Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 to help tackle hate speech directed towards minority faith communities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to tackling all forms of religious hatred, wherever and however it manifests.
On 9 March 2026, we published our Protecting What Matters which details the specific action being taken by government to tackle religious hatred across the country. This can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 impact of the Future Homes Standard on housing affordability.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Future Homes Standard (FHS) has now been published and will come into force on 24 March 2027.
The Department is intending to monitor the impacts of the standard following implementation, including impacts on developers and housing affordability.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
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 to ensure that the UK fulfils its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to ensure that public authorities do not engage in or support any act or practice of racial discrimination.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the importance of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination to combat and eradicate racial discrimination worldwide, and we will continue to uphold our obligations. We are committed to upholding Britain’s long-standing record of protecting the rights of individuals against unlawful discrimination. The Public Sector Equality Duty in the Equality Act 2010 requires public authorities, and those carrying out public functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many planning applications were submitted for change of use into Class E for each of the last three years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps is the government taking to include charitable housing providers within the definition of affordable housing in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 123092 on 31 March 2026.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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 1 December 2025 to Question 94116 on FirstPort: Standards, what discussions he has had with FirstPort since 17 November 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Neither the Secretary of State nor I have regular discussions with individual property management companies regarding effective communications with leaseholders.
I have had no further direct discussions with FirstPort subsequent to my meeting with Martin King on 17 November 2025 and the exchange of letters that followed it as referenced in my answer to Question UIN 94116 on 1 December 2025.
My Department continues to actively monitor standards and quality of service among property management companies, including FirstPort.
I otherwise refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 85213 on 4 November 2025.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is having discussions with property management companies on effective communications with leaseholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Neither the Secretary of State nor I have regular discussions with individual property management companies regarding effective communications with leaseholders.
I have had no further direct discussions with FirstPort subsequent to my meeting with Martin King on 17 November 2025 and the exchange of letters that followed it as referenced in my answer to Question UIN 94116 on 1 December 2025.
My Department continues to actively monitor standards and quality of service among property management companies, including FirstPort.
I otherwise refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 85213 on 4 November 2025.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
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 he made of the adequacy of the preparations for avoiding school exam disruption during the construction a320 HIF scheme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment. The matter in question is for the relevant local authority.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the average time taken to complete a residential property purchase from offer acceptance to completion.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his department has available on the time taken by local authorities to finalise infrastructure (S106) agreements for residential planning permissions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Research conducted under the previous government in 2019, which can be found on gov.uk here, found that the large majority of S106 agreements were agreed and signed immediately but that the main cause of delay related to S106 agreements was the time taken by legal teams acting for both the applicant and Local Planning Authority to review the S106 agreements to ensure they were robust, which took an average of four to five months.
As per the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1286), we want to simplify and strengthen the process for agreeing developer contributions through S106 agreements at the application stage of new developments. It is our intention to publish a template S106 agreement to speed up the process of drafting and concluding new S106 agreements.