Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 a recent estimate of the market value of properties subject to a ground rent of more than £250 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 73504 on 15 September 2025.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 20 October 2025 to Question 81148 on Leasehold: Ground Rent and to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 74455 on Ground Rent: Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) identify developments where mortgage lenders are refusing to lend due to rent escalation clauses and (b) require freeholders to offer deeds of variation where leases are already inhibited by such clauses.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Some of the most problematic ground rent terms involving clauses doubling more quickly than every 20 years have already been subject to enforcement action by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as unfair contractual terms. If leaseholders find developers and freeholders are failing to meet these binding commitments to remove ground increases and repay past ground rent increases, they should contact the CMA directly.
The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of residential development projects had a main developer which was classified as an SME in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This information is not recorded by my Department.
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, how many (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent, and (c) shared ownership homes have been provided through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme since its inception.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Bidding for the Programme in question has not yet opened.
On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
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 assessment his Department has made of the contribution of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme to meeting national housing need.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Bidding for the Programme in question has not yet opened.
On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
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, how much funding under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme has been (a) allocated and (b) spent.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Bidding for the Programme in question has not yet opened.
On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 conducted research on the public’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different (a) local and (b) national government (i) authorities and (ii) office holders.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department has not conducted research on the public’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different (a) local and (b) national government (i) authorities and (ii) office holders.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of properties whose ground rent has been raised to over £250 each year, in the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 73504 on 15 September 2025.
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, if he will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in his Department since 2017.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost to the Department.
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 he has made an assessment of the value for money of the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
An independent evaluation of the Housing Investment Fund commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority concluded that it delivers good value for money.