Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, (a) how many new social houses have been built in the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency in each of the last three years, and (b) how many the Government intends to build in the constituency in the next three years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The number of new social homes delivered, split by provider, geography and whether they are new build or acquisitions, can be found in the affordable housing supply statistics on gov.uk here.
On 2 July, the government set out its five-point plan for kickstarting a decade of social and affordable housing renewal. Taken together, the grant funding support and regulatory certainty and stability that this government is providing will enable Registered Providers to quickly ramp up investment in existing and new stock. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on that day (HCWS771).
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 20 October 2025 to Question 80174, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that policy on (a) the Traveller community and (b) park home residents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 17 November 2025 to Question 88049 on Electoral Register: British Nationals Abroad, when he intends to introduce the package of measures.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Pursuant to the answer given to Question UIN 88049 on 17 November 2025 on electoral register, the government is clear that all legitimate electors should be able and encouraged to participate in democracy. This includes overseas electors, who should be able to exercise their vote without unnecessary barriers.
As set out in the policy paper, Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections (17/07/2025), the government will introduce a package of measures intended to improve the resilience and capacity of the postal voting system overall.
Legislation will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows during the lifetime of this Parliament.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 postal voting system.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between October 2024 and April 2025, the Government undertook a strategic review of electoral registration and conduct processes, which considered the key stages in and resilience of election delivery, working in partnership with the Electoral Commission, electoral practitioners and key local authority representatives including the Association of Electoral Administrators and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers and Returning Officers and their teams. Issues relating to postal voting were considered as part of the review and the Government will be bringing forward changes to strengthen the postal voting system to make it more resilient and responsive for electors and electoral administrators.
A full list of outcomes of the review and the changes which the Government proposes to bring forward as a result were set out in the policy paper, ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’ published on 17 July 2025.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 4 November 2025 to Question 85523 on Electoral Register: British Nationals Abroad, what steps he plans to take to ensure that overseas electors receive their ballot papers on time.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The responsibility for arranging the timing and dispatch of postal votes sits with the Returning Officer for each electoral area. As such, it falls to them to assess the likelihood of an elector’s postal ballot pack being dispatched, returned and completed before the close of poll. The Electoral Commission provides guidance to Returning Officers in this regard, including advising them to prioritise overseas postal ballot packs.
The Government is committed to fixing the foundations of our electoral processes, including making changes to help build more resilience into the postal voting system.
As set out in the policy paper, Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections on 17 July 2025, the Government will introduce a package of measures intended to improve the resilience and capacity of the postal voting system overall. These measures include moving the postal vote application deadline three working days earlier in time. The deadline for candidate nominations will also be moved earlier in time in order to allow Returning Officers more time to proof the ballot papers for printers, giving more time for the next part of the process to get underway, and in particular to enable postal ballot papers to be printed and issued to postal voters at an earlier point.
These changes will benefit all administrators and voters, including those living overseas.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 British residents overseas to register to vote in future elections.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is clear that all legitimate electors should be able and encouraged to participate in democracy. This includes overseas electors, who should be able to exercise their vote without unnecessary barriers. The Electoral Commission is responsible for raising awareness to facilitate democratic participation. The EC also undertakes communication campaigns to engage with citizens and promote awareness of, for example, how to register to vote.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 strengthen retrospective rural-proofing of his Department's policies.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 73926 on 12 September 2025.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to classify static caravans as buildings.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Caravans are temporary structures and the government has no plans to legally define them as buildings.