Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 encourage the use of UK-based (a) civil and (b) software engineers by local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 June 2025, HCWS736, on Simplified Local Leadership Structures, what her Department's planned timetable is for making those changes to local leadership structures.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Councils operating the committee system which are not part of local government reorganisation will be given one year from the date of the legislation coming into force to make the transition. Where a council which operates the committee system is to be dissolved under local government reorganisation it will be exempt from making the change. All new councils will be required to operate the leader and cabinet model of governance.
Legislation on this matter will be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the document entitled Remote attendance and proxy voting in local authorities: consultation results and government response, published on 5 June 2025, what her Department's planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to allow (a) remote attendance and (b) proxy voting in local councils.
Answered by Jim McMahon
On 5 June, we published the gov.uk ‘Remote attendance and proxy voting in local authorities: consultation results and government response’ where we announced that we plan to legislate when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that housing developments are completed after they have been granted planning permission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government wants to see homes built faster and we recognise the frustrations that stalled or delayed sites can cause to communities.
Once housebuilders have been granted permission for residential development, meeting local housing needs and preferences, we expect to see them built out as quickly as possible.
Local planning authorities already have powers to issue a completion notice to require a developer to complete their development if it is stalled. If they fail to do so, the planning permission for the development will lapse.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December includes policies designed to support increased build out rates, including the promotion of mixed tenure development.
On 25 May, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out (which can be founded on gov.uk here) inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to give local planning authorities further powers to prevent high concentrations of (a) short-term and (b) holiday-let accommodation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Members to the answer to Question UIN 13348 on 18 November 2024.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 19 December 2023 on The Next Stage in Our Long Term Plan for Housing Update, HCWS161, if she will publish (a) the review into the wider statutory consultee system and (b) her response to that review.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Written Ministerial Statement in question was published by the previous government. This government recognises the importance of ensuring the system of statutory consultees delivers effectively. Any announcements regarding the statutory consultee system will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 impact of cancellation of the Community Ownership Fund on the projects of applicants.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 11941 on 8 November 2024.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of reforming the electoral system used to elect Members of Parliament.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 5974 on 14 October 2024.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether land allocated to (a) National Landscapes and (b) National Parks will be taken into consideration for housing requirements (i) generally and (ii) in Chichester District.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy makes clear that land designated as National Landscapes and National Parks should be taken into account by local authorities when establishing a housing requirement for their area. Local authorities are expected to evidence and justify their approach through local plan consultation and examination.
In our consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, we made clear that land safeguarded by existing environmental designations, including National Parks and National Landscapes, will maintain its current protections.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 transit sites for Travellers in West Sussex.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Policy for Traveller Sites makes clear that it is the responsibility of local planning authorities to produce an assessment of need for traveller sites. This includes permanent and transit site accommodation needs. In February 2019, local authorities were reminded of their duties to assess the need for transit sites, in addition to permanent sites, through a Written Ministerial Statement.