Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to bring forward proposals to (a) support and (b) incentivise the resale of retirement or sheltered housing units.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 40972 on 1 April 2025.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 plans to introduce a statutory exemption from the long-term empty homes council tax premium for properties that have been inherited and are being marketed for sale.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When a property has been left empty following the death of its owner or occupant, it is exempt from council tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. Following a grant of probate (or the signing of letters of administration), a further six months exemption is possible, so long as the property remains unoccupied and has not been sold or transferred to someone else.
Furthermore, the government has regulated to introduce an exception, to council tax premiums, for up to 12 months following a grant of probate. A further 12-month exception is available for dwellings actively marketed for sale or let. Exceptions to premiums may apply concurrently where the dwelling qualifies for both.
The government does not collect data on the number of properties which are empty due to probate. However, we do collect data on the number of dwellings which are exempt from council tax due to the death of the occupant. As of the latest available data, 132,883 dwellings were receiving this exemption.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 monitors the number of households charged the council tax premium on long-term empty homes following (a) bereavement and (b) inheritance.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When a property has been left empty following the death of its owner or occupant, it is exempt from council tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. Following a grant of probate (or the signing of letters of administration), a further six months exemption is possible, so long as the property remains unoccupied and has not been sold or transferred to someone else.
Furthermore, the government has regulated to introduce an exception, to council tax premiums, for up to 12 months following a grant of probate. A further 12-month exception is available for dwellings actively marketed for sale or let. Exceptions to premiums may apply concurrently where the dwelling qualifies for both.
The government does not collect data on the number of properties which are empty due to probate. However, we do collect data on the number of dwellings which are exempt from council tax due to the death of the occupant. As of the latest available data, 132,883 dwellings were receiving this exemption.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on requiring local authorities to take into account the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) guidance, Guidance on the Assessment of Mineral Dust Impacts for Planning published in May 2016, for quarry planning applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Planning policy for minerals is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. This is supported by Planning Practice Guidance, including details on how planning authorities should assess the environmental impacts of mineral extraction.
By law, planning applications for minerals and other development should be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Technical guidance produced by non-government organisations may be a material consideration where it raises relevant issues. The law requires that the weight to be given to different material considerations in any particular case is a matter for the decision-maker.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason guidance from the Institute for Air Quality Management has been adopted for use in quarry (a) planning and (b) development control decisions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Planning policy for minerals is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. This is supported by Planning Practice Guidance, including details on how planning authorities should assess the environmental impacts of mineral extraction.
By law, planning applications for minerals and other development should be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Technical guidance produced by non-government organisations may be a material consideration where it raises relevant issues. The law requires that the weight to be given to different material considerations in any particular case is a matter for the decision-maker.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria her Department uses to evaluate non-statutory guidance to inform planning policy for (a) quarries and (b) related proposed developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Planning policy for minerals is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. This is supported by Planning Practice Guidance, including details on how planning authorities should assess the environmental impacts of mineral extraction.
By law, planning applications for minerals and other development should be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Technical guidance produced by non-government organisations may be a material consideration where it raises relevant issues. The law requires that the weight to be given to different material considerations in any particular case is a matter for the decision-maker.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of regulating private land management companies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of making water companies statutory consultees in planning applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government encourage water companies and other infrastructure providers to work proactively with local planning authorities to identify where supporting infrastructure will be required to meet the demands of new development.
On 23 October, the government announced an independent commission to review the water sector regulatory system and make recommendations to reform the water sector regulatory framework in England and Wales. The review is expected to report next year, and we will carefully consider its findings.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department are taking to support local authorities with tackling homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 158774 on 9 March 2023.
The Government is spending £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years and the vast majority of this funding is being provided to local authorities.
This includes £366 million in funding in 2022/23 through the Homelessness Prevention Grant to help local authorities prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has taken steps to help increase the diversity of local high streets to encourage more people to shop locally.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This Government is fully committed to supporting our town centres and high streets to adapt and evolve. We are enabling places to transform their high streets and town centres into thriving commercial, social and cultural hubs. We also strongly support people shopping locally.
To do so, we have reformed the use classes order to enable more flexible use of existing buildings. The use class reform creates a new 'commercial, business and service' use class which encompasses a wide range of uses which attract people to high streets and town centres. This includes offices and other business uses, shops, cafes, gyms and other uses for visiting members of the public which are suitable in a high street. Premises can move between such uses without the need for a planning application. This builds on longer-term structural interventions and funding by Government to support high streets and town centres, including the £3.6bn Towns Fund, £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund and the work of the High Street Task Force which has now supported around 115 local authorities in areas such as placemaking, planning and design.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State was pleased to visit the New Lubbesthorpe community on 24 February 2023 and to see first-hand how such long-term structural interventions can benefit communities.