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, how many directors with responsibility for human resources are employed across their department and its executive agencies; and how many of those directors hold professional HR qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent professional bodies.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Organograms for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, including senior civil service posts, are published on GOV.UK (Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk) and set out director‑level roles and responsibilities across the core Department. ALBs are expected to publish the same quarterly information.
Information on the professional qualifications of individual employees is personal data, and it would not be appropriate to release this at an individual level. However, all directors appointed with responsibility for human resources would be expected to have the appropriate skills, experience and, where relevant, professional qualifications necessary to undertake the role effectively, including experience aligned with Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development standards or equivalent professional bodies.
Number of Directors with responsibility for human resources (HR) | Number of Directors delivering non-HR technical activity e.g. Shared Services | Number of Directors with CIPD membership |
MHCLG Core – 2 Directors (job share) | MHCLG core- 0 | MHCLG core - N/D Headcount less than 5 |
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have paid back their full Exceptional Financial Support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The recent Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant step yet to make English local government more sustainable. Our reforms are delivering a fairer Settlement which puts funding where it is needed most. Before our reforms, only around a third of councils were given the funding that broadly matched their assessed need. Our reforms bring that up to nine in ten councils by 2028-29.
However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system. On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. In line with approaches taken by previous governments, this support is provided through in-principle agreement to capitalisation directions. These provide councils with flexibility to manage some budgetary pressures either using capital receipts or using contributions from the revenue budget over time, supported by borrowing where necessary.
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, including funding any expenditure under the Exceptional Financial Support framework. When agreeing support, government has been clear that councils should aim to avoid or minimise additional borrowing by looking to use capital receipts to fund capitalised expenditure where possible, subject to appropriate value for money considerations and protection of community and heritage assets.
Government has also been clear that any support provided should be a time-limited and temporary measure, and local authorities should have clear plans to deliver the improvements and service transformation required to help them to return to financial stability over the multi-year Settlement.
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, how many (a) legal challenges and (b) judicial reviews his Department has (i) lost in court and (ii) conceded prior to the court hearing since July 2024.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department deals with a large variety of legal cases including judicial reviews, statutory challenges in planning cases, Information Tribunal cases and private law litigation. The number and outcome of legal challenges and judicial reviews since July 2024 is not held centrally in the format requested.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 27 January (HLWS1278), when they intend to commence Part 1 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on the ban on the grant or assignment of certain long residential leases of houses.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government is committed to ending the feudal leasehold system. We will reinvigorate the commonhold legal framework and ban the use of leasehold for new flats so commonhold can become the default tenure for the ownership of new flats, and we will implement measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to ban new leasehold houses.
Following consideration of responses to the ‘Moving to Commonhold’ consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, we will confirm commencement plans.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what proportion of leasehold properties development value makes the exercise of collective enfranchisement prohibitively expensive; and what measures they will take to ensure that enfranchisement is financially feasible for affected leaseholders.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
My Department does not hold the requested data.
We are committed to implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which will make enfranchisement cheaper and easier. I refer the Noble Baroness to the response given in the House of Commons on 14 January 2026 UIN 103549 (attached) about these provisions.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 27 January (HLWS1278), which specific flaws in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 are referred to as requiring rectification through primary legislation.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the response given to UIN HL14534 (attached) on 25 February 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), when they will launch the public consultation on enfranchisement valuation rates under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the response given to UIN HL14534 (attached) on 25 February 2026.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Department is taking to help ensure that housing in the private rented sector is maintained to the appropriate standards.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Every tenant deserves to live in a decent, warm, and comfortable home.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and introduce a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes for the first time.
A summary of the measures in the Act which can be found on gov.uk here and a roadmap for implementation can be found on gov.uk here.
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) already apply in the private rented sector, requiring landlords to ensure their properties meet at least an EPC rating of E. Local authorities have powers to enforce these standards. Under the updated PRS MEES framework, this minimum standard will rise to EPC C by 2030. This change will help tenants benefit from lower energy bills and warmer, healthier homes that are less prone to damp and mould, contributing to reduced fuel poverty.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
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 expediting implementation of the Decent Homes Standard to improve maintenance practices in privately rented properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government consulted on both the content and implementation of a new, modernised Decent Homes Standard and has published a full impact assessment setting out the rationale for implementing the standard in 2035. The consultation outcome can be found on gov.uk here and the impact assessment on gov.uk here.
Private rented sector landlords should address non-decency wherever it exists. While we are giving landlords until 2035 to implement our new Decent Homes Standard, we have made clear they should not wait until 2035 to improve their properties.
We are also acting in other ways to ensure private tenants have safe, warm, and decent homes including introducing new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for the sector; strengthening local authority enforcement in respect of unremedied hazards; and applying Awaab’s Law Act to the PRS through the relevant provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act.
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, what support his Department is able to provide the conveyancing sector to digitise the property transaction process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103007 on 13 January 2026.