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: 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 guidance his Department has provided to (a) developers and (b) investors on ensuring that applications to the Building Safety Regulator (i) provide the required detail and (ii) meet the required standards to avoid rejection.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
New guidance, developed with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), supports industry to better understand all aspects of the new building control regime. A joint Building Safety Regulator (BSR)-CLC working group with Tier 1 developers is also addressing key challenges and identifying areas for improvement.
More broadly, BSR run a series of webinars covering both design and construction requirements, as well as in-occupation requirements, and has published guidance online including “getting building control applications right.”
BSR is actively supporting the Construction Leadership Council to publish a further suite of industry guidance, expected around mid-November on the statutory documents accompanying building control approval applications, staged approvals and Gateway 3.
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, whether the Government plans to introduce a national standard or accreditation scheme for consultants conducting fire risk and structural integrity assessments under the Building Safety Act 2022.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry report made recommendations for reform relating to certain built environment professions, including regulation of fire engineers and mandatory accreditation of fire risk assessors. We have accepted these recommendations in full. We are aware of the importance of competence, accountability and good regulation to achieve a safer built environment and will continue to engage with the sector on this.
Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022 requires that building safety risks in Higher Risk Buildings are assessed, managed and controlled. The assessment must be suitable and sufficient and all reasonable steps must be taken to manage and control the building safety risks. Along with the Building Safety Regulator we keep under review the operation of the Building Assessment Certificate regime to ensure appropriate management of risks in Higher Risk Buildings.
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, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of delays in building safety approvals on the (a) volume and (b) value of residential investment transactions.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise that delays to the assessment of applications have been unacceptable on the construction supply chain. This is why we announced reforms to the Building Safety Regulator on 30 June, including plans to establish the BSR as a separate body. The BSR has committed to improving operations by December, with faster processing of new build applications and decisions on most of the existing new-build caseload.
The BSR is already making operational and policy changes to speed up decision making, particularly on building control approval, including through the introduction of an Innovation Unit (IU). Early signs are positive with the majority of applications in the IU so far on track to exceed or meet the 12-week SLA as they progress through the application process.
New guidance, developed with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), is also helping to support industry to better understand all aspects of the new building control regime and secure approval from BSR.
To support transparency and accountability, the BSR published performance data on 16 October and will continue to do so monthly to track progress against this commitment.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring councillors in principle tier authorities to obtain a DBS check.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Criminal record checks provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service (‘DBS checks’) for local government members are currently optional; it is for individual local authorities to adopt eligible checks as they determine necessary.
I am considering options on criminal record checks for local government members.
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, with reference to the press release entitled Chancellor cuts pointless admin in nearly £6 billion business blitz, published on 21 October 2025, whether his Department has tested the (a) reliability, (b) accuracy and (c) risk of bias of AI systems for planning application reviews; and whether he plans to consult with local authorities on the adoption of these technologies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department is actively exploring options to develop AI-enabled products to speed up public service provision, including in respect of planning services.
We are developing, and will deploy, these products responsibly, in line with guidance set out in the AI Playbook for the UK Government and clauses in the Royal Town Planning Institute’s Code of Conduct.
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, if he will take steps to simplify planning consent processes for (a) food and drink production facilities and (b) other manufacturing sites.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework already makes clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise and address the specific locational requirements of different sectors.
The government intend to consult this year on a new suite of national policies for decision making.
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, if he will publish a breakdown of how each local authority spends its share of the new £84 million homelessness support funding announced in the news release entitled £84 million injection to tackle homelessness, published on 9 October 2025.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are best placed to understand local need. Our funding provides local authorities with the flexibility to determine the most effective services to support vulnerable individuals in their areas.
You can find local authority level allocations of the £84 million announced on 10 October here:
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 steps he is taking to help ensure that local communities are consulted the type of shops permitted on high streets.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We want local people to work together to create thriving high streets. Through our Pride in Place Programme we are investing up to £5bn and giving communities more say over the make-up of their high streets. Alongside this, we have announced other tools such as a community right to buy to help communities take ownership of valued high street buildings, such as shops and pubs.
We have also introduced High Street Rental Auctions to bring persistent vacant units back into use. Councils are required to consult on the high street designation and have the power to exclude certain uses at auction.
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, whether guidance will be issued to Pride in Place boards on ensuring community engagement in funding decisions.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Pride in Place Programme will give 244 of the most in-need places across Great Britain up to £20m funding and support over the next decade. Communities will decide how to invest this funding, with residents, community leaders and local businesses coming together to make decisions about how this funding is spent on newly established Neighbourhood Boards. We will publish further guidance shortly which will set clear expectations for Neighbourhood Boards to involve their surrounding community in decision-making to ensure the funding delivers the change local people want to see.