Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 support communal religious worship while churches, mosques and other premises are closed for services.
Answered by Luke Hall
We know how important communal worship is within many of our faith communities, but to limit the spread of the virus, places of worship will be closed for communal prayer. However, they will be permitted to open for individual prayer and to record or livestream services so that worshippers can participate at home. In addition, funerals can be attended by a maximum of thirty people.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 support landlords unable to evict problem tenants responsible for repeated anti-social behaviour during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The suspension of possession proceedings ended on 20 September and landlords can now progress possession claims through the courts. The most egregious cases, such as those involving anti-social behaviour, will be prioritised by the courts.
Additionally, as of 29 August, Coronavirus legislation extending the minimum notice period that must be given before a possession claim can be lodged in court was amended so that in the most serious circumstances, minimum notice period requirements have returned to what they were before COVID. This means that for claims relating to anti-social behaviour, the minimum amount of notice that a landlord must give has returned to four weeks. And for some discretionary grounds relating to nuisance/immoral or illegal use of the property, cases may now be progressed to court as soon as notice is given.
However, in order to further protect renters over winter, the Government has asked bailiffs not to carry out evictions in areas where gatherings are not allowed in homes. Bailiffs should not carry out evictions in tier 2 (high) and tier 3 (very high) local COVID alert areas. The Government is keeping this approach under review. In addition, the Government has issued guidance to bailiffs that they should not carry out evictions in the weeks leading up to and over Christmas other than in the most serious circumstances.
In parts of the country where bailiffs will not be carrying out evictions due to the need for stricter distancing, the police, local authorities and other local agencies will still be able to rely on the range of flexible tools and powers at their disposal to tackle anti-social behaviour, notably through the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 encourage developers to build low-carbon and sustainable homes.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
In the Spring Statement, the Government committed to introduce a Future Homes Standard by 2025 for new build homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency, to create healthy homes that are fit for the future, have low energy bills, and are better for the environment.
The Future Homes Standard will be implemented through an uplift to the Building Regulations, subject to consultation. We will expand on the technical detail of these proposals in our proposed consultation on energy efficiency standards later this year.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to encourage the inclusion of sustainable technologies, including energy production and waste disposal, in new-build developments.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Building Regulations set minimum energy performance and waste provision standards for new homes and non-domestic buildings. They are deliberately couched in performance terms and do not prescribe the sustainable technologies to be used, allowing builders the flexibility to innovate and select the most practical and cost effective solutions in particular circumstances.
As part of its response to Dame Judith Hackitt's independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, the Government is developing a programme to review the Building Regulations' guidance. A review of the energy performance standards in Building Regulations is already underway.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of Town and Parish Councils in 2018.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not made any assessment of the cost to the public purse of Parish councils as they do not receive Government funding. Parish councils are funded by a precept upon local taxpayers through council tax.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to encourage developers to build adaptable houses that can become homes for life.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Government is planning a review of accessible and adaptable housing standards in Part M of the Building Regulations. In the revised National Planning Policy Framework we have already strengthened the policy approach to accessible housing by setting out an expectation that planning policies for housing should make use of the Government’s optional technical standards for accessible and adaptable housing