Written questions by Williams.

Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment he has made of levels of funding allocated to (a) mayoral combined authority areas and (b) non-mayoral local authority areas.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to help ensure that communities are consulted on the use of Pride in Place funding in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove.

The community will decide how to invest £20m of Pride in Place Funding allocated to Bradeley and Chell Heath. A Neighbourhood Board led by an Independent Chair, made up of local people, will come up with a plan for this investment. The programme’s Prospectus sets out that all Boards must work with their wider community through deep and meaningful engagement and demonstrate this in plans, otherwise progress will be delayed. We have brought forward £150,000 of funding for all neighbourhoods in Phase Two of the programme, so engagement can begin immediately.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle land banking.

The government wants to see homes built faster and we recognise the frustrations that stalled or delayed sites can cause to communities.Once housebuilders have been granted permission for residential development, meeting local housing needs and preferences, we expect to see them built out as quickly as possible.Local planning authorities already have powers to issue a completion notice to require a developer to complete their development if it is stalled. If they fail to do so, the planning permission for the development will lapse.The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December includes policies designed to support increased build out rates, including the promotion of mixed tenure development.In addition, our New Homes Accelerator aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be.To enhance transparency and accountability in respect of build out rates, the government intend to take steps to implement build out reporting following technical consultation.We also intend to provide local planning authorities with powers to decline to determine planning applications submitted by developers who have failed to implement previous permissions.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for accommodation for (a) victims of domestic violence and (b) their families in (i) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (ii) Kidsgrove.

Local authorities, in areas such as Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, are responsible for designing and managing their own housing allocations policies to meet local need. As part of this, they have the freedom to manage their own waiting lists but must give priority to people who are homeless or who need to move for medical or welfare reasons. This includes victims and their families who have escaped abuse. Allocations guidance also encourages local authorities to give additional preference to people who are homeless and require urgent rehousing as a result of domestic abuse.Further to my answer to Question UIN 2150 on 9 September 2024, the department will bring forward changes to social housing allocations regulations to exempt all victims of domestic abuse from local connection and residency tests to improve their access to social rented housing.Furthermore, the government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, and I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.By law, local authorities in England are also required to ensure victims of domestic abuse and their children can access the support they need within safe accommodation if they have to flee their homes. This includes refuges, sanctuary schemes, and dispersed accommodation. The Government will be providing £160 million in funding to local authorities to support them to fulfil their duties in 2025/26.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help support social housing providers to meet their duties under section 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 in relation to (a) damp and (b) mould.

The government are committed to introducing Awaab’s Law to the social rented sector, setting new time limits for social landlords to fix dangerous hazards which can have a serious impact on the health of residents, including damp and mould. We are working with social housing providers and other stakeholders to determine how we best implement Awaab’s Law. We will develop new guidance for landlords and residents on the new duties under the forthcoming regulations.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities to provide temporary accommodation to families in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North and (b) Kidsgrove in a way that does not have a detrimental impact on (i) local people and (ii) town centres.

Homelessness levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected. The Government is taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) will chair, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness, including youth homelessness.As announced at the Budget on 30 October, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25). The increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping and brings the total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. We also confirmed a further £450 million for councils through the Local Authority Housing Fund enabling councils to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including: delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament; and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to tackle youth homelessness in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.

Homelessness levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected. The Government is taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) will chair, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness, including youth homelessness.As announced at the Budget on 30 October, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25). The increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping and brings the total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. We also confirmed a further £450 million for councils through the Local Authority Housing Fund enabling councils to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including: delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament; and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support councils to build additional social housing in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 10272 on 28 October 2024.