Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many properties a) her department, and b) Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd have acquired in i) Tonbridge and Malling borough, and ii) Sevenoaks district, since the 2024 General Election.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Accommodation Plans are the mechanism via which the Home Office works towards achieving Full Dispersal and thus, a fair and balanced distribution of asylum accommodation across all local authorities nationally.
The Asylum Accommodation Plans are underpinned by an indexing model which accounts for a multitude of pressures within local authorities, including – availability of housing, levels of homelessness, availability of GP and dentists as well as levels of community cohesion. Development of the plans was informed by engagement with a range of national, regional and local stakeholders, to ensure that the evidence base was reflective of broader local authority feedback.
For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, including those in dispersal properties. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many properties are being used for asylum dispersal in a) Tonbridge and Malling borough and b) Sevenoaks district.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Accommodation Plans are the mechanism via which the Home Office works towards achieving Full Dispersal and thus, a fair and balanced distribution of asylum accommodation across all local authorities nationally.
The Asylum Accommodation Plans are underpinned by an indexing model which accounts for a multitude of pressures within local authorities, including – availability of housing, levels of homelessness, availability of GP and dentists as well as levels of community cohesion. Development of the plans was informed by engagement with a range of national, regional and local stakeholders, to ensure that the evidence base was reflective of broader local authority feedback.
For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, including those in dispersal properties. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that homelessness services respond effectively to the risk that women who are (a) rough sleeping or (b) experiencing homelessness experience (i) violence and (ii) abuse.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness makes clear that councils should consider the specific needs and barriers experienced by women in accessing services.
We are developing resources to support councils to consider the needs of women who are homeless, rough sleeping or experiencing domestic abuse. Our Outreach toolkit and Single Homelessness and Complex Needs toolkit will include advice on identifying and engaging women sleeping rough, and we are piloting an Ending Rough Sleeping Risk Assessment Tool which considers the experiences of women. Our Homelessness Prevention and Support toolkit will support councils in preventing homelessness where domestic abuse is a contributing factor.
We encourage councils to carry out a women’s rough sleeping census. Last year, we introduced new data on gender in the Rough Sleeping Data Framework, which can be found here.
We continue to work with a range of organisations to gain insight into the challenges faced by women.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to engage with organisations (a) supporting women experiencing rough sleeping and homelessness and (b) conducting the women’s rough sleeping census.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness makes clear that councils should consider the specific needs and barriers experienced by women in accessing services.
We are developing resources to support councils to consider the needs of women who are homeless, rough sleeping or experiencing domestic abuse. Our Outreach toolkit and Single Homelessness and Complex Needs toolkit will include advice on identifying and engaging women sleeping rough, and we are piloting an Ending Rough Sleeping Risk Assessment Tool which considers the experiences of women. Our Homelessness Prevention and Support toolkit will support councils in preventing homelessness where domestic abuse is a contributing factor.
We encourage councils to carry out a women’s rough sleeping census. Last year, we introduced new data on gender in the Rough Sleeping Data Framework, which can be found here.
We continue to work with a range of organisations to gain insight into the challenges faced by women.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of local authorities that have completed the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness makes clear that councils should consider the specific needs and barriers experienced by women in accessing services.
We are developing resources to support councils to consider the needs of women who are homeless, rough sleeping or experiencing domestic abuse. Our Outreach toolkit and Single Homelessness and Complex Needs toolkit will include advice on identifying and engaging women sleeping rough, and we are piloting an Ending Rough Sleeping Risk Assessment Tool which considers the experiences of women. Our Homelessness Prevention and Support toolkit will support councils in preventing homelessness where domestic abuse is a contributing factor.
We encourage councils to carry out a women’s rough sleeping census. Last year, we introduced new data on gender in the Rough Sleeping Data Framework, which can be found here.
We continue to work with a range of organisations to gain insight into the challenges faced by women.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will meet with representatives from Solace Women's Aid and the Single Homeless Project to discuss the National Plan to End Homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness makes clear that councils should consider the specific needs and barriers experienced by women in accessing services.
We are developing resources to support councils to consider the needs of women who are homeless, rough sleeping or experiencing domestic abuse. Our Outreach toolkit and Single Homelessness and Complex Needs toolkit will include advice on identifying and engaging women sleeping rough, and we are piloting an Ending Rough Sleeping Risk Assessment Tool which considers the experiences of women. Our Homelessness Prevention and Support toolkit will support councils in preventing homelessness where domestic abuse is a contributing factor.
We encourage councils to carry out a women’s rough sleeping census. Last year, we introduced new data on gender in the Rough Sleeping Data Framework, which can be found here.
We continue to work with a range of organisations to gain insight into the challenges faced by women.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing local authorities with the (a) tools, (b) resources and (c) guidance on gathering accurate and inclusive data on women’s (i) rough sleeping and (ii) homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness makes clear that councils should consider the specific needs and barriers experienced by women in accessing services.
We are developing resources to support councils to consider the needs of women who are homeless, rough sleeping or experiencing domestic abuse. Our Outreach toolkit and Single Homelessness and Complex Needs toolkit will include advice on identifying and engaging women sleeping rough, and we are piloting an Ending Rough Sleeping Risk Assessment Tool which considers the experiences of women. Our Homelessness Prevention and Support toolkit will support councils in preventing homelessness where domestic abuse is a contributing factor.
We encourage councils to carry out a women’s rough sleeping census. Last year, we introduced new data on gender in the Rough Sleeping Data Framework, which can be found here.
We continue to work with a range of organisations to gain insight into the challenges faced by women.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent engagement his Department has had with organisations supporting women experiencing rough sleeping and homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness makes clear that councils should consider the specific needs and barriers experienced by women in accessing services.
We are developing resources to support councils to consider the needs of women who are homeless, rough sleeping or experiencing domestic abuse. Our Outreach toolkit and Single Homelessness and Complex Needs toolkit will include advice on identifying and engaging women sleeping rough, and we are piloting an Ending Rough Sleeping Risk Assessment Tool which considers the experiences of women. Our Homelessness Prevention and Support toolkit will support councils in preventing homelessness where domestic abuse is a contributing factor.
We encourage councils to carry out a women’s rough sleeping census. Last year, we introduced new data on gender in the Rough Sleeping Data Framework, which can be found here.
We continue to work with a range of organisations to gain insight into the challenges faced by women.
Asked by: Calvin Bailey (Labour - Leyton and Wanstead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent homelessness for veterans as part of the (a) National Plan to End Homelessness and (b) Inter-Ministerial Group on homelessness, and how Op FORTITUDE interacts with the National Plan to End Homelessness.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is clear that one veteran rough sleeping is one too many. This Government is fully committed to ensuring that all veterans across the UK have access to the support they need on housing. That is why we have committed an additional £12 million to ensure the continuation of the Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme. This programme, alongside Op FORTITUDE, will deliver three years of support services across the UK for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
In December last year, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published A National Plan to End Homelessness, the Ministry of Defence contributed to this strategy and will continue to do so through its attendance at the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping. This includes ensuring that all councils are aware of service provision in their area to support veterans at risk of homelessness; and recognises the importance of veteran-specific support such as Op FORTITUDE, putting the service that has already supported over 1,100 veterans on a sustainable footing.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the "Changing Futures Lived Experience Support Grant: prospectus", of 26 March 2026, what his Department's definition of lived experience is.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The definition of lived experience in reference to the Changing Futures programme is direct, personal experience of multiple disadvantage which includes combinations of homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health, domestic abuse and contact with the criminal justice system.