Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
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 merits of introducing (a) time limits and (b) penalties for local planning authorities that do not determine small applications within statutory deadlines.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department recognises the importance of timely decision-making in the planning system, particularly for small applications which are often vital to local communities and small businesses.
Local planning authorities are already subject to statutory timeframes for determining planning application. For small or non-major application, the statutory deadline is eight weeks. Where this deadline is not met, and no extended time period has been agreed, applicants have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on the grounds of non-determination.
My Department monitors the performance of local planning authorities in terms of both the speed and quality of decision-making, with separate metrics for major and non-major applications. Speed of decision-making is measured by the proportion of decisions that are made within the statutory deadline or an agreed extended time period. The current performance threshold for non-major applications is at least 70% of decisions made within these timeframes.
Where an authority fails to meet this threshold, the Secretary of State has the power to designate the authority. Designation requires the authority to prepare an improvement plan, and applicants may choose to submit relevant applications directly to the Planning Inspectorate, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
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 introduce a cascade mechanism for Section 106 affordable housing agreements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Section 106 agreements are, and will remain, an essential mechanism for delivering social and affordable housing.
The government continues to progress work on a holistic policy package that will deal with the legacy problem of existing uncontracted S106 units and also prevent the problem recurring by laying the foundations for a simpler, more transparent, and more resilient S106 system.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
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 a (a) targeted help to build and (b) mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers purchasing SME-built homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has no current plans to make such an assessment.
The Help to Build: Equity Loan scheme, targeted at those wanting to custom build, self build or shell build a home, opened in June 2022 and closed to new applications in March 2025. There are no plans to allocate further funding to it.
The government has introduced a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, available to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products for prospective buyers. Additionally, the Bank of England is easing the loan-to-income limit, enabling up to 36,000 additional first-time buyers in the first year. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing review of the mortgage market means many buyers can now borrow 10% more towards a property purchase. The government looks forward to ambitious proposals from the FCA’s paper. First-time buyers may also benefit from home ownership initiatives offered at the local level.
We have also provided £3 billion of additional support for SMEs and the Build to Rent sector, in the form of housing guarantee schemes.
My Department has regular discussions with HM Treasury on a range of issues including measures to support SMEs.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury about potential measures to support demand for SME-led housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has no current plans to make such an assessment.
The Help to Build: Equity Loan scheme, targeted at those wanting to custom build, self build or shell build a home, opened in June 2022 and closed to new applications in March 2025. There are no plans to allocate further funding to it.
The government has introduced a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, available to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products for prospective buyers. Additionally, the Bank of England is easing the loan-to-income limit, enabling up to 36,000 additional first-time buyers in the first year. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing review of the mortgage market means many buyers can now borrow 10% more towards a property purchase. The government looks forward to ambitious proposals from the FCA’s paper. First-time buyers may also benefit from home ownership initiatives offered at the local level.
We have also provided £3 billion of additional support for SMEs and the Build to Rent sector, in the form of housing guarantee schemes.
My Department has regular discussions with HM Treasury on a range of issues including measures to support SMEs.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of exempting small urban (a) sites and (b) schemes under a certain threshold from biodiversity net gain obligations to prevent reductions in SME housing capacity.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
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 she has made of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain on the proportion of homes delivered by SME developers in urban areas; and what steps she is taking to ensure such schemes remain viable.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain requirements on the delivery of small-scale (a) industrial and (b) commercial projects.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain related delays on SME development finance costs.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman underwent an independent peer review in 2023-24 facilitated by the International Ombudsman Institute. The review and the LGSCO’s response to its recommendations can be found on the LGSCO’s website.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the suitability of councils to enforce planning infringements made by their own authority.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for local planning authorities to ensure they have appropriate systems in place to deal with investigating alleged breaches of planning control by other parts of their local authority.
Each local authority has their own code of conduct to ensure they act openly and impartially and in accordance with the rules and regulations at all times.