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1143229

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	India: Human Rights
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help tackle alleged human rights violations of Dalits and tribal people in India.
	tabling member constituency	Bury North
	tabling member printed	James Frith
	uin	284711
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>We engage with India on the full range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments and with non-governmental organisations to build capacity and share expertise to promote human rights for all. The British High Commission recently met the Vice Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities in July to discuss minority rights.</p><p><del class="ministerial">We also support local NGOs to deliver projects to promote minority rights. In 2015, we funded a project that trained 500 tribal men and women on women’s rights and access to justice. During 2016-2018, we provided legal training for 2,000 Dalit women to combat violence against them, and helped create a network of Dalit Women Human Rights Defenders in four states. This year, we have launched a network of legal experts to empower Dalit communities in Andhra Pradesh and a helpline for victims of persecution to seek support.</del></p><p>​</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 05/09/2019 14:46:50 question first ministerially corrected 09/09/2019 09:35:11 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler previous answer version 133169 answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4637 label Biography information for James Frith

1134217

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	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 assessment he has made of the accuracy of the finding, reported in the Guardian on 17 June 2019, that the number of homeless camps forcibly removed by local authorities across the UK has risen from 72 in 2014 to 254 in 2018; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	268596
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Housing, Commnunities and Local Government does not collect any statistics on the number of homeless camps who have been forcibly removed by local authorities.</p><p>The Guardian article on 17 June 2019 says the estimate is based on a Freedom of Information request to all councils in the UK about how many homeless encampments they had cleared since 2014, how many complaints about encampments they had received and details on charges for confiscated tents and possessions. The article says ‘an encampment was defined as a location where one or more homeless people were living in the area in private or public land’. 336 local authorities out of total of 408 in the UK provided a response. No further details about the overall quality and robustness of these statistics is provided so we are unable to make an assessment of the accuracy of these findings.</p><p>The Guardian article is available at the following link: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/17/removal-of-homeless-camps-trebles-as-charities-warn-of-out-of-control-crisis" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/17/removal-of-homeless-camps-trebles-as-charities-warn-of-out-of-control-crisis</a></p><p>These statistics do not adhere to same rigour as government statistics. The Rough Sleeping Statistics, published on 31 January 2019, which are produced in compliance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics, include people sleeping rough in makeshift camps but no separate figures about the types of sites where people are sleeping rough are recorded or whether they have been forcibly removed by local authorities.</p><p>These statistics show the total number of people counted or estimated to be sleeping rough in each local authority area in England, on a single night in Autumn 2018 was 4,677. This was down by 74 people or 2 per cent from the 2017 total of 4,751 and was up 2,909 people or 165 per cent from the 2010 total of 1,768. Local authorities use a specific definition to identify people sleeping rough. This includes people sleeping or who are about to bed down in open air locations and other places including tents, cars, and makeshift shelters. The full definition of people sleeping rough is as follows:</p><p><em>People sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing next to their bedding) or actually bedded down in the open air (such as on the streets, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments). People in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or “bashes” which are makeshift shelters, often comprised of cardboard boxes). The definition does not include people in hostels or shelters, people in campsites or other sites used for recreational purposes or organised protest, squatters or travellers. Bedded down is taken to mean either lying down or sleeping. About to bed down includes those who are sitting in/on or near a sleeping bag or other bedding.</em></p><p><br>These statistics are available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018</a>.</p><p>This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 01/07/2019 14:56:03 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1134218

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	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 guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the forcible removal of camps containing homeless people.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	268597
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not issue guidance on the removal of tents containing homeless people. Each local authority, together with the police, will make their own plans and decisions about how to best support rough sleepers and ensure their safety in their own area, based on local circumstances. This can include the removal of encampments, alongside support. Encampments can present serious safety risks for the people living in encampments and it is right that local authorities, who know their area best, have the powers they need to respond. A summary of the powers that public bodies have to help them deal with illegal and unauthorised sites, published in 2015, is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments</a></p><p>Where local areas are taking action to remove encampments, we are clear that this needs to go hand-in-hand with considering how to support the people residing in them away from rough sleeping. Safeguards are in place to ensure powers are used appropriately. For example, for Public Space Protection Orders councils must consult with the police and relevant community representatives before making the order, and before the order is made councils must also publish the draft order. The Government guidance on Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-crime-and-policing-bill-anti-social-behaviour" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-crime-and-policing-bill-anti-social-behaviour</a></p><p>This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 01/07/2019 14:49:39 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1134220

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	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, which local authorities charge homeless people for the return of confiscated items.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	268599
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>MHCLG does not collect any statistics about which local authorities charge homeless people for the return of confiscated items. This is for local authorities to determine, subject to section 211 of the Housing Act 1996.</p><p>However, the Government is working to support better practise through the implementation of the Rough Sleeping Initiative. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces. MHCLG are working closely with local authorities through the Rough Sleeping Initiative to support people off the street.</p><p>This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 02/07/2019 13:30:43 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1134493

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2019
	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: Young People
	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 recent steps he has taken to reduce the (a) level and (b) risk of homelessness among young people.
	tabling member constituency	Luton South
	tabling member printed	Mr Gavin Shuker
	uin	269037
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping, including for young people. The Homelessness Reduction Act came into force last year. It placed new duties on local housing authorities to take reasonable steps to try to prevent and relieve a person’s homelessness irrespective of whether a person has ‘priority need’ or may be regarded as being ‘intentionally homeless’, which of course includes young people. Last year we also updated guidance on the ‘Prevention of homelessness and provision of accommodation for 16 and 17-year-old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation’ setting out the respective duties of children’s services and housing services. <br> <br> The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. Last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Rough Sleeping Strategy committed to creating a new social impact bond, the Young Futures Fund. This builds on the success of the Fair Chances Fund which ran from 2015-2017 and rehoused 1657 18-24 year old's who were or at risk of homelessness.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 01/07/2019 14:57:47 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4013 label Biography information for Mr Gavin Shuker

1134563

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2019
	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	Temporary Accommodation
	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 plans he has to reduce the number of households living temporarily in bed and breakfasts, private hostels, short-stay houses of multiple occupancy and guesthouses.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	268955
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>Tackling homelessness is a priority for this Government. We are already undertaking a significant programme of work backed by £1.2 billion in funding, to tackle homelessness. This includes supporting local authorities with implementing the landmark Homelessness Reduction Act, increasing access to the private rented sector for families in temporary accommodation and supporting London boroughs to procure more efficiently.</p><p>The Government has targeted funding streams focused on reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation. For example, we recently launched the £20 million Private Rented Sector (PRS) Access Fund which funds schemes targeting families who are or at risk of homelessness and supporting them to access and sustain PRS accommodation.</p><p>This Government has been clear that the long term use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children is both inappropriate and unlawful and we are determined to stop this practice. Our Homelessness Advice and Support Team, drawn from local authorities and the homelessness sector, have provided support to help local authorities to end the placement of families in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than 6 weeks.</p><p>We are working with other government departments to assess what more can be done to address the number of people in temporary accommodation. This work is being overseen by the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Ministerial Taskforce.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 01/07/2019 15:13:41 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1134565

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2019
	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	Temporary Accommodation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people living temporarily on license agreements in privately-owned (a) bed and breakfast accommodation, (b) hostels, (c) short-stay house in multiple occupation and (d) guesthouses were placed by local authorities in discharge of a statutory homelessness duty.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	268956
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>In October to December 2018 there were a) 6,980 households in bed and breakfast hotels (including shared annexes), of which 2,420 households contained children and b) 5,740 households in hostels (including reception centres, emergency units and refuges) in England.</p><p>The figures provided are for all people who are owed a statutory homelessness duty by a local authority. They include people in temporary accommodation under assessment, who are owed the main rehousing duty, and who are accommodated for a short period to allow them to source alternative accommodation</p><p><br>These figures are taken from an experimental statistical release and caution should be taken when using the data. Further information is provided in the release available at this link <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-in-england-october-to-december-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-in-england-october-to-december-2018</a>.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 01/07/2019 15:05:29 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1134596

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2019
	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 steps the Government is taking to reduce homelessness in lower layer super output areas.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	269138
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping.</p><p>Homelessness is a priority for our Ministerial team. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This includes supporting local authorities in the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act, increasing access to the private rented sector for families in temporary accommodation and supporting London boroughs to procure more efficiently.</p><p>No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. In its first year, our Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) provided over 1,750 new bed spaces and 500 staff.  This year we have expanded the RSI with investment of £46 million for 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 2,600 bed spaces and 750 staff.</p><p>Local authorities are ultimately responsible for the allocation of funding resources within their respective geographical areas. This means that they will oversee the work done to reduce homelessness in any lower super output areas that fall within their remit.</p><p>As with all local government work to tackle homelessness, local authorities will be both supported and, where necessary, challenged by the MHCLG’s Homelessness Advice and Support Team (HAST). This team of advisers, drawn from local authorities and charities with expertise in the homelessness sector, help local authorities with work around statutory homelessness and single homelessness. These advisers have visited or had one-to-one contact with all 326 local authorities, focusing on the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act and also working very closely with them to bring down the number of people in bed and breakfasts over 6 weeks.</p><p>In addition to the above, MHCLG have overhauled the statutory homelessness data collection alongside the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act. This will give us better insights into the causes of homelessness and the support people need, with data broken down to local authority level. The new statutory homelessness data collection is called Homelessness Case Level Information Classification (H-CLIC). H-CLIC data is reported quarterly and the first case level H-CLIC returns were submitted to MHCLG over summer 2018.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 03/07/2019 15:58:45 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1135009

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	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, what the timeline is for the proposed leasehold reform as set out in the Written Statement entitled Housing Policy Update, published on 2 July 2018, HCWS818.
	tabling member constituency	Oxford West and Abingdon
	tabling member printed	Layla Moran
	uin	269822
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for leaseholders and freeholders and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. On 27 June, we published the Government response to the technical consultation <em>Implementing reforms to the leasehold system in England</em>.</p><p>We have confirmed our commitment to legislate to ensure that in future all new houses will be sold on a freehold basis, with specific exemptions for exceptional circumstances, and to reduce ground rents on future leases to a peppercorn (zero financial value).</p><p>We will also give freeholders on private and mixed-use estates the right to challenge the reasonableness of estate rent charges and the right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new property manager. In addition, we will mandate that freeholders and managing agents must provide leasehold information – when a home is being sold – within 15 days and set the maximum fee for providing this information at £200 (plus VAT).</p><p>We will bring forward the legislation to implement these changes as soon as Parliamentary time allows.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 01/07/2019 15:06:38 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4656 label Biography information for Layla Moran

1135195

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	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	Vagrancy Act 1824: Wales
	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 recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on repealing the Vagrancy Act 1824.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	270394
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government is clear that no-one should be criminalised simply for having nowhere to live and sleeping rough. The cross-Government Rough Sleeping Strategy, which was published in August 2018, committed to reviewing homelessness and rough sleeping legislation, including the Vagrancy Act 1824. The Government believes that review of the 1824 Act, rather than immediate wholesale repeal, is the right course of action to ensure the consequences of repeal are fully understood. MHCLG will report no later than March 2020.</p><p>At the heart of the review will be the experiences and perceptions of a range of relevant stakeholders including the homelessness sector, the police, local authorities, business representatives, community groups and individuals with lived experience. As part of the review officials intend to consult the Welsh Government.</p><p>The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 04/07/2019 12:00:18 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore