Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

The government is in regular contact with mortgage lenders with a view to understanding their position and current lending conditions.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury and I hosted major high street banks on 10 September and called on lenders to make first-time buyers their top priority. The press notice can be found on gov.uk here.

The pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the government does not intervene.

The UK benefits from a competitive mortgage market with various first-time buyer products available.

The government has worked with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, who have clarified and increased the flexibility of their mortgage regulations. This is helping more customers – especially first-time buyers – to borrow what they need to buy the homes they want, while retaining protections so that lending remains affordable and responsible.

My Department has not made a specific assessment of the balance between the supply and demand of student accommodation in all university towns.

MHCLG and the Department for Education regularly engage with a range of stakeholders in the student accommodation market and will continue to do so.

The government recognise the concerns of some students about the availability and cost of accommodation in university towns across the country. We expect higher education providers to work collaboratively with local authorities to ensure there is adequate accommodation for their students, and we expect universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are affordable, fair, clear, and promote the interests of students.

Local planning authorities already have powers to issue a completion notice under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which requires a developer to complete their development if it is left uncompleted. If they fail to do so, the planning permission for the development will no longer be valid.

As part of their responsibilities local authorities should consider how to mitigate risks around infrastructure delivery, including looking at the timing of infrastructure completion on site and considering whether it is appropriate to require developers to set aside bonds which can be used to complete infrastructure should the developer be unable to do so.

The government is determined to end the injustice of 'fleecehold' and we have committed to consult this year on options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders. I refer the hon. Member to my Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS2440) I made on 21 November last year for further details.

The government has no current plans to change the list of buildings that are not considered Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) under the Housing Act 2004. We keep the regulation of HMOs under review.

The nationally described space standard in question is not mandatory, and it is at the discretion of local planning authorities to adopt those standards in their area where they believe there is a justified need to do so.

The National Planning Policy Frameworks sets out that local authorities should identify and update annually a five-year housing land supply (5YHLS) of deliverable housing sites (with appropriate buffer) for decision making. This should be calculated against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies, or against their local housing need where the strategic policies are more than five years old.

While the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) may be aware of an authority’s 5YHLS position at the time of a specific appeal, this position is not static. It may change over time due to annual updates or as a result of subsequent planning appeal decisions. As such, my Department does not collect live data on the 5YHLS status of individual local planning authorities.

The National Planning Policy Frameworks sets out that local authorities should identify and update annually a five-year housing land supply (5YHLS) of deliverable housing sites (with appropriate buffer) for decision making. This should be calculated against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies, or against their local housing need where the strategic policies are more than five years old.

While the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) may be aware of an authority’s 5YHLS position at the time of a specific appeal, this position is not static. It may change over time due to annual updates or as a result of subsequent planning appeal decisions. As such, my Department does not collect live data on the 5YHLS status of individual local planning authorities.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 81035 on 20 October 2025.

The government has not made an estimate of the proportion of new homes to be delivered in this Parliament which will be flats and houses.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, and reflect this in their Local Plans. This includes considering the need for family homes, in addition to need for other forms of housing such as student housing and older persons housing.

The government believes that these matters are best determined locally, and so it is for local authorities to consider if there is a need for particular types of housing in their area.

A response to the hon. Member was issued on 20 October 2025.

Individual leases set out obligations for building maintenance and failure by the landlord to take action can mean a breach of the lease, which leaseholders may seek to pursue through an application to the County Court. Leaseholders can approach the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) for advice through that organisation’s website.

Accountable persons of high-rise buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022 must also prepare a safety case report to demonstrate that all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent building safety risks happening and reduce the seriousness if they do. This may include addressing damp and mould if it is the source of prolonged or uncontrolled water ingress. Furthermore, as part of its section 5 duties under the 2022 Act, the Building Safety Regulator must keep under review the safety of people in or about buildings in relation to risks as regards buildings, and the standard of buildings. Further information is available from the Regulator.

On 4 July, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. For an overview of the proposals set out in the consultation, I refer the hon. Member to the associated Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS780).

MHCLG ministers have had no recent discussions with the Environment Agency (EA) in respect of the matter in question.

The EA has worked with Thames Water to develop a strategic approach to managing wastewater capacity challenges in Oxford. Working with local partners, it is tracking delivery of the improvements to the Oxford Sewage Treatment Works to ensure the delivery of sufficient wastewater capacity in this critical growth area.

The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership.

In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting people into home ownership, including through the shared ownership scheme and the Lifetime ISA.

The government has also introduced a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, available to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products for prospective buyers.

Additionally, the Bank of England is easing the loan-to-income limit, enabling up to 36,000 additional first-time buyers in the first year.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing review of the mortgage market means many buyers can now borrow 10% more towards a property purchase. The government looks forward to ambitious proposals from the FCA’s paper.

First-time buyers may also benefit from home ownership initiatives offered at the local level.

My Department has no plans to make such an assessment. We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes provisions that will make it cheaper and easier for existing leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold.

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government intends to act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the Act’s provisions.

Leaseholders can view high level information on their lease on the title register or request an official copy of their lease from HM Land Registry (HMLR) using form OC2. A dataset of registered leases is also published by HMLR and can be accessed free of charge for personal use. This can be found on gov.uk here.

Specialist legal advice should be taken from a solicitor or surveyor when considering enfranchisement or extensions. Leaseholders can also get free information and advice from the Leasehold Advisory Service.

The National Planning Policy Framework emphasises the importance of a network of high quality, open spaces for the health and wellbeing of communities and the environment. This is supported by national design guidance, which explains that well designed places provide both usable private and public open green spaces, which can include private and communal gardens.

We currently have no plans to assess the merits of introducing minimum garden density in new developments.

All homes delivered through the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme are supported by grant. Those homes are in addition to affordable homes that developers have committed to delivering under negotiated Section 106 agreements.

My Department published an update on targets for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, including our target for delivering homes for social rent, on 30 July 2024. It can be found on gov.uk here.

According to the English Housing Survey, the average (mean) deposit of a first-time buyer in 2023-24 was £55,372 (£32,700 median). Further information can be found in the English Housing Survey statistical publication on gov.uk here.

In 2023-24, the mean cash deposit paid by first time buyers in England using shared ownership schemes sold through via private registered providers was £20,300 and the median cash deposit was £12,900. Figures for all shared ownership schemes sold through via private registered providers is available in Live Table 697.

My Department has not issued guidance in respect of this matter.

The Planning Advisory Service has published guidance to help local planning authorities adhere to the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation in exercising their planning duties. It can be found here.

We are committed to improving systems that enable fire safety and evacuation of disabled and vulnerable residents in all high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings. On 4 July, the government laid The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 in Parliament, which will come into force on 6 April 2026.

Under the new regulations, residents with disabilities or impairments will be entitled to personal assessments designed to identify necessary equipment and adjustments that aid their fire safety and evacuation. Fire and Rescue Services will also receive information on vulnerable residents, where the individual resident agrees to the information being shared, in case they need to support their evacuation.

The government has committed funding this year to support social housing providers to deliver Residential PEEPs for their renters. Future years’ funding will be confirmed in due course.

Although UIN HL9253 set out that the government does not currently intend to implement the street votes provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, I can clarify that no final decision has been taken.

We are currently considering how we might support urban densification through a new suite of national policies for decision making that we intend to consult on later this year.

431 individuals are recorded as having taken part in strike action on 1 September 2025.

It is not MHCLG policy to routinely publish FOI responses. The Information Tribunal views disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a release into the public domain.

Collaboration between emergency services has a vital role to play in keeping the public safe in a way that optimises efficiency and effectiveness. However, it is for local emergency service providers to decide what collaborative activities will best serve their communities’ needs.

My Department engages regularly with the National House Building Council and is committed to improving upon existing means of redress for new build homebuyers for when things go wrong. This includes bringing into force a statutory New Homes Ombudsman scheme with accompanying Code of Practice.

We are also changing incentives in the housing market and giving local authorities the tools they need to speed up delivery.

On 25 May, we published the Speeding Up Build Out working paper, which sets out proposals to increase build out rates. This includes incentivising and supporting models of development that build out faster, giving local authorities tools to agree and monitor build out rates and potentially giving local authorities the ability to charge developers a ‘Delayed Homes Penalty’.

The government publishes an annual statement to Parliament setting out the numbers, names and pay bands of special advisers, the appointing minister and the overall paybill.

Elections for existing unitary councils are held under the First Past the Post system. There are no plans to change the voting system for local council elections in England and elections for newly established unitary councils will also be held under this voting system.

A flight was taken from Manchester to London on 9 March 2025 by a member of staff to attend a mandatory training course on the following day.

The trains were on strike at the time of the booking attempt (14 February 2025), as a result, none of the Manchester-to-London routes were shown on the government booking platform.

There is currently no requirement for registered providers of social housing to promote credit union membership to their tenants, and we do not propose to introduce one.

Registered providers are expected to deliver the outcomes of the Regulator of Social Housing’s regulatory standards. This includes the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, which includes a requirement for registered providers to co-operate with relevant partners to promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing in the areas where they provide social housing. This could include signposting tenants to sources of support, and we recognise the work many register providers do to help tenants sustain their tenancies and manage their finances.

As allocated as part of the Spending Review, the Government is investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This funding will be delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with the Home Office and councils, to deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers.

This fund will support councils to make available basic alternative accommodation so that it can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. In the longer term, our ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets.

We continue to engage with local government on options for design of the fund and the best way to deliver this accommodation in different areas. We will confirm further details in due course.

As announced at the Spending Review, from 2026-27 the UK government will provide targeted, long-term local growth funding to support growth across the UK, once the UK Shared Prosperity Fund ends in March 2026.

In Northern Ireland, we are working closely with the Northern Ireland Office to develop and implement the new Local Growth Fund, in collaboration with the Northern Ireland Executive. The government is committed to engagement with key stakeholders in Northern Ireland to help implement a package of funding that meets local needs and delivers impact. More information on the development of the Local Growth Fund in Northern Ireland and engagement plans will be set out soon.

We aim to publish the prospectus for Round 4 by the end of this year, to allow local authorities sufficient time to prepare for delivery to begin in April 2026.

The £950 million fourth round of Local Authority Housing Fund will primarily support local authorities in England to increase the supply of better-quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of Bed and Breakfasts for families with children.

It will also provide safe and suitable housing for those on the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP), to fulfil the UK’s humanitarian duties to assist those who assisted British efforts in Afghanistan and are at risk of homelessness.

The starting point is for all elections to go ahead, unless there is strong justification. We intend for the mayoral election for the new strategic authority to take place in May 2026, alongside the scheduled elections to Norwich City Council and the County Council elections postponed from May 2025.

Local authorities are already bound by this duty when they discharge their housing and homelessness duties, and independent Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers support service personnel and their families to register and to vote. Extending the legal duty of the Armed Forces Covenant to MHCLG would therefore align with my department’s existing policies.

A detailed assessment can be found in our response to the Defence Committee in April, available at: committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/142062/default/.

The Inter-Ministerial Group includes ministers from across government and is focused on developing a long-term strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness. This includes ministers from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Health and Social Care, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, Cabinet Office, and His Majesty’s Treasury.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government or his delegate chairs the Inter-Ministerial Group on homelessness.

Surrey is pursuing local government reorganisation to an accelerated timetable. A decision on which proposal to implement will be announced shortly to Parliament, now the House has returned from the conference recess, and will be shared with Surrey Council leaders at the same time.

It continues to be expected, by both the government and council leaders in Surrey, that elections scheduled to take place in Surrey in May 2026, including those to the County Council, will be replaced by elections to the new unitary councils.

Simplifying local government structures in Surrey will also support a strong foundation for devolution, and government will continue to work with local leaders to consider options.

Surrey is pursuing local government reorganisation to an accelerated timetable. A decision on which proposal to implement will be announced shortly to Parliament, now the House has returned from the conference recess, and will be shared with Surrey Council leaders at the same time.

It continues to be expected, by both the government and council leaders in Surrey, that elections scheduled to take place in Surrey in May 2026, including those to the County Council, will be replaced by elections to the new unitary councils.

Simplifying local government structures in Surrey will also support a strong foundation for devolution, and government will continue to work with local leaders to consider options.

Surrey is pursuing local government reorganisation to an accelerated timetable. A decision on which proposal to implement will be announced shortly to Parliament, now the House has returned from the conference recess, and will be shared with Surrey Council leaders at the same time.

It continues to be expected, by both the government and council leaders in Surrey, that elections scheduled to take place in Surrey in May 2026, including those to the County Council, will be replaced by elections to the new unitary councils.

Simplifying local government structures in Surrey will also support a strong foundation for devolution, and government will continue to work with local leaders to consider options.

This government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of our elections. Between October 2024 and April 2025, the government worked in partnership with the electoral sector to carry out a strategic review of electoral registration and conduct, focused on improving resilience, reducing risk in the delivery of elections, and supporting voters. The outcomes of the Review were set out in the Government’s Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections, published in July 2025.

The Pride in Place Impact Fund will provide £142.5 million of funding to 95 places to support the development of community spaces, public space and to revitalise our local high streets. This will enable immediate work to make sure that the places and spaces valued by communities are improved and matches the pride they feel for their local areas.

The purpose of the Pride in Place Impact Fund is to help restore pride to selected places, enhancing local identity and morale which in turn will draw in longer-term, sustainable private investment. Upgrades to community facilities and public spaces such as parks, playgrounds and piers will help improve health and well-being, bring people together and strengthen communities.

To maximise the impact of the Pride in Place Impact Fund and broaden its reach, local authorities are encouraged to explore opportunities to leverage funding and seek extra match funding for initiatives. This will help to unlock additional support and accelerate progress on shared priorities for local pride.

The Working Group have now submitted their independent advice to Ministers who will take the time to review and consider the advice carefully before confirming next steps in due course.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to his Question UIN HL10400 on 23 September 2025. In addition to the open market value of the acquired land in the absence of the scheme, owners and tenants are entitled to loss payment compensation for the distress and inconvenience of having to move from their property at a time not of their choosing and to claim compensation for disturbance (i.e. losses unconnected to the value of property such as professional fees).

Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. Everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease where they live. The Government is committed to protecting individuals’ right to practise their religion freely and will not tolerate religious hatred in any form. Those who incite religious hatred will face the full force of the law.

Faith Groups in England and Wales that are particularly vulnerable to religiously or racially motivated hate crime are eligible for funded protective security measures through the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. This scheme offers physical security enhancements, such as CCTV, intruder alarms, and secure perimeter fencing.

An Antisemitism Working Group has been established to advise the Government on effective strategies to tackle hate against Jewish communities. Additionally, the government continues to work with the independent advisor Lord Mann in combating antisemitism through meaningful engagement with diverse communities.

The Government has also established an independent working group to advise on a non-statutory definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred. The working group have engaged widely to ensure their proposed definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of communities across the United Kingdom.

The Working Group have now submitted their independent advice to Ministers who will take the time to review and consider the advice carefully before confirming next steps in due course.