Housing, Communities and Local Government Questions

1. What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the co-ordination of fire and search and rescue services.

I draw the attention of the House to my role as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for volunteer rescue services. These people are out there on call—on land, sea and mountains—to help the public. The Secretary of State’s statement is very welcome. As recent events, like the wildfires, have shown, these volunteers are a key part of our emergency response and resilience. Does she agree that there should be a dedicated point of contact for volunteer rescue organisations in Government, and that Ministers ought to consider bringing forward a volunteers charter, using the template of the veterans charter, to recognise and acknowledge the contribution of volunteers, their families and their employers in our fourth emergency service?

AMBER (60/100) Rishi Sunak 50% vibes

Following the complex rescue of a lady at Aysgarth Falls earlier this year, I want to pay tribute to Swaledale mountain rescue and the North Yorkshire fire and rescue service. In particular, Swaledale mountain rescue relies on dedicated volunteers to respond to emergencies right across the Yorkshire dales. Will the Secretary of State join me in praising its contribution to our rural community and continuing to support close co-ordination between its volunteer efforts and local statutory emergency services?

AMBER (32/100) John Cooper

2. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the rate of house building.

AMBER (47/100) John Cooper 50% point-scoring

Statistics are like bathing costumes: what they reveal is interesting, and what they conceal is absolutely vital. The statistics we heard in that answer conceal the fact that this Government are on line to build fewer houses than the last Conservative Government did in a parliamentary term blighted by covid, when many building sites were completely shut down. When it comes to housing, this Government are drowning, not waving, aren’t they?

RED (23/100) Neil Duncan-Jordan

In coastal communities like mine, the issue is not the rate of house building, but the rate of affordable house building. In 2024-25, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council built just 89 affordable homes. What plans do the Government have to take back land that developers are banking and to start building the council houses we need?

GREEN (80/100) Gareth Bacon

In an answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper), the Minister said that there were “encouraging signs of progress”, but the truth is that the housing industry faces a bleaker and bleaker future under this Government: housing completions are at their lowest for more than a decade; planning permissions are down 31%; output is down 6%; London is at a standstill; and the Government are just 29% of the way through their target in nearly half the time allotted for it. Does the Minister agree that this broken record of failure needs urgent repair?

AMBER (58/100) Gareth Bacon

The Minister wants to talk about the OBR, so let us do that. Last week, the OBR was damning in its assessment of the viability of house building in England. It highlighted how regulatory and fiscal burdens are crushing viability. The Chancellor promised no new building regulations, but that is not enough. The Minister knows that viability—or, rather, the lack of it—is killing the house building sector. The existing environmental and net zero regulations and taxes are causing the viability crisis, so will the Minister join me in supporting the shadow Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam), with her plan to cut £50,000 of regulation and taxes from the cost of building new homes to make sites viable again?

AMBER (33/100) Gideon Amos

The increase in starts is welcome, but the Government’s package of reforms was designed to increase consents. The most recent quarterly figures show that although consent applications are down, the rate of granted consents remains high at 88%—that figure is over 90% when councillors are involved in making the planning decisions. Does that not show that taking away powers to make decisions on major applications—those of over 150 homes—from councillors through the NPPF has made no difference whatsoever to the number of consents? Will the Government give those powers back to councillors, who support over 90% of applications when they come to committee?

RED (10/100) DEFERRED Gideon Amos

The Minister clearly did not hear: I referred to the removal of councillors’ powers to make decisions on applications relating to over 150 homes, which happened at an early stage of the year. Moving on, the warm homes grant has come in for cuts. We have now discovered that not only is £1 billion being cut from the scheme, but an extra £1.5 billion will be cut from the loan system that goes towards those warm homes. How will people get the renewable energy and efficient homes they need if the scheme is being dismantled in this way?

AMBER (62/100) Martin Wrigley

3. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing the value of thank you payments under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme on the retention of hosts.

AMBER (38/100) Martin Wrigley

With the dropping of the thank you payment from £350 to £100 on 1 January, many hosts find that their costs are no longer being covered and are considering evicting their guests. Hosts and guests are being encouraged to move to a lodger scheme using the “rent a room” scheme. I am told that the going rate for a room in my constituency is around £600, and universal credit would pay a lot more than the £350 saved from the thank you payment. In addition, Ukrainian guests would lose the help available from the local authority to move on to a first private rental. All in all, this reduction in the thank you payment looks likely to cost the state more than it might save and to reduce the help on offer to our Ukrainian guests. Will the Minister meet me and local Ukrainian hosts, or would she prefer to think again about the reduction?

GREEN (80/100) Ben Goldsborough

4. What steps she is taking to ensure local authorities uphold the Nolan principles.

AMBER (34/100) Ben Goldsborough

Despite concerns, Reform rushed through the appointment of Norfolk county council’s new CEO, Dennis Bacon. Thanks to Councillor Ben Weston, we now know that Mr Bacon hosted senior Reform councillors at his luxury B&B the day before job applications opened. Norfolk Reform has failed on three Nolan principles: selflessness, integrity and objectivity. Does my hon. Friend agree that a slap-up meal should not get someone a £215,000 job?

AMBER (30/100) Lee Anderson

Kinver Business Solutions has secured more than £1 million in project management fees from Ashfield district council. It now turns out that one of the project managers is actually the son of the chief executive of Ashfield district council. I thank the Department for arranging an appointment this week, but does the Minister agree that it is time to send the commissioners in to Ashfield district council? There is not a minute to spare.

AMBER (47/100) Michelle Welsh

I thank the Minister for the intervention that his Department has made with the rapid best-value assessment at Ashfield district council, in response to my representations over the past two months. These are extremely serious allegations, and my constituents in Hucknall have been let down badly by the council. Will the Minister confirm that urgent action is being taken? Can he say what more can be done to prevent further inappropriate decisions, especially on planning? Does he agree that the severity of the allegations warrants a referral to the police for an independent investigation?

RED (8/100) Suella Braverman

The Prime Minister has made it clear that Labour councils should end their power-sharing agreements with local Green parties, following the disgracefully antisemitic motion passed by the national Green party that Zionism is racism. However, the Labour leader of Havant borough council has refused to condemn her Green party coalition partners for supporting that motion and has refused to withdraw from the coalition. Does the Minister agree that that is a breach of the Nolan principles, and will he clarify who is right: the Prime Minister, or the Labour leader of Havant borough council?

RED (6/100) David Simmonds

The first of the Nolan principles is selflessness—acting solely in the public interest—but, according to feedback from councillors throughout the country, during the botched local government reorganisation process they felt that they were under pressure to put political considerations first: pressure that came from the previous Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Streatham and Croydon North (Steve Reed). The new Secretary of State told the House recently that she could not say whether his decision making was even lawful. Can she now tell the House whether the pressure that was put on those councillors to submit to his reorganisation agenda left them at risk of breaching the Nolan principles as well as the law?

AMBER (50/100) Mr Toby Perkins

5. What assessment she has made of trends in the level of new housing in Chesterfield.

RED (8/100) Mr Toby Perkins

I thank my hon. Friend for sharing that good news. Chesterfield borough council is keen to assist the Government by achieving those housing targets, but in areas such as Chesterfield where there has been historical industrial blight and coalmining, it is more expensive to complete certain projects than it is in areas without those challenges. Our ability to achieve the housing targets in the east of our town was dependent on the creation of the Staveley bypass, and we were disappointed to hear recently that it would not go ahead at this stage. How is my hon. Friend working with other Departments to ensure that the industrial blight of the past does not make such projects too expensive to proceed with in future?

AMBER (68/100) Chris Ward

6. If her Department will take steps to improve protections for renters and owners of park homes.

AMBER (30/100) Chris Ward

Tudor Rose Park in Peacehaven is a park home with 107 residents. Many are elderly and vulnerable; all have suffered years of unfair charges, crumbling buildings and poor maintenance. Just this morning at my surgery, two residents told me of the “despair, exploitation and intimidation” that many feel at the hands of park owners. I know that the Minister is looking at this closely, so can he tell me when the Government will act and introduce changes that will end the wild west of park homes and protect my constituents in Tudor Rose Park?

AMBER (57/100) Mr Mark Francois

I have over half a dozen park home estates in my constituency, so I welcome the fact that the Minister and the Government are reviewing whether to get rid of the 10% charge that owners have to pay if they sell their park home. No other property owner has to pay such a charge, and my constituents feel very strongly that this is iniquitous. May I make a submission to the review on their behalf? They would be very grateful if the Minister were to abolish the charge.

AMBER (68/100) Catherine Fookes

7. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Pride in Place programme on Wales.

RED (10/100) Catherine Fookes

I thank the Minister for his answer and for the funding in Monmouthshire. Construction is beginning at Caldicot skate park, and I am delighted that it is just one of the projects that Monmouthshire county council is delivering. It has been made possible by Pride in Place funding from this Labour Government, and we are also going to see new public toilets with Changing Places facilities in Abergavenny and Usk, improvements to Monmouth bus station, and communal gardens at Thornwell in Chepstow. I want to see all Monmouthshire towns thrive, as I am sure the Minister does, and I really hope that this is only the beginning. When will Pride in Place funding be made available to Monmouthshire?

RED (20/100) Jim Shannon

8. What discussions her Department has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving access to suitable accommodation for vulnerable households.

RED (15/100) Jim Shannon

I thank the Minister for her answer; she probably knows what my question is going to be. Veterans across this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland suffering trauma find it very difficult to find accommodation. As mental health is so complex, no two people have the same needs, making a case-by-case assessment essential. What discussions has the Minister had with the relevant Department and the Northern Ireland Assembly to ascertain what help can be given to veterans? I understand that the Barnett consequential has set aside moneys for homelessness, so there might be a methodology for providing help.

GREEN (77/100) Antonia Bance

9. What steps her Department is taking to further regulate the use of houses in multiple occupation.

AMBER (42/100) Antonia Bance

I thank the Minister for his answer. Residents in Wednesbury and Tipton are absolutely sick of family homes being turned into HMOs and—now that that is getting more difficult—into supported exempt accommodation, too. I have campaigned for more controls on HMOs since the day I was elected, but supported exempt accommodation is essentially unregulated. When will this Government bring in further controls on supported exempt accommodation?

AMBER (55/100) Mr Gagan Mohindra

Earlier this year, Liberal Democrat-run Three Rivers district council put in a notice for an article 4 direction. However, it will not come into effect until June 2027, with the council citing financial concerns, despite repeated calls from me and local Conservative councillors to do it sooner and protect my residents from overcrowded and unwanted HMOs. What advice can the Minister offer my residents, such as those who live in Muirfield Road in South Oxhey, who have already been affected by this issue?

AMBER (40/100) Ms Abena Oppong-Asare

Many communities, including those in my constituency, are concerned about the concentration of HMOs. There is a perception that local authorities do not have the powers to be able to tackle this. I want to be very clear that I am not against HMOs in principle; this is about how they are abused. I know the Government have carried out a consultation, but do they feel that local authorities are able to strike the right balance between meeting housing needs and maintaining community cohesion?

GREEN (86/100) Wera Hobhouse 100% vibes

HMOs are the only way many young people can afford to rent, but their unregulated growth leads to the loss of family homes. However, Bath and North East Somerset council has taken action, and has included in its draft local plan a ban on the conversion of homes that would otherwise mean the loss of three-bedroom homes in Southdown, Twerton and Odd Down. Will the Minister congratulate Bath council?

RED (18/100) Lewis Cocking

To residents across the country, a standard family home being converted into an HMO for a large number of adults is a material change. It changes the character of an area, and it places pressure on parking and local services. Too many HMOs are being used to house people who come to this country illegally, and we know for a fact that many of these men are dangerous. However, the current rules do not reflect the negative impact an HMO can have, with landlords not needing to apply for planning permission if it is for less than five occupants, and the article 4 direction does not go far enough. What work is the Minister doing to investigate changing the rules so that all HMOs, regardless of size, require planning permission so that local people’s voices can be heard?

GREEN (88/100) Sonia Kumar

10. What steps she is taking to help regenerate Dudley high street.

AMBER (70/100) Sonia Kumar

Dudley high street has enormous potential to thrive and prosper once again, yet years of inaction from the Conservative-led council has left too many empty shops and too many businesses struggling. Will my right hon. Friend outline what steps the Labour Government are taking to revitalise the area and reverse the trend of empty shops dominating our high street?

AMBER (55/100) Robbie Moore

11. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of powers available to councils to stop the opening of vape and barber shops on high streets.

AMBER (30/100) Robbie Moore

This year alone West Yorkshire trading standards has raided 20 premises in Keighley, seizing illegal and counterfeit goods, and yet residents watch those same dodgy shops reopen within days. Our local trading standards has received well over 3,000 intelligence reports about dodgy shops such as minimarts, vape shops, takeaways and barbers, with reports linked to money laundering, drug supplying, modern slavery and illegal working—and that is just within Keighley. Despite the Government’s rhetoric of wanting to take a tough stance on this issue, why was West Yorkshire trading standards not included in the latest round of funding to support local trading standards with law enforcement action against organised criminal activity? Will the Minister look to resolve this issue?

RED (15/100) DEFERRED Melanie Onn

The Minister will be aware of my campaign, which has the support of over 60 MPs, to shut down dodgy shops. I am aware that the Government have taken steps to extend the powers available to local authorities, which have finally seen my local authority take steps to shut down one shop. There are many more that it can come for in the coming days. Interestingly, when the Conservatives were in power, they changed the rules to require trading standards to give 48 hours’ notice before visiting some premises. Are the Government looking at changing that rule, so that more activity can be taken by trading standards when shops have not prepared?

GREEN (82/100) Helen Hayes

22. What steps she is taking to reform the leasehold sector.

AMBER (27/100) Gregory Stafford

I recently met constituents in Grayshott and Haslemere who face poor communication from managing agents, with little transparency on where the service charges and costs that they are forced to pay go. Meanwhile, Surrey and Hampshire are set to lose out under the Government’s funding review, leaving many of those same residents facing higher council tax bills. Will the Secretary of State finally tell us when the leasehold reform Bill will be published, and give a guarantee that any savings delivered through that reform will not simply be wiped out by the higher council tax bills caused by her Government’s funding decisions?

RED (18/100) Helen Hayes

Leaseholders living on Barrington Road and St James’s Crescent in my constituency, in buildings owned by Metropolitan Thames Valley housing association and built by the contractor Guildmore, have been trapped in limbo for more than four years. They are unable to sell and worried about fire safety, while MTVH and Guildmore continue to argue between themselves about who is responsible for fire safety defects in the building, who will complete the remediation, and who will pay for it. There is still no plan or timescale, and communication has stalled. The last substantive update that I received was back in May of this year. Can I ask the Secretary of State for her personal support and intervention in unlocking this completely unacceptable dispute, so that my constituents can at last sleep soundly in their homes and make plans for their futures?

GREEN (86/100) Andrew Cooper

13. What steps she is taking to support first time house buyers.

AMBER (48/100) Andrew Cooper

House prices in Mid Cheshire are nearly £20,000 higher than the regional average and have continued to rise over the last year. The Your First Home scheme will be a big help for my constituents, but it is also important that we increase the number of affordable homes being built. The National Housing Federation estimated that we could have delivered an additional 41,000 homes outside of London in the latest round of the social and affordable homes programme. What steps is the Minister taking to increase the funding available in the early years of the social and affordable homes programme?

RED (10/100) DEFERRED Vikki Slade

I welcome the Government’s focus on first-time buyers, because so many young people cannot get their first step on the ladder. My concern with the properties that are being built—not on the green belt but within town-centre boundaries—is that first-time buyer properties are being manipulated out of the system, in the same way that affordable homes have been on the green belt. I know the Government have done some stuff around the green belt golden rules, but what are they doing to ensure that we have first-time buyer homes on every development?

AMBER (62/100) Sam Carling

16. What steps she is taking to support tenants in the private rented sector.

AMBER (28/100) Paula Barker

In Liverpool Wavertree, research by Crisis and Zoopla shows just 3% of homes for private rent are affordable for people who claim local housing allowance. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned that the increase in tax on property income announced in the Budget could feed through into rents, making an increase in LHA more necessary than ever. What discussions has the Minister had with colleagues in other Departments on that issue, as well as on rent regulation linked to inflation and wages, to relieve the pressure on private renters and reduce the cost of increasing LHA?

GREEN (85/100) Sam Carling

Too often, constituents contact me about horrific behaviour from private landlords and lettings agencies. One lady told me recently that she had been left with broken heating for six months, and that, as a result, her daughter had developed pneumonia. Adding insult to injury, the lettings agency has continually refused to provide my constituent with her landlord’s contact details, in violation of the law. Will the Secretary of State set out what this Labour Government are doing to crack down on rogue landlords and lettings agencies that are totally failing in their responsibilities?

AMBER (62/100) Steve Barclay

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s “Economic and fiscal outlook”, published alongside the Budget, says on page 77 that the consequence of the 4% hike in property income tax will be fewer rental properties and higher rents as landlords pass on those costs. Does the Minister think the OBR is wrong? If not, does he accept that rents will go up as a result of those measures?

RED (20/100) Sir Desmond Swayne

The question is about reducing the cost of renting. What is the contribution of the 4% increase to a reduction in the cost of renting? Mr Speaker, my interest is recorded in the register.

AMBER (70/100) Helen Morgan

15. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for local authorities in rural areas.

GREEN (76/100) Helen Morgan

Shropshire council is in receipt of exceptional financial support following 16 years of disastrous Conservative mismanagement and a settlement from the Government that reduces its central allocation over the next three years. The issue for the council is that any council tax rises it opts for in future will cover only the repayment terms of that exceptional financial support, and will not allow for any financial restructuring. We are clearly in an unsustainable situation, so will the Minister meet me to discuss the terms of the exceptional financial support?

RED (5/100) Markus Campbell-Savours 50% point-scoring

In rural Cumbria, those without a car struggle to access education and jobs, which is why families on the lowest incomes prioritise car ownership. However, our councils lost out on significant financial support because funding formulas used car ownership as a determinant of income. Will the Secretary of State carry out a review of this approach, and perhaps ask whether civil servants who are privileged enough to travel to work on one of the world’s finest public transport systems are giving us duff advice?

RED (5/100) Claire Young

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

RED (22/100) Claire Young

The Housing Minister promised me in January that we would see protection from fleecehold exploitation in this Parliament. The Government are running out of time. When can my constituents in freeholds expect unfair service charges to be properly regulated?

RED (14/100) DEFERRED Katie Lam

Last month, it was reported that money from the Department’s community recovery fund had been funnelled to explicitly partisan groups, and had been used to train activists in how to influence the public to make them pro-migration and against the Conservative party, which was named in training materials. Can the Secretary of State please explain how on earth taxpayer money was spent on this kind of partisan political activity?

AMBER (58/100) Katie Lam

In a statement issued by the Department last month, we were told that this money, which has been spent on partisan political campaigning, can be recovered if it has been used improperly—but that is not the same as doing it. Will the Secretary of State confirm that she will investigate and recoup every penny of taxpayer money funnelled to those partisan groups, either directly or by instructing councils?

AMBER (30/100) Liz Saville Roberts

Following this summer’s wildfires, we saw that the devolution of fire policy was no barrier to mutual aid co-operation between the UK Government and the Welsh Government. Can the Minister tell me how any additional air firefighting capability will be allocated fairly across the nations of the United Kingdom?

AMBER (66/100) Robert Jenrick

Summer was a difficult time for Nottinghamshire fire service; it battled with wildfires and a lot of heat-related incidents. The firemen and women had to wear protective equipment and clothing in which it was simply unbearable to work in that type of heat. I know that the Secretary of State has made some funding available for this, but will she work to ensure that by next summer, if we have the same hot weather and wildfires, brave firemen and women will have the clothing and protective equipment that they need to work in those conditions?

AMBER (42/100) Josh Babarinde

Two brave Eastbourne families are fighting for improved regulation of supported accommodation, after their respective relatives were found dead in the accommodation that was meant to be supporting them. Will the Minister meet them, and me, to discuss how we can better protect vulnerable people in supported accommodation?