Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether passenger demand forecasts for Thameslink services have been updated to reflect the approved expansion of London Luton Airport, planned housing growth along the route and the proposed Universal Studios development in Bedfordshire; and how those factors are being incorporated into long-term capacity planning for the Thameslink corridor.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Govia Thameslink Railway has shared demand modelling with the Department which does include projections for planned developments along the Thameslink network. The Department requires all operators to plan future timetables that reflect expected demand and provide value for money for the taxpayer. In the longer term, under Great British Railways’ directing mind, timetables and services will be optimised to drive up network performance and improve passenger journey experience.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 trends in the number of social rented homes built through the planning system in Bedford and in England over the past five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The number of social rented homes delivered in each local planning authority through Section 106 agreements (S106) since 1991-92 is available in Live Table 1011, on gov.uk here.
I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 101017 on 6 January 2026 and UIN 107221 on 28 January 2026, and to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771) and 28 January 2026 (HCWS1283 and HCWS1286).
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 amend planning rules to include measures relating to the long-term stewardship and public accessibility of green spaces provided as part of residential development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that local plans should make sufficient provision for green infrastructure, which is defined as a multifunctional network of green and blue spaces.
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes a proposed requirement for local plans to set standards for green infrastructure.
The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 has been made of the effectiveness of national planning policy in securing the long-term management and maintenance of public open spaces in residential developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes proposals relating to the provision of new or improved open space.
The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
I also refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the telecommunication cables by the Royal Mint site will be amended or moved when the Chinese Embassy is built.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Details of the development for which planning permission has been granted in the case in question are set out in the relevant decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 a requirement for local planning authorities to include targets for social rented housing within their local plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107221 on 28 January 2025.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 undertake a review of (a) current levels of on-call firefighters and (b) the challenges faced by fire and rescue services to recruit on-call firefighters.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and Rescue Authorities are responsible for resourcing their services.
To support the future of the on-call system, the Government funded the National Fire Chiefs Council to undertake detailed research into the sustainability of the retained duty system. This work- the National On-Call Research Study was published in November 2025 and has been shared with Fire and Rescue Authorities to inform future planning, improvement activity, and local workforce strategies.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 23786 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, how many clarification meetings have taken place with other developers on other planning applications since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Clarification meetings do not routinely take place with developers on planning applications. However, pre-application engagement occurs on some applications made directly to the Secretary of State. These, and all, planning applications are subject to planning propriety guidance.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the new High Street Strategy will extend to Scotland.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK Government is currently developing a High Streets Strategy to help tackle the long-term challenges facing high streets. Powers supporting high street regeneration in Scotland are reserved to the Scottish government. This includes local government and planning, non-domestic rates, economic development and culture.
Further detail will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled A New Vision for Water, published on 20 January 2026, what assessments he has made of the potential impact of the proposed joined‑up local planning measures on the prevention of surface‑to‑foul water misconnections in new housing developments.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the White Paper Defra has committed to delivering an enhanced, better joined up regional water planning function.
This will enable a more holistic, coordinated approach to water environment and supply planning which supports delivery of national strategic objectives such as the economic growth mission, housing building targets and nature recovery, whilst enabling regional and local priorities to be realised.
Defra is engaging a range of stakeholders to understand what works well, and where there are challenges with water sector planning, within the current river basin planning system. This engagement is helping us test emerging thinking, identifying opportunities to strengthen planning and delivery and ensure policy development is informed by practical experience as well as evidence and analysis.
Property owners are legally responsible for resolving misconnected pipework on their property; public misconnections are the responsibility of water companies.
Should misconnections not be resolved, the responsible party can be prosecuted; in some cases, local authorities and water companies can access private property to fix misconnections and then recover their costs from the owner.