Tag: John Healey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department’s decisions on the successful bids for the Trusted Partner Pilot Programme were communicated to bidders.

Priti Patel

The intention is to deliver 26 Trusted Partner pilot sites. In total we received just over 200 valid applications; 16 landlords have already commenced the pilot and work is in train to confirm the final 10.

We plan to let key stakeholders know once all landlords have been confirmed.

Tenants in accommodation such as supported or sheltered housing are not subject to the Alternative Payment Arrangement process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have requested permission from his Department to introduce licensing of private landlords since 1 April 2015; and whether each such request (a) was granted, (b) was refused or (c) is awaiting a decision.

Brandon Lewis

Since April 2015, my Department has received three large selective licensing applications from the following local authorities: London Borough of Redbridge, Burnley Borough Council and Peterborough City Council.

Redbridge’s application to introduce a borough wide scheme has been declined as their plans did not meet the selective licensing approval criteria. The Burnley and Peterborough applications are currently under consideration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons he has not allowed Ipswich Council’s recent proposal for the Ravenswood affordable housing development.

Brandon Lewis

The full reasons are set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter on this case, which can be found on the Department’s website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/called-in-decision-areas-u-v-and-w-ravenswood-nacton-road-ipswich-suffolk-ref-3004099-13-june-2016

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the total area of the direct commissioning site at Daedelus Waterfront has planning permission for housing development.

Brandon Lewis

The planning process is ongoing for these sites. This will be completed in due course working closely with the local communities and local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many building companies have applied for but been refused a contract to build new homes on the direct commissioning sites at (a) Daedelus Waterfront, (b) Lower Grayling Well, (c) Connaught Barracks, (d) Northstowe and (e) Old Oak Common.

Brandon Lewis

These will be detailed commercial arrangements that will be established through a competitive procurement process. Existing public procurement processes will apply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the likely number of (a) new tenants and (b) tenancies in supported housing in each of the next five years.

Brandon Lewis

The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department of Work and Pensions have jointly commissioned the Supported Accommodation Review to better understand the scale, shape and cost of supported accommodation. The Review will provide more robust and up-to-date information relating to supported housing, including the principal user groups. The Review will report later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many trusted partner pilots he plans to appoint for the purposes of universal credit alternative payment arrangements.

Priti Patel

The intention is to deliver 26 Trusted Partner pilot sites. In total we received just over 200 valid applications; 16 landlords have already commenced the pilot and work is in train to confirm the final 10.

We plan to let key stakeholders know once all landlords have been confirmed.

Tenants in accommodation such as supported or sheltered housing are not subject to the Alternative Payment Arrangement process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many cases have been received by the Housing Ombudsman in each year since 2009-10.

Brandon Lewis

The Housing Ombudsman is an independent body whose objective it is to resolve disputes involving tenants and leaseholders of social landlords and their voluntary members.

The levels of complaints and enquiries have increased year on year since 2006 and there was a 64% increase between 2012-13 and 2014-15, which is due to an extension of The Housing Ombudsman’s remit to cover local housing authorities. The total number of enquiries and complaints received by the Housing Ombudsman are provided in the table below:

The majority of these cases are resolved informally but the following table shows the number of formal determinations made by the Housing Ombudsman each year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities will be affected by the sale of higher value council homes under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Brandon Lewis

The requirement to make a payment in respect of higher value vacant housing and to consider selling such housing applies to local authorities with a Housing Revenue Account. The scheme will therefore affect any such authorities who hold housing which falls within the definition of "higher value". That definition will be set out in regulations which are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. In addition Government has the power to exclude types of housing from the policy through regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement of 4 January 2016, The Government will directly build affordable homes, whether the town centre, community facilities and commercial space at Northstowe are intended to open at the same time as the new homes take their first residents.

Brandon Lewis

The direct commissioning pilots will follow the normal planning and commercial processes for determining the phasing of homes and associated facilities.