Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rate of state-sponsored antisemitism within the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not routinely comment on the detail of operational matters or specific threats. But the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. We continually assess potential threats to the UK and its residents and will continue to take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms and safety in the UK very seriously. Any attempt by a foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
We are also taking broader action on antisemitism - rooting out extremism, tackling it in schools and universities, and in the NHS.
We are committed to tackling those who spread views that sow divisions between or within communities and oppose the values we share as a society.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households on local authority housing waiting lists in each of the past five years were (a) UK nationals, (b) EU nationals and (c) non‑EU nationals, and what proportion of each group had a recognised immigration status conferring eligibility for social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Information on the nationality of the lead applicant of households on housing registers is collected on a voluntary basis in the Local Authority Housing Statistics (LAHS).
Information is available for the past two years and is published in Section 6.7 of the Social Housing Lettings in England (tenants) statistical release. The 31 March 2024 snapshot can be found here and 31 March 2025 snapshot can be found here.
Please note that the percentages presented in these reports should not be used to estimate the number of households on housing registers in England with particular characteristics due to the low response rate and insufficient coverage of these voluntary questions. As the data is collected on an aggregated basis it is not possible to provide information on where lead applicants hold multiple particular characteristics. Further detail about the low coverage is published in Section 4.3 of the LAHS technical notes here for the figures as at 31 March 2024 and here for the figures as at 31 March 2025.
All lead applicants of households on housing registers are eligible for social housing. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they would not be eligible to join a local authority's housing register.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for each of the past five years, what proportion of households on local authority housing waiting lists were (a) UK nationals, (b) EU nationals and (c) non‑EU nationals.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Information on the nationality of the lead applicant of households on housing registers is collected on a voluntary basis in the Local Authority Housing Statistics (LAHS).
Information is available for the past two years and is published in Section 6.7 of the Social Housing Lettings in England (tenants) statistical release. The 31 March 2024 snapshot can be found here and 31 March 2025 snapshot can be found here.
Please note that the percentages presented in these reports should not be used to estimate the number of households on housing registers in England with particular characteristics due to the low response rate and insufficient coverage of these voluntary questions. As the data is collected on an aggregated basis it is not possible to provide information on where lead applicants hold multiple particular characteristics. Further detail about the low coverage is published in Section 4.3 of the LAHS technical notes here for the figures as at 31 March 2024 and here for the figures as at 31 March 2025.
All lead applicants of households on housing registers are eligible for social housing. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they would not be eligible to join a local authority's housing register.
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 command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 16, what steps he is taking to promote Englishness and a national sense of identity in England.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A great strength of our national identity is its pluralism. Whether we are from England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland; whatever our religion or belief; whether we were born here or abroad; or whatever the colour of our skin, we can all embrace our shared identity, celebrate what we have in common, and be proud of our country’s long history and heritage.
As set out in Protecting What Matters, we will set clear national integration expectations for communities across the country, focused on stronger social connections, shared identity, English language proficiency, and participation in work. We will also strengthen the national curriculum and qualifications in England to ensure high quality teaching of our nation’s history.
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 11 March 2026, to Question 116756, on Independent Review into Civil Unrest in Leicester, what is the timetable for publishing the report that was received by his Department on 1 July 2025.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is taking the time to review the Panel’s report to ensure that its response is in the best interest of communities in Leicester and beyond. We will respond in due course. Our ‘Protecting What Matters’ Action Plan, published on 9 March, considered learnings from the events of Leicester in 2022 and has set out measures we are taking to build social cohesion and protect our communities from harm, such as establishing an Advisory Board to support local authorities when tensions arise, and tackling harmful content in online spaces.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consultation his Department has had with local planning authorities on section 78c of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department consulted on changes to policy in respect of 5-year housing land supply as part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework that took place between 30 July and 24 September 2024. Paragraph 78c was introduced in the December 2024 National Planning Policy Framework update.
A government response, which can be found on gov.uk here, was published alongside the updated Framework. It made clear that there are many authorities whose local housing need figures will be substantially larger than their adopted or emerging local plan housing requirement figures, indicating a significant unmet demand for new homes in these areas. To help close the gap, we are introducing a new requirement that authorities with plans adopted under the old standard method must provide an extra year’s worth of homes in their 5-year housing pipeline.
As such, those authorities whose adopted plan annual housing requirement figure is 80% or less of their annual local housing need figure will be required to add a 20% buffer to their 5-year housing land supply from 1 July 2026. This window will give these authorities time to make provision for the new policy. As with other housing supply buffers, this will not be cumulative, so those authorities who are already required to add a 20% buffer due to scoring below 85% in the most recent housing delivery test will not be required to add an additional buffer should they meet these criteria.
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 11 March 2026, to Question 110793, on MHCLG: Flexible Working, what is the reason for the number of staff on a 4 day week on compressed hours rising from 214 in January 2025 to 339 in January 2026.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Staff have a statutory right to apply for flexible working at any point during their employment.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 the effectiveness of joint plan-making where his Department has mandated different start dates for the preparation of new local plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The transitional provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, set out the dates by which local planning authorities are required to start plan-making. It is the responsibility of individual local planning authorities to ensure they meet these requirements.
Local government reorganisation should not delay plan making. Local planning authorities who will form part of a new unitary authority should work together either on a joint plan or to align plan-making as far as practicable.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local planning authorities have been provided with a 31 December 2026 start date for the preparation of new local plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The transitional provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, set out the dates by which local planning authorities are required to start plan-making. It is the responsibility of individual local planning authorities to ensure they meet these requirements.
Local government reorganisation should not delay plan making. Local planning authorities who will form part of a new unitary authority should work together either on a joint plan or to align plan-making as far as practicable.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 consider creating a mandatory buyback scheme for owners of shared ownership homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Landlords have the option to buy back homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues, and they can use their own resource or Recycled Capital Grant Funding to do so.
Shared ownership providers are independent bodies, and decisions about the management, sale or repurchase of individual homes sit with them.
While buyback provisions already apply in some limited circumstances, such as in Designated Protected Areas or where providers offer discretionary support in exceptional cases, the government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory buyback scheme for all shared ownership homes.