Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for each of the past five years, what proportion of social housing evictions involved households with (a) no recourse to public funds, (b) pre‑settled status without a qualifying right to reside, (c) temporary visas, (d) refugee status, (e) humanitarian protection, or (f) indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for each of the past five years, how many households placed in the insanitary, unsatisfactory or overcrowded Reasonable Preference category on social housing registers were (a) UK nationals, (b) EU nationals, and (c) non‑EU nationals.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department has given to strengthening regulatory interfaces, including the UK’s machinery and building‑safety frameworks, to ensure that lifts, doors, and other powered egress‑related systems allow for rapid evacuation of vulnerable residents during fire emergencies.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is reviewing the recommendation from the Grenfell Inquiry to mandate fire safety strategies for higher risk buildings. Such strategies would require a building’s responsible person to set out clear plans for what vulnerable people should do to evacuate in an emergency. Additionally, government has committed to review and update guidance to the Building Regulations set out in Approved Document B (Fire Safety). The Building Safety Regulator has launched a public consultation setting out proposals including new provisions for evacuation lifts in residential buildings over 18 metres to support safe evacuation of residents who may not be able to use stairs. The consultation closes on 17 June 2026.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the cost-savings to residents of the requirement of new homes to be fitted with heat pumps.
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 Impact Assessment for the FHS does not isolate the savings attributable to heat pumps alone, as it considers the overall performance of homes built to the FHS rather than individual technologies in isolation. Compared to a typical existing home with an EPC rating of C, homes built to the FHS could save families up to £830 a year on their energy bills. These estimates reflect the combined impact of much higher fabric efficiency, low‑carbon heating such as heat pumps and, in most cases, on‑site renewable electricity generation such as solar PV.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 ensure that people experiencing homelessness are able to access social housing.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation, including through the new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme. As set out in our National Plan to End Homelessness, we will work with partners to update statutory guidance on social housing allocations to ensure that allocations reflect local need and effectively support vulnerable households.
Where joint working is not operating effectively, we will consider levers to require social housing landlords to rehouse statutory homeless households referred by the council, including legislating if necessary.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on developing the Able Humber Ports site at Killingholme following the awarding of the Industrial Strategy Zone Site Accelerator Grant funding.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As one of the twenty-two Industrial Strategy Zones across the UK, Humber Freeport was awarded £490,000 of Site Accelerator Grant to progress vital work to unlock a new quay and offshore wind supply‑chain hub at Immingham.
Alongside the private sector investment at Killingholme – this will unlock wider benefits for the region that will create jobs, support decarbonisation, and deliver long‑term economic growth across the Humber.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 prevent children from sleeping rough.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 121467 on 24 March 2026.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 support and protect supported housing provision.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given the Question UIN 123120 on 26 March 2026.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 carried out an impact assessment of proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to remove the requirement for developers to provide social and affordable housing on medium-sized sites, including the effect on the number of homes delivered through section 106 planning obligations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The draft Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, retains a strong preference for, and commitment to, on-site delivery of social and affordable housing, reflecting the benefits this provides in terms of the delivery of mixed communities, controlled land prices, and secure cash flow for developers of all sizes.
However, for the reasons outlined in the consultation, the government decided to explore further the potential benefits and drawbacks of enabling developers to discharge social and affordable housing requirements through cash contributions in lieu of direct delivery in the category of “medium” sites. In its fullest form, this approach would mean it was entirely at the applicant’s discretion as to whether to provide social and affordable housing on-site or via a cash payment in lieu.
My Department has made no assessment of the impact that this approach would have on the overall number of social and affordable homes delivered through S106 agreements or on rates of housebuilding more generally.
However, the consultation makes clear that further consideration of this policy proposition would have to take into account its impact on the government’s manifesto commitments to strengthen the existing developer contributions system and to deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. It would also have to account for the need to ensure payments reflect an appropriate value, and the imperative that such payments could be spent effectively and quickly so as not to push social and affordable housing delivery timescales far into the future.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to remove the requirement for developers to provide social and affordable housing on medium-sized sites on the delivery of housing in rural areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The draft Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, retains a strong preference for, and commitment to, on-site delivery of social and affordable housing, reflecting the benefits this provides in terms of the delivery of mixed communities, controlled land prices, and secure cash flow for developers of all sizes.
However, for the reasons outlined in the consultation, the government decided to explore further the potential benefits and drawbacks of enabling developers to discharge social and affordable housing requirements through cash contributions in lieu of direct delivery in the category of “medium” sites. In its fullest form, this approach would mean it was entirely at the applicant’s discretion as to whether to provide social and affordable housing on-site or via a cash payment in lieu.
My Department has made no assessment of the impact that this approach would have on the overall number of social and affordable homes delivered through S106 agreements or on rates of housebuilding more generally.
However, the consultation makes clear that further consideration of this policy proposition would have to take into account its impact on the government’s manifesto commitments to strengthen the existing developer contributions system and to deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. It would also have to account for the need to ensure payments reflect an appropriate value, and the imperative that such payments could be spent effectively and quickly so as not to push social and affordable housing delivery timescales far into the future.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.