Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of standards of temporary accommodation on child infant mortality.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Too many children are spending years in temporary accommodation, at a point in their lives when they need space to play and develop, nutritious food to thrive and access to education. We must build more homes so we can reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation, which is why we will deliver the biggest increase to social and affordable housing in a generation.
MHCLG’s dedicated team of homelessness advisers continue to work closely with local authorities under the highest bed and breakfast (B&B) pressures, including to develop B&B elimination plans, to reduce families being placed in this accommodation for longer than six weeks.
The Government will also work with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £5 million to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives.
All temporary accommodation must be safe and suitable for households with babies and children, and we are taking action to improve standards across the housing sector. The death of any child is devastating, and we must do all we can to prevent avoidable deaths. The Homelessness Code of Guidance is therefore clear that temporary accommodation should not be considered suitable for a family with children under 2 if there is not enough space for a cot and that housing authorities should support families to secure a cot where needed.
Housing authorities must, as a minimum, ensure that all temporary accommodation is free of Category 1 hazards as identified by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Housing authorities have a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review, and to respond to any relevant change in circumstances which may affect suitability. Households may request a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help (a) Ministers and (b) officials from other departments fully participate in the Inter Ministerial Group on Homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Deputy Prime Minister chairs an Inter-Ministerial Group which includes Ministers from across government and is focused on developing a long-term strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness, an urgent priority for this Government. Departments include the Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, Ministry of Justice, Department for Education, Ministry of Defence, His Majesty’s Treasury, in addition to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The Inter-Ministerial Group is supported by a senior officials' board from the same departments. This is alongside regular bilateral meetings between Ministers on the key issues arising.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has set up expert boards for homelessness policy.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected.
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.
As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) formal role and (b) ongoing involvement she will have in the (i) formulation and (ii) implementation of a cross-departmental strategy for ending homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.
We will engage across the sector at ministerial and official level, as well as with those with lived experience through a lived experience forum to ensure their voices are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to consult the homelessness sector on the work of the development of a cross-departmental strategy for ending homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.
We will engage across the sector at ministerial and official level, as well as with those with lived experience through a lived experience forum to ensure their voices are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many times officials from her Department have met with homelessness sector stakeholders since July 2024.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.
We will engage across the sector at ministerial and official level, as well as with those with lived experience through a lived experience forum to ensure their voices are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many social houses will be built by housing associations with Government support in the next 12 months.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024. The Government supports housing associations and local authorities to build new social and affordable housing through the Affordable Homes Programme. We do not set annual targets for the programme.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in maintaining parks in cities.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government supports local authorities in the maintenance of urban parks and green spaces in many ways. The Government’s Green Flag Awards scheme helps to increase access to quality green spaces and sets the standard for those spaces to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Furthermore, the Green Infrastructure Framework launched by Natural England in January 2023 will help local authorities and developers incorporate green infrastructure into development plans to improve access to nature on our doorsteps and build resilience to climate change.
The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides funding for investment in local growth, and a further £900 million for 2025-26 was announced at the Autumn Budget. Local authorities can decide how to use funding to best serve their communities, including investing in improving and developing their parks. This Government will also support local authorities by moving towards multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of (a) trends in level of planning applications granted for buy-to-let developments and (b) the potential impact of those trends on first-time buyers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department does not hold data on planning applications for buy-to-let developments and we are therefore unable to assess the impact of trends in applications on first-time buyers.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will have discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on a role for a Women and Equalities Minister in the cross-government strategy to tackle homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We will consult and engage a wide range of stakeholders to develop our new cross-government strategy to make sure we put in place services that meet people’s needs. This includes discussions with the Secretary of State for Education who has responsibility for women and equalities to consider how we can ensure our strategy takes account of the needs of women.
The Government is taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), bringing together ministers from across government, to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness.