Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 adequacy of the performance of the Housing Regulator in meeting its KPIs on i) Driving improvement, ii) Maintaining confidence, iii) Working with others and iv) building the organisation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
My Department has not itself assessed the adequacy of the RSH’s performance in meeting its KPIs.
The RSH publishes its performance framework and reports annually on key performance indicators through its Corporate Plan and Annual Report and Accounts.
My Department monitors the RSH’s performance through regular Accounting Officer meetings.
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 her Department has provided guidance to local planning authorities on whether recreational routes associated with major residential developments should accommodate all non-motorised users, including horse riders and people with restricted mobility.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that planning policies and decisions should protect and enhance public rights of way and access, including taking opportunities to provide better facilities for users, for example by adding links to existing rights of way networks including National Trails.
The NPPF is also clear that applications for development should address the needs of people with disabilities and reduced mobility in relation to all modes of transport.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to promoting sustainable transport.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
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 delays related to the Planning Inspectorate’s processes of appeals against local authority enforcement notices have on the ability of councils to comply with planning law; what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that enforcement action is not undermined by appeal processing times.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to the efficient handling of planning appeals, and the Planning Inspectorate has been working to improve processing and handling times in respect of them. As part of those efforts, it is trialling a pilot service of enforcement appeals through digital services.
The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs by 2027. The Inspectorate continues to make considerable progress towards meeting that ambition across all casework areas.
To help improve service delivery and user experience, the Inspectorate is expanding the ‘Manage your appeals’ service to include enforcement.
In 2025/26, funding increased for PINS’s Resource Delivery budget (to £97.9 million) and their Capital Budget (to £15 million).
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, whether she has any plans to review or abolish the mandatory 10% resale levy payable by park home residents to site owners upon the sale of their homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 115901 on 9 March 2026.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
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 opportunities for housing and economic growth of Thamesmead Waterfront.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On Monday 23 March, the government launched a public consultation on its proposed New Towns Programme and its environmental implications. That consultation can be found on gov.uk here.
Through the Programme, we are proposing to take forward seven locations, including a site at Thamesmead.
The consultation builds on the findings of the New Towns Taskforce’s final report. It invites views on how the new towns programme will operate, how new towns will be delivered and planned, and the proposed approach to design, placemaking and planning policy.
Final locations will be confirmed later this year after the consultation, the Strategic Environmental Assessment and any further required environmental assessment have concluded.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of the mandatory 10% resale levy payable by park home residents to site owners upon the sale of their homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 115901 on 9 March 2026.
Asked by: Lord Woodley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 17 March (HL Deb cols 757–758) that “it is not true that commissioners are blocking a viable deal”, whether they will confirm that those commissioners last year blocked a deal that had been reached between the chief executive of Birmingham Council and the Unite union to end the industrial dispute between the council and refuse workers, and if so, what steps they will take to clarify that point publicly.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have been clear that the government is not a party to the ongoing waste dispute, and this is a local matter that the relevant parties must resolve. Like all authorities, Birmingham City Council has legal duties with which its statutory officers must ensure compliance, including in relation to equal pay and the ongoing waste dispute. Throughout the all-out strike, Commissioners have consistently outlined that any resolution to the dispute must be lawful, must represent value for money and must not exacerbate unfairness relating to equal pay. Commissioners have also set out that any possible agreement with Unite must be approved through the Council's formal processes.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they gave to including targets for building permanent affordable social housing in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Child Poverty Strategy was developed in collaboration with the National Plan to End Homelessness because the government is focussing on delivering long-term solutions across both agendas. The National Plan to End Homelessness includes our action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including a generational increase in new social and affordable homes. We are delivering a new 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme backed by a £39 billion investment, which aims to build 300,000 social and affordable homes over the programme’s lifetime.
Asked by: Lord Young of Acton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether an equalities impact assessment was carried out before the decision to adopt the definition of anti-Muslim hostility; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
An Equalities Impact Assessment for adopting a definition of anti-Muslim hostility was carried out by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Asked by: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they will give to introducing regulations for the use of premises for the sale of vaping products, following the fire in Glasgow on 8 March.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides powers for Ministers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to establish a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping and nicotine products in their respective nations. Instead of retail licensing, Scotland has an established register of tobacco and vape retailers which has been in place for over 15 years.
Retail licensing will strengthen enforcement of tobacco and vape legislation, supporting retailers who operate responsibly while deterring those who break the law. The Government sought evidence on the implementation of retail licensing through a call for evidence which closed in December last year. We will hold a subsequent consultation on our proposals before introducing regulations.
In terms of fire safety, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a range of legal duties on Responsible Persons (the person in control of a premises which can include building owners, landlords and employers), chief among which is the need to undertake a fire risk assessment. The assessment must identify any general fire safety precautions that need to be taken to ensure that the premises, and people within it, are safe from fire. Additionally, the Responsible Person must put those precautions in place and ensure they are subject to a suitable system of maintenance.
In order to help Responsible Persons discharge their duties MHCLG publish a range of guides including a guide for persons with duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended) and are in the process of updating the Offices and Shops guide where we will take any learning from this fire and see how this can be captured in guidance.