Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) future costs incurred by cladding remedial work are not passed onto leaseholders and (b) freeholders meet their legal responsibilities to fund remedial work as stipulated in the Building Safety Act 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Last year 49 of the largest housebuilders signed a public pledge committing to fix life-critical fire safety defects in residential buildings 11 metres or more in height which they developed or refurbished in England over the last 30 years. 48 developers have since signed the developer remediation contract giving legal effect to those commitments. Where a developer cannot be identified, traced or held responsible for remediating the building, or has not yet agreed to pay for their own buildings, the Building Safety Fund is available to ensure that eligible buildings over 18 metres are made safe. The Government has also launched a new scheme to provide funding for the remediation or mitigation of the fire safety risks linked to external wall system defects on medium-rise buildings (11-18 metres) where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced or held responsible.
The Building Safety Act protects leaseholders from costs associated with remediating historical building safety defects by capping or preventing altogether the costs that can be recovered through the service charge. Where work is not funded by a responsible developer or grant, the Act makes clear that any remediation costs which the Act prevents being passed on to leaseholders must be met by building owners. Any building owners who refuse to meet costs for which they are now liable under the Act are acting unlawfully.
The Act grants new enforcement powers to regulatory bodies, the Secretary of State, and leaseholders, allowing them to compel building owners to fix, and pay to fix, unsafe buildings for which they are responsible. Enforcement action will be taken against those who are holding up remediation works, where appropriate.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the proposed pay increase for local government workers.
Answered by Lee Rowley
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including planning policies related to flooding risk in the revised National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is already clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk (whether existing or future). Where development is necessary in such areas, the development should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere.
This is supported by the Flood risk and coastal change Planning Practice Guidance which we significantly revised in August 2022.
Furthermore, the recent Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: reforms to national planning policy consultation, which closed 2 March 2023, signalled that we will keep this important aspect of national planning policy under review to ensure it is sufficiently robust to keep future development safe from floods and to not increase risk elsewhere.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the National Planning Policy Framework to permit the development of new onshore wind farms in England.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
We have consulted on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. We will publish an official response in due course.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also committed to consult on delivering local partnerships for onshore wind. This consultation will be published shortly.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to implement a (a) rent freeze and (b) eviction ban.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government has no plans to bring forward a rent freeze or a comprehensive eviction ban. As set out previously, we will deliver our manifesto commitment to abolish section 21 no fault evictions and a fairer deal for private renters.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory obligation to provide sanitary bins in (a) existing and (b) newly built men's public toilets.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 83564 on 17 November 2022.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with the Valuation Office Agency on changes to the liability for council tax of bedrooms in single shared houses.
Answered by Lee Rowley
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed. Policy announcements will be made in the usual way, as appropriate.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking fiscal steps with Cabinet colleagues to provide local councils with additional funding for the provision of (a) children’s and (b) adult social care services.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Following the Autumn Statement, Government will work to publish the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in due course.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
What steps he is taking to support first-time house buyers.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Getting people on the housing ladder realising their dream of owning a home has been a long held conservative value. I am proud that since Spring 2010, over 800,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through Government-backed schemes, including Right to Buy and shared ownership.
And the annual number of first-time buyers was at a 20-year high in 2021.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing a cap on student rent on levels of student homelessness, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
Published homelessness statistics show that in 2021/22, 4,550 (1.6%) of main applicants assessed as being owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty had student or training as their employment status.
Many higher education providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance and £261 million of student premium funding is available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help.
We recognise the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year, however evidence suggests rent controls in the private rented sector do not work. They discourage investment and lead to declining property standards. Our White Paper sets out plans to deliver a fairer deal for private renters, including empowering them to challenge unjustified rent increases. We will bring forward legislation in this Parliament.