Written questions by Barker.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to involve young people with lived experience of homelessness in the development of the cross-departmental homelessness strategy.

As part of the development of the cross-Government homelessness strategy the Government has engaged representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts, including those who have lived experience. The Government hosted a series of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the strategy. Young people with lived experience of homelessness were included in this work.

Communities and Local Government, if she will meet with representatives from the youth homelessness sector to discuss a dedicated chapter on youth homelessness in the proposed policy paper on homelessness.

Homelessness levels are far too high, and I recognise the unique challenges young people face in securing stable housing. The Government has engaged with stakeholders within the youth homelessness sector to discuss the needs of this cohort as we work to develop a long-term, cross-Government homelessness strategy to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. I will be continuing this engagement with stakeholders to discuss what is needed to address youth homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national Supporting People programme.

Local authorities are best placed to decide how their funding is spent locally. The Government has a delivered a Settlement that begins to fix the foundations of local government by providing significant investment redirecting funding towards the services and places that need it most. The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of homelessness since July 2024.

Local housing authorities report their homelessness activities under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) by completing the quarterly Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC) statistical return. You can find a link to the latest data, commentary and technical notes on collections here Research and statistics - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, how often the inter-ministerial group on homelessness meets.

The Inter-Ministerial Group on homelessness meets as often as is required to develop the Government’s long-term homelessness strategy. The most recent meeting took place on Tuesday 13 May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the number of houses that will be built by the end of 2025.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36228 on 14 March 2025.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to Personal Independence Payment on people above over state pension age.

Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. In keeping with existing policy, people of State Pension Age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by the proposed changes. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

What estimate her Department has made on people who will no longer be eligible to receive Personal Independence Payment by age.

Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. In keeping with existing policy, people of State Pension Age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by the proposed changes. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

What consideration is given to home Energy Performance Certificates by the first-tier tribunal in determining a market rent assessment.

A market rent decision in the First-tier Tribunal is a judicial decision. In reaching a decision, a tribunal will take into account all relevant factors in a given case including, amongst others, those relating to the condition of a property such as energy efficiency or an Energy Performance Certificate, if that evidence is before the Tribunal.Tribunal market rents decisions are published at Residential property tribunal decisions - GOV.UK and can be searched using free text terms such as “EPC” or “energy efficiency” within the “Rents” category of decisions.

Communities and Local Government, whether there are obligations on landlords in relation to the rent they charge if their property has been improved with a grant under the (a) Energy Company Obligation, (b) Boiler Upgrade Scheme and (c) Warm Homes: Local Grant.

Energy Company Obligation schemes do not place obligations on landlords in relation to the rent they charge if their property has been improved.Currently, private landlords in England and Wales are eligible to apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with regulations setting out the full eligibility criteria. These do not place any requirements in relation to rent.Warm Homes: local grant requires landlords to declare that they will not raise rents as a direct result of the upgrades being installed funded by government grants. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is monitoring the impact of this scheme including on rents and may make changes if needed.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed social security reforms to PIP on trends in the levels of child poverty.

The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms - Impacts.

Whether her Department has commissioned an impact assessment on the proposed PIP reforms on household income with (a) at least one person in work and (b) at least one recipient of PIP, whether that be the person working or not.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

What proportion of PIP recipients were in some form of (a) work and (b) training on 25 March 2025.

You can find the proportion of PIP recipients in employment in the evidence pack that was provided alongside the ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’, which shows that 17% of PIP claimants were in employment in March 2024.(https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper) Data for March 2025 is not currently available for analysts to access; the latest relevant data is for the financial year ending March 2024. The department does not hold data regarding PIP recipients in training.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to PIP on households in which a PIP recipient is exempt from the benefit cap.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published here alongside the Spring Statement.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Whether her Department has made an impact assessment of the potential impact of changes to Personal Independence Payments on under 35's who claim Local Housing Allowance at the 1 bedroom rate.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published here alongside the Spring Statement.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to PIP on access to (a) carers allowance, (b) council tax support and (c) other benefits linked to PIP.

There will be no immediate changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Our intention is that the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply at their next award review. The average award review is about three years. When people are reassessed, they will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, and assessed on their individual needs and circumstances. The personal impact will depend on an individual’s circumstances. We are consulting on how best to support those who are no longer eligible for PIP and linked entitlements, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to publish a list of members of the Industry Expert Panel for the National Food Strategy.

The membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board was published on gov.uk on 21 March 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the composition of the Industry Expert Panel for the National Food Strategy aligns with the Government’s (a) obesity strategy and (b) public health objectives.

The Food Strategy Advisory Board is a small group of senior leaders representing a wealth of experience from across the food system. Its role is purely advisory, to help steer the food strategy in delivering our ambition for a healthier, fairer and more resilient future food system. The board will provide advice to shape the outcomes the food strategy should deliver, and the conditions for the food strategy to succeed in, boosting food security, improving health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the Industry Expert Panel for the National Food Strategy includes representation from businesses involved in the production of (a) legumes, (b) nuts and seeds, (c) fresh, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables and (d) plant-based alternatives.

The membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board was published on gov.uk on 21 March 2025. The Food Strategy Advisory Board is the first step in a wider engagement strategy which will continue to ensure and demonstrate the joined-up and system-wide approach for the food system. There is huge expertise, energy and commitment to work towards better food system outcomes, and all stakeholders need to be part of the solution. There will be multiple routes to share ideas as part of the co-design process in 2025. This collaboration aims to shape the strategy's scope and work together to deliver a comprehensive strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what eligibility criteria his Department is using to appoint members to the Industry Expert Panel for the National Food Strategy.

Membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board has been selected through identifying senior leaders who represent important elements within the food system and reflect the diversity of the sector. The Government has sought to keep it a small group while reflecting the scope of the food supply chain and the interests of consumers.