Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 potential equality implications of local authorities not being able to hold remote meetings after 7 May 2021.
Answered by Luke Hall
To extend the facility for councils to continue to meet remotely, or in hybrid form after 7 May 2021 would require primary legislation. The Government keeps all policy under review, including considering the public sector equality duty impacts. We are carefully considering next steps in this area.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential public health implications of local authorities not being able to hold remote meetings after 7 May 2021.
Answered by Luke Hall
To extend the facility for councils to continue to meet remotely, or in hybrid form after 7 May 2021 would require primary legislation. The Government keeps all policy under review, including considering the public sector equality duty impacts. We are carefully considering next steps in this area.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to make available additional financial support to people in rent arrears as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government has provided a comprehensive package of support to help prevent people getting into financial hardship or rent arrears as a result of COVID-19. This includes support for businesses to pay staff salaries through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended until April 2021. We have boosted the welfare system by billions of pounds, including increasing Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by up to £1,040 for the year.
We also lifted Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local rents in April 2020, which has provided 1.5 million claimants with around £600 more housing support per year than they would otherwise have received. In 2021/22 Local Housing Allowance rates will be maintained in cash terms at their increased level, meaning claimants renting in the private rented sector will continue to benefit from the significant increase in the rates applied in April 2020.
For those who require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments are available. As announced at the spending round for 2020/21 there is already £180 million in Discretionary Housing Payments for local authorities to distribute for supporting renters with housing costs in the private and social rented sectors. For 2021-22 the Government will make available £140 million in DHP funding, which takes account of the increased LHA rates.
We continue to closely monitor the ongoing effects of the pandemic on renters.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 potential merits of making loans available to people in rent arrears as a result of the covid-19 outbreak, on similar lines to the Tenancy Saver Loan Scheme in Wales and the Tenant Hardship Loan in Scotland.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
This Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support to protect renters whose income has been affected throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notably, to help prevent people getting into financial hardship, we have increased the local housing allowance rate to the 30th percentile of local market rents in each area. The increased LHA rates will be maintained at the current levels in cash terms in 2021/22, even in areas where the 30th percentile of local rents has gone down. We have boosted the welfare system by billions of pounds, including increasing Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by up to £1,040 for the year
In addition, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has offered support for businesses to pay staff salaries, enabling people to continue to pay their rent and has been extended until April 2021.
For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. As announced at the spending round for 2020/21, there is already £180 million in DHPs for local authorities to distribute for supporting renters with housings costs in the private and social rented sectors. For 2021-22 the Government will make available £140 million in DHP funding, which takes account of the increased LHA rates.
We continue to closely monitor the ongoing effects of the pandemic on renters.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of funding for the Affordable Housing Programme will be allocated to the construction of low-cost, social rent housing.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We do not ringfence the funding for the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) by tenure. As part of the AHP 21-26, Social Rent homes can now be funded across the country at the same grant rates as Affordable Rent. Additional funding to deliver Social Rent is available in local authority areas where affordability pressures are highest. This will ensure that Social Rent homes are built where they are most needed. The new AHP will deliver around 32,000 social rent homes, more than double the delivery of the current programme.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress the Government has made on abolishing section 21 evictions.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government remains committed to abolishing Section 21 through a Renters’ Reform Bill, which will enhance renters’ security. However, our collective efforts are currently focused on responding to the coronavirus outbreak.
Repealing Section 21 represents the largest change to renting in 30 years and it is only right that the reforms are taken forward in a considered manner. We have consulted on this issue, in the ‘A New Deal for Renting: Resetting the Balance of Rights and Responsibilities Between Landlords and Tenants’ consultation. This received almost 20,000 responses and sought views on the best way to provide tenants with greater security, but also ensure that landlords are able to recover their properties where they have valid reasons to do so.
We will publish a response to the consultation and bring forward a Renters Reform Bill to implement the reforms at the appropriate time, once the urgencies of responding to the pandemic have passed.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 potential merits of extending the ban on evictions beyond 21 February 2021.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We are working with the Ministry of Justice to consider whether, and if so how, to extend the current regulations on bailiff enforcement, including how long any such extension should be in place, and will provide more details as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 potential effect on levels of homelessness of ending the eviction ban on 21 February 2021.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Legislation to ensure bailiffs do not serve eviction notices or carry out evictions in all but the most serious cases is currently in place.
Landlords are currently required to provide tenants with six months’ notice before eviction in all but the most serious cases, and the courts have put in place new rules and arrangements in possession cases to respond to the pandemic.
This Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support to protect renters whose income has been affected throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, to help prevent people getting into financial hardship, we have increased the local housing allowance rate to the 30th percentile of local market rents in each area. In addition, the furlough scheme has been extended until the end of April to support tenants to pay their rents.