Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they account for the projected fall in net additions to the housing stock to just 215,000 in 2026–27.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I understand that the noble Baroness is referring to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) November 2025 forecast of net additions to the housing stock. The OBR is independent from government, and their forecast is not directly comparable to the government's target to deliver 1.5 million safe and decent homes this parliament.
We expect housing supply to ramp up over the parliament as our ambitious reforms, including those contained in the revised National Planning Policy Framework, take effect.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - 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 use of AI to generate planning objections to energy infrastructure proposals, and the implications for the operation of the planning system.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Representations on major infrastructure projects, such as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects are designed to support the Examining Authority to identify and understand relevant matters in an application. Providing a representation is received within the allotted timeframe, is from a real person, includes a reason or reasons for that person's position and is not vexatious, it will be accepted. Once accepted, the topic(s) raised will be factored into the examination preparation and design. Submissions which simply repeat generic elements add less value and repetitive submissions, however produced, could be disregarded under the legal rules.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many homes for social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership were promised to planning authorities in England as part of section 106 agreements, but not delivered following viability assessments in each financial year from 2016–17 to 2024–25; whether these figures can be broken down by local authority and compared to the numbers of affordable, social rent and shared ownership properties required by those local authorities’ policies; and how these figures compare to the total numbers of homes built by private developers that do not fit into those three categories.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The requested information is not held by the Department.
The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure.
Asked by: Lord Newby (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to implement the proposals on modernising parish poll regulations on which they consulted from December 2014 to January 2015.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government has no plans to amend the regulations on parish polls.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support the fire and rescue service to respond effectively to carbon monoxide incidents in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government acknowledges the vital contributions made by fire and rescue services to a wide variety of incidents.
All Fire and Rescue Authorities are required to publish Community Risk Management Plans (CRMPs) in line with the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England.
Decisions on how their resources are best deployed are a matter for each Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) as the employer, based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the statutory duties of local highway authorities for the public rights of way network are integrated into the Local Government Outcomes Framework.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has no plans at this stage to integrate local highway authorities’ statutory duties for public rights of way into the Local Government Outcomes Framework. The Local Government Outcomes Framework will include key national priorities delivered at the local level, so will not have metrics measuring all local authority statutory duties. Local highway authorities have clear statutory responsibilities for managing and maintaining the public rights of way network within their individual areas, including ensuring routes are kept free from obstruction. They are also required to prepare and keep under review a Rights of Way Improvement Plan, which assesses the condition of the network and sets out planned improvements for all users. These plans are published on each authority’s website.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of electoral law governing crypto digital currency donations to UK political parties.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The rules around political donations must be abided by regardless of the type of donation made, which includes cryptoasset donations. Political donations can only be accepted from permissible sources, and the recipients of the donations must make an honest assessment of the value of the donation at the time they receive it. Those who receive political donations from an impermissible or unidentifiable source must return them.
The Electoral Commission provides guidance on donations, including for non-standard donations such as those made in cryptocurrencies.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what process his Department plans to use to allocate funding following the end of UK Shared Prosperity Fund in regions and counties without an elected mayor.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will conclude in March 2026. Looking ahead, the government is introducing a long-term approach to local growth, providing sustained and predictable support for local authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement and complemented by targeted interventions designed to drive local growth and strengthen communities.
The recent Spending Review provided over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on, including £3.4 billion of new grant funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-27 to 2028-29.
In addition, a new Local Growth Fund will target 11 mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands with the greatest potential for productivity catchup and agglomeration.
Further, the Pride in Place programme is providing up to £5bn over 10 years to support 244 places across the country, helping build strong, resilient and integrated communities in areas that experience the most entrenched social and economic challenges.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Gloucester City Council's finances on local government reorganisation in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have made no such assessment at this stage. On 28 November we received proposals for unitary councils from Gloucestershire councils, which included information on efficiencies and financial sustainability. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance, responses to the statutory consultation and the available evidence.
Gloucester City Council have indicated publicly that they may need to seek Exceptional Financial Support from Government. The Department stands ready to talk to any council that is worried about its financial position.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 help reduce housefires in social housing in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department continues to run its national Fire Kills campaign to raise awareness of key fire safety messages and behaviours to help keep people safe in their homes. The latest advertising campaign launched on 17 November and reminds people to ensure they have a sufficient number of working smoke alarms in their home. The Department works in close partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council to support local community fire safety activity undertaken by local fire and rescue services, often targeted at those most vulnerable to fire.
Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015, all private and social landlords must ensure at least one smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of their homes where there is a room used as living accommodation.
Awaab’s Law was introduced in October 2025 and means that landlords must take action to investigate emergency hazards, including fire hazards, and make them safe within 24 hours (excluding work to fix cladding). The landlord must also take action on significant damp and mould in fixed timelines. In 2026 the requirements will expand to apply to a wider range of hazards, including significant fire hazards.
The Department has also consulted on reviewing the Decent Homes Standard that social landlords must meet, including a proposal to add fire alarm systems to the list of building components that must be kept in good repair. The response to the consultation will be published in due course.