarily by local authorities suggests that the average time for approval of a DFG application in 2021/22 was 29 working days. The average completion time was 88 days.

Local areas already have the power to include in their housing assistance policies a fast-track route for applicants with an urgent need for adaptations, including those with progressive health conditions. Government DFG delivery guidance provides information to local authorities on how to design housing assistance policies. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also funds an organisation called Foundations to support local authorities with the effective delivery of the grant, and they can assist authorities in drafting policies that address local need.


Written Question
Disabled Facilities Grants
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the average turnaround time is for the (a) approval and (b) completion of works under the Disabled Facilities Grant by local authority in England.

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

The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely. Government funding for Disabled Facilities Grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24.

Local areas already have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can provide grants above the £30,000 cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. In 2022, Government published guidance for local authorities on the Disabled Facilities Grant, which includes information on using discretion in local delivery of the grant. The guidance can be found here.

As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant, the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.

Unaudited data provided voluntarily by local authorities suggests that the average time for approval of a DFG application in 2021/22 was 29 working days. The average completion time was 88 days.

Local areas already have the power to include in their housing assistance policies a fast-track route for applicants with an urgent need for adaptations, including those with progressive health conditions. Government DFG delivery guidance provides information to local authorities on how to design housing assistance policies. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also funds an organisation called Foundations to support local authorities with the effective delivery of the grant, and they can assist authorities in drafting policies that address local need.


Written Question
Disabled Facilities Grants
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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 suitability of the current ceiling amount for the Disabled Facilities Grant.

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

The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely. Government funding for Disabled Facilities Grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24.

Local areas already have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can provide grants above the £30,000 cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. In 2022, Government published guidance for local authorities on the Disabled Facilities Grant, which includes information on using discretion in local delivery of the grant. The guidance can be found here.

As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant, the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.

Unaudited data provided voluntarily by local authorities suggests that the average time for approval of a DFG application in 2021/22 was 29 working days. The average completion time was 88 days.

Local areas already have the power to include in their housing assistance policies a fast-track route for applicants with an urgent need for adaptations, including those with progressive health conditions. Government DFG delivery guidance provides information to local authorities on how to design housing assistance policies. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also funds an organisation called Foundations to support local authorities with the effective delivery of the grant, and they can assist authorities in drafting policies that address local need.


Written Question
Levelling Up Fund
Wednesday 10th January 2024

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Oral Statement of 20 November 2023 on Levelling Up, Official Report, column 25, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of participating in Levelling Up funding rounds 1 and 2 on local authorities' (a) financial costs, (b) resources and (c) workforce.

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

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 7203 on 21 December 2023.


Written Question
Regional Planning and Development: Finance
Thursday 21st December 2023

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of 20 November 2023, Official Report, column 28, when the area teams informed local authorities that their levelling-up bids would be successful ahead of Government announcements.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4194 on 5 December 2023.

To support the development of bids, £125,000 was provided to each local authority in England who were assessed as most in need in Rounds 1 and 2, and all local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Levelling Up Fund
Thursday 21st December 2023

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason Levelling Up Fund Round Three was not opened on a competitive basis; and when his Department (a) informed local authorities of its approach to, (b) selected the projects to be awarded funding under and (c) announced which projects would be awarded funding under Round Three.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4194 on 5 December 2023.

To support the development of bids, £125,000 was provided to each local authority in England who were assessed as most in need in Rounds 1 and 2, and all local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Regional Planning and Development: Finance
Thursday 21st December 2023

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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 estimate of the total cost to local authorities of preparing bids for levelling up funded projects.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4194 on 5 December 2023.

To support the development of bids, £125,000 was provided to each local authority in England who were assessed as most in need in Rounds 1 and 2, and all local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Owner Occupation
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department collects on levels of home ownership.

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

The department’s main source of information on home ownership is the English Housing Survey. The full report with data tables is published here.


Written Question
Affordable Housing
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Homes England Investment Partners for the Affordable Homes Programme have filed for insolvency.

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

The department has not been made aware of any Investment Partners in the Affordable Homes Programme that have become insolvent.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Standards
Tuesday 19th December 2023

Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Social Housing regulator on the timetable for setting the regulatory standards relating to (a) competence and conduct and (b) information and transparency; and whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of providing assistance to (i) local authorities and (ii) social housing providers to meet those standards.

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

In the coming months, the Government intends to consult on directions to the Regulator of Social Housing to set standards relating to the competence and conduct of social housing staff and information and transparency. Following this, Government will direct the Regulator, who will conduct their own consultations before the standards come into force.

We will carry out full impact assessments on implementing the standards. Social landlords are responsible for providing safe and decent homes for their tenants and meeting the regulatory standards. Landlords should not be looking to Government to fund meeting these requirements.