Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Acknowledged
Take action based on heard concerns regarding disabled people’s housing needs
Recommendation
We have found little evidence that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is fully recognising the housing needs of disabled people, let alone treating disabled people’s needs as a priority in housing policy. In particular, it is deeply concerning that the Government’s new Disability Action Plan fails to directly address housing at all, despite clear evidence of the knock-on effect of housing on all aspects of disabled people’s lives. Moreover, the only substantive reassurance that the Minister for Housing and Homelessness was able to provide us with was that she had “heard from lots of people on the ground” in her capacity as the Ministerial Disability Champion. We recommend that the Government should take action based on the concerns that the Minister has heard. (Paragraph 15) Increasing the supply of accessible homes
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the challenges disabled people face regarding housing accessibility and states it intends to set out its policies on the accessibility of new homes in the near future, providing details about a necessary technical consultation at that time.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
9. We note that this recommendation relates specifically to a commitment made by the previous government. This government is committed to ensuring that our housing market works for everyone, including disabled people. We recognise that the accessibility of new build homes, and accessibility standards for buildings in general, present challenges for many disabled people. We are working with the construction sector to introduce updated standards in several areas of the Building Regulations and, as part of this ongoing work, we want to ensure that people are able to live in homes that meet their particular needs. The government intends to set out its policies on the accessibility of new homes in the near future and will provide details about necessary technical consultation when we do so. LUHC Select Committee Report conclusion: We support the Minister for Housing and Homelessness’s call for local authorities to assess their local need for M4(3) wheelchair user standard homes. However, we do not believe that the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) goes far enough to match this ambition.