Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - 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 impact of changes to local planning authority agendas with regard to house building upon companies directly linked to the Industrial Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to building 1.5 million homes over this Parliament and delivering our modern Industrial Strategy.
Reforming the planning system is key to delivering on both of these commitments. The revised National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies should set out a clear economic vision and strategy which positively and proactively encourages sustainable economic growth, having regard to the national Industrial Strategy and any relevant Local Industrial Strategies. We will ensure that the planning system supports growth in our eight priority sectors, as reflected in the revised Framework. This prioritisation will be further embedded when we consult on a set of national policies for decision-making before the end of the year.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will also streamline the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure – including infrastructure relevant to delivering the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
The Government engages regularly with relevant stakeholders to understand and monitor the impacts of our proposed reforms.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of any overspend by local authorities in England in this financial year; and how much has been allocated to cover that overspend in the final local government finance settlement for this year.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble Lord to the statement made by my hon Friend the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness on 20 November 2025 (attached) (HCWS1080), which sets out our plans for the 2026-27 to 2028-29 multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement, which includes allocating £3.4 billion of new grant funding over the multi-year period.
Local authorities are required to set a balanced budget. Any council that has concerns about its ability to set or maintain a balanced budget should approach the department in the first instance. The government does not collect data on overspends of budgets, but Revenue Account Budgets and Revenue Outturn are published as official national statistics.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and combined Mayoral Authorities on taxes relating to the hospitality sector.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy.
We have published a consultation running until 18 February 2026, so that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power to introduce a levy that will be devolved to local leaders.
I am, of course, in regular communication with Ministers in other Departments on a range of issues, including options for deeper devolution.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a tourism tax.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy.
We have published a consultation running until 18 February 2026, so that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power to introduce a levy that will be devolved to local leaders.
The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 (a) trends in the level of demand for and (b) the adequacy of older people’s housing, including sheltered housing and care homes, for older LGBTIQA+ people.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.
Asked by: Earl of Lytton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to their Research and Analysis Building Safety Remediation: monthly data release - June 2025, updated on 2 October, what are the reasons for the difference between (1) their new estimate as of January 2025 for the total number of mid-rise residential buildings with dwellings in England of 39,000–59,000, and (2) the previous estimate published in 2021 of 71,000–79,000, in the context of the margin of uncertainty increasing from 8,000 to 20,000.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A description of the methodology for the revised estimate as of January 2025 can be found in the technical note that accompanies the monthly data release. It can be found here: Building Safety Technical Note June 2025
The revised estimates are based on the recently released Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database data which was not available when the original estimates were calculated. The key assumptions section of the Technical Note refers to the use of Ordnance Survey unique building identifiers in the higher building ranges and this was a key driver for the increase in the range of uncertainty.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable accurate data capture on the number of rough sleeping veterans.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
MHCLG collects a range of data and research on veteran homelessness and rough sleeping, including through the Homelessness Case Level Collection (H-CLIC), Rough Sleeping Data Framework, Rough sleeping single night autumn snapshot, and Rough Sleeping Questionnaire (RSQ). These statistics and research are available (attached) at Homelessness statistics - GOV.UK and (attached) Rough sleeping questionnaire: initial findings - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Earl of Lytton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate for the total number of dwellings in mid-rise residential buildings in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are an estimated 858,000 – 1,298,000 dwellings in mid-rise (11-18m) residential buildings in England.
Asked by: Earl of Lytton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what latest estimate they have made of the number of dwellings in mid-rise residential buildings in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are an estimated 858,000 – 1,298,000 dwellings in mid-rise (11-18m) residential buildings in England.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make public toilet provision a statutory duty for local authorities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government does not propose to introduce a statutory duty at this time.
We recognise the importance of toilet provision and have taken steps to support local leaders. At the 2025 Spending Review, we committed over £5 billion in new grant funding over the next three years for essential local services such as toilets. In addition, we continue to provide 100% mandatory business rates relief for separately assessed public toilets.