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1054716

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
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	Landlords: South Yorkshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s announcement on 14 January 2019, of the £2.4 million to be given to councils to tackle rogue landlords, how much and what proportion will be allocated to (a) councils in the Sheffield City Region and (b) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	216296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>We received three bids from the Sheffield City Region. A joint bid from Bolsover and North East Derbyshire local authorities was the only bid which met the assessment criteria that were set out. It was awarded full funding of £12,450, representing 0.5 per cent of the overall fund. Bids from Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council did not meet the assessment criteria and were not awarded funds.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 07/02/2019 17:47:30 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1054764

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
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	Sleeping Rough: Death
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 ensure that deaths of rough sleepers are recorded.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	216149
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>In England and Wales deaths are recorded by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, who will issue a death certificate. Registrars receive information about the cause of death from either a Qualified Attending Practitioner (who is usually the last attending GP or hospital doctor) or a Coroner, depending upon the type of death. The purpose of the death certificate is to record the cause of death. The death certificate will also record the person’s ‘usual’ address.</p><p>The Secretary of State committed in an Urgent Question on 20 December (Official report, Column 995) to raising with the Ministry of Justice what more could be done to accurately record the housing status of a deceased person on death certificates. Officials are currently taking this work forward.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 07/02/2019 17:46:38 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1054766

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
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: Newcastle-under-Lyme
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 his Department has made of the number of homeless people in Newcastle-under-Lyme between 2015 and 2019.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	216150
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government collates data on statutory homelessness from local authorities and publishes them. The figures for the number of households in Newcastle-upon-Lyme that have had a main homelessness duty accepted are shown in the table below. The figures are taken from the published tables that can be viewed via the link below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial <br> year</p></td><td><p>Households in Newcastle-upon-Lyme that have had a main homelessness duty accepted</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 Q1<br> April - June</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>For 2014/15 to 2017/18 data see &quot;Table 784: local authorities' action under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Acts, financial years 2004-05 to 2017/18 (revised)&quot;.</p><p>For 2018/19 Q1 data, which is the most recent published, see &quot;Main duty tables&quot;.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness</a>.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 07/02/2019 17:43:31 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1052489

registered interest
date	01/02/2019
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	Sleeping Rough: Brighton
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Rough sleeping statistics autumn 2018, England, published on 31 January 2019, whether the statistics for the total number of people rough sleeping in Brighton and Hove in autumn (a) 2017 and (b) 2018 were collected using the same methodology; what steps he took to check that the data supplied by local authorities for the purposes of comparison between those two years used comparable statistics; whether he is aware of the letter dated 8 January 2019 from Conservative Councillors in Brighton and Hove to the Chair of the Brighton and Hove City Council Audit and Standards Committee on Misrepresentation of rough sleeping statistics; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	215570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>A consistent methodology for collecting data on the number of people sleeping rough on a typical night has been in place across local authorities since 2010. Local authorities themselves decide whether to undertake a count or estimate to determine their snapshot figure. They should use the method that will most accurately reflect the number of people sleeping rough in their area. All counts and estimates are checked on the night by an independent verifier from Homeless Link, funded by the Government, to certify reliability.</p><p>Whilst Brighton and Hove conducted an estimate in 2017 and undertook a count in 2018, an estimate or count should return same figure. The latter is a visible count of those seen, and the former an evidence based assessment of those thought to be sleeping rough on a single given night. There are a number of reasons for changing methodology, including improvements in knowledge and capacity of outreach services, changes in the number of people thought to be sleeping rough or belief that the change will result in a more accurate return. Brighton has changed methodology before. In the last 9 years it has counted 6 times and estimated 3 times.</p><p>There are a range of factors which impact the number of people seen or thought to be seen sleeping rough on single night, including the weather on the night of the count or estimate. It can also be affected by where people choose to sleep, the date and time chosen by the local authority, and the availability of alternatives such as night shelters. We know the weather was unseasonably cold this year and that Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) was enforced. Undoubtably this may have meant people found alternatives to sleeping rough or bedded down deeper. However, those in SWEP are importantly still included in the resultant figure and it is unfortunately unrealistic to expect complete weather consistency year on year.</p><p>MHCLG officials are aware of the letter mentioned and that Brighton are undertaking their own formal process to address this. Attaining as comprehensive a rough sleeping figure as possible each year is crucial intelligence - not only to the Government but all those with an interest in addressing the problem of homelessness. This is why a large number of local partners are consulted as part of the count and estimate process and 244 (75 per cent) of local authorities, including Brighton and Hove, reported consultation of 5 or more different agencies. The Government also funds Homeless Link to independently verify all counts and estimates that are undertaken to further ensure they are both reliable and robust. This includes following the guidance on counting not only those sleeping rough on the street, but also those in a myriad of situations including in tents, encampments, buildings, and other places not designed for habitation.</p><p>Of course it is unrealistic to assume a count or estimate can ever be 100 per cent accurate and MHCLG is encouraging local authorities with larger numbers to improve their year-round data. However, a great deal of committed work has been undertaken in Brighton and Hove, including that backed by almost £500,000 in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding for 2018/19 and £35,000 in Cold Weather funding. As such, they’ve deservedly made an inspiring impact and this is reflected in their annual return and our own intelligence. We hope this driven work will continue in the next year with the schemes including the 2019/20 round of RSI funding (provisionally allocated at £711,524) and the Rapid Rehousing Pathway (providing £555,025 in 2018/19 and over £1.36 million provisionally allocated for 2019/20) for interventions including navigators, supported lettings and two Somewhere Safe to Stay hubs – one of which is a women-only shelter.</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> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 07/02/2019 17:42:46 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1052218

registered interest
date	31/01/2019
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	Letting Agents
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 review the practice of letting agencies requiring 12 months' rent in advance from clients who are below a specified minimum income threshold.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	215224
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2019 answer text <p>Landlords and letting agents are free to ask for rent payments upfront if they wish, but very few ask for 12 months' rent upfront.</p><p>The Government is determined to ensure that tenants’ rent money held by agents is protected. We will require letting agents to obtain membership of a Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme and to repay any client money without delay where it is due to the tenant. We intend this protection to be mandatory from 1 April 2019.</p><p>We are also developing a new regulatory regime for letting agents. The Regulation of Property Agents working group, led by Lord Best, will make recommendations about a joined-up framework to guide, monitor and police the actions of letting agents. The working group will report in July 2019.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 05/02/2019 13:20:25 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1052298

registered interest
date	31/01/2019
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: Finance
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 protect funding for tackling homelessness.
tabling member constituency	Blackburn
tabling member printed	Kate Hollern
uin	215201
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2019 answer text <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. This Government’s manifesto committed to halving rough sleeping in this Parliament and to end it for good by 2027.</p><p>The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period including £617 million ring fenced funding via the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant, which local authorities can use strategically to tackle homelessness in their area.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 05/02/2019 13:48:16 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	4363 label Biography information for Kate Hollern

1051444

registered interest
date	30/01/2019
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	Housing: Domestic Abuse
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 his Department has made of the number of victims of domestic abuse entering (a) refuges, (b) temporary accommodation and (c) homelessness in each year since 2013.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	214655
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2019 answer text <p>We are overhauling 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, including where someone is accepted as homeless because they were vulnerable as a result of having fled their home because of domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, alongside other reasons for acceptance.</p><p>Since 2015 we have also provided over £1 million to Women’s Aid for two projects, Routes to Support and No Woman Turned Away. Routes to Support (formerly UK Refuges Online) is part-funded by the Government and is a UK-wide online database containing information about domestic abuse and other violence against women services, including refuge. No Woman Turned Away provides additional caseworker support to women facing difficulties in accessing refuge, including victims with children. We are continuing to fund these vital projects to 2020.</p><p>The Department does not hold information on the number of victims of domestic abuse entering refuges, temporary accommodation and homelessness in each year since 2013.</p><p>However, we do hold data for the numbers of households who have been accepted as owed a homelessness duty, where the main reason for the loss of a last settled home was due to a violent relationship breakdown with a partner. Please find a table with a breakdown of figures for the financial years 2012/13 to 2017/18 below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Households found to be eligible for assistance, whose reason for loss of last settled home is due to violent relationship breakdown with their partner</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>6,540</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>6,140</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>6,660</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>6,550</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>6,650</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>6,810</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that nobody should have to suffer. Supporting victims of domestic abuse is an absolute priority for this Government. Councils have a legal duty to provide accommodation to families and others who are vulnerable as a result of fleeing domestic abuse. The Homelessness Reduction Act requires councils to take reasonable steps for all eligible households who are homeless, to help them secure accommodation.These statistics are available for each local authority area, and previous years at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness</a>.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 04/02/2019 17:58:38 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1051445

registered interest
date	30/01/2019
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: Domestic Abuse
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 his Department has made of the number of victims of domestic abuse who are (a) homeless and (b) sleeping rough in (i) London and (ii) England.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	214656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2019 answer text <p>Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that nobody should have to suffer. Supporting victims of domestic abuse is an absolute priority for this Government. Councils have a legal duty to provide accommodation to families and others who are vulnerable as a result of fleeing domestic abuse. The Homelessness Reduction Act requires councils to take reasonable steps for all eligible households who are homeless, to help them secure accommodation.</p><p> </p><p>We 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, including where someone is accepted as homeless because they were vulnerable as a result of having fled their home because of domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, alongside other reasons for acceptance.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold information on the number of victims of domestic abuse who have slept rough or are homeless in London and England.</p><p> </p><p>However, we do hold data for the numbers of households who have been accepted as owed a homelessness duty, where the main reason for the loss of a last settled home was due to a violent relationship breakdown with a partner. These statistics are available for each local authority area, and previous years at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness#statutory-homelessness-live-tables" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness#statutory-homelessness-live-tables</a>.</p><p> </p><p>London’s Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), a multi-agency database recording information about rough sleepers and the wider street population in London, records new rough sleepers' reasons for leaving their last settled base prior to first being seen rough sleeping. In 2017/18, 90 people left their last settled base because they were a victim of violence, harassment or abuse. These statistics are available at:</p><p><a href="https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports" target="_blank">https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports</a>.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 04/02/2019 17:01:41 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1051446

registered interest
date	30/01/2019
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	Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the section 2.2.2 of the draft Domestic Abuse Bill, when his Department plans to report on its review into local commissioning of domestic abuse services.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	214657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2019 answer text <p>As referenced in Section 2.2.2 of the Government’s Transforming the Response to Domestic Abuse: Consultation Response and Draft Bill, my department has carried out a full review of the funding and commissioning of domestic abuse services in England, available at; (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-consultation-response-and-draft-bill" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-consultation-response-and-draft-bill</a>). This has been informed by engagement with domestic abuse organisations and local authorities, as well as an audit, run by Ipsos MORI, of provision of domestic abuse services across England.</p><p>We continue to work with the Domestic Abuse Sector and local authorities, drawing on their expertise and data, as we develop future, sustainable delivery of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in a range of safe accommodation based services.</p><p>I will be reporting on the outcomes of the review soon. Following our work with Ipsos MORI and academics to review the findings from the audit, a report will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 04/02/2019 16:58:34 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1051447

registered interest
date	30/01/2019
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	Housing: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 2.2.3 of the draft Domestic Abuse Bill, what the timetable and scope will be of the Whole Housing Partnership Project pilot.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	214658
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2019 answer text <p>I am pleased to confirm that the Whole Housing Partnership Project was one of the 63 successful projects to receive a share of my Department’s £22 million fund for Domestic Abuse Services. It has been awarded £1,478,000 to cover the 2018-20 period. More information can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/22-million-for-projects-to-support-domestic-abuse-survivors" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/22-million-for-projects-to-support-domestic-abuse-survivors</a>.</p><p>Westminster City Council’s partnership bid will deliver individual support to victims and their children in a range of safe accommodation, including private housing, social housing, and refuges, across two geographical areas; the Tri-boroughs of London (Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham) and the seven District and City Councils from Cambridgeshire.</p> answering member constituency South Derbyshire answering member printed Mrs Heather Wheeler question first answered 04/02/2019 15:57:20 answering member 4053 label Biography information for Mrs Heather Wheeler
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes