Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they are liaising with Westminster City Council to assist the homeless people found in the Westminster underground station and vicinity.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government engages closely with councils across England to support them to help people experiencing and at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping in their areas including Westminster City Council. This year we have provided more than £1 billion for homelessness and rough sleeping services across England, including more than £26 million to Westminster City Council. My department’s team of homelessness and rough sleeping advisers meet with councils, including Westminster City Council, regularly to discuss challenges and share best practice.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the the potential merits of using the private rented sector to fulfil the statutory duty to homeless households.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
High-quality accommodation in the private rented sector plays an important role in councils discharging their homelessness duties. In England in 2024/25, 52,870 households had their prevention or relief duty ended with accommodation secured in the private rented sector, and 4,070 households had their main duty ended having accepted a private rented sector offer.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 oral contribution by the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness on 23 February 2026, whether the removal of the pay-day loan premium will apply to the reorganised councils who will inherit the debt of areas such as Thurrock.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The previous government made a sustained recovery for councils even harder by charging a premium on borrowing for councils needing Exceptional Financial Support. In December 2024, the government confirmed that the additional 1% premium on Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) borrowing would not apply to any council borrowing or refinancing going forward.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 oral contribution by the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness on 23 February 2026, how much less Thurrock council will need to repay each year following the removal of the pay-day loan premium.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The previous government made a sustained recovery for councils even harder by charging a premium on borrowing for councils needing Exceptional Financial Support. In December 2024, the government confirmed that the additional 1% premium on Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) borrowing would not apply to any council borrowing or refinancing going forward.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 oral contribution by the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness on 23 February 2026, whether the removal of the pay-day loan premium will apply to councils not currently in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The previous government made a sustained recovery for councils even harder by charging a premium on borrowing for councils needing Exceptional Financial Support. In December 2024, the government confirmed that the additional 1% premium on Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) borrowing would not apply to any council borrowing or refinancing going forward.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities and their partners on responding to rough sleeping in town centres, including engagement with local businesses, and on meeting safeguarding and homelessness prevention duties.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Through our National Plan to End Homelessness, the government has committed to developing an Outreach Toolkit, alongside a Single Homelessness and Complex Needs Toolkit. Together these will provide advice on designing and delivering services, including on effective outreach, accommodation pathways including the role of housing-led solutions, including Housing First, and enforcement.
These toolkits will build on the support available to local authorities through my Department’s team of expert advisers and guidance published through gov.uk here. This includes specific guidance on safeguarding, which you can find here.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current Service User Demand Plan target is for dispersed asylum accommodation in Fylde Borough; and how that target was calculated.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Accommodation Plans offer an evidence-based approach to procurement and delivery of asylum accommodation nationally, in a manner that is fair and equitable. Development of the Plans was informed by feedback provided by local authorities, Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) the Local Government Association as well as other Government Departments. Furthermore, the plans are underpinned by an indexing model which considers several social factors, including crime rates, levels of homelessness and availability of GPs and Dentists.
Details of the Asylum Accommodation Plans, including the Service User Demand Plans for specific Local Authorities, are not published. However, these details are shared with nominated local authority officials, including at Fylde Borough Council. Progress against the Asylum Accommodation Plans is routinely monitored within regular official forums jointly attended by Local Authority, Home Office, accommodation providers and SMPs colleagues.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) homeless and (b) disabled young people to seek employment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Homelessness can act as a significant barrier to gaining and sustaining employment. DWP helps people experiencing homelessness to move towards work through tailored and place-based work coach support – a commitment outlined in the new cross-government National Plan to End Homelessness. This includes specialist employment support for people with complex needs through the new Connect to Work programme, and a new Jobs and Careers Service that will enable work coaches to focus more on individuals with the greatest barriers to work.
The plan also commits to addressing the ‘work disincentive’ that can affect young people in supported accommodation, ensuring work pays and enabling residents to enter or progress in employment without facing financial barriers.
The Department further supports homeless young people to move towards employment through Youth Hubs, which provide community‑based, wrap‑around employment support for 16–24‑year‑olds. As part of the core Youth Hub service blueprint, Hubs work with local partners to provide access to housing and homelessness advice alongside employment, skills and health support, recognising that housing insecurity is a significant barrier to work.
The Government is also taking action to help young disabled people move towards work. Disabled young people are a diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them.
The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for disabled young people.
At the Budget, we have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn. Over the next three years nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds will be offered a dedicated session with a Work Coach, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support. We will also expand our network of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain. This investment will create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21 through the Jobs Guarantee.
Alongside the Youth Guarantee, the Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for the Pathways to Work offer. Backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade, building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work offer once fully rolled out will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support already available to disabled people, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships.
Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn is leading on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability and expected to report in Summer 2026.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 he has made of levels of homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government regularly publishes data on homelessness on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the long-term housing strategy will include the potential impact of the supported housing sector on delivering outcomes, such as reducing homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government values the role played by supported housing in tackling rough sleeping and homelessness. Providing the right support alongside housing can improve health, wellbeing and socio-economic outcomes to enable individuals in need of support, to access and retain housing, reducing their risk of homelessness and rough sleeping. This key role for supported housing was recognised in the National Plan to End Homelessness. We will publish the long-term housing strategy shortly.