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1355505

registered interest
date	14/09/2021
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	High Rise Flats: Greater London
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 unsafe blocks of flats in (a) London and (b) Ealing; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Fire Commissioner's report detailing unsafe buildings in London.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	49085
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2021 answer text <p>Information on the number of high-rise (over 18 metres) residential and publicly-owned buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations by local authority is published in the <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fguidance%2Faluminium-composite-material-cladding%23acm-remediation-data&amp;data=04%7C01%7CPSChristopherPincher%40communities.gov.uk%7C62c67aaf63b44b00d4d908d97c4c089a%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637677488258392114%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=rKZ8q180ExbJIqrF8o5%2BTM0YeGBy9g8KldnQqXUOEYg%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Building Safety Programme data release</a>.</p><p>For high-rise residential buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding, the Department is continuing to work with building owners to progress applications for the Building Safety Fund at pace so that more remedial works can begin as swiftly as possible. Information on registrations to the Building Safety Fund by local authority can be found here: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fguidance%2Fremediation-of-non-acm-buildings%23building-safety-fund-registration-statistics&amp;data=04%7C01%7CPSChristopherPincher%40communities.gov.uk%7C62c67aaf63b44b00d4d908d97c4c089a%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637677488258402057%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=7UA8jh63g0P8J9rnFEzJa1WsUG6AEkUOThMFyhyHHzQ%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-registration-statistics.</a></p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 20/09/2021 16:49:46 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1350539

registered interest
date	22/07/2021
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
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 people living in unsuitable housing.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	38224
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2021 answer text <p>There is no single definition of unsuitable homes, which could encompass a range of housing-related issues. We do make regular assessments of the housing stock through the English Housing Survey.</p><p>According to the English Housing Survey, in 2019-20, 16.3% of owner occupied and 23.3% of Private Rented Sector homes were non-decent. The number of social homes classified as non-decent reduced from 20% in 2010 to 12% in 2019. According to the same survey, in 2019-20, 8% of all households in England (1.9 million) had at least one person with a long-standing physical or mental health condition and said that they required adaptations to their home. 81% of households that required adaptations to their home due to their health condition felt their home was suitable for their needs. The 19% of households (374,000) that required adaptations and who considered their accommodation unsuitable accounted for 2% of all households in England.</p><p>This Government is clear that everyone deserves a safe, decent home, and is taking forward a range of measure to support this, including giving local authorities stronger enforcement powers, undertaking a comprehensive review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, and our recent consultation considered raising the accessibility requirements for new homes.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 06/09/2021 08:24:47 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1350540

registered interest
date	22/07/2021
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	Poverty
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 reduce the number of people living poverty related to housing costs.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	38225
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2021 answer text <p>Individuals who are unable to afford their housing costs may be eligible for a range of support through the welfare system. We lifted Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local rents in April 2020, and in 2021/22 maintained them at their increased level in cash terms.</p><p>For those who require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments are available. We have made £140 million in Discretionary Housing Payments funding available for local authorities this financial year, to distribute for supporting renters with housing costs in the private and social rented sectors. This builds on the £180 million in payments made available last financial year.</p><p>Moreover, we have banned lettings fees paid by tenants and capped tenancy deposits through the Tenant Fees Act, which came into force on 1 June 2019 and reduced the upfront costs associated with moving in the private rented sector.</p><p>During the Coronavirus pandemic the Government has put in place an unprecedented financial package, which is supporting renters to sustain tenancies and to afford their housing costs. We have provided support for business to pay staff salaries through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which is in place until the end of September 2021. We also extended the £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit until September 2021 and provided a one-off payment of £500 to eligible Working Tax Credit claimants.</p><p>In the longer term we need to build more homes to tackle affordability. We have made strong progress towards our aim of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s – delivering around 244,000 last year, the highest in over 30 years. This is backed by £20 billion in investment, which includes over £12.2 billion for the Affordable Homes Programme – to deliver up to 180,000 affordable homes – the biggest funding commitment to affordable housing in over a decade. We have also made initial funding of £7.1 billon available for the National Home Building Fund to unlock up to 860,000 homes over the lifetime of the projects through the provision of infrastructure, regenerating brownfield sites, and diversifying the market.</p><p>Furthermore, our £9 billion Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme, running to 2023, will deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes. We are also pushing forward with our planning reforms to establish a simpler, faster and more predictable system and ensure that the right homes are built in the right places where they are needed.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 06/09/2021 08:27:14 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1347880

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
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	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Directors
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	When his Department plans to publish transparency data on the (a) meetings and (b) relevant interests of its Departmental board.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	902887
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2021 answer text <p>Information on Board meetings and relevant interests of the Board will be published in the Department Annual Report and Accounts as standard, which will be available on the government website in the coming weeks. The interests of Ministers sat on the Board is readily available on the parliament website.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 19/07/2021 16:25:09 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1345168

registered interest
date	08/07/2021
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	Right to Acquire Scheme
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 potential merits of giving social housing tenants the right to acquire rented property built prior to 1997.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	29756
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2021 answer text <p>The Right to Acquire (RtA) was introduced in 1997, through the Housing Act 1996. A Housing Association that accepted government grant from that point accepted that the RtA would be a condition of the grant.</p><p>Backdating the legislation to apply to homes built before 1997 would require forcing Housing Associations to sell ​properties to eligible tenants. However, Government has made home ownership available to certain Housing Association tenants through ​a voluntary agreement with Housing Associations supporting pilots of the Voluntary Right to Buy.</p><p>The Midlands pilot for the Voluntary Right to Buy was launched in August 2018. This pilot has given thousands of Housing Association tenants in the East and West Midlands the opportunity to buy their home with a discount. An independent evaluation for the Midlands Voluntary Right to Buy pilot was published in February 2021. The 2019 manifesto committed to evaluate new pilot areas.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 13/07/2021 15:48:45 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1311513

registered interest
date	22/04/2021
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	British National (Overseas): Hong Kong
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 he plans to signpost Hong Kongers to the Government’s support package for people coming to the UK on the Hong Kong BN(O) route announced in April 2021.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	185828
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>The new Hong Kong-UK Welcome Hubs will play a core role in signposting Hong Kong BN(O) status holders and their dependents to support that is available.</p><p>Each area will develop unique plans, but we expect Welcome Hubs to work with MHCLG to fund local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise groups who will be able to offer face-to-face orientation and partner with local authorities to refer people to support.</p><p>We will continue to update the recently published Welcome Pack on Gov.UK as a comprehensive resource to help Hong Kongers navigate life in the UK and settle into their communities.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 27/04/2021 15:51:12 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1311514

registered interest
date	22/04/2021
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	British National (Overseas): Hong Kong
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 press release of 8 April 2021, National welcome for Hong Kong arrivals, when the welcome hubs in England will (a) launch and (b) be ready to support Hongkongers as they integrate into their local communities.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	185829
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>MHCLG will provide funds to Hong Kong-UK Welcome Hubs in the coming weeks.</p><p>Strategic Migration Partnerships across the UK – who will host Welcome Hubs – have begun to put plans in place to support Hong Kong BN(O) status holders and their dependents.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 27/04/2021 15:51:41 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1311515

registered interest
date	22/04/2021
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	British National (Overseas): Hong Kong
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 he will provide support to English language lesson providers to meet the potential increase in demand as Hongkongers migrate to the UK.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	185830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>MHCLG is providing up to £14.7 million in this financial year for local authorities in England to arrange English language provision for Hong Kong BN(O) status holders relocating to their areas. <br> <br> Local authorities can deliver these classes in a range of ways, including by working with accredited English language schools.</p> answering member constituency Walsall North answering member printed Eddie Hughes question first answered 27/04/2021 15:52:10 answering member 4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1284413

registered interest
date	05/02/2021
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	Natural Gas: Storage
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 (a) gasworks and (b) former gasworks sites (i) there are in total, (ii) are being redeveloped and (iii) have been redeveloped in (A) London and (B) England.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	149739
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2021 answer text <p>Statistics published by BEIS show that the last gas works in England closed in 1988. Information is not held centrally on the number of former gasworks sites that there are in London or in England as a whole.</p><p>Robust figures are not held centrally by MHCLG on the numbers of former gasworks sites that have been redeveloped, or are being redeveloped, in London or in England as a whole.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 10/02/2021 14:37:37 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1274826

registered interest
date	08/01/2021
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	Environment Protection: Planning
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 ability of the English planning system to enforce environmental standards.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	134390
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2021 answer text <p>The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment. Local authorities can refuse planning permission for developments that would cause unacceptable harm to the environment. They can also take a range of enforcement actions against any breach of planning conditions imposed to mitigate potential environmental harm.</p><p>In the reforms put forward for consultation in the White Paper, <em>Planning for the Future</em>, we committed to seeking to strengthen enforcement powers and sanctions so that, as we move towards a rules-based system, communities can have confidence those rules will be upheld. Consultation on <em>Planning for the future</em> closed on 29 October 2020, and we are currently considering the responses.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 13/01/2021 17:29:21 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma