Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 is taking steps to prevent housing associations from adding hidden costs to shared ownership transactions.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government is clear that all costs should be clearly set out as part of Shared Ownership lease agreements.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Government plans to take steps to support private renters who would like to own a pet dog or cat to do so responsibly, in the context of Battersea’s Pet Friendly Properties campaign.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government recognises the importance of pet ownership to many renting in the private rented sector. We have therefore taken steps to make it easier for responsible tenants to keep pets in the private rented sector.
We have revised the national Model Tenancy Agreement, the government’s recommended contract for assured shorthold tenancies in the private rented sector, in order to make it easier for tenants with pets to find private landlords who will accept them. The revision aims to strike the balance between protecting private landlords from situations where their properties are damaged by badly behaved pets and ensuring responsible pet owning tenants are not unfairly penalised.
The Government has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of the revised Model Tenancy Agreement in supporting pet ownership in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 effectiveness of the revised Model Tenancy Agreement in supporting more tenants in privately-rented homes to own a pet dog or cat.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government recognises the importance of pet ownership to many renting in the private rented sector. We have therefore taken steps to make it easier for responsible tenants to keep pets in the private rented sector.
We have revised the national Model Tenancy Agreement, the government’s recommended contract for assured shorthold tenancies in the private rented sector, in order to make it easier for tenants with pets to find private landlords who will accept them. The revision aims to strike the balance between protecting private landlords from situations where their properties are damaged by badly behaved pets and ensuring responsible pet owning tenants are not unfairly penalised.
The Government has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of the revised Model Tenancy Agreement in supporting pet ownership in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 expedite enhanced DBS checks for (a) Ukrainian refugees and (b) UK applicants to the Homes for Ukraine scheme to help reduce the processing time for children coming to the UK through that scheme.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022 and Question UIN 144955 on 29 March 2022, which include links to published guidance and information at Gov.uk.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an estimate of the maximum number of refugees from Ukraine that the UK can accommodate.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
I refer the Hon Member to the answers given here.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 leaseholders to ensure that buildings conform with new building standards.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Through the Building Safety Bill, we will be ensuring that building owners of higher-risk buildings have clear accountabilities for managing building safety as Accountable Persons. Residents will have a clear voice under the new regime and will be empowered to hold their Accountable Person to account, with the ability to raise complaints for breach of accountable person duties, and escalate such complaints to the regulator.
The new Building Safety Regulator will enforce the more stringent regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings and oversee the safety and performance of all buildings.
The Government funds the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) to provide free and independent advice to leaseholders, including those affected by building safety issues. This aims to help them make informed decisions on next steps and engage confidently with freeholders, developers and managing agents. Advice is open to all and there is no limit on the amount of advice an individual can seek to support their chances of achieving the best possible outcome in their case.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2021 to Question 77410 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Meetings, when the predecessor departmental board, for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government last met; and when his Department plans to publish minutes of those board meetings held since December 2016.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Prior to becoming the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) held its last full Departmental Board meeting in March 2021.
There are no plans to publish MHCLG’s Departmental Board minutes from 2016 onwards.