Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the government of China or its planning agents have submitted the full unredacted internal drawings for the proposed Chinese embassy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Planning Inspector's Report was received by the Department on 10 June.
Following careful analysis of the report, the Secretary of State referred back to parties on a number of matters, including the redacted drawings, on 6 August. The reference back process is on-going.
Full reasons for the decision and a list of post-inquiry representations will be set out in the final decision letter.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2025, to Question 92034, on Electoral Register: Absent Voting, whether his department has had discussions with the Parliamentary Parties Panel on this issue.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
An issue with the availability of information shared as part of the electoral register has been raised with the Government. As stated in the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92034 on Absent Voting, the Government has no plans to make changes to the information which is shared as part of the electoral register.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question 69040 on Park Homes: Sales, when he plans to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognise that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home. The previous government published a report in June 2022 on the impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission. It can be found on gov.uk here. We will set out plans in due course to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
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 the planned further engagement and call for evidence on the rationale for the payment on the commission on park homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognise that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home. The previous government published a report in June 2022 on the impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission. It can be found on gov.uk here. We will set out plans in due course to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, in light of his letter to Cornwall Council stating that he is minded, on an exceptional basis, to explore designating the council as a Single Foundation Strategic Authority, whether the Authority would receive a consolidated multi-year funding settlement as described in the Integrated Settlement framework.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The English Devolution White Paper set out a clear and transparent pathway for areas to be designated as Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities, and thereby become eligible for an Integrated Settlement.
Any future designation of Cornwall Council as a Single Foundation Strategic Authority would mark the beginning of its journey through the devolution framework, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary legislation.
The Government is separately investing in Cornwall’s economic opportunities with a new 'Kernow Industrial Growth Fund' announced by the Chancellor at Autumn Budget 2025. This fund delivers on the Industrial Strategy’s commitment to harness regional strengths. It will provide £30 million over 2026-27 and 2027-28 to Cornwall Council, to invest in Cornwall's sectoral advantages such as critical minerals, renewable energy and marine innovation, subject to business cases. This builds on the Government’s recent £28.6 million National Wealth Fund investment in Cornish Metals, signalling a clear commitment to unlock Cornwall’s potential as a clean growth powerhouse.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Further to the written statement of 4 December 2025, HCWS1128, on Devolution Priority Programme, whether the (a) Electoral Commission or (b) Labour Party were (1) consulted or (2) informed of the decision to cancel the scheduled mayoral elections in May 2026.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has announced that it is minded to hold the inaugural mayoral elections for Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Greater Essex in May 2028, with areas completing the local government reorganisation process before Mayors take office. This decision has been taken because devolution is strongest when it is built on strong foundations. The Government intends to establish Mayoral Strategic Authorities via secondary legislation for all the Devolution Priority Programme areas as soon as possible, subject to the councils’ consent.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 made an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that the social media and online platform income and donations by non-party political activists are published.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Political parties, candidates and third-party campaigners are subject to strict campaign spending limits and transparency requirements at UK elections. Registered third-party campaigners are required to report all forms of donations related to their campaign activity above the relevant thresholds in their spending returns to the Electoral Commission. Electoral law only covers donations given specifically for regulated campaign activity; it does not cover general income or revenue, whether from social media platforms or other sources. As set out in our Strategy for Modern Elections, we are taking forward a package of measures to strengthen the rules around political finance, some of which will apply to third-party campaigners.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 National Fire Chiefs Council on the potential risk of wildfires crossing into urban areas.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) works closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) on the full range of wildfire risks to strengthen preparedness and improve response, including potential impacts on urban areas. We also continue to work closely with partners across government, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and wider stakeholders, to identify policy options for addressing wildfire risk at the national level.
Since 2024, the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps are being taken to support community-backed housing schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that the community-led housing sector delivers a wide range of benefits including strengthening community participation in local decision-making, engendering community cohesion, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy.
In March, we announced a £20m 10-year social finance investment to provide capital finance for community-led housing, which is expected to directly support the construction of more than 2,500 new homes over the next decade. These housebuilding projects will be led by communities to specifically address local needs in their area.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme seeks to support an increase in the delivery of community-led and rural housing. The flexibility in grant rates provided for under the new programme will help community-led schemes achieve viability and help the sector grow towards its full potential.
The government is also considering opportunities to legislate to establish a legal framework for a co-operative housing tenure, which would help formalise the rights and responsibilities of both co-operatives and their tenants, and make co-operative housing a more attractive option.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by his Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.