Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rachel Blake this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 121–129 of 129 · this parliament
Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of utilising unallocated funds from the Housing Infrastructure Fund to directly fund delivery of new social
The £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is now fully allocated to HIF projects. As of the end of June this year, £1.8 billion had been drawn down by local authorities.The Department estimates that HIF has unlocked c260,000 homes. Local Authorit...
Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of homes that have been unlocked by the Housing Infrastructure Fund and (b) number and proportion of those homes that have (i) receiv
The £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is now fully allocated to HIF projects. As of the end of June this year, £1.8 billion had been drawn down by local authorities.The Department estimates that HIF has unlocked c260,000 homes. Local Authorit...
Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on developing the cross-departmental strategy to end homelessness; and what her planned timeline is for publishing that strategy.
The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.
Whether the Prime Minister will appoint an Anti-Corruption Champion.
The government is considering a range of appointments following the election, including that of the Prime Minister's Anti-Corruption Champion. When there are appointments to announce, this will be done in the usual way.
What progress her Department has made on the managed migration of disabled people from the Employment Support Allowance support group onto Universal Credit.
The Department started moving customers who were claiming Employment Support Allowance with Child Tax Credits to Universal Credit from July. From September we will begin moving across customers receiving Employment and Support Allowance only or those with ESA with housing benefit. These plans are informed by learning, which started in June, where 500 ESA customers were invited to claim Universal Credit.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure continuity of payments for disabled people who are (a) about to start and (b) mid-way through migrating from legacy benefits to Universal Credit.
For DWP customers in receipt of ESA, DWP has agreed to continue to pay customers their legacy benefit for a further two weeks from when their legacy benefit stops to support a seamless continuation of payments. All customers will automatically receive a two-week run on of those benefits. The DWP continues to learn and iterate its approach as we continue to move people to Universal Credit. We remain committed to ensuring that the transition to Universal Credit works as smoothly as possible for all customers, including the most vulnerable in society. In June we invited 500 ESA customers to claim Universal Credit. This trial helped us learn and will allow us to start moving across customers receiving Employment and Support Allowance only or those with ESA with housing benefit at scale from September 2024. In addition, DWP has developed an enhanced support journey for ESA and Income Support customers and remains confident that this provides effective support for our most vulnerable customers.
Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of short-term lets in Cities of London and Westminster constituency.
Current data on short-term lets is limited. This is why we are introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets in England which will give local authorities access to valuable data to help address housing impacts and protect the spirit of our communities.We recognise that whilst short-term lets and second homes can benefit the tourist economy, we need to protect local communities, including ensuring the availability of housing to rent or buy. We are currently considering how best to achieve these aims.
If she will publish a new anti-corruption strategy.
The government takes the issue of corruption extremely seriously and is currently considering its approach towards a future UK Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Communities and Local Government, if she will commission independent research into the extent to which repairs to (a) lifts, (b) door entry systems and (c) other communal elements covered by social landlord's annual service charges are being re-charged directly to tenants.
The Government’s policy statement on social housing rents states that Registered Providers of social housing are expected to set reasonable and transparent service charges for tenants that reflect the service being provided. Registered Providers are expected to supply tenants with clear information about how service charges are set, and to consult with tenants if any new or extended services are introduced.Where there are concerns about the calculation, collection or communication of service charges, tenants may ask the Housing Ombudsman to investigate their complaint.