Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what timetable his Department has set for laying secondary legislation relating to deferment and capitalisation rates under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103549 on 14 January 2026 and to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278).
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what transitional arrangements apply to leaseholders pursuing enfranchisement claims while awaiting implementation of the new valuation 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 103549 on 14 January 2026 and to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278).
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken towards bringing the provisions in the Freehold Reform Act 2024 into force.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103549 on 14 January 2026 and to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278).
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 adequacy of the availability of affordable housing options for young people on low incomes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 104603 on 19 January 2026, and UIN 87891 on 11 November 2025.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
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 protect local democracy when changing the referral criteria to require Local Planning Authorities to notify the Department where they intend to refuse an application for 150 homes or more.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The power to call in planning applications is a long-established one. Decisions on call-in are a question of jurisdiction and not a view on the merits of any given application.
The policy on call in, as set out in a Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012, is unchanged.
The proposed requirement for Local Planning Authorities to refer additional applications will not mean that all such applications will be called in.
All decisions on planning applications, whether called in or not, are made in line with the development plan for an area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
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 provide the evidence base used to determine that 800m is the appropriate radius for station-based Green Belt release.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.
The draft NPPF includes policies that would allow for suitable development (including housing and mixed-use) around railway stations offering high levels of connectivity, recognising these as relatively sustainable locations. It makes clear that such development should be limited to land physically well-related to the station and within reasonable walking distance of it.
Reasonable walking distance is not quantified in the consultation document itself but following the Oral Statement I made on 16 December 2025 I referenced 800 metres (approximately 10 minutes at moderate walking speed) as the government’s working assumption of how it might be defined.
The consultation seeks views on all aspects of the policy, including how reasonable walking distance should be defined. It is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 his grey belt policy on Green Belt farmland in London.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 26509 on 5 February 2025 and UIN 67891 on 23 July 2025.
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, whether he has had discussions with the leader of Kent County Council on the potential impact of delays in asylum decision-making contribute on local authority social care costs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 111400 answered on 12 February 2026.
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, whether his Department plans to publish regular forecasts of asylum-related social care costs incurred by local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 111400 answered on 12 February 2026.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
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 will make an assessment of the potential merits of a uniform council tax support scheme for all local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Council tax support for pension-age residents is centrally prescribed and provides up to 100% reduction for those on the lowest incomes. Council tax support for working age households is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the resources available to them and the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Each year, councils must consider whether to revise or replace their scheme in consultation with their residents.