Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 plans to take steps to increase firefighter remuneration in line with inflation.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Setting firefighter pay is the responsibility of local employers, working through the National Joint Council. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government plays no role in the negotiation or funding of firefighter pay.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many meetings (a) he and (b) the former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government have had with housebuilders who complete more than 500 units per year since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the number of long-term vacant homes in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Statistics are published annually on gov.uk which include a breakdown of vacant dwellings by local authority district. We do not hold records on vacant homes on a constituency basis.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 reconsidering special circumstances permitting green belt development at times when battery energy storage site targets have been exceeded.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where the type of development in question is proposed in the Green Belt it is for decision makers, based on the circumstances of the individual case, to determine whether development inappropriate in Green Belt would be justified by very special circumstances.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional monitoring of HM Land Registry her Department has undertaken since July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As its sponsor department, MHCLG undertakes a range of activities to hold HM Land Registry (HMLR) to account for its organisational, corporate and governance performance.
A departmental representative sits on the Land Registry Board (LRB) and its subcommittees to review and scrutinise HMLR’s performance against its annual business plans and key performance indicators.
The Minister or Senior Sponsor issues an annual letter to the chair of the board, setting out the department’s priorities for HMLR over the coming year. The latest letter was issued in February 2025 and can be found on gov.uk here. The department holds regular meetings with HMLR executives and the LRB chair, including a quarterly sponsorship governance and performance meeting.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 private carpark regulation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is aware of concerns about the poor practice and behaviour of some parking operators and is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector. The private parking industry is currently self-regulating through the two main trade associations: the British Parking Association and the International Parking Community.
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 requires the Secretary of State to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities. My department is currently consulting on standards within the new Code and its compliance framework.
The Private Parking Code of Practice Consultation runs until 5 September 2025 and is available on https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/private-parking-code-of-practice.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of a statutory time limit for private parking fine enforcement.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Statutory time limits for issuing and enforcing notices of parking charges are currently enshrined in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the Limitation Act 1980.
Under the Protection of Freedoms Act, private operators must issue the notice of parking charge within 14 days of the alleged contravention if the notice is sent by post. If a notice is left on vehicle’s windscreen, but is not paid within 28 days, the operator has additional 28 days to send a notice to the registered keeper’s address.
If the issued notice is unpaid, the operator has up to six years to pursue payment or take legal action (e.g. via County Court) under the Limitation Act 1980.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 tackle homelessness outside of large urban areas.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
Homelessness levels are far too high. We must address this and deliver long term solutions in all parts of England. The government is looking at these issues carefully and is developing a new cross government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness.
The government have already taken the first steps, including making a £1 billion investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services across England this year. This is a £233 million increase on the previous year to help prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of local authority planning decisions have been overturned by the Planning Inspectorate in the last 12 months.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 the Planning Inspectorate overturned 4,747 planning decisions made by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).
These represent 31% of the 15,344 decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate on LPA planning cases in this period. Note these figures are taken from administrative data and so are subject to minor revisions.
The most recent published MHCLG statistics help put the 4,747 decisions in context (noting the different time periods covered). Between January to December 2024:
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2025 to Question 44299 on Park Homes: Sales, whether she will outline her plans to seek further evidence from the sector before the House rises for summer recess.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We will set out our plans to seek further evidence from the sector in respect of the rationale for the commission in due course.