Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 reform the Private Retirement Housing Code of Practice.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The current edition of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers Code of Practice on Private Retirement Housing, approved in 2016 using powers under Section 87 of the Leasehold Reform and Urban Development Act 1993, may be used as evidence by the First-tier Tribunal or County Court in any decisions they make.
It is for the Association to decide what changes to the Code are necessary, including the voting criteria on how services and facilities are provided, which will then be put to the Secretary of State for consideration.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 include reforms to the criteria for voting in the Private Retirement Housing Code of Practice to increase the representation of eligible leaseholders as part of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The current edition of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers Code of Practice on Private Retirement Housing, approved in 2016 using powers under Section 87 of the Leasehold Reform and Urban Development Act 1993, may be used as evidence by the First-tier Tribunal or County Court in any decisions they make.
It is for the Association to decide what changes to the Code are necessary, including the voting criteria on how services and facilities are provided, which will then be put to the Secretary of State for consideration.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 impact of removing the Gardens Trust's status as a statutory consultee on protecting registered parks and gardens.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103649 on 14 January 2026.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 impact of removing the Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee on local planning authorities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103649 on 14 January 2026.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 meet the Gardens Trust to discuss plans to remove the organisation as a statutory consultee.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103649 on 14 January 2026.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 publish the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 102833 on 12 January 2026.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 protect historic pauper burial sites from (a) private development and (b) inappropriate land use.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Burial grounds can be considered as open space, which is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as all open space of public value. There are strong safeguards set out in the NPPF to ensure the continued protection of existing open space.
The designation of land as Local Green Space also allows communities to identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of homes in (a) Surrey and (b) England have been built on land classified as grey belt land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold the requested information.
It is for individual local planning authorities to undertake the necessary assessments to identify if land is grey belt, either through plan making or through considering specific applications that come forward.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 protect green belt land being reclassified as grey belt.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to preserving Green Belts which have served England's towns and cities well over many decades, not least in terms of checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another.
However, we know that there are simply not enough sites on brownfield land registers to deliver the volume of homes that the country needs each year, let alone enough that are viable and in the right location.
The government’s new approach to the Green Belt, including prioritising the release of lower quality grey belt land and introducing ‘golden rules’ to ensure development benefits communities and nature, is set out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 12 December.
On 27 February, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, and to support a consistent approach to determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here. This new guidance will support authorities in producing Local Plans, while also making sure that planning applications and development on suitable grey belt land can proceed in the short-term in areas without an up-to-date plan.
The government has also provided 133 local planning authorities with £70,000 of pump priming funding each to contribute towards the costs of carrying out Green Belt reviews in their areas.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 ensure that undeveloped countryside is not listed as grey belt.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to preserving Green Belts which have served England's towns and cities well over many decades, not least in terms of checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another.
However, we know that there are simply not enough sites on brownfield land registers to deliver the volume of homes that the country needs each year, let alone enough that are viable and in the right location.
The government’s new approach to the Green Belt, including prioritising the release of lower quality grey belt land and introducing ‘golden rules’ to ensure development benefits communities and nature, is set out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 12 December.
On 27 February, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, and to support a consistent approach to determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here. This new guidance will support authorities in producing Local Plans, while also making sure that planning applications and development on suitable grey belt land can proceed in the short-term in areas without an up-to-date plan.
The government has also provided 133 local planning authorities with £70,000 of pump priming funding each to contribute towards the costs of carrying out Green Belt reviews in their areas.