Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that local authorities have the resources to activate the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol promptly and provide sufficient safe accommodation during periods of extreme cold.

Local authorities should plan services which meet the needs of people in their area, which includes planning for periods of extreme cold. The government is providing more than £3.3 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29 through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and councils can use this and their wider settlement to plan and deliver safe accommodation during periods of extreme weather.