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1190480

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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	Sleeping Rough: 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 support his Department plans to provide to local authorities to ensure that rough sleepers currently in emergency accommodation during the covid-19 outbreak do not return to rough sleeping when that provision ends.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40663
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>Over 90 per cent of those on the streets and in communal night shelters known to local authorities at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis have now been made offers of safe accommodation – ensuring some of the most vulnerable in society are protected from the pandemic.</p><p>We announced that councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding to enable them to respond to other COVID-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, stepping up support for services helping the most vulnerable, including homeless people. This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to over £3.2 billion. This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support vulnerable rough sleepers.</p><p>On 2 May 2020 the Secretary of State announced that Dame Louise Casey will lead the Government Taskforce on the response to rough sleeping during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Taskforce will focus on next on next steps of emergency response to support vulnerable rough sleepers during the pandemic.</p><p>The taskforce will work hand-in-hand with councils across the country on plans to ensure rough sleepers can move into long-term, safe accommodation once the immediate crisis is over – ensuring as few people as possible return to life on the streets.</p><p>Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic the Government announced a further £112 million fund for the RSI across England in 2020/21 to help 276 areas tackle rough sleeping. The funding is a 30 per cent increase on the previous year and will be used to introduce and expand a range of measures, including street-based services, first stage accommodation, housing support and housing-led solutions, as well as specialist support workers.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 05/05/2020 16:37:39 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1190481

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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	Sleeping Rough: 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 the evidential basis is for his Department’s 18 April 2020 statement that 90 per cent of rough sleepers known to local authorities at the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak have been made offers of accommodation.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40664
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>My Department asked all local authorities to provide information on their rough sleeping cohort in order to support local authorities to make offers of accommodation to as many people who required it to reduce the risk faced by some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p>At the beginning of this crisis, local authorities across England provided an estimate of the total number of people sleeping rough and in accommodation with communal sleeping spaces, such as night shelters, and have then updated us on the total number of people who have had offers of accommodation made available to them.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 05/05/2020 16:25:11 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1190482

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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	Sleeping Rough: 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 steps his Department is taking to ensure that rough sleepers (a) not known to local authorities at and (b) who have become homeless since the beginning of the crisis can access (i) emergency accommodation and (ii) adequate support.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40665
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>We recognise the challenges that local authorities will face in providing assistance to vulnerable people as they fulfil their homelessness duties during this pandemic. This is why we have announced that councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding to enable them to respond to COVID-19 pressures across the services they deliver, stepping up support for services helping the most vulnerable, including homeless people. This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to £3.2 billion. This is in addition to £3.2 million targeted funding to ensure that we minimise the risk to those rough sleepers currently unable to self-isolate.</p><p>The Government has introduced a package of measures to protect renters affected by coronavirus aimed in part at preventing any increase in homelessness. With these in force, no renter in either social or private accommodation will be forced out of their home. Landlords must give all renters 3 months’ notice if they intend to seek possession.</p><p>Additionally, we have increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that they are set at the 30th percentile of market rents. This means that from April 2020 many people renting in the Private Rented Sector will have seen an increase in their housing support.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 05/05/2020 16:32:21 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1190483

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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	Temporary Accommodation: 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 his Department has made of the suitability of hostels and other temporary accommodation with shared facilities in the event that a resident of that accommodation needs to (a) self-isolate because of covid-19 symptoms or (b) be shielded.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40666
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>Temporary accommodation is an important way of ensuring no family is without a roof over their head while dealing with the impacts of Covid-19. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation for the household in the first instance until suitable long-term accommodation can be offered to them. They must ensure this temporary accommodation is suitable and there is a right of appeal.</p><p>People who are living in accommodation which they share with other people, or in which they share facilities with other people should follow current PHE guidance on self-isolation and social distancing within the home.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 05/05/2020 16:33:13 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1190841

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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: 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 estimate he has made of the number of people who have become homeless since the announcement of support for local authorities to accommodate rough sleepers temporarily.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40670
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>Local authorities collect data on the actions they take under the provisions of the Housing Act 1996 on a quarterly basis and report them to the Government. These data collections are released quarterly as homelessness statistics. The most recent homelessness statistical release was on 19 March 2020. Local authorities are still required to provide this data throughout the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p>We recognise the challenges that local authorities will face in providing accommodation as they fulfil their homelessness duties during this pandemic. This is why we have announced that councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding to enable them to respond to Covid-19 pressures across the services they deliver, stepping up support for services helping the most vulnerable, including homeless people. This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to £3.2 billion.</p><p>This is in addition to £3.2 million targeted funding to ensure that we minimise the risk to those rough sleepers currently unable to self-isolate. This funding will assist local authorities with providing accommodation and support to vulnerable people who are at risk of, or who have been diagnosed with, Covid-19.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 05/05/2020 16:35:10 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1190842

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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: 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 steps he has taken to ensure that victims of domestic violence are not housed in the same temporary provision of additional emergency accommodation as perpetrators of domestic violence during the covid-19 crisis.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>A key priority for my Department during the current Covid-19 pandemic is to keep refuges open to ensure that victims of domestic abuse are able to access the support they need.</p><p>My officials have been liaising closely with the refuge sector from the start of the lockdown to monitor how demand is changing.</p><p>We are looking carefully at all safe and appropriate additional accommodation options for supporting victims of domestic abuse and their children.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 05/05/2020 16:35:54 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1190843

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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	Private Rented Housing: 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 his Department has made of the number of people who are voluntarily leaving their privately rented home as a result of loss of income due to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40672
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2020 answer text <p>The Government routinely collects information on the movement between housing sectors through the annual English Housing Survey, the last of which was published in January 2020.</p><p>The Government has introduced a package of measures to protect renters and landlords affected by coronavirus.. Emergency legislation is now in place so that landlords will not be able to start proceedings to evict their tenants for at least a three-month period. The courts have also suspended housing possession proceedings.</p><p>The Government also has introduced significant financial measures to help support tenants to continue to pay their living costs, including rental payments. This includes support for businesses to pay staff salaries, strengthening the welfare safety-net with a £7 billion boost to Universal Credit, and increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates so that they are set at the 30th percentile of market rents in each area.</p><p>These measures support Public Health England recommendation that people should stay in their current home unless absolutely necessary.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 04/05/2020 15:09:16 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1190845

registered interest
date	27/04/2020
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: 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, if he will take steps to ensure that leaseholders are consistently able to access invoices and receipts as set out in Section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	40673
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2020 answer text <p>The Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively to leaseholders, and that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong.</p><p>Under Section 21 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 a leaseholder has the right to request a summary of the service charge account. Obligations to comply with this legislation have not changed. In these unprecedented times we encourage leaseholders, landlords and managing agents to take a pragmatic, common-sense approach to non-urgent issues which are affected by Covid-19 related restrictions.</p><p>Leaseholders having difficulties in obtaining information from their landlord or managing agent 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. Further information on leasehold matters can be provided through the website (<a href="https://www.lease-advice.org/" target="_blank">https://www.lease-advice.org/</a>), via a telephone appointment with one of LEASE’s advisers (020 7832 2500) or by email (<a href="mailto:info@lease-advice.org" target="_blank">info@lease-advice.org</a>).</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 04/05/2020 15:12:28 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire