Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to announce the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant for the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced in the Local Government Policy Statement on 20 November, found here, the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant will be worth at least £480 million over the 3 years from 2026/27 and the distribution will follow the existing allocation formula. Further details will be in the Local Government Finance provisional settlement before Christmas.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 levels of Community Infrastructure Levy in the Borough of Waverley on the supply of new (a) residential and (b) commercial premises in that borough.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such an assessment.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to implement the same rules on (a) binding contracts and (b) upfront information in property transactions as are in place in Scotland.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 6 October 2025, the government published two consultations outlining reform proposals to transform home buying and selling. They can be found on gov.uk here and here.
The consultations include proposals to require sellers and estate agents to provide upfront property information and to support binding contracts.
Final decisions are subject to the outcome of these consultations.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will respond to the correspondence of 16 July 2025 from the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon regarding the Woolmead site in the Farnham and Bordon constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A response to the hon. Member was issued on 20 October 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to support (a) religious freedom and the (b) protection of minority faith groups.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. Everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease where they live. The Government is committed to protecting individuals’ right to practise their religion freely and will not tolerate religious hatred in any form. Those who incite religious hatred will face the full force of the law.
Faith Groups in England and Wales that are particularly vulnerable to religiously or racially motivated hate crime are eligible for funded protective security measures through the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. This scheme offers physical security enhancements, such as CCTV, intruder alarms, and secure perimeter fencing.
An Antisemitism Working Group has been established to advise the Government on effective strategies to tackle hate against Jewish communities. Additionally, the government continues to work with the independent advisor Lord Mann in combating antisemitism through meaningful engagement with diverse communities.
The Government has also established an independent working group to advise on a non-statutory definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred. The working group have engaged widely to ensure their proposed definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of communities across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of (a) German-style Fertighäuser and (b) other prefabricated or modular housing to help tackle housing shortage.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government wants to see greater adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) as part of our Plan for Change commitment to deliver 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament.
MMC is key to boosting productivity in the construction sector – helping deliver homes faster, with improved energy performance, and creating new offsite jobs in the construction sector.
We have already acted through our planning reforms to provide the certainty developers and manufacturers need to invest in MMC; provided an additional £700 million of support through the Home Building Fund to help manufacturers looking to grow and expand; and published the Publicly Available Specification (PAS-8700) for residential MMC.
We will set out further details in the Long-Term Housing Strategy shortly.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to publish updated comparative data on average council tax payments (a) per dwelling and (b) per capita across local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department publishes council tax per dwelling for each billing authority in England annually in March. We do not publish council tax per capita.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 level of variation in council tax per dwelling between rural and urban local authorities; and what steps he is considering taking to ensure that households in rural areas are not subject to higher tax burdens due to property valuation and banding distributions.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All councils are responsible for setting their own level of council tax to meet their specific service requirements. The government annually publishes data on the council tax levels set by different local authorities across the country. This is available here. The Government will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the system and consider options for reform where there is clear evidence that change would deliver better outcomes for residents and councils alike.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 plans to take to adjust the council tax system to account for differing property market values in rural areas.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All councils are responsible for setting their own level of council tax to meet their specific service requirements. The government annually publishes data on the council tax levels set by different local authorities across the country. This is available here. The Government will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the system and consider options for reform where there is clear evidence that change would deliver better outcomes for residents and councils alike.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 had discussions with local authorities in (a) Surrey and (b) Hampshire on maintaining support for community transport operators following local government reorganisation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local support for community transport operators remains a matter for local authorities in Surrey and Hampshire, or any future local authorities that may be set up following local government reorganisation.
Before a local government reorganisation proposal can be implemented, the Secretary of State must first consult any council affected that has not submitted the proposal, as well as any other persons considered appropriate. This includes local public service providers in the area.
The consultation on local government reform in Surrey closed on 5 August. A decision will now be made on which proposal, if any, to implement.
Hampshire is part of the Devolution Priority Programme and final proposals for local government reform in the county are due to submitted to the Government by 26 September.