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1240775

	registered interest
	date	06/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Local Government: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on engagement with disability organisations on matters relevant to their interests.
	tabling member constituency	Stockport
	tabling member printed	Navendu Mishra
	uin	99761
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2020 answer text <p>Whilst no specific guidance has been issued to local authorities on engagement with disability organisations, all local authorities are required to uphold the Public Sector Equality Duty.</p><p>This requires that public bodies, including local authorities, pay due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.</p><p>Protected characteristics include disability. Local authorities therefore have a legal obligation to consider the potential impact of their policies, services and decisions on people with protected characteristics.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 14/10/2020 09:44:03 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4811 label Biography information for Navendu Mishra

1240722

	registered interest
	date	06/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Next Steps Accommodation Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to release the £13.5 million in Next Steps Accommodation funding that has been allocated to enable local authorities to tackle new or emerging challenges.
	tabling member constituency	Bermondsey and Old Southwark
	tabling member printed	Neil Coyle
	uin	99625
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>We are in the process of considering the next steps for this funding as part of our preparation for the winter period. We will announce more information in due course.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 12/10/2020 14:10:17 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4368 label Biography information for Neil Coyle

1240158

	registered interest
	date	05/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on steps the Government is taking to protect domestic violence victims who face barriers to accessing housing as a result of rent arrears accrued.
	tabling member constituency	Bedford
	tabling member printed	Mohammad Yasin
	uin	99074
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>The Secretary of State meets regularly with all his ministerial colleagues.</p><p>We have taken steps to improve access to social housing for victims of domestic abuse.</p><p>Statutory guidance issued in 2012 encourages local authorities to give additional preference (high priority) to people who require urgent rehousing as a result of domestic abuse, while guidance issued in 2013 advises authorities to make appropriate exceptions to any local connection test for people moving into an area to escape violence.</p><p>In November 2018 the government issued new statutory guidance for local authorities to improve access to social housing by victims of domestic abuse who are in a refuge or other form of safe temporary accommodation: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F753667%2FImproving_access_to_social_housing_for_victims_of_domestic_abuse.pdf&amp;data=02%7C01%7CRobert.Gotay%40communities.gov.uk%7C1c25b12b1ad0405f891408d86ea3cfb4%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637380997122381624&amp;sdata=V2f5G%2FULBTPUDrioUFBFe3LKtAolhaYHaf5c1awcWfs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/753667/Improving_access_to_social_housing_for_victims_of_domestic_abuse.pdf </a></p><p>The guidance makes clear that local authorities are expected not to apply residency tests for those victims who have fled to another district, sets out how they can give appropriate priority to victims, and encourages them to use their existing powers to support victims to remain safely in their homes if they choose to do so.</p><p>Through the Domestic Abuse Bill we are protecting the security of tenure of social tenants with a lifetime tenancy who have to flee their home to escape domestic abuse.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 12/10/2020 15:49:52 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4598 label Biography information for Mohammad Yasin

1240112

	registered interest
	date	05/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Covid-19 Rough Sleeping Taskforce: Public Appointments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to appoint a successor to Dame Louise Casey as leader of the Rough Sleeping Taskforce.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	99010
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2020 answer text <p>The COVID-19 Rough Sleeping Taskforce was set up to ensure that as many people as possible who were brought in off the streets in this pandemic do not return to the streets.</p><p>Dame Louise Casey led the Taskforce through its emergency phase, tackling the immediate issues and establishing a clear roadmap for continuing this vital work.</p><p>The Government will continue to drive forwards this important work.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 08/10/2020 15:37:47 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1239304

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Leasehold: Reform
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to respond to the Law Commission report on leasehold reform, published in July 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	97617
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government asked the Law Commission to make recommendations on a range of leasehold reforms, including reviewing current enfranchisement arrangements to make them easier, faster, fairer and cheaper, as well as reinvigorate commonhold and make it easier for homeowners to take control of the management of their block of flats or an estate. The Law Commission reports on the enfranchisement process, commonhold and Right to Manage were published in July, following their January report on valuation. We are considering these in detail and will set out our preferred way forward in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 05/10/2020 16:25:27 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1239249

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Refuges: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of women's refuges that have closed since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	97593
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>Government does not hold this data centrally. Local authorities make local commissioning decisions based on their specific local needs.</p><p>Government recognises the support that refuges provide for victims of domestic abuse and their children. During 2020/21 we have funded 166 organisations, providing almost 1900 bed spaces for victims and their children, through our £10 million domestic abuse COVID-19 emergency funding.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 05/10/2020 16:03:20 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1239376

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Leasehold: Service Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to protect existing leaseholders from increasing service charges.
	tabling member constituency	Dartford
	tabling member printed	Gareth Johnson
	uin	97546
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2020 answer text <p>The law is clear that service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, they must be of a reasonable standard.</p><p>Leaseholders may make an application to the First-tier Tribunal to make a determination on the reasonableness of their service charges.</p><p>Where disputes arise or there is uncertainty over costs, leaseholders may benefit from seeking free initial advice via the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), the specialist advisory body funded by the Department to provide assistance to leaseholders.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 08/10/2020 15:37:15 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	3970 label Biography information for Gareth Johnson

1238913

	registered interest
	date	29/09/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Homelessness
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor on increasing funding for homelessness services in the 2020 spending review.
	tabling member constituency	St Albans
	tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
	uin	97043
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>Decisions on Government spending beyond 2020-21 will be taken as part of the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 05/10/2020 16:03:01 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1238975

	registered interest
	date	29/09/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Night Shelters: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the availability of winter night shelter provision during the covid-19 restrictions.
	tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
	tabling member printed	Tim Farron
	uin	96831
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2020 answer text <p>The current advice remains that night shelters should remain closed for now – and providers should continue to explore alternative options for self-contained accommodation.</p><p>However, we recognise that the sector needs clarity on provision as winter approaches. We are working with the sector and health experts to consider operating principles shelters would need to follow so that they can be reopened as safely as possible, when self-contained accommodation cannot be made available. We will be setting out further advice on this as soon as possible.</p><p>On 17 September we announced local authority allocations for the short-term funding aspect of Next Steps Accommodation Programme (NSAP). £91.5 million was allocated to 274 councils in England to help vulnerable people housed during the pandemic. The remaining £13.5 million of funding will be used to support local authorities to tackle new and emerging challenges over the winter.</p><p>We are also funding significant longer-term accommodation for rough sleepers via the NSAP – 3,300 homes this year alone – and tailored support so as few people as possible housed in emergency accommodation return to life on the streets.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/10/2020 13:43:02 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1239016

	registered interest
	date	29/09/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Local Government Finance: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring local authorities can meet the additional costs arising as a consequence of the covid-19 outbreak in the financial year 2021-22; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	96760
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2020 answer text <p>Councils are at the front line as we continue to tackle this pandemic and we are determined that they have the resources they need to respond to the pandemic in their areas. That is why we’ have given councils an unprecedented £4.8 billion to deal with the pandemic, comprising £3.7 billion of un-ringfenced grants and over £1.1 billion for the Infection Control Fund. In total, over £28 billion has been committed to local areas to support councils, businesses and communities across Government. <br> <br> We are currently undertaking a programme of engagement with the sector, which includes our ongoing financial monitoring survey and direct contact with councils and their representatives, local leaders and Chief Executives to understand the challenges and pressures experienced by councils from the Covid-19 outbreak. <br> <br> We recognise that even with the considerable support already provided, there will be individual authorities with either unique circumstances or residual  issues resulting in unmanageable pressures.  We would ask that any local authority who is faced with an unmanageable pressure or is concerned about their future financial position should approach MHCLG for discussion.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/10/2020 13:44:04 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas