Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much their Department has spent on X and xAI since July 2024.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have a monthly subscription with xPro and have spent £153.60 since July 2024.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
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 visited an integrated retirement community.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in MHCLG engage regularly with representatives from the sector.
Ministerial meetings are published quarterly. The latest publication is available on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
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 merits of introducing legislation equivalent to New Zealand’s Retirement Villages Act 2003 to support the growth of the Integrated Retirement Community sector in the UK.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy.
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report including in relation to specialist accommodation for older people.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether Councils are able to use money from the Community Infrastructure Levy to refresh neighbourhood plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts must be used for the purposes which are set out in section 216 of the Planning Act 2008 and Part 7 of the CIL regulations.
Local authorities must spend the levy on infrastructure needed to support the development of their area Where charging authorities collect the levy, they can use up to 5% of funds from the levy to recover the costs of administering the levy.
Where all or part of a chargeable development is within the area of a parish council, the charging authority must pass a proportion of the CIL receipts from the development to the parish council. The ‘neighbourhood portion’ of CIL can be spent on infrastructure or anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area.
Further information on spending the levy is set out in CIL guidance which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
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 role of local plans in the planning system in the future.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 February 2025 (HCWS480).
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether borough local plans have precedence over parish level neighbourhood plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Once passed at referendum, neighbourhood plans form part of the development plan. Policies in a neighbourhood plan may become out of date, including if they conflict with policies in a local plan adopted after the making of the neighbourhood plan. In such cases, the more recent plan policy would take precedence.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the tilted balance in decision making is formally recognised as part of national planning policy; and what guidance his Department has issued to ensure consistent application by planning authorities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Users of the National Planning Policy Framework sometimes describe the effect of paragraph 11d of the Framework as a ‘tilted balance’. However, the term itself does not form part of national planning policy.
The Framework is a material consideration in decision-making. The government’s suite of planning practice guidance contains guidance for decision makers regarding the application of the policies in the Framework.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the empty home premium applies to (a) retirement and (b) care properties where the tenant has passed away and ownership has fallen to an executor.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have the discretionary power to charge a council tax premium on long-term empty dwellings in their area. Where the premium is in place, it applies to properties that have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The government has introduced regulations on mandatory exceptions, which are explained in guidance here, including an exception where probate has been granted. Once the exemption period has ended, normal rules on empty properties apply.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
Whether she plans to mandate local government reorganisation.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The English Devolution White paper set out our plans to facilitate a programme of local government reorganisation, and to do so as quickly as possible.
Councils in two tier areas and small neighbouring unitary councils have already been invited to submit proposals.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to enhance the fit and proper person test for the (a) owner and (b) manager of a park home site.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The fit and proper person test, which applies to a site owner or the person appointed to manage a site, is intended to ensure that those managing park home sites are competent to do so.
Where properly applied by local authorities, the legislation has been shown to be effective.
We will continue to monitor its operation and consider whether any changes are required.