Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has produced guidance on whether the payment rules set out under Procurement Act 2025 will apply to Strategic Partners participating in the Affordable Homes Programme.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The UK government’s prompt payment policy aims to support UK economic growth and suppliers, including small and medium sized enterprises.

The Procurement Act 2023 mandates 30 day payment terms into all public contracts. Where the Affordable Homes Programme is covered by the Act, these terms are included automatically if not explicitly stated. Additionally, public sector buyers must ensure that this payment term is passed down their supply chain.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his department has available on the time taken by local authorities to finalise infrastructure (S106) agreements for residential planning permissions.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Research conducted under the previous government in 2019, which can be found on gov.uk here, found that the large majority of S106 agreements were agreed and signed immediately but that the main cause of delay related to S106 agreements was the time taken by legal teams acting for both the applicant and Local Planning Authority to review the S106 agreements to ensure they were robust, which took an average of four to five months.

As per the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1286), we want to simplify and strengthen the process for agreeing developer contributions through S106 agreements at the application stage of new developments. It is our intention to publish a template S106 agreement to speed up the process of drafting and concluding new S106 agreements.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2026 to UIN 120030, how much of the £252m allocated to Vistry has been paid; and how many of the 3,758 homes have been delivered.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As of 31 March 2026, Vistry has received a total of £202 million from the allocated grant payments in question. As of the same date, Vistry had completed 2,569 homes of the 3,578 allocated with 3,486 homes started on site.

100th anniversary of the birth of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II