Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many refuges in the UK are available for a woman with no recourse to public funds; and what the locations are of those refuges.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Department does not hold centrally the number and location of refuges which are available to women with no recourse to public funds in the UK.
The provision of refuge is a devolved matter. We are carrying out a comprehensive review of how domestic abuse services are delivered locally across England. To inform our review we have commissioned an audit - being run by Ipsos MORI – which will give us a complete picture of domestic abuse provision across England, including services for victims with no recourse to public funds. This will enable us to assess what impact services are having and to identify any gaps in provision. Thereafter we will make decisions on the future arrangements for domestic abuse services.
Of the projects funded through the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government 2016-18 £20 million fund for domestic abuse services, 14 committed to use funding they received to support victims of domestic abuse with no recourse to public funds. We also fund the ‘No Women Turned Away Project’ managed by Women’s Aid, which provides support to victims of domestic abuse, including those with no recourse to public funds, who may have been turned away from a refuge.
Government has consulted on what more can be done to protect domestic abuse victims with no recourse to public funds through the Domestic Abuse Bill, which closed on 31 May. We are currently analysing the 3,200 plus responses received and will carefully consider what future courses of action are necessary.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Written Statement of 9 May 2018, HCWS671, how long the Housing First pilots are planned to last.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The pilots will receive three years' worth of funding.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Written Statement of 9 May 2018, HCWS671, whether he plans to publish interim reports from external evaluators during Housing First pilots.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The Department plans to publish interim findings from external evaluation of the pilots.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Written Statement of 9 May 2018, HCWS671, how many of the c.1000 rough sleepers that the pilots will support will be in (a) Greater Manchester, (b) Liverpool City Region and (c) West Midlands.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Following the announcement of the Housing First Pilot Regions allocations on 9 May, MHCLG will work with the respective regions to finalise the expected number of people who will benefit from this important scheme, which invests £28 million of public money into helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Government's consultation, Powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments, launched on 5 April 2018, what meetings he has had with representatives of the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities (a) prior to and (b) since launching that consultation.
Answered by Dominic Raab
My Department maintains close contact with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller stakeholder groups, and officials meet community representatives quarterly to discuss policy questions and give Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities a voice at the heart of Government.
Unauthorised developments and encampments, and the recently-launched consultation, have been discussed at these meetings, with my noble Friend, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, the Minister responsible for Gypsy and Traveller equality, in attendance. Officials have also attended other relevant events concerning the consultation, such as the one organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma in the winter of 2017.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Government's consultation, Powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments, launched on 5 April 2018, what meetings he plans to have with representatives of the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities before that consultation closes on 15 June 2018.
Answered by Dominic Raab
My officials are organising, in collaboration with members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, several workshops throughout May and June, which will offer members of these communities a chance to discuss the consultation and formulate responses.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the article entitled Tory housing minister Dominic Raab warns that immigration has pushed up house prices, published by the Times on 8 April 2018, if he will publish the analysis conducted by his Department on the effect of immigration on property prices in the last 25 years.
Answered by Dominic Raab
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 135737 on 18 April 2018.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 111036, on Mobile Homes, if his Department will record net gain in new pitches.
Answered by Dominic Raab
There are currently no plans to change how we collect statistics on new pitches. The caravan count takes place every summer, and combines data from the Affordable Homes Programme and local authorities to create a snapshot of new provision. The Department does not have a mechanism to track sites no longer in use.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to create a Roma integration strategy for after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
The Government remains vigilant about the inequalities experienced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has brought forward a new and ambitious integration strategy. The Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper, published in March, invites views on the Government’s vision for building strong integrated communities where people – whatever their background – live, work, learn and socialise together, based on shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities. We encourage all groups, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, to engage with the Green Paper.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Housing Delivery Test results which each local authority in England will be required to publish under the National Planning Policy Framework will include specific data on the number of Gypsy sites.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Housing Delivery Test results will be published by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government each November and will include the delivery of all types of housing (including Gypsy and Travellers accommodation).