Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the reasons for private rented sector tenants becoming homeless.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.
We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.
Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.
Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.
The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.
Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many entries are on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents as of 21 March 2024.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Judiciary to drive improvements to the county court possession process.
We will set out more details about our implementation plans in due course.
Local authorities are under a duty to record any banning orders against landlords or property agents on the Database; and are responsible for uploading and maintaining records. Guidance for local authorities on the use of the database can be found here.
Our latest data from the English Private Landlord Survey shows that in 2021, 57% of landlords had a buy-to-let mortgage. The impact assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill is available online.
The Government publishes quarterly homelessness statistics, including causes of homelessness. This includes a breakdown of the reported reason for homelessness for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness due to end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. The data is available here.
Local authorities will have access to the full range of information recorded on the Property Portal. We do not have plans to record Tenants’ information on the Property Portal.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many businesses applied for a Business Recovery Grant following Storm Babet flooding in October 2023; and how many of those applications were (a) approved and (b) rejected in each local authority area.
Answered by Jacob Young
Local authorities are responsible for delivering the scheme in line with the guidance provided by Department for Business and Trade as administrators of the Business Recovery Grant (BRG) scheme.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in whom the power to decide whether to abolish a town or parish council resides; and on what basis that authority or organisation may choose to exercise those powers.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, the community governance review is the mechanism through which principal authorities can alter, create or abolish parish councils. Local electors can petition their principal council to undertake a community governance review.
The 2007 Act provisions require the principal council to consider local opinion, including parish councillors and local electors, to help inform their judgement in exercising those powers.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, under what processes a (a) town and (b) parish council may be abolished.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 devolved the power to create, modify and abolish parish councils to principal authorities through the community governance review (CGR) process, and allowed the public to trigger a CGR by collecting signatures for a petition.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will set a timeframe for introducing legislative provisions on ensuring that leaseholders will not be subject to ground 8 mandatory possession orders for arrears of ground rent.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government has already legislated via the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022. The Act makes homeownership fairer and more transparent for thousands of future leaseholders future leaseholders, by preventing landlords under most new residential long leases from requiring a leaseholder to pay a financial ground rent. If any ground rent is demanded as part of a new residential long lease that is regulated by the Act, it cannot be for more than one peppercorn per year.
We understand that some leaseholders have suffered as a result of high and escalating ground rents. Unfair practices have no place in the housing market and the Government is committed to ending them. We want to see homeowners who have been affected obtain the justice and redress they deserve. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector.
The CMA have secured commitments benefiting over 20,000 leaseholders.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether any statutory provisions allow the leader of parish or town councils (a) found to have mismanaged, (b) found to have committed misconduct and (c) who do not set a balanced budget to be (i) struck off or (ii) prevented from continuing to lead that council.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government is aware that Staveley Town Council is experiencing financial difficulties. The Government has engaged with Staveley Town Council and Chesterfield Borough Council to help facilitate a local resolution, and will continue to monitor the situation.
Parish councils are responsible for setting their level of Council Tax to meet the service needs of their area and for maintaining robust financial management. If local councils experience financial difficulties, the government expects that they should take all necessary step to manage the pressures locally and engage with their Principal Authority.
Parish councils are not defined as best value authorities within the Local Government Act 1999 and so the government does not have the powers to intervene using the best value powers. The government is also not able to provide direct financial support to parish councils. Responsibility for reviewing and making decisions with respect to parish councils is devolved to local authorities and their communities.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with (i) Staveley Town and (ii) Chesterfield Borough Council on the finances of Staveley Town Council.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government is aware that Staveley Town Council is experiencing financial difficulties. The Government has engaged with Staveley Town Council and Chesterfield Borough Council to help facilitate a local resolution, and will continue to monitor the situation.
Parish councils are responsible for setting their level of Council Tax to meet the service needs of their area and for maintaining robust financial management. If local councils experience financial difficulties, the government expects that they should take all necessary step to manage the pressures locally and engage with their Principal Authority.
Parish councils are not defined as best value authorities within the Local Government Act 1999 and so the government does not have the powers to intervene using the best value powers. The government is also not able to provide direct financial support to parish councils. Responsibility for reviewing and making decisions with respect to parish councils is devolved to local authorities and their communities.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 the capacity and ability to launch an independent inquiry into finances of Staveley Town Council.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government is aware that Staveley Town Council is experiencing financial difficulties. The Government has engaged with Staveley Town Council and Chesterfield Borough Council to help facilitate a local resolution, and will continue to monitor the situation.
Parish councils are responsible for setting their level of Council Tax to meet the service needs of their area and for maintaining robust financial management. If local councils experience financial difficulties, the government expects that they should take all necessary step to manage the pressures locally and engage with their Principal Authority.
Parish councils are not defined as best value authorities within the Local Government Act 1999 and so the government does not have the powers to intervene using the best value powers. The government is also not able to provide direct financial support to parish councils. Responsibility for reviewing and making decisions with respect to parish councils is devolved to local authorities and their communities.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether (a) his Department or (b) any other public body is able to take steps to prevent parish or town councils from setting council tax precept increases that exceed inflation.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government is aware that Staveley Town Council is experiencing financial difficulties. The Government has engaged with Staveley Town Council and Chesterfield Borough Council to help facilitate a local resolution, and will continue to monitor the situation.
Parish councils are responsible for setting their level of Council Tax to meet the service needs of their area and for maintaining robust financial management. If local councils experience financial difficulties, the government expects that they should take all necessary step to manage the pressures locally and engage with their Principal Authority.
Parish councils are not defined as best value authorities within the Local Government Act 1999 and so the government does not have the powers to intervene using the best value powers. The government is also not able to provide direct financial support to parish councils. Responsibility for reviewing and making decisions with respect to parish councils is devolved to local authorities and their communities.