Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on independent students who require accommodation between June and September.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment.
The Renters’ Rights Act introduces a new mandatory ground which will allow landlords renting HMOs to full-time students who occupy on either joint or individual tenancy agreements to seek possession ahead of each new academic year, facilitating the ongoing yearly cycle of short-term student tenancies.
Students living in one or two bed (non-HMO) properties will have the same security of tenure as tenants in the wider private rented sector.
As is the case now, we would encourage students who wish to remain in their accommodation over summer to discuss with their landlords.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to require housing developers to deliver homes for social rent as part of their developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including proposals designed to further support the delivery of social housing.
These include reforms to the viability system and specifying a minimum proportion of social rent housing that would be required of major development unless otherwise specified in development plans.
The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve access to homelessness services for people sleeping rough.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has increased funding for homelessness services by £316 million to a total of more than £1 billion in 2025/26. This includes £255.5 million through the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant for local authorities to tackle rough sleeping. We announced £69.9 million top-up funding for the grant in October 2025.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to implement early identification models in schools to (a) identify and (b) help those at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to getting back on track to ending homelessness and is open to innovative solutions to do this.
Preventing homelessness is critical to getting back on track to ending homelessness. Our upcoming cross-Government homelessness strategy will put prevention at its core and set a clear vision for tackling homelessness.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 require local authorities to consider the needs of young people as a specific group in their local housing needs assessments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework already makes clear that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community and plan accordingly. These groups should include, but are not limited to, those who require affordable housing, families with children, looked after children, students, and people who rent their homes.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to prevent property owners providing false information when applying for Temporary Exemption Notices.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A Temporary Exemption Notice (TEN) may be served by a local authority where a person having control of or managing a licensable property (under HMO or selective licensing) notifies the local authority of their intention to take steps so that the property no longer requires a licence.
It is for local authorities to determine if, on the basis of the information provided, they are satisfied that the applicant is taking genuine steps to ensure that the property no longer requires a licence before granting the notice.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 prevalence of property owners (a) misusing and (b) providing false information to obtain Temporary Exemption Notices.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No assessment has been made of the prevalence of property owners misusing and/or providing false information to obtain Temporary Exemption Notices.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 ensure that the appeals system for private parking disputes is (a) independent, (b) fair and (c) transparent.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector. It has recently outlined, in a public consultation, its proposals to better protect and support motorists whilst balancing the legitimate needs of private parking operators.
Specific views are being sought on the level of parking charge caps and on the appeals service.
The consultation closed on 26th September.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 merits of capping (a) private parking charges and (b) penalty fees at a (i) fair and (ii) proportionate level.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector. It has recently outlined, in a public consultation, its proposals to better protect and support motorists whilst balancing the legitimate needs of private parking operators.
Specific views are being sought on the level of parking charge caps and on the appeals service.
The consultation closed on 26th September.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help improve the availability of free housing-related advice services in Nottingham.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils have a statutory duty to provide or secure the provision of advice and information about homelessness and the prevention of homelessness, free of charge. This should form part of each council’s strategy for preventing homelessness. You can read more about this in Chapter 3 of the homelessness code of guidance on gov.uk here.