Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department will publish updated statutory guidance on social housing allocations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced in our National Plan to End Homelessness which was published on 11 December last year and can be found on gov.uk here, we will work with stakeholders to review and update statutory guidance on social housing allocations to ensure that allocations reflect local need and effectively support vulnerable households.
We will publish updated statutory guidance in due course.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of a) local, b) regional and c) general elections being held on a Saturday on voter turnout.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not made any recent assessment of the impact of moving polling day to a Saturday on voter turnout.
The Government is committed to increasing democratic participation, as set out in its manifesto. As part of this work, we are preparing to pilot a range of flexible voting options at this May’s local elections, including opportunities for electors to cast their vote over the weekend alongside the traditional polling day. These pilots are designed to build a fuller understanding of how giving people greater choice in when and where they vote can support wider participation and strengthen the overall voting experience.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
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 current waiting times for the Housing Ombudsman.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The average waiting time for a case to be determined by the Housing Ombudsman in 2025/26 was 7.2 months.
The Ombudsman is currently consulting on their 2026/27 Business Plan, which proposes a series of measures to reduce waiting times for tenants.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 remove the right to vote from Commonwealth citizens in elections in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to change the existing voting rights of Irish citizens or Commonwealth citizens.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered the effectiveness of household fuseboards in reducing fire risk.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Part P of the Building Regulations 2010 covers electrical safety in dwellings and is intended to protect people from fire or injury. In England, installation of new household circuits, addition or alteration of circuits in specified locations and replacement of a consumer unit or fuse board are notifiable electrical works and must comply with Building Regulations Part P. In existing buildings, fire risk assessments under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 require responsible persons to demonstrate how they are managing fire safety in their buildings, which may include risk arising from electrical equipment.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff in his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Currently MHCLG have 6 employees who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK and 39 employees who require a visa.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of HM Land Registry staff hold formal qualifications in (a) database architecture and (b) data structure management.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry (HMLR) does not hold information on staff qualifications for technical fields such as database architecture or data structure management.
The Data Group at HMLR, which includes all Data Scientists, Data Architects, and Data Engineers, has more than doubled from 30 to 75 members of staff over the last 15 months.
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, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enacting the recommendations from the Law Commission on the right to manage.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. member to the answer given to Question UIN 90259 on 21 November 2025.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 remove the right to vote from Irish passport holders in elections in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to change the existing voting rights of Irish citizens or Commonwealth citizens.
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, whether the (a) Ministerial Envoys, (b) his Department and (c) Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking steps to help ensure the integrity of the ballot in the councillor and mayoral election in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in May 2026.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Security of our democratic processes is paramount, and this Government has robust systems in place to ensure the integrity of its elections.
The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit (JESP) is leading cross-government efforts in preparation for the 2026 elections, which are taking place across the UK. JESP will stand up an election cell over the election period to monitor election security risk and be ready to stand up a response if required.
JESP has issued updated security advice and guidance to candidates and ROs in England and Wales, which brings together expertise from across the security community, including the Police, the National Protective Security Authority, National Cyber Security Centre, and others, to help candidates and ROs implement security measures and ensure the integrity of the polls.
A statutory intervention is in place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to secure the Council’s compliance with its Best Value Duty. This is centred on a team of Ministerial Envoys who provide support and advice to the Council’s leadership team and oversee the Authority’s improvement work.