Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to amend the local plan process to (a) include a stronger needs assessment for social housing across the plan period and (b) require local authorities to deliver against social housing targets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 2 July, the government published a plan setting out the foundations for a decade of renewal in social and affordable housing. This is focused on delivering the biggest increase in supply in a generation, alongside a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of homes. The plan includes a “call to arms” to everyone with a role in social and affordable housing – including local authorities – to step up and prove they can deliver at scale and at pace.
We have asked all Council Leaders to examine what role they can play in reinvigorating council housebuilding. Councils will be able to bid for the new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which is the biggest long-term investment in social and affordable housing in recent memory – with a target to deliver at least 60% of the homes as Social Rent. We also want to make it easier for councils to use their own resources and land to build more homes. For those without a Housing Revenue Account, we are reviewing the threshold of homes they hold at which they need to open one. We will exempt newly built social homes from Right to Buy for 35 years, ensuring councils are not losing homes before they have recovered the costs of building them. We are also allowing councils to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales with greater flexibility on how to spend them to accelerate and increase delivery of replacement homes.
We are helping councils borrow more cheaply from the Public Works Loan Board until the end of 2025-26 and with the LGA, the government has established a new Association of Directors of Housing to help councils collaborate and share best practice. We have also launched the Council Housing Skills and Capacity Programme, backed by £12 million of funding in 2025-26. This programme will be delivered in partnership with Homes England and the Local Government Association, to support councils to upskill their existing workforces, recruit and retain graduates to specialist housebuilding positions, and enhance their engagement with the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
The government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that, in their role as local planning authorities, councils are responsible for establishing the need for affordable housing in their area – including for Social Rent homes in particular.
Local authorities who own social housing are required to meet regulatory standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing – including for the quality of accommodation they provide. As part of our commitment to ensuring that all social and affordable housing tenants can live in a warm and decent home, on 2 July we launched consultations on an updated and modernised Decent Homes Standard and on a new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. These new standards would be binding on local authorities and other registered providers of social housing.
On 3 July the government launched the new Local Government Outcomes Framework, which represents a new approach to outcome-based accountability for councils in England. The Framework includes draft metrics on the year-on-year change in social rented dwellings held in local authorities’ Housing Revenue Account and the proportion of council-owned social housing deemed decent.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of food price and energy inflation on (a) low-income households, (b) pensioners and (c) disabled people.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We know increased costs in essential areas are worrying and cause hardship for many families with children. That is why the Government is taking a comprehensive approach—supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations.
Food, energy and credit costs are a function of a variety of factors including international agricultural commodity prices, the exchange rate, wholesale energy prices, and interest rates. The best way to help with the cost of living is by reducing overall inflation. The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to 2%. The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut Bank Rate four times since August. The effective interest rate – the actual interest paid by a borrower - on new a 2-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen 46 basis points since the election (May 2025 vs June 2024).
The government is committed to helping those in need due to the rising cost of living. An uplift to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance will see it rise to 5% above inflation by 2029-30. The government is also investing £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact) in a multi-year settlement for crisis support, which includes funding for councils to support some of the poorest households so that their children do not go hungry outside of term time. From the start of the 2026 school year, the government will expand Free School Meals to all pupils with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This will put £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.
The most recent Ofgem energy price cap, in place until September is 7% lower than the previous cap, reducing annual energy bills for a typical home by £129. Additionally, the Warm Home Discount is being expanded to every billpayer on means-tested benefits, meaning 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills next winter, helping reduce energy costs for around 6 million households.
From this winter (2025-26), pensioners with incomes up to and including £35,000 will benefit a Winter Fuel Payment. This will mean that the vast majority — over three quarters, or 9 million pensioners in England and Wakes — will benefit. This change ensures that the means-testing of winter fuel payments has no effect on pensioner poverty.
The government’s top priority is to deliver strong, sustainable growth that raises living standards across the UK. A growing economy plays a key role in providing greater financial security for households and helping to make food, energy and credit more affordable.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce the burden of (a) food costs, (b) energy bills and (c) credit costs on households.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We know increased costs in essential areas are worrying and cause hardship for many families with children. That is why the Government is taking a comprehensive approach—supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations.
Food, energy and credit costs are a function of a variety of factors including international agricultural commodity prices, the exchange rate, wholesale energy prices, and interest rates. The best way to help with the cost of living is by reducing overall inflation. The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to 2%. The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut Bank Rate four times since August. The effective interest rate – the actual interest paid by a borrower - on new a 2-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen 46 basis points since the election (May 2025 vs June 2024).
The government is committed to helping those in need due to the rising cost of living. An uplift to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance will see it rise to 5% above inflation by 2029-30. The government is also investing £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact) in a multi-year settlement for crisis support, which includes funding for councils to support some of the poorest households so that their children do not go hungry outside of term time. From the start of the 2026 school year, the government will expand Free School Meals to all pupils with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This will put £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.
The most recent Ofgem energy price cap, in place until September is 7% lower than the previous cap, reducing annual energy bills for a typical home by £129. Additionally, the Warm Home Discount is being expanded to every billpayer on means-tested benefits, meaning 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills next winter, helping reduce energy costs for around 6 million households.
From this winter (2025-26), pensioners with incomes up to and including £35,000 will benefit a Winter Fuel Payment. This will mean that the vast majority — over three quarters, or 9 million pensioners in England and Wakes — will benefit. This change ensures that the means-testing of winter fuel payments has no effect on pensioner poverty.
The government’s top priority is to deliver strong, sustainable growth that raises living standards across the UK. A growing economy plays a key role in providing greater financial security for households and helping to make food, energy and credit more affordable.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) she and (b) her Ministers have had discussions with (i) the Chair and (ii) members of the Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia to discuss its work.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Details of ministers' meetings with external stakeholders and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Data for the period of July to September 2025 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether funding for family hubs will be included in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce meeting in January focused on the crucial role of local services, including family hubs, in reducing the impact of poverty.
Our new publication ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’ sets out that we are making a significant investment of over £500 million which will build back crucial family services and provide high quality support to parents and children from pregnancy to age five. Proposals include:
This publication is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.
The Hubs will help tackle the stain of child poverty ahead of our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, due to be published in the autumn.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the press release of 15 May 2025 entitled Media law reforms to boost press sustainability and protect independence, whether a company (a) wholly owned by and (b) under the majority control of the Chinese government would be permitted to buy a stake of up to 15 per cent in a UK newspaper.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The new foreign state intervention (FSI) regime, set out in the Entreprise Act 2002, seeks to preserve the freedom of the press. It applies to all foreign powers that may seek to acquire control or influence a UK newspaper or news periodical and will be applied case by case based on the facts presented.
Our assessment on the potential impact of foreign states investing in UK Newspapers can be found in my Written Statement Ministerial of 15 May 2025 - Official Report Vol 767 Col 17WS.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62768 on Pay: Publicity, what the aggregate value was of the payments to the six digital influencers; and if he will name those influencers.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Influencer marketing is a credible paid communications channel, which is considered for government advertising campaigns and can be an effective way in reaching audiences that the Government and traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.
We used this channel to raise awareness of the new National Minimum and Living Wage rates to ensure audiences such as young people, part-time female workers, ethnic minorities and disabled groups are paid correctly.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54808 on Civil Service: Photographs and Video Recordings, whether unpublished content can be used by Ministers for party political purposes.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member for Basildon and Billericay to the answer on 9 June 2025 (PQ54808).
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54760 on Civil Servants: London, whether he plans to require any civil servants based in London to compulsorily relocate as part of the Places for Growth scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
London-based civil servants will not be required to compulsorily relocate as part of Places for Growth. Role relocations will occur predominantly through churn and some London-based civil servants may choose to voluntarily relocate.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of discontinuing unconscious bias training.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The decision to discontinue unconscious bias training was made in 2020 under the previous administration. No subsequent assessment of the policy has since been made.