Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment eligibility on the number of people experiencing homelessness; and whether she has shared that assessment with the Ministerial Group on homelessness and rough sleeping.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is working closely with the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, to get the country back on track to ending homelessness.
As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help reduce reoffending rates.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and substance misuse treatment services.
We continue to work with prisons to improve offenders’ access to purposeful activity, such as education, which we know reduces the likelihood of reoffending. We have also recently launched regional Employment Councils, which will bring businesses together with Probation Services and the Department for Work and Pensions to support offenders in prison and the community.
Recognising that reoffending is twice as high among those released homeless, compared to those released to accommodation, we are expanding our community accommodation service; and working closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and other Departments on a new cross-government strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness and to improve outcomes over this Parliament.
We are also reforming sentencing to ensure that we never run out of prison places again. Community sentences have been shown to be more effective than short custodial sentences at reducing reoffending. We are working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to support the increased use of Drug Rehabilitation Requirements and Alcohol Treatment Requirements as robust alternatives to custody, in line with the recommendations of the Independent Sentencing Review.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to improve access to legal aid for residential park home residents involved in disputes with site owners.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The statutory framework governing the provision of legal aid is set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and its supporting secondary legislation.
Legal aid is available for possession, homelessness and disrepair claims (when there is a serious risk of illness or injury) subject to a financial means and a merits test. Legal aid is additionally available for people facing the loss of their home on a non-means tested basis through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. Legal aid is also generally in scope for judicial reviews that have the potential to produce a benefit for the individual, a member of their family, or the environment. Proceedings related to consumer law are not in scope of legal aid.
Where an issue falls outside the scope of legal aid, individuals can apply for Exceptional Case Funding (ECF), which will be granted where they can show that failure to provide legal aid will risk breaching their human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. ECF applications are considered by the Legal Aid Agency on an individual basis and are subject to the individual qualifying on means and merits testing.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to provide free menstrual products to homelessness shelters.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government does not directly commission homelessness shelters or services. In 2025/26 the Government is investing £1 billion in homelessness services, an increase of £233 million on the previous year. Local authorities can use this funding to provide a range of services to meet local need, which may include the provision of menstrual and other sanitary products.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment eligibility on the number of people qualifying for PIP experiencing homelessness.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is there to help people, now and into the future, with the extra costs of living with a disability.
PIP is not intended to cover housing costs, which are paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, but my department is committed to identifying and preventing homelessness amongst all customers.
Tailored support is available to those at risk of and experiencing homelessness. This includes easements for those with work-related requirements, to give the space to resolve housing issues; referrals to local authority housing teams under ‘duty to refer’ legislation; and signposting to money advice services.
We are continuing funding this year for local authorities to provide additional financial support for people struggling with housing and other essential living costs through the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments. Through the Spending Review, we announced £1bn a year including Barnett consequentials from 2026 to reform crisis support in England.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are protected, so they can live with dignity and security, while supporting those who can work to do so. As we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms.
Ending all forms of homelessness is a priority for this Government. £1 billion has been invested in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year. DWP is fully committed to playing its part in homelessness prevention and supporting MHCLG to develop a new cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help prevent homelessness among people that receive Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is there to help people, now and into the future, with the extra costs of living with a disability.
PIP is not intended to cover housing costs, which are paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, but my department is committed to identifying and preventing homelessness amongst all customers.
Tailored support is available to those at risk of and experiencing homelessness. This includes easements for those with work-related requirements, to give the space to resolve housing issues; referrals to local authority housing teams under ‘duty to refer’ legislation; and signposting to money advice services.
We are continuing funding this year for local authorities to provide additional financial support for people struggling with housing and other essential living costs through the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments. Through the Spending Review, we announced £1bn a year including Barnett consequentials from 2026 to reform crisis support in England.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are protected, so they can live with dignity and security, while supporting those who can work to do so. As we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms.
Ending all forms of homelessness is a priority for this Government. £1 billion has been invested in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year. DWP is fully committed to playing its part in homelessness prevention and supporting MHCLG to develop a new cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the provisions to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill on (a) private renters and (b) levels of homelessness.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here: Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
No one will lose access to PIP immediately - and most people will not lose access at all. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional resources she is making available to support councils with (a) asylum dispersal and (b) homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Home Office’s current accommodation funding arrangements to support local authorities are published on gov.uk here.
To support councils with homelessness, the Government has increased funding for homelessness services by £233 million this year, taking the total for 2025/26 to £1 billion. The Spending Review has protected this record level of investment for homelessness until 2028/29 and provides £100 million, including from the Transformation Fund, to fund increased homelessness prevention activity by local authorities.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the requirement for a pre-visit notification on access to eye care for (a) people experiencing homelessness and (b) care home residents.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service funded domiciliary, mobile sight tests are available for patients who are eligible for free NHS sight tests and who are unable to leave home unaccompanied because of physical or mental illness or disability, which includes individuals in residential care homes and nursing homes.
Domiciliary eye care providers are required to give advance notification to the integrated care board of their intention to provide an NHS domiciliary sight test to a patient. This is referred to as a pre-visit notification and includes the details of the contractor, where the visit will take place, and the names and dates of birth of the patients booked to have a sight test.
No discussions have taken place with the Welsh or Scottish administrations on removing the requirement for pre-visit notifications for domiciliary eye care services in England.
Asked by: Steve Race (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help tackle youth homelessness.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people. We must address this and deliver long term solutions.
The government has increased funding for homelessness services by £233 million in 2025/26 compared to last year, taking our total investment to £1 billion. Local authorities can use this funding to respond to the needs of their communities.
The government is also considering youth homelessness as part of our long-term, cross-government strategy; working with Mayors, councils and key stakeholders to get us back on track to ending homelessness for good.