Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech of 30 June 2020, what plans his Department has to publish the results of the review into the quality of homes delivered through permitted development rights before he introduces the new permitted development rights outlined in documents accompanying Prime Minister's speech.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We have said that we would review the quality standard of homes delivered through permitted development rights for the change of use. The report will be published in due course.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish details of (a) meetings and (b) correspondence he has had with representatives, employees or associates of (i) WCM and (ii) Banks Group.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with representatives, employees or associates of West Cumbria Mining or Banks Group.
Correspondence received on behalf of West Cumbria Mining and Banks Group relate to live planning decisions. As such it would not be appropriate to publish it before the decisions are issued in these cases.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the letter sent from the Minister for Homelessness to local authorities on 28 May 2020 on the moving on phase of accommodating rough sleepers who have been offered emergency accommodation as part of the covid-19 response; and if he will publish the Government’s advice to councils on their duties to provide emergency accommodation to rough sleepers and those becoming homeless during that outbreak.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The letter sent from the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing to local authorities on 28 May 2020 can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-letter-sent-on-28-may-2020-to-councils-about-accommodating-rough-sleepers
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government will continue to work collaboratively across government, and with councils, health providers and charities, to ensure rough sleepers can move into safe accommodation once the immediate crisis is over.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to publish further guidance to local authorities on how they should be accommodating (a) rough sleepers and (b) homeless people and families as part of the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
MHCLG and our team of Expert Advisers are working closely with local authorities to inform and co-produce their ‘next steps’ plans, identifying local solutions for those individuals currently in hotels and other emergency accommodation. We have recently announced new funding, set out below, to help to resource these ‘next steps’ efforts and we will shortly be publishing detailed guidance to support local authorities to develop and bring forward proposals to the fund.
On 24 June, we announced that we are providing local authorities with a further £105 million to enable them to best support the c15,000 people placed into emergency accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This commitment will help to ensure that as few of these people as possible return to the streets, by helping to secure tenancies, as well as provide short-term housing while plans for long-term homes continue at pace for those accommodated throughout the pandemic. The funding will cover a range of interventions, from moves into the private rented sector, to?extending?or procuring interim accommodation, such as hotels or student accommodation, and supporting individuals to reconnect with friends or family.
This funding is on top of the £433m that we announced on 24 May to provide thousands of additional long-term homes for vulnerable rough sleepers. Homes England, in partnership with MHCLG, have pledged to work hand in hand with leading Housing Associations and local authorities to deliver this. Further detailed information on the process to allocate this funding is being co-produced with partners and will be published in due course.
There are no current plans to change the statutory homelessness duties, beyond the extension of automatic priority need to domestic abuse victims, which the Secretary of State announced on 2 May. Local authorities’ duties include those under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 to seek to prevent and relieve homelessness for all eligible households, as well as responsibilities under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 to provide suitable accommodation for homeless households that are eligible, have a priority need for accommodation and are not homeless intentionally.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to allocate additional funding to local housing authorities to help those authorities procure accommodation for (a) rough sleepers and (b) homeless people and families as part of the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
On 24 May we announced radical plans to provide thousands of long-term, safe homes for vulnerable rough sleepers taken off the streets during this pandemic. This commitment will be backed by £160 million this year through accelerating plans for the £381 million announced for rough sleeping services at Budget, bringing the total to £433 million over the lifetime of this parliament. The Government is increasing the revenue support of the total programme by 37 per cent to make sure that the rough sleepers have the support they need to stay off the streets for good. This funding will support up to 6,000 rough sleepers into longer term accommodation, with 3,300 units of this accommodation becoming available in the next 12 months. Homes England, in partnership with MHCLG, have pledged to work hand-in-hand with leading housing associations and local authorities to deliver this.
On 24 June an additional £105 million was announced for local authorities to enable them to best support the c15,000 people placed into emergency accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is on top of the £433 million announced on the 24 May. Together, these funding streams will enable us to deliver a comprehensive Next Steps and Recover Strategy which will support thousands of individuals to stay safe during the pandemic and ultimately to turn their lives around. Further detailed information on the process to allocate funding is being co-produced with partners and will be published in due course.
Both before and during the pandemic the Government has also put in place significant funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over 2020/21, including:
For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.?There is already £180 million in Discretionary Housing Payments available for local authorities to distribute for supporting renters with housing costs in 2020/21 including an additional £40 million to tackle affordability pressures in the private rented sector. We have increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that they are set at the 30th percentile of market rents. This is an important policy that will benefit 1.6 million people.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) potential number and (b) redundancies to date in the residential construction sector due to the reduction in housebuilding during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The ONS publishes survey data on a fortnightly basis on the proportion of the construction workforce that has been furloughed, off sick owing to coronavirus, or made redundant. Data for the housing construction subsector is not available.
The Government has put in place a number of measures to support the construction industry during the response to COVID-19. Many construction firms have made use of the Job Retention Scheme for their employees and apprentices, alongside Government-backed loans and tax holidays.
It remains as important as ever to invest in the skilled workforce to build the homes this country needs. My department is working with the Department for Business, Energy and the Industrial Strategy, the Department for Education, and the Construction Industry Training Board to support the industry to continue to recruit and train during this time.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of the construction of social housing to the economic recovery of the UK after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The delivery of new social housing will contribute to economic recovery, in particular by supporting construction activity. The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing in view of the social and economic benefits this will generate. We have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures, including Social Rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy. We announced at Budget that we will invest £12 billion to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26 – the biggest cash investment in affordable housing for a decade.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for the funding of the Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures, including Social Rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy.
Building on this, we announced at Budget 2020 that we are investing £12 billion to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26. This will be the biggest cash investment in affordable housing for a decade.
This new 5-year investment will deliver additional affordable housing, help people to own their own home, and build social rent homes to help families and those most at risk of homelessness in areas of the country where affordability pressure is acute. A mix of different tenures is vital to meet the needs of a wide range of people, and to allow the sector to build the right homes in the right places.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of covid-19 testing facilities for homelessness accommodation providers.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
We are working closely with the DHSC and are committed to the safety of homelessness accommodation. Anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 can access testing and symptomatic frontline homelessness staff can be tested as a priority, so they can continue their important work.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on local authorities of income lost from car parking charges as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government recognises the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on local authorities’ finances and capacity. On 28 April the Secretary of State announced allocations to individual local authorities of the additional £1.6 billion of funding to support councils in delivering essential front line services that was announced on 18 April. The grant will be paid in May as an un-ringfenced amount, recognising local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the additional Covid-19 service pressures in their area. This funding is in addition to the £1.6 billion announced on 19 March.
The Government has asked local authorities to monitor changes in their income and expenditure as a result of Covid-19, including car parking income, through a data collection exercise. We are at the beginning of analysing what those returns tell us, and will continue to work with councils over the coming weeks to ensure they are managing as the pandemic progresses.