Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 providing the same protections to historic villages as is provided to historic towns in the National Planning Policy Framework; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of grey belt designation on the distinct identity of village communities, like those in Guildford constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 39868 on 26 March 2025.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the cost to councils in the mayoral areas of Greater Essex, Norfolk & Suffolk, Hampshire & the Solent, and Sussex & Brighton for election preparations which have now been cancelled; and if he will reimburse these costs in full.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We remain committed to the long-term funding offer to all Devolution Priority Programme areas announced on 4 December. We will provide £1 million mayoral capacity funding for all areas following the laying of the secondary legislation, and a minimum of £3 million over the following three financial years. Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent and Sussex and Brighton will receive a third of their annual investment funds in both 2026 and 2027, and receive their full annual allocations thereafter.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he will commit to laying before the House of Commons the Structural Change Order for local government reorganisation in Surrey.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I am happy to repeat the commitment from the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 October (HCWS998) that we will bring to the House, for approval, a Structural Changes Order to implement the proposal for two new unitary councils – East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 requirements for the installation of swift bricks in new housing developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 62367 on 2 July 2025.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 review the application of the long-term empty homes council tax premium in cases where (a) properties are awaiting sale, (b) the owner is serving in the armed forces and required to live on base and (c) properties are empty due to other circumstances outside the owner’s control.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for councils to decide whether to charge the premium in their area, taking account of local circumstances. The Department has introduced a number of exceptions to the empty homes premium which came into effect from April 2025. These include exceptions for up to a year for dwellings actively marketed for sale or let and for dwellings which is or would be the sole or main residence of a member of the armed services, who has been provided with a dwelling as a result of such service. In addition to mandatory exceptions councils have the discretionary power to set their own local exceptions to premiums or offer discounts. The government has published guidance on the implementation of premiums and exceptions and is available here.
The government remains committed to keeping all taxes and elements of the local government finance system under review and will consider options for reform where there is clear evidence that change would deliver better outcomes for residents and councils alike.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 introduce a minimum 4 per cent annual uplift in core spending power for local authorities with Adults and Children’s Services responsibilities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, this Government will use the first multi-year Settlement in a decade to redirect around £2 billion of existing funding to the places and communities that need it most. We expect the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement, with most councils seeing it increase in cash terms. We will publish the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year, which will inform local authorities of their provisional multi-year allocations.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 adequacy of the accuracy of financial viability assessments used in the planning process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. As part of this commitment, we are reviewing Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) on viability, and expect to provide a further update by the end of spring.
It is already the case, as set out in the viability PPG, that any viability assessment should be prepared with professional integrity by a suitably qualified practitioner and be presented in accordance with the guidance. The inputs and findings of any viability assessment should be set out in a way that aids clear interpretation and interrogation by decision makers.
Reports and findings should clearly state what assumptions have been made about costs and values (including gross development value, benchmark land value including the landowner premium, developer’s return and costs).
Any viability assessment should be prepared on the basis that it will be made publicly available other than in exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 local authorities to bring forward brownfield land for housing development in areas where flooding presents a significant barrier to delivery.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework expects proposals for homes and other identified needs to be approved where they would use suitable brownfield land, unless substantial harm would be caused.
At the same time, the Framework recognises the importance of minimising the risk of flooding, and so it steers development away from areas of relatively high flood risk, while recognising that some land where significant flood risk exists will be unsuitable for housing.
Where development is, exceptionally, found to be justified in areas at risk of flooding, the Framework requires that it be appropriately flood resistant and resilient, and safe for its lifetime.
This may apply to some brownfield land but would need to be considered on a site-by-site basis taking into consideration information on flood risk and opportunities for mitigation and ensuring safety.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 has made an assessment of the potential merits of barring non-compliant developers from being awarded public sector contracts until cladding issues from past projects are resolved.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Major developers have already signed a Developer Remediation Contract with government, under which they are obligated to fix or pay to fix the buildings for which they are responsible. Developers who fail to comply with their contractual obligations face significant consequences, including in many cases prohibitions that would be imposed on the developer if it fails to comply with the requirements of the statutory Responsible Actors Scheme. Those prohibitions would prevent a developer from carrying out major development and from gaining building control sign-off in England, subject to limited exceptions.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 ensure that rental prices remain affordable; and whether she has considered mechanisms to stabilise rents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Boosting the supply of homes of all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to improve housing affordability which is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will empower private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable within-tenancy rent increases.
The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures. We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.