Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to issue new guidance to help reduce Building Safety Regulator workload.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are aware that there have been delays for applicants using the building regulation approval process for Higher Risk Buildings. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has told applicants to currently plan on the basis of 20 weeks to clear gateway two, although we are seeing signs that this processing time is improving. This is compared to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 12 weeks for new builds.
We recognise that changes are still bedding in and the BSR is a regulator in its infancy. However, it is clear that the sector must also take responsibility for the projects they deliver. We understand the BSR have rejected a significant number of Gateway Two applications for failing to meet the building safety regulatory standards. The BSR continue to support applicants to ensure they are meeting the functional requirements of the building regulations and guidance is available to support them in understanding their duties.
MHCLG and BSR have taken the following actions, which are embedding, to enable applications to be processed more efficiently: The BSR has recruited additional personnel and they are starting to process applications; the department has granted funding to HSE this financial year to improve its infrastructure, training and processes to maximise the BSR’s efficiency and effectiveness; MHCLG and the BSR are also reviewing how the multidisciplinary teams which assess applications are resourced to enable faster stand-up times; the Government has invested in new local authority building control inspectors to support the BSR; the Government has provided funding to support additional Fire and Rescue (FRS) staff to support the BSR and work to recruit and train these additional staff is well underway.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's target response time to Freedom of Information requests is; and when she plans to respond to Case NC39961.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The statutory timescale for responding to FOI requests is 20 working days. A response to the Honourable Gentleman was issued by MHCLG’s correspondence team on 10 January 2025. I hope that he will accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused by the delay to this response.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 is taking to ensure almshouse providers who do not have 1,000 homes but are willing to become registered social landlords are able to do so.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of the recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, the government sought views on whether changes were needed to the definition of ‘affordable housing for rent’ to make it easier for organisations that are not Registered Providers, including almshouses, to develop new affordable homes.
While the government are committed to making it easier for almshouses to develop new affordable homes, we ultimately decided against extending the definition to capture almshouses for the reasons set out in our response to the consultation which can be found on gov.uk here.
Informed by the points raised in the consultation, the government will actively explore options in future changes to national policy related to decision making.
For those landlords who wish to register with the Regulator of Social Housing, there is no bar to registration because of size. Registered providers of social housing must meet standards that ensure tenants live in homes that are good quality and well-maintained and that landlords are well-managed and remain financially viable. The Regulator is operationally independent and has designed a registration process that seeks to ensure providers are able to meet its standards once registered.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 allow almshouses to secure funding as affordable housing providers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of the recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, the government sought views on whether changes were needed to the definition of ‘affordable housing for rent’ to make it easier for organisations that are not Registered Providers, including almshouses, to develop new affordable homes.
While the government are committed to making it easier for almshouses to develop new affordable homes, we ultimately decided against extending the definition to capture almshouses for the reasons set out in our response to the consultation which can be found on gov.uk here.
Informed by the points raised in the consultation, the government will actively explore options in future changes to national policy related to decision making.
For those landlords who wish to register with the Regulator of Social Housing, there is no bar to registration because of size. Registered providers of social housing must meet standards that ensure tenants live in homes that are good quality and well-maintained and that landlords are well-managed and remain financially viable. The Regulator is operationally independent and has designed a registration process that seeks to ensure providers are able to meet its standards once registered.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will distinguish between (a) relocation, (b) estate and (c) property agents within the housing sector in the context of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.
The Government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill on relocation agents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.
The Government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 merits of allocating a proportion of new-build homes to (a) teachers, (b) police officers, (c) NHS staff and (d) other key workers in (i) London and (ii) England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people, including key workers, are now locked out of homeownership.
In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the Government has committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme and to giving first-time buyers the first chance to buy homes.
Local authorities are delivering First Homes which can be targeted towards key workers. These are homes which are sold to first-time buyers with a discount of at least 30% from full market value.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 Housing Revenue Account borrowing on investment in council homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the importance of borrowing for investment in new council homes. Local authorities have access to a preferential rate from the Public Works Loans Board to support housebuilding in the Housing Revenue Account. The preferential rate of gilts +0.4% is available until June 2025. The Government is committed to supporting councils to build their capacity and invest in new social rented homes.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to (a) engage and (b) work with (i) cooperatives and (ii) community-led not-for-profit organisations to build new homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that community-led housing delivers a wide range of benefits, including additional housing supply, empowering communities, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy.
I am committed to working with representatives of the sector - including the Co-operative housing movement and Community Land Trust Network - to consider how the Government may support the growth of community led housing over the long term.
We will shortly launch a review of the National Planning Policy Framework, and this will provide an opportunity for all organisations with an interest in community-led housing to express their views on how the planning system can support this important sector.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department distinguishes between (a) relocation agents, (b) estate agents and (c) property agents within the housing sector, in the context of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The existing measures in this Bill will apply principally to managing agents acting on behalf of their landlord or estate manager, but measures relating to the ban on new leasehold houses will also apply to those involved in marketing a property, including estate agents.