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 is taking steps to impose a legal duty on large-scale housing developments to include adequate sewage capacity.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 40935 on 31 March 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 voting system her Department plans to use for the 2026 mayoral elections.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20691 on 19 December 2024.
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 the green belt in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, (b) Tring and (c) Dacorum, in the context of the consultation entitled Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, updated on 24 September 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to preserving Green Belts which have served England's towns and cities well over many decades, not least in terms of checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another.
The government’s new approach to the Green Belt, including prioritising the release of lower quality grey belt land and introducing ‘golden rules’ to ensure development benefits communities and nature, is set out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 12 December.
As set out in the government response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, we recognise the need for further guidance to ensure a more consistent approach to assessing Green Belt land and will provide it in January 2025.
In addition, to ensure that local authorities are supported to implement the changes in the NPPF, we will also provide a funding contribution to local authorities that will need to undertake Green Belt reviews as a result of our policy changes. Local authorities that meet our eligibility criteria will be able to submit an Expression of Interest to receive a share of this funding.
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 her Department will take steps to ensure that communities receive required infrastructure upgrades before new houses are occupied in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Dacorum Borough Council area.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
The changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced on 12 December will support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure.
The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
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 she plans to take to (a) end homelessness and (b) involve people who have lived experience of homelessness in that process.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
Homelessness levels are far too high. This Government recognises the devastating impact this can have on those affected. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25) and brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Allocations for individual local authorities in England will be set out later in December, which will include Slough, West Dorset, the Thames Valley region and wider rural communities.
The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to tackle the underlying causes of homelessness and deliver long-term solutions to end all forms of homelessness, including rural and child homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across Government to develop a long-term homelessness strategy.
We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.
The department also has a lived experience forum to ensure the voices of those with lived experience of homelessness are reflected in the homelessness strategy.
More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.
The Government is also abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling alms houses to access section 106 funding and Community Infrastructure Levy in the same way as housing associations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is up to local planning authorities to determine what contributions should be sought through Section 106 agreements, in line with statutory tests on their use set out in regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Regulations 2010.
Our consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework seeks views on whether changes are needed to the definition of ‘affordable housing for rent’ to make it easier for organisations that are not Registered Providers, including almshouses, to develop new affordable homes. This is intended to inform our approach to National Development Management Policies. The consultation, which closes on 24 September, is published at the following link.