Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of introducing (a) ring-fenced grants and (b) bonuses for local authorities that exceed (i) affordable and (ii) sub-market housing delivery targets.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not believe that the New Homes Bonus is an effective incentive. It often rewards authorities for housebuilding that would have occurred in the absence of any incentive, and its efficacy is further blunted by the interactions with the remainder of the Settlement.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 has considered the potential merits of introducing loan guarantees for joint ventures between housing associations and local authorities to support affordable housing delivery.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department already operates guarantee schemes that support affordable housing delivery.
Subject to eligibility criteria, joint ventures between Registered Providers (such as housing associations) and Local Authorities can qualify for these schemes.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 prioritise the release of surplus public land to (a) councils and (b) housing associations for affordable housing projects at discounted rates.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government has made significant progress in respect of the release of surplus and underutilised public land for new homes.
On 27 March 2025, we announced the establishment of a new taskforce to unlock surplus public defence land for development.
On 30 July, we announced a new company, Platform 4, to kickstart the delivery of up to 40,000 new homes on surplus rail land across the UK.
While it is for individual Departments to set the prices at which they are willing to dispose of their assets, we are taking a joined-up approach and working across government to promote shared objectives, including building more social and affordable homes, and maximise broader public value.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to local planning authorities on anonymisation of public comments on planning applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not issued guidance in respect of this matter.
The Planning Advisory Service has published guidance to help local planning authorities adhere to the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation in exercising their planning duties. It can be found here.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 has held discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care on integrating public access defibrillators into housing infrastructure planning.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the importance of improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces.
We have no current plans to require the installation of public access defibrillators in new housing developments through planning guidance or building regulations. However, we keep planning policies, guidance and building regulations under review.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly engages with other government departments on matters relating to planning policy and guidance.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 issue guidance to local planning authorities and neighbourhood planning groups on encouraging the inclusion of public access defibrillators in new housing developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the importance of improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces.
We have no current plans to require the installation of public access defibrillators in new housing developments through planning guidance or building regulations. However, we keep planning policies, guidance and building regulations under review.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly engages with other government departments on matters relating to planning policy and guidance.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 has considered requiring the installation of public access defibrillators in new housing developments as part of (a) planning guidance and (b) building regulations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the importance of improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces.
We have no current plans to require the installation of public access defibrillators in new housing developments through planning guidance or building regulations. However, we keep planning policies, guidance and building regulations under review.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly engages with other government departments on matters relating to planning policy and guidance.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 introduce a performance framework that (a) publicly tracks local authority delivery of affordable housing and (b) links it to future funding eligibility.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The new Local Government Outcomes Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, sets out a priority outcome that everyone has access to a decent, safe, secure, and affordable home.
The government has published twelve draft metrics measuring delivery of this outcome, including metrics to measure social housing demand, and number of homes held within council Housing Revenue Accounts. We expect to publish the final metrics for the framework alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Funding decisions for the Affordable Homes Programme are made on an individual basis and are made by our delivery partners, Home England and the GLA. All applications are expected to demonstrate how they meet the usual funding criteria, including value for money.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 encourage partnerships between (a) councils, (b) housing associations and (c) community-led housing groups through matched funding or shared risk models.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in our five-step plan for delivering a decade of renewal for the social and affordable housing, we are committed to strengthening social housing providers’ financial capacity to deliver new homes, including through our new ten-year, £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
We also encourage providers to explore opportunities to extend their financial capacity further, and to enable delivery in sensitive, rural areas, by working together to deliver new homes through joint ventures.
Where advice on how to make best use of these arrangements is required, councils, housing associations, and community led-housing groups outside of London can reach out to Homes England’s Self Commissioned Homes Delivery Unit. Councils in England can also seek specialist advice on all aspects of housing delivery from the Local Government Association’s Council Housebuilding Support Service.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 establish a national fund to support planning and housing teams in councils with limited resources or expertise.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Since February this year, the government has provided over £29 million in direct grant funding to support local planning authorities in implementing policy changes following the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024.
I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 67508 on 21 July 2025, which sets out our wider plans for supporting local planning authorities to attract, retain and develop the skills they need.