Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with HM Land Registry about improving processing times for applications; and whether they have set any specific targets for service improvement.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Improving speed of service remains a top priority for HM Land Registry (HMLR). Plans to achieve this are set out in the Agency’s Strategy 2025+ which was published on 5 November 2025 and can be found on gov.uk here(opens in a new tab).
As its sponsor department, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government holds HMLR to account for its performance and operational delivery and is in regular communication with HMLR about their processing times.
HMLR has been making improvements in this area through hiring and training more staff and by improving the efficiency of the services its customers use. The introduction of new pre-submission validation checks will speed up processes and reduce staff time spent on dealing with errors or mistakes. The age of outstanding post-completion applications is now under 12 months across all service lines, from a peak of 20 months in February 2023.
HMLR processing times are publicly available on gov.uk here(opens in a new tab).
Anyone who is concerned that a delay to their application may cause financial, legal, or personal problems or put a property sale at risk, can apply to have their application expedited free of charge. HMLR processes nearly 1,400 expedited applications every day, with more than 95% actioned within 10 working days.
I recently wrote to the Chair of the Land Registry Board setting out the government’s priorities for HMLR on organisational performance over the coming year.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443) and the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 5 March (HL Deb col 585GC), what steps the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The department regularly reviews its forward secondary legislation programme, including commencement orders for as yet uncommenced legislation.
In the last year the department has undertaken a number of separate exercises to review delivery of secondary legislation and to ensure it is being prioritised in line with our legal requirements and the Government’s priorities.
We will continue to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation relevant to our department’s work should be brought into force.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the programme of new towns to be constructed in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The precise funding offer for each new town location will be confirmed once final decisions have been made on the programme. Final decisions on locations will be confirmed later this year once the New Towns Draft Programme consultation has closed and all necessary environmental assessments have been completed.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2026, to Question 116756, on Independent Review into Civil Unrest in Leicester, what is the timetable for publishing the report that was received by his Department on 1 July 2025.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is taking the time to review the Panel’s report to ensure that its response is in the best interest of communities in Leicester and beyond. We will respond in due course. Our ‘Protecting What Matters’ Action Plan, published on 9 March, considered learnings from the events of Leicester in 2022 and has set out measures we are taking to build social cohesion and protect our communities from harm, such as establishing an Advisory Board to support local authorities when tensions arise, and tackling harmful content in online spaces.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 16, what steps he is taking to promote Englishness and a national sense of identity in England.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A great strength of our national identity is its pluralism. Whether we are from England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland; whatever our religion or belief; whether we were born here or abroad; or whatever the colour of our skin, we can all embrace our shared identity, celebrate what we have in common, and be proud of our country’s long history and heritage.
As set out in Protecting What Matters, we will set clear national integration expectations for communities across the country, focused on stronger social connections, shared identity, English language proficiency, and participation in work. We will also strengthen the national curriculum and qualifications in England to ensure high quality teaching of our nation’s history.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rate of state-sponsored antisemitism within the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not routinely comment on the detail of operational matters or specific threats. But the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. We continually assess potential threats to the UK and its residents and will continue to take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms and safety in the UK very seriously. Any attempt by a foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
We are also taking broader action on antisemitism - rooting out extremism, tackling it in schools and universities, and in the NHS.
We are committed to tackling those who spread views that sow divisions between or within communities and oppose the values we share as a society.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for each of the past five years, what proportion of households on local authority housing waiting lists were (a) UK nationals, (b) EU nationals and (c) non‑EU nationals.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Information on the nationality of the lead applicant of households on housing registers is collected on a voluntary basis in the Local Authority Housing Statistics (LAHS).
Information is available for the past two years and is published in Section 6.7 of the Social Housing Lettings in England (tenants) statistical release. The 31 March 2024 snapshot can be found here and 31 March 2025 snapshot can be found here.
Please note that the percentages presented in these reports should not be used to estimate the number of households on housing registers in England with particular characteristics due to the low response rate and insufficient coverage of these voluntary questions. As the data is collected on an aggregated basis it is not possible to provide information on where lead applicants hold multiple particular characteristics. Further detail about the low coverage is published in Section 4.3 of the LAHS technical notes here for the figures as at 31 March 2024 and here for the figures as at 31 March 2025.
All lead applicants of households on housing registers are eligible for social housing. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they would not be eligible to join a local authority's housing register.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households on local authority housing waiting lists in each of the past five years were (a) UK nationals, (b) EU nationals and (c) non‑EU nationals, and what proportion of each group had a recognised immigration status conferring eligibility for social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Information on the nationality of the lead applicant of households on housing registers is collected on a voluntary basis in the Local Authority Housing Statistics (LAHS).
Information is available for the past two years and is published in Section 6.7 of the Social Housing Lettings in England (tenants) statistical release. The 31 March 2024 snapshot can be found here and 31 March 2025 snapshot can be found here.
Please note that the percentages presented in these reports should not be used to estimate the number of households on housing registers in England with particular characteristics due to the low response rate and insufficient coverage of these voluntary questions. As the data is collected on an aggregated basis it is not possible to provide information on where lead applicants hold multiple particular characteristics. Further detail about the low coverage is published in Section 4.3 of the LAHS technical notes here for the figures as at 31 March 2024 and here for the figures as at 31 March 2025.
All lead applicants of households on housing registers are eligible for social housing. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they would not be eligible to join a local authority's housing register.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that Section 106 money is spent promptly.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 54059 on 6 June 2025.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of approved planning permissions in England that have not yet been built out.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not collect data on the number of approved planning permissions that have not yet been built out.
In May 2025, we published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built. It can be found on gov.uk here. The working paper drew on a range of independent research and market studies, including the Letwin Review and the Competition and Markets Authority’s October 2024 market study into housebuilding, exploring stalled sites and build out rates.
Alongside the working paper, we launched a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve the transparency of build rates from new residential developments, which includes proposals to implement provisions in Section 113 of the LURA on the power to decline to determine applications. That consultation can be found on gov.uk here.
We will set out our next steps in due course.