Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 take legislative steps to require the promotion of party political content on social media platforms during the regulated period as third party campaign activity that has to be (a) valued and (b) declared in election expense returns.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under existing legislation, spending above £20,000 in England or £10,000 in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland on promoting party political content during the regulated period, whether on social media or other platforms, must be treated as campaign expenditure. This means it must be valued and reported in the relevant spending return to the Electoral Commission.
Both political parties and third-party campaigners are required to account for the costs of paid promotion, such as advertising on digital platforms, in their returns. These costs contribute to overall spending limits and transparency requirements designed to ensure fairness and accountability in elections.
The Government will continue to keep electoral law under review and work closely with the Electoral Commission to ensure that the framework remains effective and proportionate in the context of evolving campaign practices, including digital campaigning.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what measures has the government taken to help ensure that outdoor and indoor markets are sustainable.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government believes markets have an important economic and social role at the heart of many communities. It is for local authorities, not central government, to make decisions on running, supporting and investing in local markets in their areas.
From 2026/27, we are introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000, including markets. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible markets benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Communities can also choose to invest in markets through the Government’s Pride in Place programme, which will provide £20 million over 10 years to 244 of the most deprived places in the UK.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of trends in the number of battery fires for electric personal mobility vehicles such as e-bikes and scooters for each year since 2020.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available on gov.uk here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved batteries for electric mobility vehicles, such as electric bikes or electric scooters.
Our new Fire and Rescue Data Analysis Platform (FaRDAP) is being rolled out and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect covering both the questions and answer categories to capture lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, e-scooters and e-bikes, and more.
In addition, OPSS publishes data using information available from Fire and Rescue Services on fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters. Updated data now including figures for 2017-2024 was published in June this year on gov.uk here.
MHCLG is working closely with FRS and officials from other Government Departments to build an evidence base, share intelligence and develop mitigations to tackle the fire risks linked to lithium-ion batteries and PLEVs.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many community assets were registered by local authorities for each year since 2015.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The assets of community scheme is administered by local authorities for their areas. Local authorities are responsible for maintaining and publishing their local list of assets of community value and the Government does not hold a central list of this information. You can find out information about your local scheme by contacting your local authority.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 (a) car boot sale days that were licensed by local authorities and (b) trading standards compliance visits for counterfeit goods that took place for each of the last three years.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The requested information on the number of car boot sale days that were licenced by local authorities and the number of trading standards compliance visits for counterfeit goods is not held centrally.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 proposals to introduce an automatic approval assumption for developments near train stations on (a) levels and (b) locations of houses in multiple occupation where Article 4 directives are in place; and whether he plans to include light rail tram stations alongside or in the definition of train stations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposals in question do not involve granting automatic permission to suitable planning applications.
They will cover development within a reasonable walking distance of well-connected tram stations, including light rail tram stations.
The proposals will not affect existing permitted development rights or Article 4 directions.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 adequacy of tree planting and the provision of public open space for completed residential developments in England since 2015.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment. The implementation of national planning policy is a matter for local planning authorities.
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clear policy regarding tree planting and the provision of public open space as part of new development. It outlines that planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities and opportunities for new provision, which plans should then seek to accommodate.
In relation to tree planting, the Framework outlines that planning policies and decisions should ensure that new streets are tree-lined (unless, in specific cases, there are clear, justifiable and compelling reasons why this would be inappropriate), that opportunities are taken to incorporate trees elsewhere in developments (such as parks and community orchards), and that existing trees are retained wherever possible.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Houses of Multiple Occupation there were in England in each year since 2010.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Estimates of the number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in England in each year since 2000-01 can be found in my Department’s Local Authority Housing Statistics open data, which can be found on gov.uk here.
The latest figures for 2023-24 show an estimated 472,823 HMOs in England.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of consumer protections relating to private parking companies.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is aware of motorist concerns regarding poor practice from some private parking operators and is determined to raise standards.
In accordance with the Private Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, the government is preparing a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.
The government has recently consulted on its proposals for a new code of practice for private parking operators to follow. The consultation closed on 26 September, and the government will respond in due course.