Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with the Cabinet Office on the number of veterans made homeless in the last 12 months.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
My department has regular discussions with the Cabinet Office on veteran homelessness. The Government is providing £33 million over the next 3 years to increase the service provided to veterans, which includes £20 million for the Veteran Housing Capital Fund that will be used to modernise, rebuild and expand our veteran housing network. This is in addition to £8.55 million funding announced in December 2022 for more than 900 veteran supported housing units with specialist help for former armed forces personnel.
To improve access to affordable housing, we changed the law so that veterans with urgent housing needs are always given ‘additional preference’ (high priority) for social housing and that those who left the forces within the preceding 5 years cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a local connection or residency requirement.
We also published dedicated statutory social housing allocations guidance which sets out how local authorities can support veterans and their families to access social housing.
Veterans have priority for government-funded shared ownership schemes for up to 24 months after leaving the service and are also exempt from any local connection testing restrictions required to be eligible for First Homes, a scheme that gives local first-time buyers a discount of at least 30% on a new home.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth 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 he is taking to improve the availability of high-quality affordable housing for veterans.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
My department has regular discussions with the Cabinet Office on veteran homelessness. The Government is providing £33 million over the next 3 years to increase the service provided to veterans, which includes £20 million for the Veteran Housing Capital Fund that will be used to modernise, rebuild and expand our veteran housing network. This is in addition to £8.55 million funding announced in December 2022 for more than 900 veteran supported housing units with specialist help for former armed forces personnel.
To improve access to affordable housing, we changed the law so that veterans with urgent housing needs are always given ‘additional preference’ (high priority) for social housing and that those who left the forces within the preceding 5 years cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a local connection or residency requirement.
We also published dedicated statutory social housing allocations guidance which sets out how local authorities can support veterans and their families to access social housing.
Veterans have priority for government-funded shared ownership schemes for up to 24 months after leaving the service and are also exempt from any local connection testing restrictions required to be eligible for First Homes, a scheme that gives local first-time buyers a discount of at least 30% on a new home.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth 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 local authorities facing a funding shortfall as a result of increases in inflation in financial year 2023-24.
Answered by Simon Hoare
Announcements will be made in the usual way and further details will be set out shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth 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 local authorities at risk of insolvency.
Answered by Simon Hoare
Announcements will be made in the usual way and further details will be set out shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the time period during which landlords cannot apply mandatory grounds for repossession of the property beyond the first six months of the tenancy in the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
I refer the Hon Member to the Renters (Reform) Bill Second Reading, debated on Monday 23 October (Official Report, HC Volume 738, Colum 630).
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring landlords to provide evidence of (a) selling and (b) moving their family into the property for evictions under the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Renters (Reform) Bill, which had its Second Reading on 23 October, will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.
Landlords will be able to end a tenancy in specific circumstances set out in the legislation, such as if they want to sell or move into their property, and will need to be prepared to evidence the reason for their possession claim in court if necessary.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps the Government has taken to support tenants facing eviction under a Section 21 notice.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Renters (Reform) Bill, which had its Second Reading on 23 October, will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.
Landlords will be able to end a tenancy in specific circumstances set out in the legislation, such as if they want to sell or move into their property, and will need to be prepared to evidence the reason for their possession claim in court if necessary.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has provided local authorities with guidance on schedule 1, part II of the Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992.
Answered by Lee Rowley
It is for individual local authorities to make their assessments as to whether a student meets the criteria for a council tax student disregard, based on the legislation and relevant caselaw.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of (a) private and (b) public sector orphan buildings have EWS1 forms in (a) Portsmouth and (b) England.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 138434 on 8 February 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth 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 potential impact of voter ID requirements during local elections in May 2023 on people with the protected characteristics of race and disability.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 196991 on 11 September 2023.