Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Homelessness and Rough Sleeping

Monday 27 January 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Marcus Fysh inquired about interventions to prevent homelessness due to rent arrears.
  • The Minister mentioned funding provided to councils, including a 359,000 allocation for Yeovil.
  • Barry Sheerman suggested utilizing orphan funds in pension schemes to address homelessness issues.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Marcus Fysh Con Yeovil
Housing Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP notes that his local jobcentre is proactive in assisting the transition to Universal Credit but highlights cases where rent arrears are problematic.

Question

My local jobcentre in Yeovil is very proactive in assisting the smooth transition to universal credit, but I still encounter cases in which rent arrears are a problem. What more can we do to ensure that we can intervene in cases in which arrears threaten to make people homeless?

Answer from Therese Coffey

My hon. Friend will be aware of the money given to councils—including £359,000 for his own council—to help them to support homeless people. Issues such as this can often be addressed not only by discretionary housing payments but by the flexible support fund which provides hardship payments through local jobcentres.

Answered
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Q2 Barry Sheerman Lab Huddersfield
Housing Benefits & Welfare
Context

Concern over people sleeping rough near the tube station in London.

Question

Would the Minister consider using all the orphan funds swilling around in pension funds to create a new fund that could do something about this issue? On Wednesday night, I counted 15 people sleeping rough right outside our door in the tube station. Has she been to ask those men and women what brought them there?

Answer from Therese Coffey

On a broader point, we are considering aspects of liquid assets, and we have seen the example of Legal & General, which is starting to get into the housing sector. I reiterate that when the Prime Minister was Mayor of London he made it a personal priority to ensure that no one spent more than one night outside.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question about using orphan funds for fighting climate change and addressing homelessness directly was not addressed.

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