Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support is available for local communities to repurpose industrial heritage sites for the benefit of local economies.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Our industrial towns and cities have a proud history, and we are determined that they will have a bright future. Through our levelling up funds, we are tackling the economic differences and driving prosperity across the UK.
Every part of the country will benefit from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund - including the hon. lady's constituency of Barnsley East, which will benefit from a share of £46,162,439.
Culture and heritage are key themes of our Levelling Up Fund, which provides an important boost to local economies through providing funding for maintaining, regenerating, or creatively repurposing existing cultural and heritage assets, or creating new assets that support the visitor economy.
Further funding opportunities are available through the Community Ownership Fund, which helps communities take ownership of cultural and heritage assets at risk of closure, ensuring that small, and much-loved assets are safeguarded and can continue to benefit the local economy.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Government has made an assessment of statistics on veteran housing from the most recent census data.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran.
In line with the Armed Forces Covenant, we changed the law in 2012 so that seriously injured, ill or disabled Service personnel, and former members of the Armed Forces, with urgent housing needs are always given high priority for social housing. In June 2020 we also published new statutory guidance for local authorities to improve access to social housing for members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families.
Top level summaries of the veteran population and how it is broken down by age and gender are expected to be published by the Office for National Statistics towards the end of this year. Following the release of these summaries, the Office for National Statistics will work with the Office of Veterans Affairs to conduct analyses on veteran housing and make an assessment of the findings.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his oral contribution of 2 February 2022, Official Report, column 328, in respect of meeting the hon. Member for Barnsley East and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, when that meeting is planned to take place.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
My office have contacted the Hon Member to arrange a meeting.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding was available for veteran's supported accommodation in each year since 2010.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to supporting veterans who have given so much in service of our country. A refreshed Veterans Strategy Action Plan was published on 19 January.
Funding for housing support services is devolved to local authorities through the Local Government Settlement. Local authorities are best placed to assess need and make decisions on what local services they provide, based on local priorities and circumstances.
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022/23 makes available £54.1 billion for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4.5% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the funding required to provide specialist supported housing to every veteran in the UK who needs it.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to supporting veterans who have given so much in service of our country. A refreshed Veterans Strategy Action Plan was published on 19 January.
Funding for housing support services is devolved to local authorities through the Local Government Settlement. Local authorities are best placed to assess need and make decisions on what local services they provide, based on local priorities and circumstances.
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022/23 makes available £54.1 billion for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4.5% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funding available for specialist supported housing for veterans with complex needs.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to supporting veterans who have given so much in service of our country. A refreshed Veterans Strategy Action Plan was published on 19 January.
Funding for housing support services is devolved to local authorities through the Local Government Settlement. Local authorities are best placed to assess need and make decisions on what local services they provide, based on local priorities and circumstances.
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022/23 makes available £54.1 billion for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4.5% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
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 support veterans with complex needs to find supported housing.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
In framing their allocation scheme, local housing authorities must ensure that reasonable preference is given to people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including people with complex needs such as learning disabilities, as well as those with a physical disability.
In line with the Armed Forces Covenant, we changed the law in 2012 so that certain members of the armed forces community with urgent housing needs are always given additional preference (high priority) for social housing. Urgent housing need can include those who need to move because of a life threatening illness or sudden disability, families in severe overcrowding which poses a serious health hazard, and those who are homeless and require urgent re-housing as a result of violence or threats of violence.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what cross-boundary housing support is available for veterans in local authorities with low numbers of veterans.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government is committed to ensuring veterans are provided with all the support they need to successfully adjust back into civilian life.
Delivering on the Armed Forces Covenant, in 2012 we introduced regulations which ensure that serving personnel and those within 5 years of having left the forces cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a local connection or residency requirement.
At the same time we changed the law to ensure that ‘additional preference’, high priority, is given to serving members of the Armed Forces suffering from a serious injury or disability, and veterans with urgent housing needs.
Both provisions also apply to seriously injured and disabled Reservists and bereaved spouses of Service personnel. In June 2020 we published new statutory guidance for local authorities to further improve access to social housing for members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families. This guidance makes clear that local authorities are expected to disapply any local connection requirement from divorced or separated spouses or civil partners of Service personnel who are required to move out of accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence.