Recommendations & Conclusions
11 items
3
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
We recommend that the Government creates a cross-Government task force to resolve the conflict between the commitment to end rough sleeping and the current policy on the no recourse to public funds condition. This will require collecting data on the number of people affected and their specific circumstances.
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We recommend that the Government creates a cross-Government task force to resolve the conflict between the commitment to end rough sleeping and the current policy on the no recourse to public funds condition. This will require collecting data on the number of people affected and their specific circumstances.
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Government response AI summary
The government committed to working with partners across government, including the Home Office, to consider the role of immigration policy and practice in ending rough sleeping, building on existing initiatives, effectively forming a collaborative effort similar to the requested task force.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
5
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
The Government will eventually have to come up with a policy response, because it cannot keep extending the evictions ban forever more.
Government response AI summary
The government outlines its existing policy response, detailing various measures taken to prevent evictions, restrictions, and the tapering down of protections, implying this addresses the eventual need for policy as the evictions ban cannot be extended indefinitely.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
6
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
We call on the Government to deliver a specific financial package—we prefer discretionary housing payments—to support tenants to repay rent arrears caused by covid-19, in consultation with the Local Government Association and appropriate bodies representing renters and landlords. We received an estimate that this package will likely cost between £200 …
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We call on the Government to deliver a specific financial package—we prefer discretionary housing payments—to support tenants to repay rent arrears caused by covid-19, in consultation with the Local Government Association and appropriate bodies representing renters and landlords. We received an estimate that this package will likely cost between £200 and £300 million. Given the number of potential evictions this would prevent, it would likely save the Exchequer a substantial amount in homelessness assistance. Protecting the homeless
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Government response AI summary
The government declined to deliver a new specific financial package for rent arrears, stating that its existing 'unprecedented package of financial support' (including increased LHA and Universal Credit) has already been effective in helping tenants.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
10
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
Everyone In by definition has finished. The Government believes Everyone In continues to exist, but by its own admission it is no longer helping everyone. The principle of Everyone In was that everyone, no matter what their normal eligibility for homelessness assistance, would be provided with accommodation to self-isolate by …
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Everyone In by definition has finished. The Government believes Everyone In continues to exist, but by its own admission it is no longer helping everyone. The principle of Everyone In was that everyone, no matter what their normal eligibility for homelessness assistance, would be provided with accommodation to self-isolate by their local authority. The Government made a clear decision to change this from May 2020 onwards. The Permanent Secretary admitted that what at the beginning was a very broad intervention is now focused on individual assessments. This backtracking by the Government led to councils deeming individuals ineligible for support when they in fact have legal powers to support such individuals under the Local Government Act 1972 and NHS Act 2006, as shown by the Ncube v Brighton and Hove City Council case. The Government is trapped between its exemplary humanitarian efforts to accommodate these individuals, and its insistence that its immigration policies have no flexibility, even during a pandemic. We do not think it is sufficient, as the Minister told us, to pass this responsibility on to charities and turn a blind eye to their predicament.
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Government response AI summary
The government responds by reiterating that rules for No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) have not changed, and local authorities must use their judgment within the law. It confirms that substantial homelessness funding can be used to support anyone, including those with NRPF, as long …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
15
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
We ask the Government to update us on whether it has achieved its target of delivering 3,300 housing units by March 2021 through its Next Steps Accommodation Programme.
Government response AI summary
The government provides an update, confirming allocations for 3,348 homes through the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, but reports that some projects faced delays beyond March 2021. They commit to updating the committee in due course once all units from the October 2020 allocations are complete, …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
16
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
There has been a lack of recent focus from the Government on wider homelessness, including those suffering in cramped, poor quality temporary accommodation for long periods of time during the pandemic. The Government must ensure its increased homelessness funding does not only benefit those suffering from visible homelessness.
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There has been a lack of recent focus from the Government on wider homelessness, including those suffering in cramped, poor quality temporary accommodation for long periods of time during the pandemic. The Government must ensure its increased homelessness funding does not only benefit those suffering from visible homelessness.
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Government response AI summary
The government confirms an increased Homelessness Prevention Grant of £310 million for 2021-22, which local authorities can use to prevent various forms of homelessness, including supporting those in temporary accommodation and preventing evictions, thereby addressing wider homelessness.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
18
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
The Government is in danger of breaking its pledge that no one should lose their home as a result of the pandemic. We have seen no satisfactory evidence for why the Government changed the definition of substantial rent arrears to permit tenants who have built up arrears only during the …
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The Government is in danger of breaking its pledge that no one should lose their home as a result of the pandemic. We have seen no satisfactory evidence for why the Government changed the definition of substantial rent arrears to permit tenants who have built up arrears only during the pandemic to be evicted. It is also worrying that this significant change was not debated in the House until two weeks after the Regulations came into force.
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Government response AI summary
The government outlines its existing protective measures for renters and justifies its policy on evictions for substantial rent arrears, arguing it prevents market disruption and further tenant debt, implying its current framework addresses the committee's concerns without addressing the specific change in definition.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
19
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
We call on the Government to publish a proper exit plan for the private rented sector from national and local restrictions. The Government has tinkered regularly with the eviction framework, usually at the very last minute. Now the Government has published its roadmap for how to exit national restrictions, hopefully …
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We call on the Government to publish a proper exit plan for the private rented sector from national and local restrictions. The Government has tinkered regularly with the eviction framework, usually at the very last minute. Now the Government has published its roadmap for how to exit national restrictions, hopefully for the final time, it should set out how it intends for the sector to transition out of the pandemic.
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Government response AI summary
The government detailed its existing exit plan for the private rented sector, stating that it will begin tapering down eviction protections from 1 June 2021, with most measures ending by 30 September 2021, while continuing longer notice periods for tenants.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
21
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
The Government appears to lack a clear strategy to deal with rising rent arrears. We are very concerned that the Government is waiting until there is a clear crisis emerging before intervening, rather than heading off a growing rent arrears crisis by taking proactive action to protect people in this …
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The Government appears to lack a clear strategy to deal with rising rent arrears. We are very concerned that the Government is waiting until there is a clear crisis emerging before intervening, rather than heading off a growing rent arrears crisis by taking proactive action to protect people in this country. The Minister relied on arrears statistics from a survey in August to defend the Government’s response, even though he accepted that the economic circumstances would get worse over time for many households. Once arrears begin, they are likely to grow and will be exacerbated by rising unemployment throughout 2021 and as Government support schemes taper off. The Government will eventually have to come up with a policy response, because it cannot keep extending the evictions ban forever more.
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Government response AI summary
The government asserts it has an "unprecedented package of financial support," including increased Local Housing Allowance, Universal Credit, and an extended furlough scheme, which it believes is effective in protecting tenants from rent arrears and preventing evictions, committing only to continued monitoring.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
22
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
We call on the Government to deliver a specific financial package to support tenants to repay rent arrears caused by covid-19, having considered the examples in Scotland and Wales as well as many other international examples. This should be one of the Department’s top priorities. Several options have been proposed—we …
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We call on the Government to deliver a specific financial package to support tenants to repay rent arrears caused by covid-19, having considered the examples in Scotland and Wales as well as many other international examples. This should be one of the Department’s top priorities. Several options have been proposed—we prefer modified discretionary housing payments—but what is important is that the Department delivers a package soon. Helping tenants pay their rent arrears, including consideration of paying direct to landlords, is the simplest and most straightforward way to avoid evictions and help landlords receive income. We received an estimate that such a rent arrears relief package will likely cost between £200 and £300 million. Given the number of potential evictions this would prevent, it would likely save the Exchequer a substantial amount in homelessness assistance.
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Government response AI summary
The government highlights its existing "unprecedented package of financial support," including increased LHA, Universal Credit, and the furlough scheme, arguing these measures are effective in preventing hardship and supporting tenants with rent, thus declining to introduce a new, specific financial package.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
24
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless …
Accepted
We also call on the Government to temporarily boost funding to discretionary housing payments to meet the needs of the tens of thousands of households who are receiving no extra income from welfare increases due to the benefit cap. This will further protect households from falling into rent arrears because …
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We also call on the Government to temporarily boost funding to discretionary housing payments to meet the needs of the tens of thousands of households who are receiving no extra income from welfare increases due to the benefit cap. This will further protect households from falling into rent arrears because of the pandemic.
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Government response AI summary
The government declined to temporarily boost funding for discretionary housing payments, instead reiterating its existing 'unprecedented package of financial support' (including increased LHA and Universal Credit) which it states has been effective in preventing homelessness.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government