Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 encourage the Building Safety Regulator to provide a timeline for decision on the 338 social homes intended for the former Bermondsey Biscuit Factory development site.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator has received three Building Control Applications for new higher risk buildings to be built on the Biscuit Factory site. Progress on each application is set out in the following table. Please note that assessment of applications is a dynamic process, and timetables can change dependent on the information provided by the applicant:
Application Name | Application Number | Current status | Number of homes | When decision is expected |
Block OPQ | BCA03545Z1N7 | Statutory fire consultation has completed. Final stages of assessment underway | 187 over 14 floors | November 2025 |
Block W | BCA04254L1T8 | Assessment is continuing. Statutory fire consultation will start once all fire matters within the application have been resolved | 69 over 18 floors | January 2026 |
Block V | BCA05762F2G7 | Assessment is continuing. Statutory fire consultation will start once all fire matters within the application have been resolved | 82 over 10 floors | January 2026 |
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking with the (a) financial sector and (b) regulators to help ensure that mortgage lenders provide loans to leaseholders affected by building safety issues in the period after the Grenfell Tower fire.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in my department have regular engagement with financial sector stakeholders. A product of this is the lenders’ statement on cladding which has signatories from ten major banks and building societies.
These lenders have committed to consider mortgage applications, even if a property has building safety issues, provided either the building has funding for works from government or the developer, or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act, and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it.
Officials have well-established relationships with regulators should the need arise to discuss a particular issue.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Transport to (a) expand electricity capacity and (b) ensure the adequacy of the number of EV charging stations in new housing developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that strategic policies set out in development plans should make sufficient provision for energy.
The government recently amended the existing permitted development rights for electric vehicle charging points to support homeowners through the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2025.
We continue to keep the regulations under review.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how (a) temporary accommodation use and (b) all forms of homelessness were factored into assessments of levels of need in the Fair Funding review of local authority needs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has set out our proposal for consolidating funding across all forms of homelessness, through the first multi-year settlement in a decade, in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation on gov.uk here.
The Fair Funding Review 2.0 includes proposals to roll funding for Temporary Accommodation, currently part of Homelessness Prevention Grant, into the Local Government Finance Settlement Revenue Support Grant and the creation of a consolidated Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Grant thematic pot.
Taking this approach of separating out temporary accommodation funding will end the current tension that forces local authorities to choose between investment in prevention and meeting current temporary accommodation costs, creating dedicated ringfenced funds for the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping.
This follows the government’s consultation on the Homelessness Prevention Grant. You can read the response to this consultation on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has put guarantees are in place for using British-made glass in the windows and doors in her Department’s housebuilding programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not stipulated the use of British-made glass in developments funded through housebuilding programmes.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help prevent leaseholders facing high fees for leasehold renewals.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44852 on 22 April 2025.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many planning applications for housing to local authorities were (a) partially and (b) wholly funded by the Government since July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not collect or publish data on how planning applications made to local planning authorities are funded.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has for regulation of the residential property management sector to improve standards and protect leaseholders and other residents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 41307 on 2 April 2025.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, under what circumstances freeholders become liable for higher insurance fees if they delay fire safety works.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The terms of individual leases determine when freeholders can pass on insurance costs to leaseholders. This remains the case even if there is a delay to remediating the building.
We are pushing for faster remediation as set out in the Remediation Acceleration Plan. We also intend to make it a criminal offence, and apply civil sanctions, against those who fail to remediate their unsafe buildings - including freeholders. Freeholders who delay works can expect swift and robust enforcement action from regulators, with the full support of government.
We remain committed to ensuring residents have access to information regarding their buildings insurance and can challenge unreasonable costs. Under the Leasehold & Freehold Reform Act we are making sure landlords provide leaseholders with information about their building’s insurance.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether freeholders are liable for insurance costs for leaseholders if court ordered safety works are not completed in time.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The terms of individual leases determine when freeholders can pass on insurance costs to leaseholders. This remains the case even if there is a delay to remediating the building.
We are pushing for faster remediation as set out in the Remediation Acceleration Plan. We also intend to make it a criminal offence, and apply civil sanctions, against those who fail to remediate their unsafe buildings - including freeholders. Freeholders who delay works can expect swift and robust enforcement action from regulators, with the full support of government.
We remain committed to ensuring residents have access to information regarding their buildings insurance and can challenge unreasonable costs. Under the Leasehold & Freehold Reform Act we are making sure landlords provide leaseholders with information about their building’s insurance.