Committee publication · Correspondence · 5 March 2025
Letter from the Secretary of State to the Chair dated 26 February 2025 concerning her appearance before the Committee on 7 January
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Inquiry: The Work of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Summary
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner responds to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee's follow-up questions from her 7 January 2025 evidence session. She addresses equality impact assessments for the Autumn 2024 Budget, Local Housing Allowance decisions, building remediation timelines and legal reforms, wheelchair accessibility standards, devolution arrangements, and local government reorganisation guidance.
Key findings
- Developer Remediation Contract debt estimated at £700 million, collection commenced December 2024, with reinvestment in cladding safety schemes; developers may request interest-bearing payment plans if unable to pay immediately.
- All buildings over 18 metres with unsafe cladding in government-funded schemes must be remediated by end of 2029; all buildings over 11 metres must be remediated, have completion dates, or landlords face severe penalties.
- Summer 2025 update planned on remediation acceleration legislation including legal duty to remediate, strengthened regulator powers, extended building register to 11-18 metre buildings, and new leaseholder insolvency protections.
- Local Housing Allowance reset to 30th percentile of local market rents from April 2024 at £7 billion cost over five years; government spends £32 billion annually on housing support.
- Eight councils granted postponement of local government elections to deliver reorganisation and devolution simultaneously; Integrated Settlements implementation begins April 2025 for Greater Manchester and West Midlands, with readiness checks and outcomes frameworks required.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Angela Rayner, Florence Eshalomi, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, West Midlands Combined Authority, HM Treasury, Greater London Authority
Notable line
“I estimate that developers owe around £700 million. The collection of the debt commenced in December 2024 and receipts will be reinvested in publicly funded remediation programmes such as the Cladding …”
Key Quotes
“By the end of 2029 all buildings over 18 metres (high-rise) with unsafe cladding in a government funded scheme will have been remediated, and every building over 11 metres with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated, have a date for completion, or the landlords will be liable for severe penalties.”
“I estimate that developers owe around £700 million. The collection of the debt commenced in December 2024 and receipts will be reinvested in publicly funded remediation programmes such as the Cladding Safety Scheme.”
“LHA rates were resorted to the 30 th percentile of local market rents from April 2024 at a cost of £7 billion over five years, and the Government currently spends around £32 billion annually on housing support.”
“I am determined to create a more diverse housing market; one that delivers homes quickly and responds to the needs of a range of communities.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗