housing – Page 4 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about housing conditions for asylum seekers

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 15th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government:

following the publication of their rough sleeping statistics on 29 February which showed a 965.91 per cent increase from July to December 2023 in people sleeping rough after leaving asylum support over the previous 85 days, what consideration they have given to extending the move-on period from 28 days to 56 days for refugees leaving asylum support; and what assessment they have made of the impact this extension would have on homelessness.
what assessment they have made of the benefits of staggering evictions of refugees from Home Office accommodation, particularly where the person is working with their local authority or a third sector organisation, to prevent their homelessness.
what plans they have to work with the third sector to jointly create a comprehensive and properly funded transition process for people whose asylum support is due to end, to enable information and support around housing and benefits to be given as far in advance as possible.

Bishop of Southwark asks about rising costs of rent

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 15th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of figures released by the Office for National Statistics on 20 March showing an average increase in monthly rent paid by tenants in the UK of 9 per cent in the year ending in February, including an increase to 10.6 per cent in London to an average monthly rent of £2,035.

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill: Bishop of Manchester expresses concerns over changes to charity financing

On 27th March 2024, the Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, welcoming the legislation whilst expressing concern over its impact on those freeholders that are charities:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I begin by declaring my interests. I am no longer a church commissioner, as my time finished at the end of last year, but I am paid and—if the Lord spares me—will be pensioned by the Church Commissioners in due course. The commissioners are freeholders, not least of the Hyde Park Estate, which has been in continuous Church ownership and care since around the 11th century, when it belonged to the monks of Westminster Abbey. I guess, if I am going to echo a word that we have used several times today, that makes it genuinely feudal. I also own one leasehold flat in the West Midlands, as set out in the Members’ register.

Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich asks about accommodation for members of the armed forces

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich received the following written answer on 27th March 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich asked His Majesty’s Government what consultation they undertook with service personnel and their families regarding the Modernised Accommodation Offer for the armed forces.

Bishop of St Albans asks about tax allowances for second homes

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.

Bishop of Chelmsford tables question for debate on long term national housing strategy

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.

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about local housing allowance

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.

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about plans to improve quality of housing in the UK

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?

Bishop of Derby asks about allowing local authorities to set right-to-buy rates

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.

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