Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 implement the recommendations set out in the Social Impact Investment Advisory Group’s final report; and what steps he is taking to establish the proposed Temporary Accommodation Impact Investment Facility.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is carefully considering the full set of recommendations in the report, including moving swiftly with the launch of the new Office for the Impact Economy.
We are committed to considering the best way to sustainably fund good-quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of poor-quality temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 an assessment of the potential merits of expanding Housing First provision across England in the forthcoming cross-government homelessness strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our homelessness strategy will put prevention at its core, including setting out that interventions should be tailored to the individual needs of people at risk of homelessness.
Councils can use our homelessness funding flexibly to meet those needs, including by commissioning Housing First services which evidence has shown can transform the lives of people with complex needs.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for publishing the forthcoming cross-government homelessness strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The cross-government homelessness strategy will be published shortly.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Correspondence entitled HM Land Registry Chair’s letter, published 6 March 2025, what progress the Land Registry has made on (a) opening up existing data and information on land and (b) reforms to deeper transparency of land ownership in (i) Southport constituency and (ii) across the country.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry (HMLR) already provides public access to information on individual property titles for a small fee, and it received 27.8 million information service requests in 2024-25. It also provides a mix of free and paid-for data services through its “Use land and property data” service on gov.uk. The Use land and property data platform, which can be found on gov.uk here, now sees more than 6,000 users downloading datasets every month.
HMLR is committed to maximising the value of the data it holds and making it findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, while ensuring that risks to personal information and ownership security remain well controlled.
The information HMLR holds is complex and in a variety of formats. Its economic and social value cannot be fully realised without the investment HMLR is already putting in to digitise the data. HMLR has an ambitious programme of transformational activity, such as the award-winning Local Land Charges programme, that uses AI to accelerate the pace of change.
This year, one of HMLR's flagship programmes – Geospatial and Data Transformation – is going to deliver a change that will make land ownership data more accessible and valuable to people. HMLR has worked with GeoPlace to improve the way in which Unique Property Reference Numbers (or UPRNs) can help in matching ownership records, which are map-based, with other property data that is address-based.
HMLR will then be able to add these links into more of its published datasets in 2026, in addition to those that already contain the UPRNs, such as the UK and Overseas Ownership and Price Paid Datasets. The National Polygon Service and Registered Leases will be prioritised for this enhancement to their accessibility and utility. We will also ensure that INSPIRE polygons – showing ownership boundaries – are also easy to relate to other property data. This will allow users to match and merge HMLR data with other government data sources. HMLR has also established a dedicated team to develop and improve the way that its data can be accessed through automated requests (via APIs) that software providers in the PropTech market use. This will enable better and faster services for consumers and business.
Alongside its transformation activities, HMLR is supporting the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the delivery of a new policy around the Contractual Controls Dataset. This will offer all stakeholders a reliable and accessible information source regarding land ownership controls beyond the usual freehold and leasehold ownership information.
HMLR's recently published Strategy 2025+, which can be found on gov.uk here, sets out its ambitions to further support the property market and beyond with its data over the next 10 years. All HMLR’s data on property ownership can be publicly accessed today and the investment it is engaged in will increase the ease and speed with which it can be obtained and used.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 ensure that funding for alternative learning and skills provision will be available after UK Shared Prosperity Fund comes to an end in March 2026.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is establishing a new local growth fund, provided for specific mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands, with the highest productivity catch and agglomeration potential, which can be used to support skills interventions.
This sits alongside Government’s continuing investment in education and skills training for adults (19 and over) through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), spending £1.4 billion in the 2025/26 academic year, ensuring that adults can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 alternative funding available for community organisations after the UK Shared Prosperity Fund comes to an end in March 2026.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is taking a new approach to local funding, replacing multiple funding pots with long-term certainty for places. This will be led by sustained and predictable support for local authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement and complemented by targeted interventions designed to drive local growth and strengthen communities.
Strong communities are vital to drive growth, yet many communities have been left behind and let down by years of decline and systemic under-investment. While there are no current plans to directly replace the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Government has announced a new local growth fund for specific mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands as part of its strategy for regional investment, supporting areas with the highest productivity catch-up and agglomeration potential’
On top of this, every part of the country will benefit from our whole of government Pride in Place strategy, which focuses on three overarching objectives: building stronger communities; creating thriving places; and helping communities to take back control of their own lives and areas. You can find the strategy here: Pride in Place Strategy - GOV.UK
As part of the strategy the Government announced, the Pride in Place programme and Pride in Place Impact Fund, both have been designed to target the most in-need places. We have used metrics that identify ‘double-disadvantaged’ neighbourhoods – those suffering from a combination of material deprivation and low social capital.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of furniture provision on people who have experienced rough sleeping; and what steps his Department is taking to assist people who have experienced rough sleeping to (a) settle into a new home and (b) become active members of their community.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has allocated £255.5 million through the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant this year. This includes the £69.9 million uplift that we announced on 10 October 2025. Local authorities can use this money flexibly to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, including through sustainable accommodation and support solutions. This can include the provision of furniture or specialist services, such as employment support.