Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what contracts their Department has with Palantir.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Details of central government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what accountability mechanisms exist for private landlords who receive public funds through (a) Housing Benefit and (b) Universal Credit.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have a wide range of enforcement tools to take action against private landlords who fail to comply with regulations, including those who receive public funds through Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. They can, for example, issue improvement notices and civil penalties, prosecute landlords, and apply to have landlords banned from letting properties for serious offences.
The Renters' Rights Bill, currently before Parliament, includes a range of measures designed to strengthen landlord accountability. These include a requirement for all landlords to sign up to the new Private Rented Sector Database; a new independent Landlord Ombudsman which will provide binding resolutions for tenant complaints; the extension of the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector; and the application of Awaab’s law to the private rented sector.
The Bill also strengthens rent repayment orders, including doubling the maximum amount that a landlord can be ordered to pay from 12 to 24 months’ rent. Where a landlord commits certain offences and rent has been paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, local authorities can claim back rent through a rent repayment order.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 has taken to compare best practice in (a) the UK and (b) other countries on reducing public expenditure on private rents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department uses both domestic and international evidence to inform policy development in relation to a wide range of issues, including in respect of public expenditure on private rents.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 increased social housing investment on reducing reliance on private landlords.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Over time, increased investment in social housing will reduce reliance on the private rented sector.
At the Spending Review the Chancellor announced £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what what steps she is taking to help ensure consistency in standards of (a) ethics, (b) training and (c) reporting in (i) parish, (ii) town and (iii) district councils.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government’s December 2024 consultation set out the government’s views on the adequacy of the current local government standards regime. The consultation also set out what sanctions are currently available and that government considers that, in key aspects, the current system is ineffectual, inconsistently applied, and lacking in adequate powers to effectively sanction members found in serious breach of their codes of conduct.
This consultation sought views on proposed measures to strengthen the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, including the introduction of the sanction of suspension, to empower local authorities of all types and tiers to deal appropriately member misconduct where it arises. The government response will be issued in due course. The government does not collect data on local authority complaints.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what statutory powers are available to local standards committees to investigate and sanction councillors for breaches of the Nolan Principles.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government’s December 2024 consultation set out the government’s views on the adequacy of the current local government standards regime. The consultation also set out what sanctions are currently available and that government considers that, in key aspects, the current system is ineffectual, inconsistently applied, and lacking in adequate powers to effectively sanction members found in serious breach of their codes of conduct.
This consultation sought views on proposed measures to strengthen the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, including the introduction of the sanction of suspension, to empower local authorities of all types and tiers to deal appropriately member misconduct where it arises. The government response will be issued in due course. The government does not collect data on local authority complaints.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many complaints were referred to local standards committees in the last year; and what proportion of those complaints led to sanctions.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government’s December 2024 consultation set out the government’s views on the adequacy of the current local government standards regime. The consultation also set out what sanctions are currently available and that government considers that, in key aspects, the current system is ineffectual, inconsistently applied, and lacking in adequate powers to effectively sanction members found in serious breach of their codes of conduct.
This consultation sought views on proposed measures to strengthen the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, including the introduction of the sanction of suspension, to empower local authorities of all types and tiers to deal appropriately member misconduct where it arises. The government response will be issued in due course. The government does not collect data on local authority complaints.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the enforcement of the local government code of conduct.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government’s December 2024 consultation set out the government’s views on the adequacy of the current local government standards regime. The consultation also set out what sanctions are currently available and that government considers that, in key aspects, the current system is ineffectual, inconsistently applied, and lacking in adequate powers to effectively sanction members found in serious breach of their codes of conduct.
This consultation sought views on proposed measures to strengthen the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, including the introduction of the sanction of suspension, to empower local authorities of all types and tiers to deal appropriately member misconduct where it arises. The government response will be issued in due course. The government does not collect data on local authority complaints.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 reduce the number of empty and abandoned homes in Devon.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country, including in Devon.
Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years.
Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 ensure local authorities are able to require standards in excess of legal minimums as conditions for planning approval.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Planning conditions attached to the grant of planning permission can be used to require development to meet certain standards.
However, as the National Planning Policy Framework states, such conditions should only be imposed where they are necessary, relevant to planning and to the development to be permitted, enforceable, precise and reasonable in all other respects. They should also not duplicate the role of other regulatory regimes.