Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 trends in the level of delays in the S106 process; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of standardised agreements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognise that protracted negotiations on section 106 agreements increase costs for local authorities and developers, and can have a disproportionate impact on SME builders.
On 28 May 2025, the government published the Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds (which can be found on gov.uk here). The working paper seeks views and evidence as to how section 106 obligations can be agreed more quickly, and the role national government should play in improving the process – including the merits of a standardised s106 template for medium sites. We will consider comments received on this working paper, which will inform a consultation later in the year.
Planning practice guidance on planning obligations encourages local planning authorities to use and publish standard forms and templates to assist with the process of agreeing planning obligations. These could include model agreements and clauses (including those already published by other bodies), that could be made publicly available to help with the planning application process. The guidance also states that planning obligations should be negotiated to enable decisions on planning applications to be made within the statutory time limits or a longer period where agreed in writing between the local planning authority and the applicant.
The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions, including section 106 planning obligations, to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which departments are contributing to ensuring that the distinct needs of young people are reflected in the development of the cross-governmental homelessness strategy.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people.
We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise.
As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 potential merits of including longer-term funding settlements for homelessness services in the (a) Comprehensive Spending Review and (b) Homelessness Strategy.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Future funding for homelessness services is subject to the outcome of phase 2 of the Spending Review.
Councils can also draw from the wider local government finance settlement to help meet homelessness costs. We know that the sector has long called for long-term certainty on its budgets. That is why the government is committed to providing a multi-year funding settlement starting in 2026-27.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 potential merits of starting a national roll out of Housing First.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant is a consolidated rough sleeping fund aimed at tackling rough sleeping and is providing a total of £185.6 million to local authorities across England in 2025-26. Local authorities have the flexibility to choose to continue provision of their Housing First or Housing Led services through the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant allocations.
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to develop a strategy to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This work includes taking into account what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 extend the exemption for the local connection test to survivors of modern slavery.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to ensuring that, where appropriate, barriers preventing vulnerable groups in need from accessing social housing are removed.
We are working with stakeholders to explore the detail of the proposed exemptions from local connection requirements further and consider what more needs to be done to support vulnerable cohorts, including victims of modern slavery.
There are alternative routes for vulnerable cohorts to access social housing. Guidance asks local authorities to make exemptions for applications with special circumstances, such as those who need to move for medical reasons or who are at risk of harm and to escape violence.