Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 reform planning rules and permitted development rights to facilitate a wider range of housing for elderly people, including modern, low‑maintenance retirement communities and purpose‑built nursing homes; and what steps he is taking to protect local care standards.
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 new policies designed to support the delivery of housing that meets the needs of different groups such as older people. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for assessing registered providers, including providers that deliver and manage residential and nursing homes. The CQC monitors, inspects and regulates services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. They can take appropriate action, including through their enforcement powers, when these standards are not met.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking steps to ensure that site freeholders are financially responsible for fighting fires within derelict buildings.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Owners of derelict buildings have obligations in respect of fire safety measures. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, as amended by Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022, the “Responsible Person” (usually the owner or person in control of the premises) must:
- Carry out and record a fire risk assessment
- Take steps to reduce fire risks
- Maintain fire safety measures — even in non-occupied or derelict buildings
Owners of derelict buildings are also required to liaise with their council tax authority concerning payment of council tax.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to introduce regulation of (a) development and (b) residential management companies; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a (i) statutory regulator and (ii) code of practice for that sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 amend the Caravan Sites Act 1968 to prevent touring caravan sites becoming permanent without full planning permission requirements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
To operate land as touring caravan sites, site operators are required to have the appropriate planning permission and a site licence (unless exempted) from the local authority. If a site operator fails to get the necessary permissions and licence, the relevant local authority can take enforcement action against them.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 support affordable housing developers with (a) making grid connections, (b) installing drainage infrastructure, (c) achieving biodiversity net gain and (d) other development challenges.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through Land and Infrastructure funding programmes, such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 will also support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. It makes clear that local authorities should have policies that set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places; that they should make sufficient provision for infrastructure including energy; and that applications which could affect drainage on or around the site should incorporate sustainable drainage systems.
The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
On 28 May 2025, the government published a consultation on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development. It can be found on gov.uk here. The consultation closed on 24 July 2025 and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is considering the responses received.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 there is sufficient planning human resource capacity to enable the timely sign-off of pre-start conditions for affordable housing developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 67508 on 21 July 2025.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 he has made of the financial pressures facing housing associations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is committed to rebuilding the financial capacity of housing associations so they can borrow and invest in new and existing homes.
At the Spending Review, the government set out funding to provide a decade of certainty for housing associations. This included a new ten-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) alongside a ten-year rent settlement that will permit social housing rents to increase by CPI+1% annually. In addition, we recently completed a focused consultation on how we will implement social rent convergence, ahead of a final decision to be announced at Autumn Budget.
The Government has also committed over £1 billion between 2026 and 2030 to support cladding remediation for social landlords, ensuring equal access to building safety funds, as well as £2.5 billion in low-interest loans which will be made available to support new affordable housing development.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 extension of permitted days for temporary campsites on licensed campsite operators; and what steps she is taking to ensure a level regulatory playing field between licensed and temporary sites.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to carry out any such assessment but will continue to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support is available for leaseholders in buildings under eleven metres in height impacted by building safety issues; and whether her Department plans to review the exclusion of such buildings from financial remediation schemes under the Building Safety Act 2022.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Fire risks from cladding are generally proportionate to building height. If remediation is required in buildings under 11 metres in height, the responsibility should rest with building owners. They should not pass these costs on to leaseholders but should seek to recover costs from those who were responsible for building unsafe homes.
The department announced targeted funding for multi-occupied residential buildings under 11 metres in the Remediation Acceleration Plan update. This funding will be available in exceptional cases, where there are life-critical fire safety risks from cladding and no alternative route to funding. This will protect leaseholders from unjust costs. Clear eligibility criteria which outline the application process for this exceptional funding will be published in due course.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 plans to allocate fines to housebuilders from the Competition and Markets Authority to support the community land trust sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Seven housebuilders have agreed to pay a total of £100 million to affordable housing programmes across all four nations of the UK following a CMA investigation in response to concerns that they exchanged details about sales including pricing, number of property viewings and incentives offered to buyers.
The CMA is currently undertaking a consultation on how the money may be used. That consultation closes 24 July. Decisions on how the money is allocated will be made after the responses to the consultation have been analysed.