Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
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 review the funding distribution methodology for fire and rescue authorities following the Fair Funding Review 2.0.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that the current fire funding formula was designed over a decade ago. In line with responses to the principles of reform consultation in December 2024, the Government updated the fire and rescue relative needs formula by using the most up-to-date data available. We will work with the fire sector on a comprehensive review of the formula ahead of the next Spending Review and will be engaging with stakeholders shortly.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of rough sleepers are not British nationals.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recently published the annual rough sleeping snapshot count for autumn 2025 and the latest management information providing data from September – December 2025. Both of these publications include data on the nationality of people sleeping rough and can be accessed through gov.uk here.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2026, para 5.9, if he will publish the representations from the councils.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has no plans to publish the representations received.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any changes have been made to the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill following representations from external stakeholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No changes have been made to the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill since its publication on 27 January 2026.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 leaseholders have access to the full terms of their lease before completing a property transaction.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 6 October, my Department published two consultations outlining reform proposals to transform home buying and selling. They can be found on gov.uk here and here.
The consultations included proposals to require sellers and estate agents to provide upfront property information. This might include information relating to leasehold terms, property condition, and purchasing chains.
In the consultations in question we also made clear our intention to switch on measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to speed up the provision of information for leaseholders and homeowners on private or mixed tenure estates who wish to sell their property.
We are now reviewing the feedback received and will set out details of next steps later this year.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 effectiveness of the limits on enquiries for free legal advice provided by the Leasehold Advisory Service.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) provides free initial legal advice and information in respect of leasehold, building safety, commonhold and park home issues for consumers.
In 2024, LEASE limited the number of enquiries per user to 10 over a 12-month period. This has enabled LEASE advisers to deal with more complex cases.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 5 February 2026 to Question 109135 on Affordable Housing: Construction, how many acquisitions of existing properties will be permitted under the new Affordable Housing Programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the policy statement published by my Department on 7 November 2025 which can be found on gov.uk here.
Bidding for the Social and Affordable Homes (SAHP) Programme opened on 24 February 2026. Further information about the programme can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department will publish updated statutory guidance on social housing allocations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced in our National Plan to End Homelessness which was published on 11 December last year and can be found on gov.uk here, we will work with stakeholders to review and update statutory guidance on social housing allocations to ensure that allocations reflect local need and effectively support vulnerable households.
We will publish updated statutory guidance in due course.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 impact of a) local, b) regional and c) general elections being held on a Saturday on voter turnout.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not made any recent assessment of the impact of moving polling day to a Saturday on voter turnout.
The Government is committed to increasing democratic participation, as set out in its manifesto. As part of this work, we are preparing to pilot a range of flexible voting options at this May’s local elections, including opportunities for electors to cast their vote over the weekend alongside the traditional polling day. These pilots are designed to build a fuller understanding of how giving people greater choice in when and where they vote can support wider participation and strengthen the overall voting experience.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the current waiting times for the Housing Ombudsman.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The average waiting time for a case to be determined by the Housing Ombudsman in 2025/26 was 7.2 months.
The Ombudsman is currently consulting on their 2026/27 Business Plan, which proposes a series of measures to reduce waiting times for tenants.