Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Conclusion 3
Third Report - Exempt Accommodation
Published 27 Oct 2022
Paragraph 33
Addressed to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Exempt Accommodation All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
It is egregious that organisations with no expertise are able to target survivors of domestic abuse and their children and provide neither specialist support nor an appropriate or safe environment. Where a prospective resident of exempt accommodation is a survivor of domestic abuse, there must be a requirement that housing benefit is only paid to providers that have recognised expertise and meet the standards in Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This must be implemented alongside increased supply of specialist services: the Government’s Supported Housing Improvement Programme offers an opportunity to develop an evidence-based, survivor-led model of exempt accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse and their children.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Third Report - Exempt Accommodation (HC 21), paragraph 33, 27 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 27 June 2023 (deadline 27 December 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it "strongly welcome[s]" the Committee's recommendations and is supporting the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill, which it believes, "subject to Royal Assent", will address many of the issues raised.
- On national standards and licensing, the government says it will "formally consult" with the sector to develop the licensing scheme and national standards for support "as soon as possible after Royal Assent".
- On mandatory registration of all providers with the Regulator of Social Housing, it gives its reasons, including the risk of reclassification of the sector as public, and considers the Bill's measures "better placed" to provide oversight.
- On rent caps, it says it "cannot effectively determine a standardised rent cap at this point", citing the complexity and range of housing models in the sector.
- On data, it says research on the size, cost and demand of the sector will be published "by the end of 2023".