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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation to require local authorities to allocate social housing with flooring installed.

There is currently no legislation requiring social housing landlords, including local authorities, to provide floor coverings. This is discretionary and landlords are not required to remove floor coverings when a home is let to new tenants.

My Department engages actively with stakeholders on issues facing social housing tenants, such as the provision of floor coverings, and has engaged with End Furniture Poverty to understand their research on this issue.

We will be consulting this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard.

People currently living without floor coverings may be able to get support from their local authorities via the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.