Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the current rules around party donations by single donors, with particular reference to donations from foreign entities.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in our Manifesto and subsequently in our Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections published last July, we are bringing forward a number of reforms to strengthen our political finance rules on donations to close loopholes and tackle foreign interference in our elections. These reforms include: tighter controls on donations from companies to ensure they have a legitimate connection to the UK; greater due diligence checks on significant donations under a new ‘Know-Your-Donor' scheme; stronger checks and transparency thresholds for unincorporated associations; and requirements for donors to declare connected sources of their funding.
On the 16 December 2025 the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. The purpose of the review is to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards that regulate political parties and political finance and make recommendations. The terms of reference for the review can be found here. Review findings will be delivered to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Security Minister by the end of March 2026.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to (a) join AccessAble and (b) provide publicly available information on disability access to (i) public buildings and (ii) services.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces. It is the duty of local authorities to comply with all relevant employment and equalities legislation and there is no role for central government intervening in this, except where specific provision has been made in legislation.
Like all service providers and those exercising public functions, local authorities are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for their customers, under the Equality Act 2010. This includes providing information about disabled access and facilities as well as the actual facilities. Local authorities are also within the scope of the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public bodies to consider how their policies and actions might affect people with particular protected characteristics, such as disability.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a right of tenants in social housing to keep a pet.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Many social landlords set out their pet policies in their tenancy agreements and will allow tenants to keep pets where it is appropriate to do so. Consideration is given to whether the pets can be well looked after and any adverse effects on the lives of neighbours and those living nearby. We encourage all social landlords to adopt similar policies. The circumstances in which pets may be kept is, however, for social landlords to determine locally, taking account of the views of their tenants.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Written Statement of 9 November 2022, HCWS172 on Building Regulations, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the review considers equal access to male sanitary bins in already established buildings as well as new buildings..
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 83564 on 17 November 2022.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 is taking steps to provide financial support to victims of domestic of violence to help them find alternative accommodation so that they are protected from abuse and harm.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
This Government is committed to the delivery of safe accommodation with support for all victims of domestic abuse. This is part of the Government's overall Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
The Domestic Abuse Act includes new duties on local authorities in England, which came into force on 1 October 2021, to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation.
So far, we have distributed £250 million to local authorities for the delivery of their duties - £125 million in both 2021/22 and 2022/23. On 12 December 2022 we announced a further two years of government funding - £127.3 million and £129.7 million for the delivery of these duties in 2023/24 and 2024/25.
This is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will increase existing awards of Levelling Up Funding, in the context of rising inflation.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The department is monitoring the impact of inflation closely through formal reporting mechanisms and regular discussions with local government counterparts and stakeholders.
The Levelling Up Fund has put in place a proportionate project adjustment process. Further discussions are underway about what other support can be offered to mitigate inflationary pressures.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many people in Northern Ireland have been issued with sponsor payments under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The data on the number of tariff and thank you payments made to all local authorities between March and May 2022 can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-funding-march-to-may-2022/annex-a-homes-for-ukraine-local-authority-funding-allocations-march-to-may-2022-northern-ireland.
Note: The number of thank you payments may be less than the number of sponsoring households due to delays in authorities making thank you payments, or sponsors not accepting thank you payments.
There is flexibility for how councils can deliver the sponsor payments. Lead sponsors are not eligible for the £350 monthly payment if they are charging the guest rent. For the sponsor, the £350 payment is payable monthly in arrears backdated to the date the Ukrainian national commenced residence in the sponsor’s accommodation.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when awards made in the first tranche of the Levelling Up Fund must be spent by.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
On 27 October, the Government announced £1.7 billion of investment into 105 infrastructure projects across the UK. Funding provided from the Fund should be spent by 31 March 2024, and exceptionally, into 2024-25 for larger schemes.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many applications have been received from Northern Ireland for the UK Community Renewal Fund; and how many of those applications were successful.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The UK Community Renewal Fund received 83 applications from organisations to deliver projects in Northern Ireland and 31 applications were successful.