Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
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 trends in the level of (a) loss and (b) damage to (i) English heritage and (ii) buildings of historic importance due to unlawful development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no specific assessment of trends in relation to historic buildings and unlawful development.
The government is committed to the protection of the historic environment.
There are strong protections in both the National Planning Policy Framework and legislation to support the conservation and enhancement of heritage assets.
The government has also given local planning authorities a wide range of enforcement powers in relation to unauthorised development, including specific powers in relation to designated heritage assets, with strong penalties for non-compliance.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support his Department is providing to local planning authorities to ensure the protection of (a) buildings and (b) areas of historic importance.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no specific assessment of trends in relation to historic buildings and unlawful development.
The government is committed to the protection of the historic environment.
There are strong protections in both the National Planning Policy Framework and legislation to support the conservation and enhancement of heritage assets.
The government has also given local planning authorities a wide range of enforcement powers in relation to unauthorised development, including specific powers in relation to designated heritage assets, with strong penalties for non-compliance.
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 October 202, to Question 69864 on Private Rented Housing: Licensing, whether landlords in selective licensing areas will be required to (a) make three separate registrations and (b) pay three fees.
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 65373 on 14 July 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 17 October 2025 to Question 77630 on Land: Valuation, if he will publish the Valuation Office Agency’s viability study.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The viability study produced by the Valuation Office Agency in October 2024 helped to inform wider analysis and is an internal government document. We have no plans to publish it.
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, if he will make it his policy to ensure that his decision on the called-in Chinese Embassy planning application is announced through a statement to Parliament.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The House will be notified when the decision is made.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure residents receive (a) clear and (b) accessible information about how their service charge payments are spent in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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). The consultation closed on 26 September, and we are analysing responses.
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, whether his Department has commissioned post-implementation evaluation research on (a) the interaction of the Renters Rights Act 2025 with other regulatory changes to the private rented sector and (b) other aspects of the Renters Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department routinely monitors trends across the private rented sector, including levels of rent; the number of dwellings for private rent; and the number of private sector landlords.
To do this, we make use of data from existing surveys such as the English Housing Survey, the English Private Landlord Survey, and data from the Office for National Statistics and Hometrack. We have also commissioned Verian to carry out a longitudinal survey of private renters to help baseline and monitor the private rented sector reforms.
The government is committed to a robust evaluation of the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. This evaluation will include extensive data collection through interviews, surveys and focus groups and will involve engagement with a range of stakeholders including tenants, landlords, letting agents, third sector organisations, delivery partners, and government officials.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 hold discussions with representatives of the legal sector in Cornwall on the consultation entitled Home buying and selling reform, published on 20 October 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 6 October 2025, the government published two consultations outlining reform proposals to transform home buying and selling. They can be found on gov.uk here and here.
Officials in my Department are actively engaging with stakeholders as part of the consultation process, and they would welcome discussions with representatives of the legal sector in Cornwall.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Answer of 16 April 2025 on Question 43378 on HM Land Registry, what recent progress he has made on reducing backlogs in the Land Registry application system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Improving speed of service remains a top priority for HM Land Registry (HMLR). All the services that people need from HMLR before they move property are either instantaneous or within its usual 3-day standard.
Once they have moved, the purchase needs to be registered with HMLR. Around a third of all registrations are automated and near instantaneous. Most take around 12 weeks.
The age of the oldest outstanding registrations has now more than halved from a peak in 2023 to under 11 months today.
HMLR processing times are publicly available on gov.uk here. If a delay to an application may cause financial, legal, or personal problems or put a property sale at risk, it can be fast tracked (expedited) free of charge. HMLR processes over 1,500 expedited applications every day, with more than 95% of these processed within 10 working days.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 merits of changing planning laws to ensure developments with full planning permission are (a) completed on time and (b) not able to exist with minimal work on them.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities (LPAs) already have a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance, which they can use in instances where development has not taken place in accordance with the relevant planning consent.
These enforcement powers include the power to issue a completion notice which requires a developer to complete their development if it is left uncompleted.
It is for LPAs themselves to decide how and when they use their powers depending on the circumstances of each case.
On 25 May, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out (which can be found on gov.uk here) inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built.
On the same day, we launched a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve the transparency of build rates from new residential development, which includes proposals to implement provisions in Section 113 of the LURA on the power to decline to determine applications. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the government intends bring forward the regulations to implement these measures at the earliest practical opportunity with the new build out reporting framework coming into force from 2026.
The consultations closed on 7 July and responses are currently being analysed.