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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a legislative framework for the provision of temporary accommodation to include minimum suitability standards.

This Government is committed to improving standards across all types of housing, including temporary accommodation, to ensure that it is safe, decent, and stable. Councils must already ensure that temporary accommodation is suitable for the needs of the household, when securing accommodation under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, and should keep the suitability of accommodation under review. Housing authorities must also, as a minimum, ensure that all temporary accommodation is free of Category 1 hazards as identified by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

These suitability and safety standards are set out in Chapter 17 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance, which is statutory guidance for local authorities, setting out what factors housing authorities need to take into account when determining the suitability of accommodation in line with legislation.

As we set out in our National Plan to End Homelessness, to increase protections against poor quality, this government has committed to introducing the reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) wherever possible and to consulting on introducing Awaab’s Law across temporary accommodation. We are also increasing the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation, both through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund, and through exploring options for partnerships with social impact and institutional investors, which will help local authorities make suitable local placements. We will also engage with councils experiencing the highest pressures and other stakeholders to develop new metrics to improve the monitoring and suitability of placements, and test proposed changes to guidance to target improvements to quality.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigates complaints from members of the public who are unhappy with how the council have handled their homelessness application or the temporary accommodation provided by the council, and can recommend that the council take steps to address any injustice suffered by the complainant or make recommendations for service improvement to prevent further failings in the future. Meanwhile, for social housing, the Regulator of Social Housing has operated as a standalone, operationally independent, arm’s-length body since 2018. It regulates to ensure that registered providers are financially viable, well-governed and deliver good quality homes and services to their tenants.