Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

I refer the hon. Member to policies HC1, HC3, HC4, and TR1 of the new National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question 31523 on 15 October on this matter.

Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Minister for Women and Equalities, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department are committed to working together on matters relating to women experiencing rough sleeping.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question 31523 on 15 October on this matter.

Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Minister for Women and Equalities, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department are committed to working together on matters relating to women experiencing rough sleeping.

Following the implementation of relevant Planning and Infrastructure Act powers on 24 July 2026, the statutory requirement for applicants seeking development consent, including privately developed carbon capture projects such as Peak Clusters, to undertake pre-application consultation has been removed.

Government guidance, which can be found on gov.uk here, sets out expectations for proportionate, meaningful, and early engagement with local authorities, local communities and other interested parties before an application is submitted.

We have assessed the impacts of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme on housing benefit spending and they will be included in the Economic Case of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme Business Case, which remains under development. A summary of that Business Case will be published within four months of final approvals.

This Government is committed to preventing homelessness due to domestic abuse and supporting victims where possible, as part of its ambitions to end homelessness and rough sleeping, and to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

As set out in our National Plan to End Homelessness, we are developing a toolkit to support councils to prevent homelessness due to domestic abuse, including by helping survivors remain safely in their homes where this is appropriate and the victim’s choice, through sanctuary schemes with trauma-informed support.

Where remaining at home is not a safe and suitable option, Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 requires Tier 1 local authorities in England to assess the need for, and commission, support for victims and their children in safe accommodation. We are providing £499 million from April 2026 to March 2029 to support councils to fulfil these duties.

MHCLG continues to work with local authorities and the domestic abuse sector to consider how the Part 4 duty interacts with wider housing duties.

The Government is also investing £39 billion through the 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme, through which we want to see increased supply of supported housing, including transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic abuse.

Political parties registered to contest elections in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland are required to have arrangements in place to ensure that their financial affairs in Great Britain are conducted separately from those in Northern Ireland. These arrangements are overseen by the Electoral Commission.

I refer the hon. Member to policies HC1(2) and PM12 of the new National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August.

Local housing authorities are free to set their own allocation schemes in accordance with the relevant legislation and statutory guidance, and they take different approaches to meeting these requirements in relation to accessible accommodation. Some maintain separate registers of accessible housing while others choose incorporate information into their main housing registers.

The government recognises the importance of local housing authorities holding detailed information on the accessibility of their properties and being able to provide prospective tenants with information in that regard. We are currently working with stakeholders on a review of the statutory guidance on social housing allocations. As part of this review, we will consider whether further guidance or the clarification of existing guidance is needed to support local housing authorities to effectively manage their stock and make information about accessible housing available.

The government has no current plans to mandate accessible housing registers in England.

Local housing authorities report their homelessness activities under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 by completing the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC) statistical return which provides a breakdown of age of applicants owed a homelessness duty available at Homelessness statistics - GOV.UK (Tab A6). It also includes households with care leavers owed a homelessness duty. For the latest financial year, this is available at Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2024-25 - GOV.UK.

On 30 September, amended homelessness legislation came into force to prevent care leavers who are in scope of the corporate parenting duty from being found intentionally homeless. The department published updates to the Homelessness Code of Guidance to reflect this reform, alongside a new chapter on young people, which is available at Chapter 22: Young people, including those with care experience - Guidance - GOV.UK.

As set out in our National Plan to End Homelessness, we are developing a national youth homelessness prevention toolkit and we are also developing a Domestic Abuse Homelessness Prevention Toolkit to help councils prevent homelessness and improve support for survivors of domestic abuse, including young people.

Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed, backed by £499 million government funding over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29.  The statutory guidance Delivery of support to victims of domestic abuse in domestic abuse safe accommodation services - GOV.UK is clear that local authorities should consider the needs of all victims, including children and young people, when planning and commissioning support.

My Department does not hold data on the number of disabled people on social housing registers that require a wheelchair-accessible home.

The government has taken a wide range of steps to boost the supply of homes of all tenures in England, including reform of the planning system.

Housing is a devolved matter within the competency of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

Planning for the upcoming Wildfire summit is underway, and is being taken forward in collaboration with relevant departments and partners, including the Department for the Environment. Invites went out to partners and it is due to take place on Friday 23rd October in Merseyside.

This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Achieving this will require a whole of society approach, including from faith organisations, which play a vital role in supporting people and places to thrive.

Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed, backed by £499 million government funding over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29. Statutory guidance makes clear that in delivering the duty, local authorities should consider the needs of all victims; understand barriers to accessing support within relevant safe accommodation, including those linked to religion or belief; and ensure appropriate specialist support is available for victims with relevant protected characteristics, including religion or belief.

Local authorities must appoint and consult a domestic abuse Local Partnership Board including a representative of local charities or voluntary organisations supporting domestic abuse victims, and are encouraged to appoint additional members where this reflects local circumstances and need.

This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Achieving this will require a whole of society approach, including from faith organisations, which play a vital role in supporting people and places to thrive.

Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed, backed by £499 million government funding over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29. Statutory guidance makes clear that in delivering the duty, local authorities should consider the needs of all victims; understand barriers to accessing support within relevant safe accommodation, including those linked to religion or belief; and ensure appropriate specialist support is available for victims with relevant protected characteristics, including religion or belief.

Local authorities must appoint and consult a domestic abuse Local Partnership Board including a representative of local charities or voluntary organisations supporting domestic abuse victims, and are encouraged to appoint additional members where this reflects local circumstances and need.

This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Achieving this will require a whole of society approach, including from faith organisations, which play a vital role in supporting people and places to thrive.

Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed, backed by £499 million government funding over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29. Statutory guidance makes clear that in delivering the duty, local authorities should consider the needs of all victims; understand barriers to accessing support within relevant safe accommodation, including those linked to religion or belief; and ensure appropriate specialist support is available for victims with relevant protected characteristics, including religion or belief.

Local authorities must appoint and consult a domestic abuse Local Partnership Board including a representative of local charities or voluntary organisations supporting domestic abuse victims, and are encouraged to appoint additional members where this reflects local circumstances and need.

The Government considered the available evidence on homelessness, sponsorship sustainability, local authority impacts and affordability when deciding the future funding arrangements for Homes for Ukraine.

The scheme has evolved from an emergency response into an established programme, with the announced changes ensuring the scheme remains sustainable. Thank you payments will continue to be paid as a gesture of appreciation for those opening their homes - this does not represent a rent payment or a long-term funding arrangement. From 1 January 2027, thank you payments will be £100 per household each month. Sponsors and hosts may ask adult guests to contribute reasonably towards household expenses or consider a formal rental arrangement.

The local authority tariff will also reduce from £5,900 to £3,300 from 1 January but will remain un-ringfenced and can support rematching and homelessness prevention.

Current available data indicates that most Ukrainian households at risk of homelessness have had that risk prevented or relieved. Local authorities can continue to use the un-ringfenced Homes for Ukraine tariff flexibly to support rematching, homelessness prevention and sustainable housing options. The Department will continue to monitor homelessness data and work with local authorities.

The Government considered the available evidence on homelessness, sponsorship sustainability, local authority impacts and affordability when deciding the future funding arrangements for Homes for Ukraine.

The scheme has evolved from an emergency response into an established programme, with the announced changes ensuring the scheme remains sustainable. Thank you payments will continue to be paid as a gesture of appreciation for those opening their homes - this does not represent a rent payment or a long-term funding arrangement. From 1 January 2027, thank you payments will be £100 per household each month. Sponsors and hosts may ask adult guests to contribute reasonably towards household expenses or consider a formal rental arrangement.

The local authority tariff will also reduce from £5,900 to £3,300 from 1 January but will remain un-ringfenced and can support rematching and homelessness prevention.

Current available data indicates that most Ukrainian households at risk of homelessness have had that risk prevented or relieved. Local authorities can continue to use the un-ringfenced Homes for Ukraine tariff flexibly to support rematching, homelessness prevention and sustainable housing options. The Department will continue to monitor homelessness data and work with local authorities.

The Government has carefully considered the consultation responses on Building Safety Directors alongside experience of operating the new building safety regime. The Government's position on the commencement of the Building Safety Director provisions, including regulations under section 111 of the Building Safety Act 2022 and the related provisions under section 112, will be set out in the forthcoming response to the consultation.

Yes, Viva Midco Limited, parent company of Avant Homes, remains a member of the Responsible Actors Scheme. The names of Scheme members are listed on gov.uk.

The government’s Fire Kills national advertising campaign provides clear, practical advice to help residents prevent fires in their homes and respond safely if a fire occurs. This year focuses on the need to have sufficient smoke alarms in the home. The campaign supports fire and rescue services, including Lincolnshire, to deliver their statutory duty to promote fire safety through local fire prevention activity.

MHCLG supports work with the National Fire Chiefs Council to provide a nationally consistent approach to Home Fire Safety Visits across services, tailoring each intervention to the individuals within a particular home. This is augmented with a free online home fire safety check tool, which provides people with fire safety advice tailored to their household and property.

The government has committed to giving mayors a share of business rates from April 2027, more will be set out in the fiscal devolution roadmap this autumn.

In 2026-27 the following 100% business rates (BR) retention pilots are operating - Cornwall Council, Greater Manchester Combined Authority area, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority area, West Midlands Combined Authority area and the West of England Combined Authority area.

All of these 100% BR retention pilots commenced from 2017-18.

Details of how business rates are allocated across each region are included on pages 26 and 27 of the 2026-27 Local Government Finance, which is published here The Local Government Finance Report (England) 2026-27.

It should be noted that the precise calculation of business rates revenues retained locally will also be impacted by other parts of the business rates retention system such as top ups and tariffs, levy and safety net payments, and revenues from local pooling arrangements.

In Protecting What Matters, we committed to promote the role of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) by supporting improved analysis of their annual reports, to better understand the role they play in communities including in relation to cohesion.

The Education Act 1996 sets out the four representative groups required for the constitution of a SACRE, but does not require publication of the members of a SACRE. A council may also include co-opted members.

We do not intend to publish the membership details of each SACRE as a part of this work. Many Local Authorities publish the details of SACRE members on their website, and many SACREs publish details of their members in the appendices of their annual report.

Section 144 of the Building Safety Act (2022) created a power to mandate a requirement for all new build homes to be sold with a new build warranty. No decision has been made by the government on commencement of this power and this position is being kept under review.

The Government recognises that children’s play supports health, wellbeing, learning and social development, and can strengthen community cohesion by bringing children, families and residents together in shared local spaces. This is why the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is investing £18 million through the Playground Fund to support 66 local authorities in England to create, improve or enhance up to 200 playgrounds in areas of greatest need. The fund targets places with higher levels of income deprivation affecting children and weaker existing playground provision, and supports high-quality, accessible and inclusive places to play.

Public playgrounds complement wider Government action to help children be healthier and more active by providing free, local opportunities for outdoor physical activity. The Department will monitor the Playground Fund to build evidence on best practice and interventions.

For buildings constructed in recent years, developers generally have a contractual responsibility for structural faults through warranty agreements. Most new build properties are sold with 10-year warranties, which are funded through developer premiums and usually require developers to directly fix any issues identified within 2 years of occupancy. Local authorities and the Building Safety Regulator can also take enforcement action against those who have contravened the building regulations.

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced a new regime for occupied higher-risk buildings, overseen by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Accountable Persons are required to assess, manage and report building safety risks, including those relating to structural failure.

The BSR, keeps the safety of buildings under review in accordance with its statutory duty set out in Section 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022. As part of this work, BSR assesses emerging evidence relating to potential structural safety risks. The BSR works with the sector to understand the extent and implications of these risks.

There is no comprehensive data set to inform assessment of severity of structural safety risks in buildings. The BSR is undertaking research to better understand how to strengthen the collection and use of structural safety data in the future. BSR is alert to the risk of deterioration in structural condition posed by our ageing building stock. The BSR and MHCLG are working together to determine if more needs to be done to ensure building structures are appropriately reviewed, maintained and managed throughout their lifecycle.

Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, including the Minister for Women and Equalities, are committed to working together on matters relating to women experiencing rough sleeping.

Data about the number of women sleeping rough in England can be found on gov.uk here. Since June 2025 we have included a question on the number of women sleeping rough in our monthly rough sleeping survey. The annual rough sleeping snapshot also includes data on the number of women estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in England. In addition to our official rough sleeping statistics, we continue to gather information from a variety of sources to understand women’s rough sleeping, including the Women’s Census.

In Protecting What Matters, we committed to develop a Social Cohesion Measurement Framework, providing clearer and more consistent metrics to measure local cohesion. Work on the framework is underway and we will publish fuller details in due course. The Framework will enable local areas to assess cohesion in a robust and comparable way. The Framework will be available to local government, civil society and impact investors across England, supporting early identification of emerging tensions and ensuring that public and philanthropic investment meets local needs. We will also engage devolved governments as part of this work.

Since the introduction of the Sector Single Code in 2024, the Government has continued to receive evidence of poor practice. The consistency of concerns raised by motorists, representative groups and regulators suggests these issues are not limited to isolated cases. This underlines the need for statutory standards, stronger oversight and improved data collection which the Government is taking action to address through a new Code of Practice.

Alongside the Code, the Government is introducing a Certification Scheme approved by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. Once implemented, the Certification Scheme will provide independent assurance of individual operator compliance. Operators that fail to meet the Code’s requirements may ultimately lose access to DVLA vehicle keeper data and, in turn, their ability to pursue parking charges.

The Government laid the Code before Parliament on 20 October 2026 and in parallel published its response to its private parking consultation last year. The Government Response contains more details on the plans for enforcement and appeals.

Through the Government's Pride in Place Programme, up to £5.8 billion is being invested over ten years in 284 neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of need.

Neighbourhoods across England, Scotland and Wales were selected using methodologies which combine measures of deprivation and community need. In England, this includes the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and the Community Needs Index (CNI), which together provide a broader picture of local need. Our allocation methodology targets need everywhere, regardless of type of community, and includes a number of rural communities. By targeting census geographies (MSOAs) and capping the number of areas targeted per parliamentary constituency, this methodology has also ensured that funding is geographically spread to a variety of different communities.

The IMD is the Government's established measure of relative deprivation and captures a range of factors including income, employment, education, health, crime, housing and the living environment. The methodology underpinning the IMD has been developed to identify concentrations of deprivation wherever they occur, including in rural, urban and mixed communities.

The CNI provides a complementary measure of community need by assessing factors such as civic and community assets, connectivity and levels of community engagement. It therefore captures aspects of need which are not reflected in deprivation measures alone. These factors can affect communities in rural, urban and mixed areas, and therefore provide a complementary perspective to deprivation measures such as the Index of Multiple Deprivation. The Government's methodology combines multiple measures of need rather than relying on a single indicator.

The full list of areas and place selection methodology is set out here.

The Local Government Finance Settlement is subject to collective agreement. We will consult on referendum principles for 2027-28 in the usual way as part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

It is a longstanding principle that the government does not publish or comment on legal advice. Any costs resulting from the judicial review proceedings will be determined in the usual way.

No specific assessment has been made. Vacancy is shaped by a range of factors, including local demand, wider economic conditions and changing consumer behaviour.

The Government is taking action to address commercial property costs for high street businesses in England. We have introduced legislation to ban upwards-only rent reviews in new and renewed commercial leases, created new, reduced business rates multipliers for high street sectors, and rolled out High Street Rental Auction powers to enable long term vacant units to be offered at reduced rents to local businesses. We have also tasked the Law Commission with projects to address issues in commercial leasehold.

Devolution and local government reorganisation are two distinct processes. The recent announcement of a pause pending review on the Local Government Reorganisation Programme does not impact our overall ambition to achieve full devolution coverage by the end of 2028. Unitary local government can help with the smooth functioning of strategic authorities, but it is not generally a prerequisite for their establishment. We will be confirming next steps on the creation of new strategic authorities soon.

As part of the strengthened intervention package set out in the Directions on 17 March 2026, the Ministerial Envoys are undertaking thematic deep dive projects to provide assurance in relation to long-standing concerns. This includes the allocation of resources for community assets and community grants.

The Elections Modernisation Pilot research was commissioned with Verian to evaluate forms of voting being piloted at the May 2026 elections, intended to make voting in person more efficient, convenient and accessible. The evaluation covers voter experience, accessibility, operational delivery, electoral integrity and value for money, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Findings from the research will be published in due course in line with the Government Social Research Publication Protocol.

From 2026/27 to 2028/29, over £4 billion in funding will be provided for homelessness and rough sleeping services to help local areas deliver tailored services to tackle all forms of homelessness. In addition, the Government has committed £30 million for a three-year Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme to support local authorities with the highest pressures to bring down B&B use, particularly unlawful placements in B&B beyond 6 weeks, with eight London Boroughs receiving funding in 2026/27. The Government is also providing £950 million of investment for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund – the largest investment in the fund to date - to support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.

Electoral Registration Officers are already required to notify affected electors directly when their arrangement is due to expire and provide information about how to make a fresh application. The Government has no plans to create an additional statutory entitlement to this information.