Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 reduce delays in the home buying and selling process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87197 on 7 November 2025.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of walking, wheeling and cycling routes on disused railways to access to new housing sites.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provision of walking, wheeling and cycling routes plays an important role in new developments and has wide ranging benefits, including reducing impacts associated with traffic, as well as supporting health and wellbeing.
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, using a vision led approach to identify transport solutions that deliver well-designed, sustainable and popular places.
This includes identifying and pursing opportunities to promote walking and cycling, which could include routes on disused railways, to help ensure safe and suitable access to new housing sites for all users.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken by the Building Safety Regulator to process (a) applications and (b) approvals on levels of employment in the construction sector.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department recognises the importance of Gateway 2 approvals to the supply of new homes and the construction sector.
That is why the government announced in June 2025 changes to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). These reforms include delivering operational improvements in the BSR which will allow decisions on applications submitted to the BSR to be made more quickly. The department will continue to work with the BSR to deliver further improvements in its performance in the short and medium term.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 the planning system in supporting the rollout of electric vehicle charging points.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of electric vehicle charge points without the need to submit a planning application, subject to certain conditions.
In its response to the Climate Change Committee’s 2024 progress report published on 17 December last year, the government made clear that it intended to amend these rights to further support the roll out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, so that opportunities from changing transport technology and usage are realised. The NPPF also sets out that applications for development should be designed to enable charging of plug-in vehicles in safe, accessible and convenient locations.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) quality and (b) adequacy of the regulation of houses in multiple occupation in the private rented sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are subject to mandatory licensing in properties where five or more persons in two or more households share facilities. Local authorities also have the power to introduce additional licensing for smaller HMOs which are home to three or four people from two or more households who share facilities. All HMOs, even those that do not require a licence, must also comply with HMO management regulations.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will improve standards in the private rented sector. In particular, it will introduce a Decent Homes Standard to the PRS for the first time, which will set a minimum standard for all housing in the sector, including HMOs.