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.
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, with reference to the debate following her oral statement of 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, column 780, if she will meet the hon. Members for constituencies in Surrey to discuss the potential impact of council debt in Surrey on her proposals for local government reorganisation before 21 March 2025.
Answered by Jim McMahon
It is for Surrey councils to develop a proposal or proposals in line with the criteria and guidance set out in the invitation. This should include for Surrey, as an area covering a council in Best Value intervention, demonstrating how reorganisation may contribute to putting local government in the area as a whole on a firmer footing and what area-specific arrangements may be necessary to make new structures viable. The invitation is also clear that councils should engage locally and that we also expect and encourage local leaders to engage their Members of Parliament, on any proposals being developed.
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 she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support cross-community inter-faith work in Surrey.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ministers have been meeting a wide range of faith and belief leaders, along with interfaith practitioners, to hear more about the vital work undertaken in communities to help foster good relations.
This department was pleased to support Inter Faith Week in November, and we continue to fund a number of partners to deliver cohesion programmes in local communities which help to contribute to positive interfaith relations.