Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 24 November (HL Deb col 1154), whether severely contaminated brownfield sites will not be developed due to the cost of remediation, and whether they plan for those sites to remain contaminated and derelict.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Planning Policy Framework states (attached) that planning policies and decisions should support appropriate opportunities to remediate derelict and contaminated land. It also states that where a site is affected by contamination, responsibility for securing a safe development rests with the developer and/or landowner. Planning Practice Guidance on viability (attached) recognises abnormal costs, including those associated with treatment for contaminated sites.
To unlock previously developed land for housing, the Government provides capital support to local authorities through the Brownfield Land Release Fund. The funding enables councils to undertake necessary remediation works, including decontamination.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the brownfield land register includes an assessment of the impact of the level of contamination on the viability of the land for development.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017 require local planning authorities to prepare, maintain, and publish a Brownfield Register. When including land on the register, local planning authorities must consider that land is suitable, available, and achievable for residential development. This will involve assessing a range of factors and constraints including any known land contamination and viability issues.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning on 24 November (HC Deb col 20), whether the call in process for sites capable of accommodating 150 or more housing units near railway stations will include railway stations in rural areas.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the Written Ministerial Statement published and attached on 18 November 2025 (HCWS1062)– noting the statement contains several discrete measures.
The Department intends to publish a consultation in due course which provides further detail on the announcement on a new Consultation Direction.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 24 November (HL Deb cols 1154-1155), whether all land around railway stations and capable of accommodating 150 or more housing units can be categorised as brownfield sites.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble Lady to the Written Ministerial Statement published and attached on 18 November 2025 (HCWS1062) – noting the statement contains several discrete measures.
It will be for planning decision-makers to determine whether land around train stations meets the definition of brownfield (previously developed land) as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to Guidance for Mayoral Strategic Authorities on developing Local Growth Plans, published on 11 June, whether councils and councillors will be included as stakeholders in developing local growth plans.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Yes. The guidance states that Mayoral Strategic Authorities should work with relevant stakeholders when preparing and delivering their Local Growth Plan which will include constituent councils.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 24 March (HL Deb cols 1447–9), whether they have met insurance companies about the rising insurance costs of leaseholders due to the lower remediation required by PAS 9980.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Officials in my department engage regularly with the insurance industry and Minister Norris met representatives earlier in the year. PAS9980:2022 sets out steps that can be taken to identify and assess risk factors as well as mitigation steps that might improve the risk rating of a building via a holistic and fact-based assessment of a building’s construction.
Once buildings comply with Building Regulations or align with industry-accepted PAS 9980 standards, insurers should offer affordable premiums and should not be prescribing additional remedial works.
BSI has commenced the review, which will include a six-week public consultation, and BSI anticipates publishing the updated guidance in early 2026. The consultation will provide the opportunity for industry and the public to participate in the review of PAS 9980.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will amend the PAS 9980 Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls and Cladding of Flats code of practice to require compliance with building regulations and statutory guidance in force at the time of construction.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The British Standards Institution (BSI) developed and published PAS 9980 and Government has sponsored BSI to review it to make sure it captures best practices, meets market needs, and identifies any necessary revisions. BSI has commenced the review, which will include a six-week public consultation, and BSI anticipates publishing the updated guidance in early 2026. The consultation will provide the opportunity for industry and the public to participate in the review of PAS 9980.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether additional funding and support is available to local authorities in drawing up draft boundaries in response to the Government’s proposals for local government reorganisation.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
£7.6 million will be made available in the form of local government reorganisation proposal development contributions, to be split across the 21 two-tier local government areas which the government has invited proposals from. This is the first time that capacity funding has been made available for reorganisation proposals, recognising the priority that this government attaches to this. Further information will be provided on how this will be allocated and we intend to make payments as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to amending building regulations to require the use of non-fossil-fuel heat sources for all new properties.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Future standards next year will set our new homes on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and towards more clean, secure energy. These homes will be future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. No further energy efficiency retrofit work will be necessary to enable them to become zero-carbon over time as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise.
The Future Homes Standard consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. It set out detailed technical proposals for what future standards could entail. All the options that were proposed would preclude the use of fossil-fuel heating in new homes. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the consultation and will publish the Government response in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government following the passage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, whether local authorities are able to determine the number of housing units that their district needs without having to follow any direction from the Government on numbers required.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The definition of deliverable sites is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework also sets out that authorities should use the standard method to calculate housing need.