Asked by: Earl of Lytton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government which construction products and materials relating to the interior construction of buildings, if any, they have prohibited or restricted since 2017.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Combustible materials in and on the external walls of new residential buildings higher than 18 metres were banned in 2018.
The Building Regulations 2010 set functional requirements for fire safety, including the need for internal linings and structural elements to inhibit fire spread and maintain stability.
More broadly, in 2021, the Government appointed the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) as the National Regulator for Construction Products (NRCP) to regulate construction products placed on the UK market. The NRCP and local authorities have powers to enforce the law where products do not comply with the Construction Products Regulations 2013. The regulator has prohibited the supply of construction products including certain insulation, toughened glass, and plywood. Following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry's report, the Government has committed to bringing forward reforms to ensure that all construction products supplied in the UK are safe.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the planning and funding of supported housing models are fully integrated across the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government recognises that supported housing is an important part of the delivery of social homes for people with care and support needs, including for older people and disabled working-age adults with personal care needs. My Department and the Department for Heath and Social Care coordinate closely on supported housing.
At the Spending Review, the government announced £39 billion for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. We want to see new supply of supported housing in England through the new programme, in greater numbers and also across a diverse range of cohorts and housing types. This includes older people’s housing, specialist housing for those with complex needs, such as long-term housing for people with learning disabilities, autism or mental health issues, and transitional housing for those experiencing or at risk of rough sleeping and homelessness or from domestic abuse. Many of the Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities have also indicated supported housing amongst their local priorities in relation to the programme.
We know that supported housing can often cost more to deliver. In the new programme, while we will maintain the principle that all bids will be assessed for value for money based on their particular circumstances, flexibility on grant rates has been built in for accommodation where the level of design and adaptation results in higher costs. We would encourage providers to come forward with ambitious bids.
The commissioning of local housing-related support services is for local authorities to determine. Local authorities are best placed to plan and decide on local spending priorities that meet the needs of their local population. Through the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act, local authorities will be required to produce supported housing strategies to assess current and future need for supported housing in their area. The strategies will assist local authorities and housing providers with long-term planning and delivery to meet demand.
Asked by: Earl of Lytton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what standard building safety assessors use when assessing fire-safety defects other than defects of external wall systems to determine whether a defect is life-critical.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022 requires that building safety risks in Higher Risk Buildings are assessed, managed and controlled. The assessment must be suitable and sufficient and all reasonable steps must be taken to manage and control the building safety risks.
The Act does not set out specific standards that should be used. However, standards and guidance relevant to other regulatory regimes such as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and BS 9792:2025 Fire Risk Assessment. Housing. Code of Practice will be relevant. Assessors can also refer to the published criteria used by the Building Safety Regulator for Building Assessment Certificate applications.
The assessment of ‘life critical fire safety defects’ does not form part of the Act. It is instead a feature of the Developers’ Remediation Contract and the Responsible Actors Scheme, which encompass a wider range of buildings.
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 recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of (a) transparency and (b) accountability in the private parking sector.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is aware of concerns about poor practice from a number of parking operators and is determined to raise standards.
In accordance with the Private Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, the government is preparing a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.
The government has recently consulted on its proposals for this new code. The consultation closed on 26 September, and the government will respond in due course.
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 is his Department’s policy on commissioning publicity material in foreign languages aimed at individuals who permanently reside in the UK.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department does not have a specific policy on commissioning publicity material in foreign languages. The department provides published content in additional languages where appropriate and on a case-by-case basis.
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, if his Department will publish a breakdown of how business rates tax collected by Surrey Heath Borough Council is (a) allocated and (b) used by the Treasury.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The business rates retention system (BRRS) was introduced in April 2013 to give authorities a direct financial interest in business rates, recognising their role in the collection of the tax. Percentage shares of business rates income collected are allocated to the central share (to be paid to central government) and the local share (retained locally by local authorities, including Surrey Heath) in the annual Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS). The most recent version of the LGFS, for 2025-26, is published on gov.uk here. We will set out the breakdown over the 3 years of the multi-year settlement at the provisional LGFS later this year.
Details of the business rates collected annually by local authorities are available on gov.uk here. This sets out the amounts retained locally and paid over to central government.
Receipts collected by central government are paid into the consolidated fund and used for the purpose of funding expenditure on local government.
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, which types of asylum seekers accommodation provided under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are subject to (a) council tax and (b) business rates; and what exemptions exist.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All properties are generally liable for either council tax or business rates. Whether a property is assessed for council tax or business rates will depend on whether it is assessed being primarily domestic (council tax) or non-domestic (business rates). There is no mandatory exemption in the council tax system for dwellings which are used for asylum purposes. To the extent that any asylum seekers accommodation is in a non-domestic use, no specific exemption is provided from business rates for such purposes.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
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 Plan for Neighbourhoods on communities in the North East.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 25 September the Government announced its flagship Pride in Place Programme, which will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 of Great’s Britain’s most in-need neighbourhoods over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the existing 75 Phase 1 areas that were announced in March, previously the Plan for Neighbourhoods.
10 areas in the North East were selected in Phase 1 of the Pride in Place Programme, including areas in Darlington, Hartlepool and Sunderland. A further 10 neighbourhoods across the region were announced as part of Phase 2, extending long-term investment to communities in places such as County Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside. In addition, 6 local authorities across the region, including Gateshead, Middlesbrough and South Tyneside, have been awarded funding through the Pride in Place Impact Fund, with each receiving £1.5 million over two years.
In total, the Government is investing up to £409 million across the North East through the Pride in Place Programme and the Pride in Place Impact Fund. This investment will help build stronger communities across the region, create thriving places, and enable residents to take back control of their neighbourhoods. Funding will support locally led Pride in Place plans shaped around local priorities, with each area guided by a Neighbourhood Board representing the local community to ensure that investment reflects local needs and ambitions. The Pride in Place Impact Fund will provide more immediate support over the next two years, helping to revitalise high streets and community spaces while visible improvements are delivered on the ground.
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 (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities his Department provides in its main Whitehall building.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG’S main Whitehall building, in (Fry) 2 Marsham Street has 60 single sex toilets with 3 cubicles in each, and 0 urinals. We do not have non-gendered universal toilets (individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms which contain a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities). However, we do have 10 accessible toilets for our wheelchair users.
(Fry) 2 Marsham Street does not have any gender-neutral toilets (i.e. toilets where users, of any gender, share a single space containing toilet cubicles, urinal facilities and shared hand washing facilities).
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 28 October 2025 to Question 83285 on Private Rented Housing: Energy, whether he plans to provide guidance to (a) renters, (b) landlords and (c) tribunals on whether landlords recouping upfront costs of energy efficiency measures may be a legitimate material consideration in determining the market rent for the purposes of a rent tribunal.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Once Part 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force, tenants will have the right to apply to the First-tier Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’) to challenge a proposed rent increase.
Where a tenant chooses to do so, the Tribunal will determine the open market rent. This is the rent that the landlord could expect to receive for the property, if they were to let it on the open market the next day.
The Tribunal has experts who are experienced in understanding the different factors which result in the open market rent and determining whether a proposed rent is reflective of this.
Section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the factors that must be considered or disregarded by the Tribunal when determining rents. It would not be appropriate to provide guidance beyond this to the Tribunal as to how the legislation should be interpreted, as this is a matter for the judiciary.
When considering the proposed rent, the Tribunal must look at the rent the property could command on the open market, rather than costs borne by the landlord. However, the open market rent of the property could be affected by the condition of the property, among other factors. It will be for the Tribunal to make a determination in each case.
We will publish guidance for landlords and tenants before Part 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force.