theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 30375 on Undocumented Migrants: Organised Crime, what progress the Border Security Command has made through participation in the UK-Italy Illicit Finance Taskforce. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The UK and Italy are global leaders in disrupting economic crime and under the taskforce both nations will be sharing law enforcement strategies, policy, and expertise to maximise our disruptive effect on financial flows into the UK, Italy and across Europe.

The inaugural UK/Italy Illicit Finance Taskforce meeting was held in Rome, Italy on the 4th of February 2025. It was attended by UK law enforcement officials from the Border Security Command, NCA, HMRC and Immigration Enforcement. Attendees, including representatives from the Guardia Di Finanza, discussed organised immigration crime commonalities, joint initiatives and irregular migration flows impacting illicit finance activity in both Italy and the UK.

The Taskforce is now focussed on agreeing deliverables, including consideration of the new Irregular Migration and OIC Sanctions regime and joint operational activity.
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Jas Athwal:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of closing the gender pay gap for women in Ilford South constituency. \p Seema Malhotra: This Government is committed to transforming the lives of working women across the country, regardless of geographical location; this includes going further and faster to close the gender pay gap.

Tackling the gender pay gap will put more money in women’s pockets and help deliver on our Plan for Change, increasing household income.

Amongst a range of measures in the Employment Rights Bill which will support the lives of all working people, we are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures. These action plans will detail the effective steps employers are taking to improve gender equality in their workplace, and narrow their gaps.
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Daisy Cooper:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow opposite sex civil partners to convert their partnerships into a marriage without requiring a dissolution order. \p Seema Malhotra: In 2019, when civil partnerships were made available for opposite-sex couples in England and Wales, the Government ran a public consultation on the future of conversion rights between marriage and civil partnerships for both opposite and same-sex couples in England and Wales: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/civil-partnerships-next-steps-and-consultation-on-conversion#:~:text=We%20are%20seeking%20views%20on,be%20brought%20to%20an%20end

This Government is considering all options, and we will update the House in due course.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she is taking steps to simplify the process whereby anyone seeking to change gender in the UK must get approval from a panel of doctors and lawyers. \p Seema Malhotra: In our manifesto, we committed to modernising, simplifying, and reforming gender recognition law while upholding the Equality Act and its provisions on single-sex exceptions.

We will remove indignities for trans people whilst retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2025 to Question 26206 on Candidates: Gender, whether she plans to consult political parties before the commencement of section 106; what (a) data and (b) protected characteristics will be required to be reported; and what elected positions will require reporting. \p Seema Malhotra: The Government is committed to commencing the Equality Act 2010’s provision requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections. We are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under section 106. We will provide an update in due course.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a Commissioner for Older People. \p Sir Stephen Timms: In its recent report into the rights of older people, the Women and Equalities Select Committee raised this matter and other issues. Together with other departments, we are considering those recommendations.

More widely, I refer to Minister McGovern’s recent answer 29784 on how the Government is supporting older people in tackling age discrimination and ageism in the workplace.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department has provided to Homes England for the remediation of (a) contaminated and (b) brownfield land. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Department is unable to provide the information requested as Homes England is not delegated a budget specifically for the remediation of land.

The government’s Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Programme (National and London) is designed to unlock brownfield land. A proportion of funding from it is spent on land remediation.

As set out in in the 2023/24 Homes England Annual Report and Accounts, the Agency spent £33 million on the BIL Programme in that year, the first year of the programme. The funding allocation to end of 28/29 for the BIL Programme is £1 billion.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Affordable Homes programme increases the availability of (a) social and (b) council housing in the next five years. \p Matthew Pennycook: The 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, and new investment to succeed it, will increase the availability of social rented homes provided by private registered providers and local authorities over the next five years by allocating grant funding to support the capital costs of development.
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Mike Amesbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which freeholders have signed up to the Remediation Acceleration Plan. \p Alex Norris: There is no requirement for freeholders to sign up to the Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP). The plan, published on 2 December 2024, sets out the steps this government will take to increase the pace of building remediation, while better protecting residents and leaseholders.

As set out in the RAP, a new joint plan with developers sets out their commitment to achieve ambitious stretch targets to start or complete remedial works on all their unsafe buildings by July 2027. At least 38 developers have signed up to the joint plan, covering more than 95% of buildings that developers will directly remediate.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to support individuals whose mortgage offers have been withdrawn following investigations of malpractice in relation to the issuing of EWS1 forms. \p Alex Norris: As per the answer to Question UIN 31497 on 27 February 2025, my officials engage regularly with the mortgage lending industry to encourage them to take a proportional approach to buildings without an EWS1 (External Wall System Fire Review) or where there are concerns about the EWS1, and support leaseholders looking to sell or re-mortgage. It is important to note EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement.

Mortgage lenders who have signed the public statement on cladding (link here) should be open to approving mortgage applications for properties in buildings which require remediation, regardless of whether they accept the EWS1 for that building. Leaseholders should provide alternative evidence that their building is in the Cladding Safety Scheme, Building Safety Fund or covered by a developer that has signed the Developer Remediation Contract. This evidence could be, for example, a letter from MHCLG or the developer. Leaseholders can also complete a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate to evidence they qualify for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.
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Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will take steps to increase the use of swift bricks to provide cavity nesting habitat for birds reliant on buildings. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to require new local authorities to consult National Park authorities on potential planning applications. \p Matthew Pennycook: New local authorities, including unitary authorities, are required to consult the National Park authority concerned on “development likely to affect land in a National Park,” as prescribed in Sch. 4 of The Town and Country (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether national security considerations relating to (a) foreign interference and (b) spying are a valid material consideration in the planning process. \p Matthew Pennycook: National Planning Policy Framework paragraph 102 sets out how planning policies and decisions should promote public safety and take into account wider security and defence requirements. Each case is considered on their own merits.
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Noah Law:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) bee and (b) swift bricks on urban biodiversity; and what steps her Department is taking to promote the inclusion of bee bricks in new housing developments and infrastructure projects. \p Matthew Pennycook: The National Model Design Code and Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework set out how development can incorporate a range of nature friendly features including bee bricks and swift bricks.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 expects developments to provide net gains for biodiversity, including through incorporating features which support priority or threatened species such as swifts, bats and hedgehogs.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on whether a local authority’s decision to respond to the invitation for two-tier restructuring requires approval of that authority’s (a) executive or (b) full council. \p Jim McMahon: On 5 February, I formally invited proposals for local government reorganisation from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring unitary councils. It is for councils themselves to decide what approval processes they should follow in responding to my invitation in line with their own individual constitution arrangements.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether private members’ clubs with licensed premises are eligible for full retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief. \p Jim McMahon: The administration of business rates, including billing, enforcement and decisions on the award of relief is the responsibility of local government. Local authorities are responsible for making decisions and do so having regard to guidance published by the government and the circumstances of the individual property.

Local authority guidance on the Retail Hospitality and Leisure scheme can be found at: Business Rates Relief: 2024/25 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme - GOV.UK.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has a policy on the creation of new town and parish councils as part of the devolution process. \p Jim McMahon: We strongly encourage all local authorities to involve their town and parish councils in their plans to ensure that their contribution to local public services is recognised in future arrangements. Town and parish councils can work with other tiers of local government to determine how they can best serve their communities in their area, including by making local agreements regarding the transfer and management of assets.

The power to create and restructure town and parish councils is devolved to principal local authorities, which can review and make changes to local governance arrangements through Community Governance Reviews. In doing so, they are expected to take the views of local people into account. Plans to establish Town or Parish Councils in response to reorganisation should show how these will contribute to reorganisation’s overall goal of creating simpler structures that deliver high quality and sustainable public services to citizens.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 23350 on Council Tax, whether her estimate of the (a) total level and (b) annual increase in average Band D council tax in England including parish precepts has changed since the publication of the final local government finance settlement on 3 February 2025. \p Jim McMahon: Council tax levels are decided by local authorities, taking account of their local circumstances. The Government will publish data on the council tax levels set by all authorities and the average Band D bill for 2025-26, in England, in March.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed population size for unitary councils on (a) democratic accountability, (b) local identity and (c) the ability of a local councillors to provide effective representation; and if she will take steps to reduce the proposed population size where those issues cannot be mitigated. \p Jim McMahon: On 5 February 2025, I formally invited proposals for local government reorganisation from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring unitary councils.

The invitation letter sets out the criteria against which proposals will be assessed in coming to a decision on implementation. These include the criteria that new unitary structures must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks; reflect local identity considerations; and enable stronger community engagement and genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment. It also asks councils in their interim plans to include early views as to the councillor numbers that will ensure both effective democratic representation for all parts of the area, and also effective governance and decision-making arrangements.

It will be for councils to consider the assessment criteria as they develop and submit proposals that are in the best interest of their area.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the status is of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in UK (a) law and (b) governance. \p Jim McMahon: The European Charter of Local Self-Government is an international legal instrument, and as such, the principles of local self-government which it enumerates are recognised in the domestic legislation that makes provision for the powers and procedures of local government. We will continue to fully comply with our obligations under the Charter.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 24239 on Local Government: Constituencies, whether he plans to review the (a) size, (b) boundaries, (c) names and (d) number of ceremonial counties. \p Jim McMahon: Ceremonial counties are an important element of local traditions which support the identity and cultures of many of our local communities, giving people a sense of belonging, pride and community spirit, and are defined by historical borders and areas that exist primarily for ceremonial purposes. There are no intentions to realign or alter these boundaries.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to hold local referendums on proposed local government mergers. \p Jim McMahon: There are no plans to make a policy to hold local referendums on proposed local government mergers. Proposals for unitary local government must meet local needs and be informed by local views. It is for councils to decide how best to engage locally in a meaningful and constructive way and this engagement activity should be evidenced in a proposal.

Once a proposal has been submitted it will be for the Government to decide on taking a proposal forward and to consult as required by statute.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the amount Birmingham City Council (a) raised in council tax in 2024-25 and (b) paid out in employer contributions to the Local Government Pension Scheme. \p Jim McMahon: The government will publish data on the amount of council tax collected by billing authorities through the financial year in June, in the usual way. The Department collects limited information on employers’ retirement benefit costs for a sample of authorities in order to estimate the subjective analysis return statistics, published as part of the local authority revenue expenditure and financing England statistics. This sample includes Birmingham council and data for 2024-25 will be collected later in 2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23146 on Local Plans, how many times local planning authorities will be required to update their local development plans during this Parliament. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20841 on 7 January 2025 and the answer to UIN 23146 on 21 January 2025.

Local planning authorities should review local development plans once every five years from their adoption date to ensure that policies remain relevant and that they address the needs of the local community.

However, there will be occasions where there are significant changes in circumstances which may mean it is necessary to review the relevant strategic policies earlier.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the ending of the statutory override for the Dedicated Schools Grant on the financial viability of local authority budgets. \p Jim McMahon: The government recognises the impact that Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits are having on councils’ finances and will continue to work with the sector on a way forward.

The government intends to set out plans for reforming the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system in further detail this year. This will include details of how we will support local authorities to deal with their historic and accruing deficits and any transition period from the current SEND system to the reformed system. This will inform any decision to remove the DSG statutory override.
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Sir Iain Duncan Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations she received from the Metropolitan Police Service on the People's Republic of China's application to develop Royal Mint Court between 1 November 2024 and 15 February 2025; and whether a copy of correspondence on this matter will be placed in the Library of the House. \p Matthew Pennycook: No such representations have been received by the department from the Metropolitan Police Service.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has undertaken any post-implementation evaluation of previous local government reorganisations. \p Jim McMahon: As set out in the English Devolution White Paper we will learn from the experience and successes of others who have been through the process. We welcome the partnership approach that is being taken across the sector to respond to the ambitious plans set out in the White Paper, including sharing expertise on delivering reorganisation effectively given each areas’ unique circumstances. For North Yorkshire Council, established in April 2023, unitarisation has enabled the council to manage financial pressures through structural changes and service transformation which are expected to achieve more than £40 million in savings by March 2026.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse is for the work of the New Towns Taskforce since it was established in September 2024. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Questions UIN 22561 on 27 January 2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) unitary structures and (b) fewer councillors on the workload of councillors. \p Jim McMahon: Unitary councils can lead to better outcomes for residents, save significant money which can be reinvested in public services, and improve accountability with fewer politicians, but more empowered who are more able to focus on delivering for residents. My department will continue to work closely with councils, and with the Local Government Association (LGA), the District Councils Network, the County Councils Network and other local government partners to plan how best to support councils through this process.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme 2025 carbon price on the (a) housebuilding sector and (b) her Department's housebuilding targets. \p Matthew Pennycook: The housebuilding sector is not covered by the UK Emissions Trading Scheme so the effects on the sector are not assessed.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024, what powers directly elected Mayors will hold on the development of spatial planning strategies; and whether directly elected Mayors in Mayoral Combined Authorities will have the authority to rescind Local Plans within their boundary which have passed inspection stage by HM Planning Inspectorate. \p Matthew Pennycook: As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, Mayors will have a duty to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy for their area. The required provisions will be set out in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We do not intend to give Mayors a power to rescind a local development plan.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 21621 on Unitary Councils, whether there is a recommended (a) minimum and (b) maximum geographical area for the size of a unitary council. \p Jim McMahon: In our unitary invitation we have set out guidance to support councils as they develop proposals that are in the best interests of their areas. This includes guidance on issues of size, sensible geographies, efficiencies and financial sustainability, public service delivery, community engagement and devolution. Proposals should be for a sensible geography which will help to increase housing supply and meet local needs. It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area.
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Brian Leishman:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help local authorities deliver essential services following changes to employer National Insurance contributions. \p Jim McMahon: Raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions on tax.

The government is providing an additional £2 billion in grant funding through the Settlement, including £502 million to address the impact of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) changes on council budgets. A further £13 million has been allocated to Mayoral Combined Authorities, totalling £515 million.

Payments will be unringfenced to allow funding to be used across direct, commissioned, and externally provided local services.

Spending decisions beyond 2025-26 are a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes for (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent and (c) low-cost ownership she expects to be built under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026. \p Matthew Pennycook: My department published an update on targets in respect of the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme on 30 July 2024. It can be found on gov.uk here.

In October 2024, the government announced £500 million in new in-year funding for the Affordable Homes Programme. As a result of significant demand from housing providers across the country, that additional funding is already oversubscribed.

In February 2025, the government announced a further allocation of £300 million to the Affordable Homes Programme. This will support the near-term delivery of more social and affordable housing, delivering up to 2,800 new homes with more than half being Social Rent homes.

At the multi-year Spending Review later this year, the government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to streamline (a) planning policy and (b) planning guidance. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government published a revised National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024.

Last week, the government published revising Planning Practice Guidance to support local planning authorities in their plan making. Further details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 27 February (HCWS480).

The government intends to take further steps to streamline the delivery of homes and infrastructure through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which will be introduced in the coming months.

We also intend to produce a set of national policies for decision making this year that will make national policy more accessible and understandable. We will consult on these in the Spring and further details will be set out in due course.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on the potential impact of regulatory requirements (a) in the London Plan and (b) nationally on levels of housebuilding in London. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Secretary of State meets with the Mayor of London regularly to discuss a range of matters, including regulatory requirements and housing delivery.

The Mayor of London has commenced work on the next London Plan which will be submitted to the Secretary of State in due course.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding is being provided to support more localities to (a) produce and (b) update neighbourhood plans. \p Matthew Pennycook: There is no requirement to update a neighbourhood plan. However, we recognise some communities may wish to update their plans in response to changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Groups continue to receive the financial and technical support they have been awarded for both the production and updating of neighbourhood plans.

We will make announcements in due course regarding the new support contract for 2025-26 and beyond, but intend to open for new applications from Summer 2025.
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Graeme Downie:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support coalfield communities. \p Alex Norris: This government’s defining mission is growth, and we are determined that our coalfield communities are central to it.

At budget we committed to retaining and reforming the Long-Term Plan for Towns, and I am proud that this will continue to support coalfield communities from Jarrow to Wrexham.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her policy is on the regeneration of estates. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government is committed to supporting estate regeneration schemes to transform neighbourhoods by delivering high-quality, well-designed places, more homes, and opportunities for residents.

Tenants are key partners in estate regeneration, and their engagement is essential in any successful scheme.

Since 2023, the Affordable Homes Programme funding has been available to deliver estate regeneration schemes where there is a positive impact on overall housing supply.

In London, government is delivering additional funding through the £50 million London Estate Regeneration Fund, working in partnership with the Greater London Authority.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will undertake a review of the estate agency sector to assess the effectiveness of existing legislation on ensuring (a) transparency in pricing, (b) accurate descriptions of properties and (c) bans on rogue (i) lettings and (ii) sales agents. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government is committed to ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.

Legislation is currently enforced by National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents.

The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group chaired by Lord Richard Best to advise them on how best to do it.

However, they failed to respond to the recommendations set out in the working group’s 2019 Regulation of Property Agents: working group report which can be found on gov.uk here.

Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future. As a result, we are looking again at the 2019 report.

We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Melanie Onn:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department has taken to help tackle empty shops on high streets. \p Alex Norris: Vacancy is a blight that we see too often in our towns.

We are supporting areas with new powers to help fill empty premises including High Street Rental Auctions and a new ‘right to buy’ to help prevent the loss of valued assets by bringing them into community ownership.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 27566 on Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, if she will list each substantive policy measure in that Act that has not yet (a) commenced and (b) been implemented. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 27566 on 7 February 2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 February 2025 on Further support for social and affordable housebuilding and next steps on supported housing, HCWS447, what the estimated average grant subsidy per unit is for funding provided for local authority temporary accommodation. \p Matthew Pennycook: The amount of grant provided under the third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund is calculated relative to local property prices. We provide a grant of 40% of the median house price in the local authority area, or 50% for larger homes.

On the 12 February the government committed a further £50 million in new funding and around £30 million of reallocated funds taking the total funding available to £530 million. Based on the total expected commitment and outcomes, the average grant rate for each home delivered will be c. £196k.

We do not provide different grant rates for tenures under the Local Authority Housing Fund, but we do require that all homes delivered under the fund are affordable.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether public funds will be made available to Palestinians granted the right to settle in the UK via the Local Authorities Housing Fund. \p Matthew Pennycook: Palestinians are not directly accommodated under the Local Authority Housing Fund. They can, however, seek advice from their local authority if they need support with housing, who will assess what homelessness duties are owed, based on the circumstances of the household.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that housing associations take swift action on remediating mould and damp issues across their housing stock. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government is committed to working with social housing providers to ensure that homes are safe, decent, warm, and free from damp and mould.

The Deputy Prime Minister made a Written Ministerial Statement on 6 February (HCWS423) confirming that the government will bring Awaab’s Law into force for damp and mould in October 2025.

Awaab’s Law will empower social tenants to hold their landlords to account by law if they fail to investigate and fix hazards within their homes within set timescales. Tenants will be able to hold their social landlords to account by seeking redress through the Housing Ombudsman Service or taking legal action through the courts for a breach of contract.

The government is also committed to consulting on a new Decent Homes Standard and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards this year which will enable upfront preventative measures on disrepair and deliver improvements to tackle damp and mould.
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Mike Amesbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her  Department has had assurances from social housing providers that they are complying with the guidance that requests from shared owners to sub-let should be accepted if their property is affected by building safety issues. \p Matthew Pennycook: The relevant government guidance is clear: for properties affected by building safety issues, requests from shared owners to sub-let should always be accepted by registered providers of social housing in England (though where required, the shared owner may also need permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder). This is an important way in which to support shared owners to manage the effects of building safety issues.

For registered providers, compliance with this guidance is a condition of receiving grant funding through the Affordable Homes Programme. Moreover, the government has made clear its expectation that this guidance should apply to all shared owners, regardless of how their home has been delivered.
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of a new planning class and permitted development rights for short-term lets on the number of (a) short-term lets and (b) private rented homes. \p Matthew Pennycook: Whilst short-term lets can benefit local economies, the government appreciate that excessive concentrations in some areas of the country can impact the availability and affordability of homes both to rent and buy.

We have committed to introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets and removing the furnished holiday let rules to ensure all income from property will be treated the same for tax purposes.

We also recognise that more needs to be done and are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets.
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Dr Danny Chambers:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has appointed consultants to assess locations across the country as potential new town sites; whether Lichfields has been appointed to assess the M3/A303 corridor; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure there are no conflicts of interest in the appointment of consultants particularly in cases where a consultant has a vested interest in the development of a new town site. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce will submit its final report this summer.

The Taskforce will not be sharing information about its locations evidence base prior to publication of the final report.

Any use of external expertise will be carried out in line with established procurement rules in place for using external consultants. This includes ensuring that any conflicts are declared before any work begins and that appointed bodies are recused from decisions in which they have a conflict of interest.
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Josh Fenton-Glynn:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the cumulative level of debt held by local authorities in each of the last 15 years. \p Jim McMahon: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government collects data returns from local authorities including their borrowing and investment information. These returns are collated and published by MHCLG on gov.uk. There are various metrics by which debt can be measured. We have provided links to relevant information along with a summary what is available in each:

Other government departments including HMT and The Office of National Statistics provide their own datasets. One such example would be: LG: Local government gross debt - Office for National Statistics. This is not owned by MHCLG however does provide aggregate local government gross debt from 1966 to 2024.
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Brian Mathew:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to extend the right to acquire to tenants living in rural areas. \p Matthew Pennycook: In "designated rural areas" properties cannot be sold under the Right to Acquire so as to preserve social housing in perpetuity for local people. The government has no plans to change this.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes proposed by clause 1 of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on future trends in the level of local authority funding for fiscal years (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27 and (c) 2027-28. \p Jim McMahon: Raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions on tax.

The government is providing an additional £2 billion in grant funding through the Settlement, including £502 million to address the impact of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) changes on council budgets. A further £13 million has been allocated to Mayoral Combined Authorities, totalling £515 million.

Payments will be unringfenced to allow funding to be used across direct, commissioned, and externally provided local services.

Spending decisions beyond 2025-26 are a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.