Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending local government funding settlements to place greater weight on need than local tax raising ability.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The local government finance system operates a needs-based approach. Funding allocations in the Local Government Finance Settlement reflect local circumstances, such as the demand for services from the local population and the cost of delivering those services in that authority. Funding allocations also take into account the differing ability for each council to raise revenue from council tax.
The Government committed to prioritise stability and certainty for local government when we published the local government finance policy statement on 12 December 2022.
However, the Government is committed to reforming the local government funding landscape in the next Parliament.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to increase protections for tenants in the private rented sector who are affected by mould and damp.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030 and we are clear that everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure. We have tabled amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill that will require private rented sector properties to meet a Decent Homes Standard for the first time. We are exploring the merits of a standalone damp and mould standard that all landlords, private and social, must meet.
More information on our work on damp and mould in the private rented sector can be found in the answer given to Question UIN 11180 on 30 January 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has for future rounds of the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Policy announcements will be set out in the usual way.
I was delighted that Portsmouth City Council was successful in round one of the Levelling Up Fund, with their bid for a new passenger terminal at Portsmouth Port and I was delighted to visit the Port in October last year to see the new facilities.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to help increase wage levels in the South East.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Getting more people into work and ensuring work pays is a priority for the Government. The Government is committed to greater economic opportunities in all parts of the country including the South East.
On 1 April 2024, the Government will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 Rachel Maclean
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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 Rachel Maclean
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.