Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to local authorities on pursuing Community Infrastructure Levy charges where homeowners have become liable as a result of administrative errors.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 105228 on 21 January 2026.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue guidance to local authorities on exercising discretion and avoiding enforcement action that could cause (a) severe financial hardship and (b) the forced sale of a family home.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils are responsible for the collection of a broad range of debts. Councils are required to recover all debts in accordance with the law. The government will continue to keep this issue under review.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether best practice from local authorities on compassion and proportionality will be identified and adopted nationally.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils are responsible for the collection of a broad range of debts. Councils are required to recover all debts in accordance with the law. The government will continue to keep this issue under review.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government has taken to reach a decision on the 10% commission charge payable to site owners on the sale of park homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97962 on 15 December 2025.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support the Government is providing to local planning authorities to ensure they have the expertise to manage parks and gardens casework in the absence of guaranteed specialist input.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 18 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, closed on 13 January 2026.
The consultation asked for views on the impact of removing consultee status in the planning application process from the Gardens Trust, The Theatres Trust and Sport England.
No final decisions will be taken on the role of these statutory consultees until all consultation feedback has been fully analysed and considered. A government response will be published in due course.
Regardless of consultation outcomes, these statutory consultees will continue to engage through public consultation and targeted notifications in the planning process.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 on planning outcomes of the decision to remove statutory consultee status from certain bodies in the planning process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 18 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, closed on 13 January 2026.
The consultation asked for views on the impact of removing consultee status in the planning application process from the Gardens Trust, The Theatres Trust and Sport England.
No final decisions will be taken on the role of these statutory consultees until all consultation feedback has been fully analysed and considered. A government response will be published in due course.
Regardless of consultation outcomes, these statutory consultees will continue to engage through public consultation and targeted notifications in the planning process.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 implications for his policies of Centrepoint’s call to build 40,000 one-bedroom homes per year to address record levels of youth homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out how we will tackle the root causes of homelessness, including by building 1.5 million homes, including a generational increase in new social and affordable homes backed by £39 billion investment through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed, and we are asking providers to come forward with ambitious bids that reflect this diversity.
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing (including Social Rent), and reflect this in their planning policies. The Government is consulting on changes to the Framework, including proposals relating to the delivery of social rent and affordable homes. The consultation document is available here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 implications for his policies of Centrepoint’s finding that local authorities face a £400 million funding shortfall in meeting their statutory duties to young people experiencing homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has provided more than £1 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services this year. Councils should use this record investment to meet the needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in their area, including young people.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 80732 on Local Government management, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his Department's proposals to require councils to adopt a cabinet model of governance on councils that do not currently have a cabinet model of governance.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government believes that the leader and cabinet governance model provides clearer and more easily understood decision-making structures, and would expect it to have a positive impact where it is adopted by a council.
The Government remains keen to work closely with all councils required to adopt the leader and cabinet model to ensure a smooth and effective transition.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 will take to reduce the use of forms of temporary accommodation such as nightly-paid accommodation in line with commitments made in the National Plan to End Homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out immediate action to help councils address the most unacceptable forms of homelessness, including our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families except in emergencies by the end of this parliament. To achieve this target, we will support and drive temporary accommodation models that address specific challenges in local areas and share good practice through an Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice – including B&B and unsuitable out-of-area placements.
We will also increase the supply of good-quality, affordable temporary accommodation including through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.