The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st March 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to scrapping tax breaks for all second homes, and not just short-term lets, as a further step in dealing with the rural housing affordability crisis.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about tax allowances for second homes”On 29th February 2024, the Bishop of Chelmsford led a grand committee debate on the delivery of a long term national housing strategy, calling for commitment to improving housing on a cross party basis, and a clear vision of what good housing looks like:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to promote a long-term national housing strategy, and to seek cross-party support to ensure its effective delivery.
My Lords, it is a great privilege to open this debate and I am grateful to all noble Lords who have signed up to speak. I look forward to hearing from the great wealth of expertise and experience.
We are in the midst of a housing crisis. For too many people in the UK, home is not a place of safety and security but somewhere expensive or temporary, insecure or unhealthy. There are 140,000 children living in temporary accommodation, 1.2 million households on waiting lists for social homes, and numerous young professionals consigned to be part of “generation rent”. Inadequate housing has knock-on effects throughout a person’s life: on their education, their mental and physical well-being, their relationships and their ability to put down roots. It does not have to be like this. It is worth restating that decent housing is one of the basic essentials for a fulfilled and healthy life, yet we have some of the poorest quality housing in Europe. We can do better than the current system—indeed, we must do better.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford tables question for debate on long term national housing strategy”The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 23rd January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for annually indexing Local Housing Allowance to rent levels.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con): The Secretary of State (SoS) has recently completed his review of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 2024/25. As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit, or the Housing Element of Universal Credit will gain, on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. This is a significant investment of £7bn over five years.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about local housing allowance”The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on government plans to improve the quality of existing housing in the UK on 11th January 2024, during a discussion on the government’s long term plan for housing:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community recommended that the Government adopt a long-term plan to address the scale of the housing crisis in the UK. I am glad to see that they have adopted the language of long-termism, as the UK’s housing has been held back by short-term planning and decision-making for far too long. However, I believe that such a plan must be holistic, taking into account all elements that make up a good housing strategy, with consideration of both new builds and existing buildings. What plans do the Government have to improve the quality of the homes that we already have, for example by undertaking a programme to upgrade EPC ratings, or by equalising the rate of VAT on repairs for existing houses with that for constructing new homes?
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about plans to improve quality of housing in the UK”
The Bishop of Derby received the following written answer on 10th January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Derby asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for allowing local authorities to set their own right-to-buy discounts to reflect local circumstances.
Baroness Penn (Con, Department for Levelling-up, Housing & Communities): The Government remains committed to the Right to Buy, which has helped over 2 million social housing tenants to become homeowners.
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about allowing local authorities to set right-to-buy rates”The Bishop of Derby received the following written answer on 19th December 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Derby asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the additional support required for social housing landlords as a result of the consumer regulation measures announced by the Regulator of Social Housing, including the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard, which are to be implemented from April 2024.
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about support for social housing landlords”The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham asked a question on increased funding to assist the homeless, and to support efforts by the charitable & voluntary sector to do so, during a debate on rates of homelessness during Christmas on 18th December 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham: My Lords, like many places, Nottingham is suffering from the cost of living crisis, fuel and food poverty, a decline of social housing and a growing shortage of private rented sector properties, which is compounded by the shortfall between the local housing allowance and rents. Framework Housing Association and Emmanuel House do exceptional work, together with the city council, in seeking to help the 10,000 people on the waiting list with an unmet housing need, alongside the street homeless. But the rising demand for social care and increased homelessness have contributed to the council issuing a Section 114 notice. If His Majesty’s Government agree that the charitable and voluntary sector is such a key partner in addressing these needs, can the Minister offer more direct funding to help the homeless in cities such as Nottingham?
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham asks about funding to assist voluntary and charitable efforts to combat homelessness”
On 18th December 2023, the Bishop of London asked a question on government plans to ensure a 28 day notice period for refugees granted asylum or leave to remain before they are required to leave Home Office accommodation:
The Lord Bishop of London: To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to ensure that refugees are given 28 days’ notice before they are required to leave their Home Office accommodation, having received documentation after being granted asylum or being given leave to enter or remain.
Continue reading “Bishop of London asks about notice periods for refugees leaving Home Office Accommodation”On 14th December 2023 the Bishop of Chelmsford asked the following question to Government:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford, To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the sustainability and quality of existing buildings, including by cutting value added tax to incentivise building repairs and maintenance.
The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 12th December 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of ending the freeze in Local Housing Allowance rates before April 2024.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con, DWP): As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, the Government will be investing £1.2 billion in 24/25 increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This is a significant investment of over £7 billion over the next five years.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about ending the freeze in Local Housing Allowance”
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