Every parliamentary written question tabled by Beccy Cooper this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–16 of 16 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government, if he will consider taking steps to increase protections for private renters during the process of moving between tenancies, including in relation to tenancy references and the requirement to serve notice on an existing tenancy before a new tenancy is secured.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on private renters of letting agents and landlords declining to provide tenancy references until a tenant has served notice on their existing tenancy.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) transparency and (b) accountability in the management of fire safety equipment in leasehold properties.
Under Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, those responsible for fire safety in their premises (Responsible Persons) must make sure that any preventive and protective measures installed to address fire safety risks are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. It is also a requirement on Responsible Persons for multi-occupied residential buildings to communicate the preventive and protective measures they have installed as a result of a fire risk assessment to residents in a comprehensible way. There is a regulatory making power to mandate the frequency of this information, and we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the legislation to identify if such a mandate is necessary.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that new homes promote positive health outcomes for residents.
This Government is committed to delivering 1.5 million quality homes over this Parliament, to ensure people have access to the high-quality housing they need.The Building Regulations are intended to protect people’s safety, health, and welfare. Building Regulations set minimum performance standards for new building work, including when a building is being designed, constructed, or subject to major re-design. The Building Safety Act 2022 also requires the Building Safety Regulator to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review, which includes advising government on updates on Approved Documents. In December 2021, the previous government introduced an uplift in energy efficiency and ventilation standards for new homes and buildings, which came into force in June 2022. These changes will help to ensure that new homes and buildings are warm and comfortable, with high indoor air quality. As part of the 2021 uplift, the previous government also introduced a new overheating requirement to reduce the risk of overheating in new residential buildings. The Government plans to publish the Future Homes Standard in autumn this year. Homes built to the Future Homes Standard will be future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. This will contribute to ensuring that new homes are both warm and comfortable. To further reinforce standards, we remain committed to introducing a statutory New Homes Ombudsman scheme that developers will have to join, with an accompanying Code of Practice about the standards of conduct and standards of quality of work expected of members.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support local authorities to improve high streets.
This Government is committed to rejuvenating our high streets. At Spending Review, it announced 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods that will each receive up to £20 million over the next decade as part of a new fund. This forms part of communities funding for up to 350 places announced at the Spending Review, including the 75 places already named in the £1.5 billion Plan for Neighbourhoods in March. We have introduced High Street Rental Auctions, powers for local authorities in England to auction the leases of persistently vacant commercial properties; through the English Devolution Bill we will introduce a community ‘right to buy’.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help tackle disparities in leasehold maintenance charges for residents living in self-contained bungalows who are charged for communal amenities they cannot not use.
The government is committed to ensuring that leaseholders, including those living in self-contained bungalows, are protected from unfair practices, including in relation to service charges.Individual leases set out what services leaseholders may expect to receive and areas they can access, and what they should pay for.Overcharging through service charges is completely unacceptable.By law variable service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to works or services, the works or services must be of a reasonable standard. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges, they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.Leaseholders may also access free, independent advice from the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), which is funded by the Department and offers a range of online resources, as well as telephone and email support.We intend to consult in the very near future on the measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 designed to drive up the transparency of service charges and to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 5.149 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, how long discounts on the Right to Buy scheme will be reduced for.
The discount levels in question will remain in place until further notice.
Communities and Local Government, what the timelines are for the cross-government strategy to end homelessness.
Homelessness and rough sleeping levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected and harms our communities.The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on...
Communities and Local Government, if she will include a youth chapter in the upcoming homelessness strategy.
Homelessness and rough sleeping levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected and harms our communities.The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on...
Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential cost to the public purse of introducing automatic voter registration.
As set out in our manifesto, the government is actively exploring ways to improve voter registration, including the use of data and online services to help increase registration levels so that everyone who is eligible to vote can vote. Appropriate assessm...
Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that new housing developments have sufficient opportunities for residents to easily access healthy foods.
The National Planning Policy Framework already expects policies and decisions at the local level to enable and support healthy lifestyles, including through access to healthier food.As part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the Framework and othe...
Communities and Local Government, what support her Department provides to district councils to help reduce the levels of homelessness.
The Government is clear that homelessness is too high and too many families are living in temporary accommodation. We want to take a long-term approach and, working with Mayors and councils across the country, we will develop a new cross-government strate...
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the economic impact of (a) building more social housing and (b) reducing the number of families living in temporary accommodation.
The Government is clear that homelessness is too high and that too many families are living in temporary accommodation. We intend to take a long-term approach to prevent and end homelessness. Working with Mayors and councils across the country, we will de...
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the impact of trends in public sector pay over the last three years on district council budgets.
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces, including remuneration. The Government recognises the challenges local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. F...
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the impact of contract inflation on the cost of district council services.
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces, including remuneration. The Government recognises the challenges local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. F...
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) newbuild housing quality and (b) housing prices on health outcomes for residents.
Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health of people in or about those buildings. The impacts of these standards are assessed when changes are made to individual parts of the Building Re...