Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-01-22
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: Recent statistics published by the Department show that 54,000 households in London are living in temporary accommodation and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) said, 120,000 children are living in temporary accommodation this winter. Often, the standards are some of the worst, and the accommodation houses some of the most vulnerable. What steps will the Department now take to end the temporary accommodation crisis both in London and in the rest of the country?; Will the Secretary of State assure me that he will set up cross-departmental arrangements with the Department for Transport and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ensure delivery of the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge corridor, as envisaged by the National Infrastructure Commission?; Earlier, the Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Jake Berry), promoted the borderlands growth deal and Moray apparently hopes to finalise a growth deal in the summer, so will someone in this Government tell me what blockers are preventing the UK Government from signing up to the original non-city deal, the Ayrshire growth deal?; Does my hon. Friend agree that the ability to buy a home at an affordable price is vital to developing and enhancing social mobility and to realising the Government’s goals on aspiration and opportunity? Does he also agree that we must massively increase house building and speed up the process right across the country?; City of Lincoln Council is aiming to build 500 homes in the next five years to help to tackle its waiting list of more than 1,000 house- holds. If the Government will not consider raising the borrowing cap on local housing revenue accounts, how do they plan to tackle the shortage of truly affordable rented housing?; May I ask the new Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Mrs Wheeler), whether she thinks that Government policy since 2010 has played any part in the sharp rise in rough sleeping?; The leader of Birmingham City Council wrote to the Secretary of State about financial support from Government to make safe Birmingham’s 213 tower blocks in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. Will the Secretary of State provide an update on the proposal submitted and whether the finances will be made available?; I find the level of rough sleeping in Chesterfield and across the country deeply humiliating as an MP, and it infuriates and disgusts my constituents. When Ministers walk past people living in sleeping bags, do they believe that it is the halving of councils’ Supporting People budget or the £5 billion cut to housing benefit that is most responsible for this national scar on our society?; Gateshead Council, of which I am a member, has seen its Government funding cut by 52% since 2010. Fifty per cent. of its budget is spent on vulnerable children and adult social care and demand is rising. With over 90% of our properties in council tax bands A to C, the social care precept does not go near addressing the shortfall. Will the Secretary of State urgently address the shortfall in funding for children and adult social care in Gateshead and elsewhere now, and will he produce a truly fair—
Mark Julian Francis Pawsey (Conservative, Centre-right): For the coming year, the Secretary of State has enabled councils to increase tax by 3%, compared with just 2% last year, but the cash limit has been retained at £5 when parity would be £7.50. That affects 88 small district councils. Will the Secretary of State consider a change?