Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 publish the funding allocation for planning enforcement for local authorities for the next (a) year and (b) five years; and what steps she is taking (i) to ensure timely enforcement action in cases of alleged breaches and (ii) with local authorities to help improve enforcement capacity.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities do not receive a standalone funding allocation for planning enforcement.
Planning enforcement is at the discretion of local planning authorities and it is for them to decide when and how they use the powers available to them depending on the circumstances of any given case.
Resourcing planning departments remains a priority for this government.
On 25 February 2025, the draft Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 were agreed. These regulations increase planning fees for householder and other applications, with a view to providing much-needed additional resources for hard-pressed LPAs.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill also includes provisions that will allow LPAs to set planning fees or charges at a level that reflects the individual costs to the LPA to carry out the function for which it is imposed and to ensure that the income from planning fees or charges is applied towards the delivery of the planning function.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of permitted development rights on (a) community engagement with and (b) levels of local oversight for planning; and what steps she is taking to ensure that all developments of a significant scale require local (i) consultation and (ii) scrutiny at the planning stage.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where permitted development rights consent development which could have local impacts, a prior approval process can allow for consideration of specified planning matters by the local planning authority and the local community.
Planning law requires local planning authorities to publicise applications for planning permission and consult any relevant statutory bodies for a minimum of 21 days. The local planning authority must not determine the application until after this period. This is 30 days if the development is subject to Environmental Impact Assessment.
The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 the digitalisation of the property transaction process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to modernising the home buying and selling process.
We recently announced local authority pilots involving making key property information available online and the introduction of common data standards so that data can be shared between trusted professionals more easily.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 reform the residential conveyancing process to (a) reduce the time taken and (b) increase transparency for (i) buyers and (ii) sellers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to modernising the home buying and selling process.
We recently announced local authority pilots involving making key property information available online and the introduction of common data standards so that data can be shared between trusted professionals more easily.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken for enforcement appeals pending by written representations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs and meeting all Ministerial targets by 2027.
The Inspectorate continues to make considerable progress towards meeting that ambition across casework areas including nationally significant infrastructure projects, local plan examinations, critical Secretary of State casework and appeals against refusal of planning permission.
It is, for example:
Appeals against enforcement notices and refused lawful development certificates is the remaining significant area of casework backlog.
The Planning Inspectorate is an Arm's Length Government Body with responsibility for allocation of resources, prioritisation and overall operational performance. The Inspectorate publishes updates on its performance on its website regularly.
The Planning Inspectorate does not record the date an inspector is assigned to a case and are unable to give the average and longest wait time for an inspector.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times are for appeals awaiting an inspector assignment.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs and meeting all Ministerial targets by 2027.
The Inspectorate continues to make considerable progress towards meeting that ambition across casework areas including nationally significant infrastructure projects, local plan examinations, critical Secretary of State casework and appeals against refusal of planning permission.
It is, for example:
Appeals against enforcement notices and refused lawful development certificates is the remaining significant area of casework backlog.
The Planning Inspectorate is an Arm's Length Government Body with responsibility for allocation of resources, prioritisation and overall operational performance. The Inspectorate publishes updates on its performance on its website regularly.
The Planning Inspectorate does not record the date an inspector is assigned to a case and are unable to give the average and longest wait time for an inspector.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment she has made of the (a) rights and (b) protections available to (i) residential boaters that rent moorings in marinas and (ii) land-based tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22356 on 17 January 2025.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 potential benefits of including landlords of residential boats in the proposed Private Rented Sector database.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22356 on 17 January 2025.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support social landlords to gain equitable access to building safety remediation funding in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Across England, social landlords can apply to government remediation funds (Building Safety Fund and Cladding Safety Scheme). They can apply for funding equivalent to (1) the amount which the social landlord would otherwise be entitled to pass on to leaseholders; or (2) the full cost of remedial works where paying those costs would render the social landlord financially unviable.
As of 30 April 2025, government has committed £606m to support remediation of social housing through government schemes.
Social landlords face barriers to accelerating remediation, including access to upfront capital. From April 2025, we have increased funding for social landlords applying for government remediation funding so that remedial works can start sooner and we will this year announce a long-term strategy for accelerating social housing remediation.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to protect supported housing in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 51474 on 19 May 2025.