Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will introduce a rent freeze in England.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
As set out previously, including in the answer given Question UIN 157681 on 13 March 2023, the Government does not support a rent freeze in the private rented sector. Evidence from other administrations suggests rent controls in the private rented sector have unwelcome consequences, discouraging investment and leading to declining property standards. The Government notes the opposition of the housing minister in the Welsh Government to rent freezes and her statement that they would have “unintended consequences".
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
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 ensure that young people are not discouraged from voting after the introduction of Voter ID.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Further to the answer given to Question UIN 171446 on 31 March 2023, Cabinet Office research shows that 98% of electors already own a form of photographic identification that is accepted and this increases to 99% for those ages 18-29.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Right to Buy Scheme on the availability of council homes.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government remains committed to the Right to Buy, which since 1980 has enabled over two million social housing tenants to become homeowners.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what eligibility criteria his Department used to identify which developers to ask to sign the developer remediation contract.
Answered by Lee Rowley
This is already set out publicly including in the relevant regulations.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
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 help ensure local authorities are meeting the accommodation needs of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Specific planning policies for traveller sites are set out in the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites document which should be read in conjunction with the National Planning Policy Framework. Local authorities are best placed to make decisions about the number and location of such sites locally, having had due regard to national policy and local circumstances.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
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 help support lenders to obtain EWS1 forms for properties below 18 metres.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The EWS1 process is a valuation tool owned by industry.
On 20 December 2022, the six largest mortgage lenders released a joint statement confirming that, they will consider mortgage applications on properties with building safety issues in England of 11 metres or 5 storeys and above in height. This is subject to their normal policy requirements and the building being part of a developer or government remediation scheme, or protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act. These changes should see the need to request EWS1 forms will be eased.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether it is his Department's policy that all tenants should be notified of proposals to enfranchise the property they are occupying; and whether all tenants are required to consent to (a) proposals to enfranchise and (b) building extensions.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government is committed to making it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to purchase the freehold of their building.
There is no current requirement for all tenants to be notified of proposals for collective freehold acquisition, or for all tenants to consent to a collective freehold acquisition.
The Law Commission have set out a number of recommendations intended to improve the right of collective freehold acquisition. We will respond in due course.
Individual leases set out landlord and leaseholder rights and restrictions in altering their property, including whether landlord consent is required. Building extensions, whether instigated by the landlord or leaseholder, must comply with relevant planning and building regulation obligations.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
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 his Department has taken to ensure that (a) Camden Council and (b) Brent Council have the resources to address increases in anti-social behaviour in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We have increased Core Spending Power for local government by £5.1 billion from 2022/23 in the 2023/24 Local Government Finance Settlement, ensuring councils are better equipped to address increases in anti-social behaviour.
The Mayor of London is accountable for policing performance in London.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a comprehensive definition for sustainable buildings in the National Planning Policy Framework as part of his Department’s objective to improve environmental outcomes.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that the creation of high quality, beautiful and sustainable buildings and places is fundamental to what the planning and development process should achieve. At a high level, it defines the objective of sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
To support delivering this objective in practice, the National Model Design Code also highlights that sustainable construction is the practice of creating buildings using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource efficient. The NPPF sets out that all local planning authorities should prepare design guides or codes consistent with the principles set out in the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code, and which reflect local character and design preferences.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
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 with local councils to reduce accidents on pavements caused by wet weather.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Department for Transport has worked with the UK Roads Leadership Group (UKRLG) in producing the document ‘Asset Management Guidance for Footways and Cycle Routes: Pavement Design and Maintenance – this is available to all local authorities and can be found on the UKRLG website
It is for local councils to make appropriate assessments of risk and to organise their capital spend to fund mitigations.