Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
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 meet with local authority leaders in Manchester to discuss the proportion of people who have been newly housed in temporary accommodation under the emergency housing measures in response to covid-19 who have left or been evicted from that accommodation; and if he will make an assessment of the reasons for those evictions.
Answered by Luke Hall
Over 90 per cent of those on the streets?at the beginning of the crisis?known to local authorities have now been made offers of safe accommodation, ensuring some of the most vulnerable in society are protected from the pandemic. This includes those rough sleeping or who have been living in accommodation with communal sleeping spaces such as night shelters.
On 2 May, Dame Louise Casey was appointed to spearhead a Taskforce to lead the next phase of the Government’s response for rough sleepers during this pandemic. The Taskforce will work hand-in-hand with councils across the country on plans to ensure rough sleepers can move into long-term, safe accommodation once the immediate crisis is over – ensuring as few people as possible return to life on the streets. The taskforce will also ensure the thousands of rough sleepers now in accommodation continue to receive the physical and mental health support they need over the coming weeks while they continue to self-isolate from the virus.
Ministers have regular teleconferences to discuss emerging issues with all local authorities, and Ministers have spoken regularly to the Mayor of Greater Manchester throughout the pandemic.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to support people with alcohol and other drug problems who have been newly housed in temporary accommodation under the emergency housing measures in response to covid-19; and what plans his Department has to manage this group when the lockdown is eased and lifted.
Answered by Luke Hall
Over 90 per cent of those on the streets?at the beginning of the crisis?known to local authorities have now been made offers of safe accommodation. We know that this includes people with substance misuse and mental health needs.
Local authorities?are responsible for assessing local need and commissioning alcohol and drug services and this includes providing services for people who have been supported into emergency accommodation sites.?Most local authorities are using their existing locally commissioned drug and alcohol treatment services to provide this support, including harm reduction, prescribing services and managing related health issues like alcohol withdrawal. They are also drawing on wider NHS services to provide mental and physical health support.
The Government recognises the significant steps local authorities have taken to deliver this work. On top of the initial £3.2 million to support rough sleepers, the Government has now announced £3.2 billion in funding for local authorities to help them meet the pressures caused by COVID-19 and to support vulnerable people, which can be used to provide drug and alcohol services.
In addition, and backed by funding from MHCLG through the 2020/21 Rough Sleeping programme, a pan-London substance misuse team has been commissioned by the City of London on behalf of the Greater London Authority to provide additional drug and alcohol treatment support in the hotels. This supplements local authority-level responses from alcohol and drug treatment.? We are also working closely with local authorities, accommodation and support providers to ensure that they have guidance on how best to support people.
Public Health England (PHE)?has published?guidance to assist commissioners, managers and staff in addressing coronavirus and associated disease (COVID-19), in drug and alcohol services, which can be found here:?https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-commissioners-and-providers-of-services-for-people-who-use-drugs-or-alcohol
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to introduce (a) standards and (b) regulations to replace the EU Directive on the energy performance of buildings after the transition period.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
There are no plans at this time to repeal the legislation which transposed the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2020 to Question 20016 on Housing: Carbon Emissions, whether his Department holds information on carbon emissions target data relating to Scotland.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Building Regulations are a devolved matter in the United Kingdom. Details of Scotland’s Building Regulations, including target carbon dioxide emissions levels, are available online at: https://www.gov.scot/policies/building-standards/.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to maintain the regulations and standards of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive after the transition period.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
There are no plans to repeal the regulations and standards relating to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive at this time.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local-authority employed trading standards officers were employed in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Department does not hold this information. Local authorities are independent employers and as such are responsible for managing their own workforce, including the numbers employed and the positions held.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the carbon emissions target is for new dwellings in England using the national calculation methodology standard assessment procedure; and what information he holds on that target in (a) Wales, (b) Northern Ireland and (c) Scotland.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The target CO2 emission rate referred to in the Building Regulations 2010 is based on the regulated energy use of a modelled building with a number of set characteristics. There is no single target emission rate, as it is dependent on the features of the building being constructed, such as its size. The target emission rate and the actual building emission rate are both modelled using the national calculation methodology for homes, which is the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). The modelling specification to calculate the target CO2 emission rate can be found in SAP Appendix R: https://www.bregroup.com/sap/standard-assessment-procedure-sap-2012/.
Building Regulations are a devolved matter and therefore we do not assess the targets of Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland. However, like England's targets, the method for calculating the devolved nations' targets are published online. We also work closely with the devolved nations to share learning on building standards.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department has allocated to each trading standards (a) authority and (b) agency in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Luke Hall
Funding for trading standards authorities is one of many unringfenced elements of the Local Government Finance Settlement, which gives local authorities the flexibility to focus on their locally determined priorities. Details of funding allocations provided by the Local Government Finance Settlement for the last 10 years can be found on the gov.uk website.