Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 extend Community Right to Buy powers to include environmental assets such as peat bogs, heathland, meadows, woods and rivers.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The new community right to buy, which we are introducing through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, will give communities stronger powers to take ownership of assets that are important to them.
Communities will already be able to nominate a range of environmental assets that further their social or economic wellbeing through the current provisions in this Bill. The list of such assets is extensive, from allotments and playing fields to woodlands and farms. Statutory guidance will be clear that local authorities must accept nominations for environmental assets that meet the criteria.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 make it his policy to publish an annual brownfield site audit for England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities are required to maintain a register of brownfield sites that they have assessed as appropriate for residential development.
My Department has no current plans to undertake an annual audit of such registers.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether Sport England will remain a statutory consultee for planning applications that affect playing fields.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), the government plans to consult on the impact of removing statutory consultee status for planning applications from Sport England, The Theatres Trust, and The Gardens Trust.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 steps to investigate the number of fires caused by self-installed solar panels on residential properties.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs). This data includes the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available on gov.uk here.
Data collected through the Incident Recording System (IRS) does not include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved solar panels, nor their installation method.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 steps with the Fire Service college to implement a (a) national strategy and (b) protocols for local fire authorities when responding to battery storage fires.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the equipment and training they need to safely respond to incidents, and to do so considering their individual areas’ risk profiles and Community Risk Management Plans. Government works closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council to ensure that the fire and rescue sector has sufficient resource to keep the public safe.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of the change in the level of employers National Insurance contributions on the revenue budget of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 3 February 2025, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue.
These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities including Shropshire receiving an increase in core spending power of £69 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.
In 2025/26, Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority will have core spending power of £29.4 million; an increase of 2.1 per cent on 2024/25.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what regeneration funding she is making available for (a) Newport, (b) Shifnal and (c) other rural market towns.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government confirmed its commitment to regeneration funding at the Autumn Budget securing millions of pounds to support economic growth across the UK – our number one mission. This included £3.5 million through the UKSPF to continue to support communities across Shropshire.
The government will set out a refreshed approach to local growth funding at the multi-year Spending Review in the Spring. An approach that includes supporting rural businesses, improving infrastructure, and enhancing local economies, with a focus on areas most in need.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 require housing developers to promptly complete remedial works required to new build properties after completion.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Most new build warranties cover damages caused by structural defects for a 10-year term. The developer is often held accountable for the first two years of this period. The terms of warranty should give more detail on what developers would be expected to cover in this timeframe, but generally this will cover most aspects of workmanship carried out by the developer.
New build homeowners can also contact the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) (Homepage (nhqb.org.uk) if they are dissatisfied with the standards of conduct or quality of work in their new build homes. While the scheme is currently voluntary for developers, just over half of all developers have signed up. The full register of developers is held on the NHQB website.
New build homeowners can also contact a consumer code scheme provider if their developer has signed up to one. There are several codes, the largest of which is the Consumer Code for Home Builders. The code the developer signs up to is determined by the warranty provider. The consumer code scheme provider will handle complaints about the conduct or workmanship of a developer, provided that the developer is a member of the relevant code.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 undertake a review of the estate agency sector to assess the effectiveness of existing legislation on ensuring (a) transparency in pricing, (b) accurate descriptions of properties and (c) bans on rogue (i) lettings and (ii) sales agents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.
Legislation is currently enforced by National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents.
The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group chaired by Lord Richard Best to advise them on how best to do it.
However, they failed to respond to the recommendations set out in the working group’s 2019 Regulation of Property Agents: working group report which can be found on gov.uk here.
Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future. As a result, we are looking again at the 2019 report.
We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 reinstate the four percent funding floor for Core Spending Power growth for Shropshire.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The current fiscal environment means the government cannot continue the poor value for money 4% Funding Guarantee. The government assesses that it does not use every pound of taxpayers' money most efficiently and that is it targeted on a transparent basis.
However, we will guarantee that no local authority sees a reduction in their Core Spending Power in 2025-26, after taking into account the increase in council tax levels, by applying a funding floor.
This will provide the protections required for authorities to sustain their services between years, whilst recognising that we must begin the process of redirecting as much funding as possible towards the services and places that need it most.
The government is making good on the promise to reform the local government funding system, and is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities from 2026-27. We are inviting views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation (18 December – 12 February).