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, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on how breaches of Temporary Stop Notices can be addressed.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Guidance on temporary stop notices can be found in the Enforcement and post-permission matters section of my Department's Planning Practice Guidance on 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, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 83788 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, for what reason the reference back is ongoing; and what documents he is awaiting for from interested parties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 70585 on 15 September 2025.
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 13 October 2025 to Question HL10584 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, whether there has been a reference back in relation to the (a) security statement and (b) blast assessment.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 70585 on 15 September 2025.
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 10 October 2025 to Question 83815 on Permitted Development Rights: Multiple Occupation, what information his Department holds on whether any local authorities have submitted an Article 4 direction to remove permitted development rights for houses in multiple occupation that are occupied by asylum seekers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold the data in question.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he is making in supporting local authorities to build social housing in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58440 on 17 June, the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771), and the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he considered including a target for council housing in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in detail in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November 2025 (which can be found on gov.uk here), the new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed and does not adopt the previous approach of setting numerical targets for particular types of homes.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
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 (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is committed to supporting staff that are experiencing, or going through the aftermath of, domestic violence.
MHCLG has a published Domestic Violence policy.
Our published policy includes guidance and support for Line Managers and individuals who are confided to about domestic violence issues and signposts to a range of resources and sources of support for colleagues experiencing domestic violence and for managers supporting colleagues.
Once available, we will promote the take-up of the training product for managers currently being developed by the Cabinet Office.
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, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of mortgage in possession clauses in planning applications on (a) housebuilding and (b) other development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of mortgage in possession clauses in planning applications.
It is for local planning authorities to consider whether otherwise unacceptable development could be made acceptable through the use of conditions or planning obligations. Such obligations may include mortgage in possession clauses.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of New Zealand's housing-with-care sector and the supply of new homes in that country.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of our commitment to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market, my Department continues to consider a range of overseas systems.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 recent discussions with Lancashire County Council on inactive landlords in that area. Lancashire.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has had no recent discussions with Lancashire County Council regarding ‘inactive’ landlords in Lancashire.