Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

18743

	registered interest
	date	04/11/2013
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding was allocated from Homes and Community Agency to (a) develop new affordable housing and (b) bring empty homes back into use in Harrow in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Mr Gareth Thomas
	uin	174351
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Thursday 7 November 2013]</em></p><p>The figures for affordable housing are as follows for the London Borough of Harrow area:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2008-09</p></td><td><p>£22 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>£45 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>£26 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>£15 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>£13 million</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Since April 2012, allocations from the Affordable Housing Programme have been overseen by the Greater London Authority rather than the Homes and Communities Agency. There have been no specific allocations on empty homes over this period.</p><p>As outlined to the hon. Member in the answer of 7 January 2013, <em>Official Report</em>, Column 121W, I would note that the new Affordable Rent model now allows for more affordable housing to be delivered with lower levels of taxpayer capital subsidy and lever in more private investment.</p><p>As the National Audit Office has observed: “The Department selected the best delivery model open to it for the funds it had available” and “The Department has so far achieved its policy objective to maximise the number of homes delivered within the available grant funding” (National Audit Office, “Financial viability of the social housing sector; introducing the Affordable Homes Programme”, 4 July 2012, HC465, pp.6-7).</p><p>I also note that the Mayor's proposed Housing Strategy states: “£1.8 billion of public funding has been secured by the Mayor which will unlock an estimated additional £3.7 billion of other investment for London to enable 55,000 affordable homes to be delivered between 2011-15” (Mayor of London, “The Revised London Housing Strategy”, December2011, p.35).</p><p>Across England, 170,000 affordable homes have been delivered so far since April 2010, and a total of £19.5 billion of public and private investment is being spent on affordable housing over the current Spending Review period.</p><p> </p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

37877

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to promote gas safety among leaseholders in local authority-managed properties.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	187486
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Department does not provide advice on gas safety specifically for leaseholders in local authority–managed properties. However, the lease of a property will set out the responsibilities of the freeholder and the leaseholder, including responsibility for maintenance of gas appliances.</p><p>In the private rented and social rented sectors, landlords are required by law to: repair and maintain gas pipework, keep flues and appliances in safe condition; ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue; and keep a record of each safety check.</p><p>For the social housing sector, the Homes and Communities Agency ‘Home Standard' says that registered providers must “meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of the occupants in their homes”. The Homes and Communities Agency has recently issued three ‘serious detriment' notices against Gallions, Your Housing Group and the Guinness Partnership for failing to maintain gas safety and they have all had their Governance ratings downgraded partly based on that.</p><p>The Home Standard is a ‘consumer' standard and therefore applies to all registered providers, including local authorities.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 29/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

41445

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on devolution of Homes and Communities Agency assets to (a) combined authorities and (b) local enterprise partnerships.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne East
	tabling member printed	Mr Nicholas Brown
	uin	190614
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>In disposing of its assets the Homes and Communities Agency is guided by value for money principles; disposals are expected to be at market value for land and other assets in order to protect public investment. The Homes and Communities Agency are open to considering proposals for joint working that will promote development, economic activity and growth.</p><p>These assets were bought by the national taxpayer and therefore the receipts are deployed nationally. Receipts are reinvested to help finance other Government housing and regeneration programmes, as well as fund a range of historic legal commitments and liabilities on land inherited by the Homes and Communities Agency from other bodies (including the liabilities left by the former Regional Development Agencies).</p><p>I would add that neither combined authorities or Local Enterprise Partnerships have responsibility for housing; we should avoid ‘function creep' which would dilute their focus and/or centralise and take power away from local councils (both as local housing authorities and as local planning authorities).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 03/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	523 label Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown

42124

	registered interest
	date	10/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on devolution of the Affordable Homes programme to (a) combined authorities and (b) local enterprise partnerships.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne East
	tabling member printed	Mr Nicholas Brown
	uin	191376
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Housing policy and the provision of affordable housing is not a function of combined authorities or Local Enterprise Partnerships.</p><p>Elected local councils act as both the local housing authorities and local planning authorities, and we should be cautious about any intervention which effectively transferred power upwards.</p><p>Notwithstanding, in the recent Affordable Homes Programme prospectus, we have stated that local authorities will want to engage in strategic dialogue with their Local Enterprise Partnerships when identifying key areas for economic growth.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 06/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	523 label Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown

42384

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of London households in temporary accommodation were in (a) private sector leased properties, (b) hotels, (c) bed and breakfast, (d) local authority registered social landlord property and (e) other accommodation (i) at the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) at 31 March 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	191531
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Monday 17 March 2014]</em></p><p>To assist public scrutiny, I have placed in the Library of the House, a table which provides quarterly figures for the last ten years.</p><p>Over that period, the numbers of households in temporary accommodation in London in this Government is far lower than averaged under the last Administration. The peak of 63,800 households in December 2005 compares to 42,430 in December 2013.</p><p>Councils have a responsibility to move homeless households into settled accommodation as quickly as possible and we made common sense changes to the law to enable them to use suitable private rented homes. The average stay in temporary accommodation in England has been reduced from 20 months at the beginning of 2010 to 14 months now, which means that people on average are spending far less time in such temporary accommodation.</p><p>We have also seen a 42% reduction in the numbers of families with children in Bed and Breakfast for more than six weeks on this time last year across the country. The seven local authorities that my Department has funded to tackle families in Bed and Breakfast have made significant progress, achieving an overall reduction of 96% since the funding began.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck