Last Wednesday the House of Lords held a session entitled “Social Housing: Mould” which involved a number of questions. The Minister who responded to them was Baroness Scott of Bybrook who is Jane Scott previously the leader of Wiltshire Council. The opening question came from Wajid Khan the Baron Khan of Burnley who began with “To ask His Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of conditions in social housing, including levels of mould.” The Minister responded to his question and many others including the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani. Initially is the response from Bybrook responding to Burnley

My Lords, the English Housing Survey found that in 2022, 10% of social homes failed to meet the decent homes standard and 5% had a problem with damp. The Government have now introduced Awaab’s law, requiring the Secretary of State to set out new requirements for landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould in social homes within a fixed period. We published our consultation on those requirements yesterday, 9 January.

Then later on this session was a question from Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani and the response from Jane Scott

Chelmsford: May I say on behalf of these Benches, too, how pleased we are to see the noble Baroness back in her place. We know that cots are extremely important for the health and well-being of babies and young children. What is the Government’s policy on the provision of cots to those in social housing? The charity Justlife states that around 25% of temporary accommodation falls under the purview of the social housing regulator. With nearly 140,000 children living in temporary accommodation in England alone, what steps are being taken to ensure that cots are provided for families in temporary accommodation under the purview of the social housing regulator?

Bybrook: I thank the right reverend Prelate for that question. I do not know the answer to it, but I will certainly find out. I know that this is an important issue. Housing associations providing temporary accommodation have to provide the correct furniture and fittings for such families, and I will check that cots are included. I also know that such charities—which I have been involved with many times, and which do a wonderful job—are providing not just cots but all the other things that babies and young people need, particularly if they are being moved around a lot. I will get a Written Answer to the right reverend Prelate regarding cots.