theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed by UK Security Vetting by (a) permanent civil servants, (b) fixed-term appointees and (c) contingent labour. \p Dan Jarvis: United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) delivers National Security Vetting services to departments and agencies across government, police and industry. UKSV’s workforce planning is driven by the demand forecasting and operational employment requirements of these departments and agencies. The resourcing of UKSV includes a diverse range of staffing contracts to meet forecast demand.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the most recent estimate of (a) the headcount size of the Government Communication Service and (b) staff who work in communications functions in the Civil Service who are not GCS. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: I refer the Hon Member to the response provided for PQ 92419 for the headcount size of the Government Communication Service.

Information regarding Civil Service staff working in communications functions who are not part of the Government Communication Service is not held centrally.
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Chris Law:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will review public procurement guidance to ensure that locally and sustainably sourced building materials are prioritised in public projects. \p Chris Ward: The Procurement Act 2023 allows contracting authorities the flexibility to include considerations such as locally and sustainably sourced building materials in contracts. Any criteria adopted must be relevant and proportionate to the contract.

We have consulted on procurement reforms to further boost domestic supply chains and create more opportunities for businesses, in particular SMEs, across the UK. We will be publishing the consultation outcome - and legislative proposals - soon.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 28 October 2025 to Question HL10808 on Official Residences, how long the other residences have been unoccupied. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: There are two additional flats in Admiralty House which can be allocated to ministers as official residences at the Prime Minister’s discretion. Neither flat has been allocated to a minister under the current administration.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics has made an assessment of the adequacy of GDP deflation forecasts. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 1st of December is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 109.3KB)
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress the Office for National Statistics has made on the development of the Household Costs Indices. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 1st of December is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 161.1KB)
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David Simmonds:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2025, to Question 86773, on Ministers: Council tax, what policy or threshold is used to prevent the occupation of a designated secondary residence as a de facto primary residence; and whether there is any internal written guidance or advice on the matter. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: There is no such internal written guidance or advice.Whether a residence is an individual’s sole or main residence is ultimately a question of fact determined by the billing authority.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria are used by his Department to determine which public systems require mandatory zero-trust security measures. \p Dan Jarvis: The Department applies a risk-based assessment framework, underpinned by secure by design methodology including structured threat modelling, to determine which public systems require mandatory zero-trust security measures. Systems handling sensitive data, supporting critical services, or presenting elevated threat exposure are prioritised. This approach ensures that zero-trust controls are applied proportionately, focusing effort on the environments with the highest risk profile.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025, to Question 81325, on Baroness Shafik, and further to the revised Cabinet Office guidance on Direct Ministerial Appointments of October 2025, para 21, whether the remuneration of Direct Ministerial Appointments will be published. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: In the new Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments, which was published on 30 October 2025, it is stated that all Direct Ministerial Appointments announcements should include “remuneration details, where such is incurred”.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the due diligence on the appointment of special adviser, Tim Allan, included the work of his company, Portland, for the Russian Government. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: There is a rigorous process to ensure any potential conflicts of interest are captured, and have appropriate mitigations in place to reflect specific circumstances. Ahead of his appointment, the new Executive Director of Communications in 10 Downing Street fully complied with this process.

This is set out in the Special Adviser Code of Conduct and lists of Special Adviser interests are published annually.

Mr Allan is not a shareholder in Portland, and hasn’t been since 2019, and has no interest in it.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88705, on the Spectator: Advertising, whether the SAFE framework permits government advertising on the (a) Daily Express, (b) GB News and (c) the Morning Star. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Following assessment under the SAFE Framework, government advertising is permitted on The Daily Express (now express.co.uk).

No SAFE framework assessment has been conducted on GB News or the Morning Star.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of cross-Government working in the context of the disbanding of Mission Boards. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Mission Boards have been reformed to become delivery-focused forums benefitting from external and industry expertise, led by the relevant Secretary of State. Departments will continue to work collaboratively with each other and external experts to achieve the Government’s missions.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2025, to Question 84247, on Public Appointments: Political Impartiality, what communications has the Cabinet Office had with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in relation to previous political activity, which is outside the scope of the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies but in scope of the Governance Code for Public Appointments, not being publicly declared. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Governance Code on Public Appointments covers the processes departments should follow for recruiting public appointees, whereas the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies covers the behaviour of such appointees once they are in post. The codes set out processes for the publication of political activity for successful candidates and existing public appointees respectively.

Candidates for public appointment roles are asked to declare potential conflicts of interest in their applications - and are advised to err on the side of declaring if in doubt - so that the Advisory Assessment Panel can take a view on whether any actual or perceived conflicts can be appropriately managed. These wider declarations cover a full range of interests, including financial interests, and are for assessment as part of the recruitment process, not for publication. As mentioned above, the Governance Code sets out the political activity that needs to be published.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff will receive a (a) performance and (b) Christmas bonus. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Special Advisers are not entitled to bonuses. Special Adviser remuneration is included in the Annual Report on Special Advisers, published on gov.uk.
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Chris Law:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to respond to the correspondence of 24 October 2025 from the hon. Member for Dundee Central. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister has sent a response to the Honourable Member.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 30 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, how the cross-government charges levied by his Department’s functional business units were calculated; and for what reason income rose to £1.29 billion in 2024–25. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Departmental income has steadily risen since 2020. This reflects an increase in the uptake of the Department’s services year on year.

The Cabinet Office's functional income arises principally from the services it provides across government. Under this model, certain government functions are headquartered in the Cabinet Office and departments pay to access and use them.

For instance, the GPA provides departments and ALBs with office space across the country. They have continued to onboard properties nationally, delivering a fully integrated property management service across government.

Another primary source of income that the Department generates is in relation to the Government People Group who provides specialist human resource services to Government.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the presentations given at the cross-Government special advisers meeting in November 2025. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: It would not be appropriate to publish presentations provided at internal meetings.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 91601 on Prime Minister: Climate Change Convention, on what basis possibility is assessed in respect of publishing offsetting data. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. This takes into account a range of factors. GBNI flights are carbon offset at the end of the financial year. Information about official overseas travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website, in line with the approach of successive administrations.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many visas a) his Department and b) the Office for National Statistics have sponsored since 4 July 2024. \p Josh Simons: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Helen Whately:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many families there were in each region in England and Wales with (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children, (d) four children, (e) five children, (f) six to eight children, (g) eight to 10 children and (h) more than 10 children in each year since 2019. \p Josh Simons: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Charlie Maynard:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what action the Government is taking to help ensure civilians who need to leave Gaza for urgent medical treatment are able to be evacuated. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: I refer the Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's statement on the Middle East, made to the House on 18 November.
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Rebecca Long Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress her Department has made in ensuring British-Egyptian national Alaa Abd El-Fattah's safe travel to the UK. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: As I stated in the latest session of FCDO Oral Questions on 2 December, the Prime Minister raised this case with President Sisi on 18 November, and the Foreign Secretary has pressed for Mr el-Fattah's return on multiple occasions with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, most recently on 25 November. Mr el-Fattah must be allowed to return to the UK and be reunited with his family.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to WPQ 93853, whether she has made any representations on behalf of Carlos Correa and others arbitrarily detained in Venezuela, since the Statement at the Human Rights Council on 27 June. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response provided on 13 October to Question 77020.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international counterparts on protecting the right of nations to self-determination. \p Chris Elmore: Article 1 (2) of the United Nations Charter establishes that one of the organisation's founding purposes is to develop friendly international relations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. We continue to work with our UN colleagues and international partners on the basis of that charter.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Department for Business and Trade on resourcing UK participation in Indo-Pacific market-access programmes. \p Seema Malhotra: Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has been made in supporting democratic institutions and election integrity in countries receiving UK development assistance. \p Chris Elmore: The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department provides trauma informed training to their Embassies and Consulates. \p Seema Malhotra: We prioritise maintaining a global network of internally trained Trauma Risk incidence Management assessors through a regular training programme which is open to all staff, UK and Country-Based. We have also begun to offer Type 2 trauma courses to both home and overseas based teams on demand.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her Department’s policy objectives are in relation to the UK’s support for Ukraine over the next 12 months. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided by the Foreign Secretary during departmental questions on 2 December, and to the statement made to the House by the Prime Minister on 25 November.
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Bambos Charalambous:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of maintaining investment in the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait in advance of their 2026 replenishments. \p Chris Elmore: The UK played a leading role in establishing both Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and we remain advocates for both. We committed £80 million towards ECW's current strategic plan (2023 to 2026), alongside an additional £14 million for the Sudan regional response announced in November 2024. In October, the UK fulfilled our £430 million pledge to GPE for its current 2021-2026 strategic plan. The UK's future commitments to both funds are being determined as part of our multi-year budget allocation process, the outcome of which will be set out in due course.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support humanitarian aid and climate resilience in Somaliland. \p Chris Elmore: Climate resilience is a priority across Somalia, including Somaliland. The UK is the largest contributor to the Somaliland Development Fund (SDF), providing nearly £50 million since 2012 and an additional £4 million in Financial Year 25/26 to improve water access, promote sustainable agriculture, and protect livestock-dependent incomes vulnerable to climate change.

The UK also supports climate adaptation through the Sinaan programme, which helps Somaliland's growing cities manage unplanned urbanisation driven by climate pressures.

On humanitarian aid, the UK contributes to the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, which has responded to Somaliland's drought emergency, and the UK also supports partners such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent working locally on disaster response.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the benefits of signing the Security and Defence Partnership in May 2025. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 8 December to question 95528.
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Jessica Morden:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has taken recent steps to support Armenian cybersecurity. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 8 December to question 96636.
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Llinos Medi:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what is the process used to determine which neighbourhoods within Welsh local authorities will receive support under the Pride of Place programme; and when those neighbourhoods will be announced. \p Jo Stevens: Through the Pride in Place Programme, nine more communities in Wales will receive up to £20 million each over the next 10 years. Every local authority in Wales will also receive a share of £34.5 million through the Pride in Place Impact Fund. This £214 million investment will support communities to drive forward the changes they want to see and will deliver visible improvements to drive growth, break down barriers to opportunity, and restore pride and confidence in local areas.

The nine local authorities in Wales receiving funding under the Pride in Place Programme are currently in the process of identifying the places within their area that will serve as the focus for this investment. This process combines objective data on local need with engagement from the local community and strategic alignment with other investments such as the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Programme and other placemaking plans. The selected places will be confirmed early in the new year.
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with the Department for Transport on improving the quality and quantity of trains on the line between Aberystwyth and Birmingham via Telford. \p Jo Stevens: I have regular discussions with the Transport Secretary on a range of issues.

Services and rolling stock on the line between Aberystwyth and Birmingham, via Telford, are the responsibility of Transport for Wales and my officials engage regularly with colleagues in Transport for Wales.

The UK Government is investing at least £445 million into Welsh rail to right years of underfunding by previous governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.

This will mean new stations, more and faster trains across Wales, improving cross border connectivity, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales and cross border areas.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the trends in insourcing in adult social care and children social care in England. \p Alison McGovern: The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government works closely with both the Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Education on the provision of, and funding for, social care services. Local Authorities are responsible for delivering adults and children’s social care services, and it is for them to decide how to deliver them locally and ensure there is adequate provision in their communities. The government is taking specific steps to ensure the delivery of quality care services that secure better outcomes whilst achieving value for money for the taxpayer; for example, investment in children’s residential care that includes creating 200 new placements in high-quality council-run children’s homes and powers through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to ensure financial oversight of the children’s care home market.
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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to Table A.5 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, according to information held by HM Government, if he will list the estimates for council tax receipts in each year from 2024-25 to 2030-31 for England only. \p Alison McGovern: The Department has published data on actual council tax collection rates in England which can be found on gov.uk here.

Estimates of council tax receipts (excluding police authorities, mayoral combined and county combined authorities and parish councils) will be published at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for England, for the years 2026-27, 2027-29 and 2028-29, later this year.

Table A.5 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439 estimates UK-wide council tax receipts for 2029-30 and 2030-31 but these are not disaggregated to England level.
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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for publishing the forthcoming cross-government homelessness strategy. \p Alison McGovern: The cross-government homelessness strategy will be published shortly.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of exempting foster carers from Council Tax in whole or in part. \p Alison McGovern: Local authorities are responsible for the administration of council tax and have discretionary powers to apply exemptions or council tax discounts. This could include offering discounts to foster carers where they consider this appropriate.

The Government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax. This included seeking views on the current range of council tax disregards provided in the system. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.
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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether an assessment has been made of the potential impact of changes in parish council precepts on council tax. \p Alison McGovern: Council tax levels are decided by local authorities wish to set, but increases above referendum principles set by the Secretary of State must be approved by voters. To date, no referendum principles have been set for town and parish councils. The Secretary of State reviews the referendum principles annually and will set out his proposal for 2026-27 in the provisional local government finance.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities with repeated vandalism impacting the operation of public facilities in Surrey. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB, including acts of vandalism and criminal damage.

It is for local areas and individual police forces to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances of each case, however to support local areas in dealing with challenges, this Government has committed to delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel, and following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary announced a “Winter of Action” in which police forces across England and Wales, including Surrey, will again partner with local authorities, businesses, and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities.
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Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to (a) prevent and (b) reduce the risk of building fires caused by batteries from (i) ebikes and (ii) escooters. \p Samantha Dixon: The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is working closely with representatives and officials from across Government to build an evidence base, share intelligence and develop mitigations to tackle the fire risks linked to lithium-ion batteries, e-bikes and e-scooters.

A key element of this work is raising public awareness of safe use, storage and charging of e-bikes and e-scooters within residential buildings. MHCLG has developed educational resources in partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council and local Fire and Rescue Services, as part of its national Fire Kills campaign.
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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77537 on Hotels: Taxation, and with reference to the written statement of 25 November 2025 on Devolution and Growth, HCWS1097, on what basis this change in policy was made. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The government keeps all tax policy under review. The government’s number one mission is to kickstart economic growth, and devolving fiscal powers is critical to achieving this.

Introducing a visitor levy provides Mayors with a new lever to both raise and reinvest revenue locally. English Mayors have come together to ask for an overnight stay levy through the “right to request”. The government has considered these representations from Mayors and the three amendments proposed by Wera Hobhouse MP, Paula Barker MP and Alex Mayer MP, to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill in reaching this position. A Written Ministerial Statement setting out this position was published on 25 November.

A visitor levy also responds to the call from Mayors for further fiscal devolution.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help local authorities safeguard vulnerable residents from (a) misleading and (b) high-pressure contact relating to (i) housing repairs and (ii) inspections. \p Matthew Pennycook: My Department launched a call for evidence with the Ministry of Justice on 4 December to hear from tenants, landlords, legal professionals and claims management companies about their experiences of housing disrepair claims. It can be found on gov.uk here.

The exercise will allow us to gather evidence on how the current process works, including the roles of companies and solicitors in these cases. We want to understand what doesn't work or is unclear so that we can make sure the process is as effective as possible.

The call for evidence will be open for 12 weeks and close on 12 February 2026.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to improve (a) parks and (b) recreational facilities in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Parks and recreational facilities are an essential part of local social infrastructure. They provide places for social connection, support health and wellbeing and increase community engagement. Responsibility for these spaces lies mainly with local authorities and Government is committed to supporting Local Authorities in helping build stronger, more connected communities.

Local authorities work locally to support adults and children to lead more active lives through access to public leisure services, green space, parks and playground spaces. Their public health budgets are used to deliver local physical activity interventions such as the purchasing of playground equipment. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities and that procurement is up to the discretion of Local authorities rather than the Government

In addition, the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Award sets the national quality standard for parks and green spaces. The scheme aims to meet the needs of the communities they serve and has helped to transform thousands of parks and green spaces across the country. I commend Surrey Heath Borough Council for receiving 5 Green Flag awards to date.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Budget Statement on 26 November 2025, how many of the Government's planned 1.5 million homes will be built in Poole constituency by the end of the Parliament. \p Matthew Pennycook: My Department does not forecast housing delivery for individual local planning authorities.

Indicative local housing need figures can be found on gov.uk here.
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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding Housing First provision across England in the forthcoming cross-government homelessness strategy. \p Alison McGovern: Our homelessness strategy will put prevention at its core, including setting out that interventions should be tailored to the individual needs of people at risk of homelessness.

Councils can use our homelessness funding flexibly to meet those needs, including by commissioning Housing First services which evidence has shown can transform the lives of people with complex needs.
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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his department has made of the impact of furniture poverty on homelessness prevention and recovery; and if he will explore possibilities to use furnished tenancies to reduce homelessness presentations. \p Alison McGovern: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 92799 on 28 November 2025.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a formal fast-track process for Disabled Facilities Grant applications for people with progressive and terminal conditions such as motor neuron disease. \p Alison McGovern: I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 88803 on 10 November 2025
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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he had had with Kent County Council on best value since May 2025. \p Alison McGovern: My department monitors individual councils, including Kent, through a wide range of data and direct engagement. We continually review local authority governance, financial management, and sustainability, including through examining national data metrics, local authority documents, reports from auditors and inspectorates, and letters from residents. Where we become aware of early indications of best value failure, we consider a range of ways to closely monitor an authority’s progress. We will continue to monitor risk in individual councils, and we will act where necessary to ensure that councils meet their best value duty and are transparent and accountable to their residents.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28th November to question 92800, what information the best practice guide for furniture will provide to tenants about how they can access support with furniture and appliances; and what assessments will the department take to ensure that the advice provided is effective at tackling the scale of furniture poverty. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84054 on 3 November 2025.
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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that developers in London allocate 20% of homes for affordable housing. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87275 on 28 November 2025.
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Chris Law:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the construction industry on planning barriers and standards affecting the use of natural materials such as stone in new developments. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 92689 on 28 November 2025.
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Juliet Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to require the creation of additional flood plains in all new developments. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 56024 on 9 June 2025.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will include provisions in the forthcoming National Development Management Policies to increase the number of stepping stone housing models across local authority areas. \p Matthew Pennycook: We will consult later this year on a suite of new national policies for decision-making. Further details will be set out in due course.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of long-term empty social housing units in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency. \p Matthew Pennycook: The number of empty social sector homes in England as of 31 March 2025 can be derived from published statistics for vacant dwellings owned by local authorities and private registered providers of social housing.

For local authorities, this data comes from Section E of the Local Authority Housing Statistics data returns, which can be found on gov.uk here. These include units vacant for more than six months as reported by local authority landlords. Note that not all empty social homes are available to let.

The full time series, which can be found on gov.uk here, contains vacant dwellings information collected since 1989–90. It will be updated to include the 2024-25 return in January/February 2026.

For Private Registered Providers, the Regulator of Social Housing collects and publishes the required information in the Private Registered Providers Data Release, which can be found on gov.uk here. Vacant unit data at local authority level is only collected from PRPs owning 1,000 or more social housing units. This dataset does not show how long units have been vacant; instead, it categorises them as temporarily or permanently unavailable. It is therefore not possible to distinguish between short-term and long-term empty homes. Additionally, PRP data is limited to vacant self-contained General Needs units only.

Information is not collected at constituency level.
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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure landlords let accommodation is fit for human habitation as set out in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. \p Matthew Pennycook: If rented houses or flats are not fit for human habitation, tenants can take their landlords to court under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

The court can make the landlord carry out repairs and put right health and safety problems. The court can also make the landlord pay compensation to the tenant.

The government is committed to ensuring that rented homes are safe, decent, warm, and free from damp and mould.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and introduce a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes for the first time.

The Decent Homes Standard already applies to social housing. Enforcement in the social sector is being strengthened through the Social Housing Regulation Act, including through the implementation of Awaab’s Law, the first phase of which has already come into force.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many visas a) HM Land Registry and b) the Architects Registration Board have sponsored since 4 July 2024. \p Matthew Pennycook: The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting a national exemption for domestic abuse survivors from housing-related debt rules in social housing allocation policies. \p Matthew Pennycook: Local housing authorities can already take into account an applicant’s financial resources when considering their application, including debt and affordability checks.

We would expect local authorities to show consideration for the circumstances in which the debt was accrued.

Statutory guidance encourages local housing authorities to support victims of domestic abuse. The government is committed to keeping our statutory guidance under review, including how we support vulnerable groups such as victims of domestic abuse.

My Department will publish its homelessness strategy before the end of the year.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 66, paragraph 3.50 of the Budget 2025, for what reason his Department has chosen Tempsford, Leeds South Bank and Crews Hill as its preferred locations for new towns. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 13 October 2025 (HCWS948).