Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 make emergency financial assistance available through the Bellwin scheme to local authorities impacted by Storm Chandra.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I am always willing to consider local authority requests for financial assistance under the Bellwin Scheme.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 number of neurodivergent children living in temporary accommodation in (a) Yeovil constituency (b) Somerset and (c) England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness is far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including neurodivergent children. Accommodation provided to homeless households must be suitable to their needs. The government collects and publishes data on the support needs of households owed a homelessness duty (which includes households with support needs due to learning disabilities).
In October 2025 the government announced £10.9 million funding for 61 councils with the highest levels of children in temporary accommodation. This funding will be used to increase access to support and services for families and make a tangible impact on their quality of life whilst they remain in need. This will deliver positive benefits for education and health outcomes, including school attendance.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are introducing a single unique identifier for children nationally to help improve information sharing and safeguarding, which means practitioners and services working with families and children must receive and share relevant information about children and families they support, including to assess safeguarding risks effectively. We will introduce a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GPs that a child is in temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 experiences of neurodivergent children living in temporary accommodation in Yeovil constituency
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness is far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including neurodivergent children. Accommodation provided to homeless households must be suitable to their needs. The government collects and publishes data on the support needs of households owed a homelessness duty (which includes households with support needs due to learning disabilities).
In October 2025 the government announced £10.9 million funding for 61 councils with the highest levels of children in temporary accommodation. This funding will be used to increase access to support and services for families and make a tangible impact on their quality of life whilst they remain in need. This will deliver positive benefits for education and health outcomes, including school attendance.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are introducing a single unique identifier for children nationally to help improve information sharing and safeguarding, which means practitioners and services working with families and children must receive and share relevant information about children and families they support, including to assess safeguarding risks effectively. We will introduce a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GPs that a child is in temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 potential risks to rural landscapes posed by removing the Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee in the English planning system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 17 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation closed on 13 January 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
No decision will be made on the Garden Trust’s role until responses to the consultation have been fully analysed and considered.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to consult on proposals to require (a) swift and (b) bat bricks to be incorporated into new buildings.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that swift bricks are a vital means of addressing the long-term decline of the breeding swift population. While swift brick coverage is increasing, we made clear during the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that we were committed to doing more to drive up swift brick installation.
The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including a new policy that would require all developments to include swift bricks into their construction unless compelling technical reasons would prevent their use or make them ineffective.
This is a significant strengthening of expectations already in place and we expect the end result to be at least one swift brick in every new brick built house unless there are legitimate reasons why installation would not be appropriate.
The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 to support homeless people in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to getting back on track to ending all forms of homelessness across the country. Our cross-Government homelessness strategy will set out the actions needed across central and local government and the homelessness sector to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
The Government is supporting people at risk of and experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping across the country with more than £1 billion funding, a £316 million increase on last year. This includes £84 million new funding announced on 10 October 2025. Councils are able to use this funding to meet the needs of people in their area, and local authority allocations are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 to support Somerset Council with the provision of the Disabled Facilities Grant in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the importance of home adaptations, to enable older and disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) by £86 million per year to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Government provides guidance to local authorities on the effective delivery of the grant, which can be found on gov.uk here. This guidance also outlines how councils can develop a local housing assistance policy to improve efficiency and better address the needs of their local communities.
Government also funds a national body for DFGs and home improvement agencies, currently Foundations, to provide support and advice to local authorities to help them deliver the DFG as efficiently as possible.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 is taking to raise accessibility standards for new homes in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Housing is one of this Government’s top priorities. Everyone deserves to live in a decent home that is suitable for them and meets their needs. The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of older and disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies. Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing. The Government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 is taking to future-proof housing for disabled people in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Housing is one of this Government’s top priorities. Everyone deserves to live in a decent home that is suitable for them and meets their needs. The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of older and disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies. Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing. The Government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 adequacy of regulations for ensuring developers adhere to basic building regulations.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the critical importance of ensuring developers comply with building regulations, especially those relating to safety and accessibility. Under the Building Regulations 2010 (as amended), it is the legal responsibility of those undertaking building work, including the construction of new homes, to ensure all relevant requirements are met.
Developers must demonstrate compliance with the building regulations to a Registered Building Inspector, who is responsible for verifying that the work meets the necessary standards.
The Government continues to keep the regulatory framework under review to ensure it remains robust, proportionate, and fit for purpose. Recent reforms to the building control system, including the introduction of a new regulatory regime under the Building Safety Act, are designed to strengthen oversight and improve accountability across the sector.