Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government written question – answered at on 7 July 2025.
Tom Morrison
Liberal Democrat Deputy Chief Whip
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department monitors trends in levels of furniture poverty in (a) England and (b) the UK.
Tom Morrison
Liberal Democrat Deputy Chief Whip
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with social housing providers on the (a) Decent Homes Standard and (b) the provision of furnished tenancies in social housing, in the context of levels of furniture poverty.
Matthew Pennycook
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages actively with registered providers of social housing on all issues facing social housing tenants and with a range of stakeholders on issues facing residents and has engaged with groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their research on this issue.
On 2 July, we opened a consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for the social and private rented sectors. It can be found on gov.uk here.
People in need may be able to get support from their local authorities via the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.
The Deputy prime minister is also part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing on children.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The office of Deputy Prime Minister is one that has only existed occasionally in the history of the United Kingdom. Unlike analogous offices in other nations, the Deputy Prime Minister does not have any of the powers of the Prime Minister in the latter's absence and there is no presumption that the Deputy Prime Minister will succeed the Prime Minister.
The post has existed intermittently and there have been a number of disputed occasions as to whether or not the title has actually been conferred.
More from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom
