Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 planning authorities on escalating enforcement action, including the use of injunctions under section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, in cases involving repeated or sequential breaches of planning control.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given Question UIN 119662 on 18 March 2026
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 new shared ownership homes were built in Lincolnshire in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The number of shared ownership new build completions, as well as new delivery through acquisitions, is available in the Affordable Housing Supply open data found on gov.uk here. The data is available by financial year only.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 made an assessment of the potential impact of the subdivision and sale of agricultural land into multiple small plots on the effectiveness of planning enforcement by local planning authorities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given Question UIN 119661 on 18 March 2026.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 plans to update guidance to enable local planning authorities to take account of cumulative breaches of planning control across subdivided land where individual plots are under separate ownership.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has no current plans to update guidance in respect of this matter.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 extent to which leaseholders are protected from unreasonable service charges and other costs passed on by freeholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation, jointly with the Welsh Government, on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. The consultation included proposals to increase transparency over service charges and enhance access to redress through the relevant provisions in the Act. It also proposed new reforms the section 20 ‘major works’ procedure. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses with a view to bringing the relevant measures into force as quickly as possible.
In addition, the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act, which came into effect on 28 June 2022, place caps on how much can be charged to leaseholders for certain historical life-critical safety defects. Guidance for leaseholders on those protections can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many affordable housing units have been built which have never been occupied because no housing association has taken them on.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold comprehensive, historic data on social and affordable homes that have been completed but remain unoccupied because a registered provider has not contracted with a housebuilder to acquire them.
I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1286) and the answer given to Question UIN 112630 on 2 March 2026.
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 information the Land Registry holds on the average house price in each (a) local authority and (b) constituency in England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry publishes open data on prices paid for properties sold in England and Wales.
For customers who want aggregated price data for statistical analysis, the Standard Report Tool available here provides average prices and volume of sales.
This allows anyone to configure a report for various geographical areas in England and Wales, from the country level down to postcode sectors, and then download the data in a form suitable for use in a spreadsheet or other data analysis tool.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 the Fit and Proper Person test in protecting park home residents from unsuitable landowners.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The fit and proper person test, which applies to a site owner or the person appointed to manage a site, is intended to ensure that those managing park home sites are competent to do so.
Where properly applied by local planning authorities, the legislation has been shown to be effective.
My Department will continue to monitor its operation and consider whether any changes are required.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking steps to increase the rate of collection of civil penalties issued by local authorities against landlords for housing offences.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government engages regularly with local authorities and other relevant stakeholders in relation to how enforcement against rogue landlords in the private rented sector might be strengthened.
Local authorities already have a range of tools that they can use to support the collection of unpaid fines imposed on rogue landlords, including charging orders and bankruptcy proceedings.
My Department will continue to engage with local authorities and consider how best practice can be shared as part of supporting the effective implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of national planning policy in supporting the delivery of adaptable housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals for local planning authorities to set requirements for the delivery of M4(2) and M4(3) housing that will meet or exceed their locally assessed need for these types of housing.
In relation to M4(2) requirements, the government is proposing a national minimum that ensures at least 40% of new housing over the course of the plan period is delivered to M4(2) standards. This approach is intended to ensure that necessary levels of accessible housing are provided, while providing authorities with an appropriate degree of flexibility to maximise housebuilding overall.
Through the consultation we sought views on these proposals, including whether 40% is the right minimum proportion or whether an alternative requirement is preferable, and on the potential impacts of our proposals on protected groups under the Public Sector Equality Duty.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.