Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure that (a) schools, (b) hospitals, (c) sewage capacity and (d) other key infrastructure are in place before housing development works are started.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 26106 on 5 February 2025.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 will make an assessment of the potential impact of the levels of availability of (a) affordable and (b) social housing on people living in (i) North Cornwall constituency and (ii) rural areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for local authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and to reflect this in their planning policies.
However, the government have made clear that authorities should consider the particular needs of those who require Social Rent homes when undertaking needs assessments and setting policies on affordable housing requirements.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming social housing eligibility criteria to include families local to the area being considered who cannot (a) afford to rent a property privately and (b) obtain a mortgage in (i) rural areas and (ii) Cornwall.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are responsible for designing and managing their own social housing allocations policies to meet local need, including setting qualification criteria appropriate to their local area. These schemes are governed by a legal framework set by central government.
Local authorities may (but are not obliged to) take an applicant’s financial resources into account when considering their application for social housing, including whether they can secure alternative accommodation at market rent.
Local authorities can also adopt a residency or local connection test for social housing which require a well-established local association or the individual(s) having lived in their area for a certain period before they can access the social housing waiting list.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a review of the Mobile Homes Act 2013 to help support full time residential park-home owners.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A review of the effectiveness of the Mobile Homes Act 2013 was undertaken in 2017 and it made a number of recommendations. Most have been implemented, such as the introduction of a fit and proper person test and changes to the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that landlords cannot lawfully obstruct emergency vehicle access to residential properties.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 makes clear that it is an offence to obstruct or hinder certain emergency workers from responding to present or imminent emergency circumstances. As a matter of public safety, property owners and managers should keep access routes clear, so that emergency vehicles can gain access if needed.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 issue guidance to local authorities in rural areas with high levels of (a) executive housing and (b) second homes on revising the (i) points and (ii) banding systems used to allocate social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local Authorities are responsible for designing and managing their own housing allocations policies to meet local need within the framework of legislation under which certain categories of people must be given priority. Social housing allocations guidance can be found here. The Department has no plans to issue additional guidance to local authorities in rural areas.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring housing developers to consult with water companies at every stage when building new homes, in the context of establishing sewage infrastructure.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in Paragraph 7 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of homes, commercial development and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. Sustainable development should be pursued both through the preparation and implementation of local development plans, and the application of policies in the framework.
The government is clear that housing must come with appropriate infrastructure, including appropriate water infrastructure. We believe that strategic issues such as water capacity are best dealt with at a strategic level through the plan-making process, rather than through individual planning applications.
A key function of local development plans is to guide development to the most suitable and sustainable locations and to ensure that the associated infrastructure requirements are addressed. Effective co-operation early in the plan-making process is essential to ensuring not only that housing and infrastructure need is appropriately planned for, but that they are aligned with each other. The NPPF makes it clear that local planning authorities should collaborate with each other and with other public bodies, including infrastructure providers, to identify relevant strategic matters to be addressed, including providing for sustainable water supplies.
Water companies are under a statutory duty to provide new water and sewerage connections to residential properties, as well as planning to meet the needs of growth as part of water resource management plans, and drainage and wastewater management plans. The water resources planning guidance published by the government set out how those companies should forecast demand for water based on existing customers and planned levels of household and non-household growth, with the number of planned developments being based on published local plans.
Relevant planning practice guidance sets out that good design and mitigation measures should be secured during development, both through site-specific and non-site-specific policies on water infrastructure. The revised NPPF published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that developments of all sizes should use sustainable drainage techniques when the development could have drainage impacts and should have appropriate maintenance arrangements in place. We continue to explore whether more needs to be done to ensure sustainable drainage technologies are taken up more widely in new development, either through planning policy or by commencing schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, and a decision on the best way forward will be made in the coming months.
Ensuring that we take a strategic spatial planning approach to the management of water, including tackling pollution and managing pressures on the water environment at a catchment, regional and national scale, is a core objective of the ongoing independent review into the regulatory system of the water sector, launched in October 2024 by the UK and Welsh Governments. The review is expected to report next year, and we will carefully consider its findings.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department has made available to residents facing increases in management fees by (a) landlords and (b) 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: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support young people onto the housing ladder in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of home ownership. This government is determined to change that, ensuring that young families and hardworking renters can buy a home of their own.
The most sustainable long-term method to improve housing affordability and help people into home ownership is to increase the supply of housing. That is why the Government committed to deliver 1.5 million homes over the Parliament in the Plan for Change.
In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, we are committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme meaning first-time buyers in North Cornwall and across the country will be able to take their crucial first step on to the property ladder with only a small deposit.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 increase funding for social housing, in the context of the forthcoming spending review.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.
Since October 2024, we have announced £800 million in new funding for the current Affordable Homes Programme. This will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being Social Rent homes.