Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

The new regulatory approach for building control on higher-risk buildings puts the onus on applicants to demonstrate how they will comply with the Building Regulations. This is a fundamental shift in the approach to building control and regulation, ensuring building safety is at the heart of applications.

Within the period up to 30 June, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) received 606 applications for amendments to existing higher-risk buildings (HRB), with 12 determined within the eight week period and 271 extensions agreed with the applicant. Within this category, there were almost as many refused applications, totalling 260.

BSR received 62 new applications, with four determined within the 12 week period, 22 extensions agreed and 10 refusals.

An application can initially be invalidated when an applicant has not provided the most basic administrative documents or followed the process that demonstrates they comply with the Building Regulations. This is not a formal refusal and it provides the applicant with the opportunity to reconsider what documentation and information is required for the application. Refusal is when an application fails to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations after being assessed.

Up to 30 June 2024, the BSR has received 14 applications for completion certificates for existing higher risk buildings, agreed extensions for six buildings and refused four applications. No applications have been received, extended, or refused for new higher risk buildings at either single stage or multi-stage.

The BSR has requested applications for Building Assessment Certificates for 236 higher-risk buildings. Up to 30 June 2024 the BSR had received the documentation for 230 applications and these are currently being assessed by the BSR and its regulatory partners. No Building Assessment Certificates had been issued or refused by 30 June 2024.

This Government is committed to both building safety and housebuilding. Our expectation is that once the new requirements, systems and processes bed in and all parties get used to the building safety regulations, that timelines for processing applications are met much faster. The BSR has been building capacity and developing their operational functions to improve building safety and ensure we never see a repeat of the Grenfell tragedy.

The new regulatory approach for building control on higher-risk buildings puts the onus on applicants to demonstrate how they will comply with the Building Regulations. This is a fundamental shift in the approach to building control and regulation, ensuring building safety is at the heart of applications.

Within the period up to 30 June, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) received 606 applications for amendments to existing higher-risk buildings (HRB), with 12 determined within the eight week period and 271 extensions agreed with the applicant. Within this category, there were almost as many refused applications, totalling 260.

BSR received 62 new applications, with four determined within the 12 week period, 22 extensions agreed and 10 refusals.

An application can initially be invalidated when an applicant has not provided the most basic administrative documents or followed the process that demonstrates they comply with the Building Regulations. This is not a formal refusal and it provides the applicant with the opportunity to reconsider what documentation and information is required for the application. Refusal is when an application fails to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations after being assessed.

Up to 30 June 2024, the BSR has received 14 applications for completion certificates for existing higher risk buildings, agreed extensions for six buildings and refused four applications. No applications have been received, extended, or refused for new higher risk buildings at either single stage or multi-stage.

The BSR has requested applications for Building Assessment Certificates for 236 higher-risk buildings. Up to 30 June 2024 the BSR had received the documentation for 230 applications and these are currently being assessed by the BSR and its regulatory partners. No Building Assessment Certificates had been issued or refused by 30 June 2024.

This Government is committed to both building safety and housebuilding. Our expectation is that once the new requirements, systems and processes bed in and all parties get used to the building safety regulations, that timelines for processing applications are met much faster. The BSR has been building capacity and developing their operational functions to improve building safety and ensure we never see a repeat of the Grenfell tragedy.

The new regulatory approach for building control on higher-risk buildings puts the onus on applicants to demonstrate how they will comply with the Building Regulations. This is a fundamental shift in the approach to building control and regulation, ensuring building safety is at the heart of applications.

Within the period up to 30 June, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) received 606 applications for amendments to existing higher-risk buildings (HRB), with 12 determined within the eight week period and 271 extensions agreed with the applicant. Within this category, there were almost as many refused applications, totalling 260.

BSR received 62 new applications, with four determined within the 12 week period, 22 extensions agreed and 10 refusals.

An application can initially be invalidated when an applicant has not provided the most basic administrative documents or followed the process that demonstrates they comply with the Building Regulations. This is not a formal refusal and it provides the applicant with the opportunity to reconsider what documentation and information is required for the application. Refusal is when an application fails to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations after being assessed.

Up to 30 June 2024, the BSR has received 14 applications for completion certificates for existing higher risk buildings, agreed extensions for six buildings and refused four applications. No applications have been received, extended, or refused for new higher risk buildings at either single stage or multi-stage.

The BSR has requested applications for Building Assessment Certificates for 236 higher-risk buildings. Up to 30 June 2024 the BSR had received the documentation for 230 applications and these are currently being assessed by the BSR and its regulatory partners. No Building Assessment Certificates had been issued or refused by 30 June 2024.

This Government is committed to both building safety and housebuilding. Our expectation is that once the new requirements, systems and processes bed in and all parties get used to the building safety regulations, that timelines for processing applications are met much faster. The BSR has been building capacity and developing their operational functions to improve building safety and ensure we never see a repeat of the Grenfell tragedy.

The Government remains committed to working in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive on delivering growth for Northern Ireland. Given the need to repair the public finances we must ensure that we are making responsible decisions about public spending. The Enhanced Investment Zone will be addressed as part of the process for confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30^th, and plans beyond that at the Spending Review in Spring 2025.

The Department conducted an impact assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2022 which included the impact of the Act’s provisions on development and housing supply. The assessment can be found here.

The Government recognises the value of upward extensions in delivering urban intensification where appropriate. We are consulting on further support for upward extensions as part of our consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, which began on Tuesday 30 July and closes on Tuesday 24 September.

There are no buildings in the Nuneaton constituency that have been identified with unsafe cladding.

The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.

The Government believe it is right that those social tenants who have lived in their homes for many years retain the right to purchase their property at a reasonable discount. As such, we will not be ending the Right to Buy scheme.

We are, however, committed to better protecting our existing stock of social rented homes and are currently reviewing the increased right to buy discounts introduced in 2012. We will bring forward secondary legislation to implement changes in the autumn.

We also intend to review Right to Buy more widely, including looking at eligibility criteria and protections for newly-built social housing. A consultation of these wider changes will be brought forward in the autumn.

Economic growth is the number one mission of this Government. The Government has committed to delivering productivity growth in every part of the country, making everyone, not just a few, better off. As part of this, Government will work in partnership with local leaders to develop ambitious, long-term Local Growth Plans reflecting their local strengths and opportunities to support the national growth mission and new Industrial Strategy.

Immediate action to fix the foundations of the economy is the only way to rebuild Britain and make every person and every part of the country better off. We are being honest about those schemes that we cannot afford to deliver so that we can fix the foundations of our economy by addressing spending pressures and repairing the public finances.

The Investment Opportunity Fund, which was launched at Autumn Statement 2023, has yet to provide support to any projects.

Current data on short-term lets is limited. This is why we are introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets in England which will give local authorities access to valuable data to help address housing impacts and protect the spirit of our communities.

We recognise that whilst short-term lets and second homes can benefit the tourist economy, we need to protect local communities, including ensuring the availability of housing to rent or buy. We are currently considering how best to achieve these aims.

The Government recognises the vital role that transport infrastructure plays in facilitating new housing development. A range of funding programmes exist to support the delivery of infrastructure, including roads, to support the delivery of new housing including the £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund and the £1.5 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land fund.

This Government wants to help first-time buyers of all ages. In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the Government has committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme and to giving first-time buyers the first chance to buy homes.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not hold information on the number of serving armed forces personnel, or veterans, who have benefitted from the Right to Buy.

People who live in armed forces accommodation do not have the Right to Buy. The Right to Buy is only available to secure council tenants, and to some housing association tenants who were living in the home when it transferred from a council to a housing association, known as the Preserved Right to Buy. Any period spent in armed forces accommodation by eligible social housing tenants prior to applying can, however, count towards the minimum public sector tenancy qualifying period for Right to Buy and towards the discount entitlement.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. Local authorities have reported the costs of providing temporary accommodation for 2023/24. This information is available at the ‘Revenue outturn housing services (RO4)’ tables at Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2023 to 2024 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We must address homelessness levels and deliver long term solutions. The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors, councils and key stakeholders across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.

More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, building 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament, and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The Government has also confirmed £450 million for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which will support local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. Local authorities have reported the costs of providing temporary accommodation for 2023/24. This information is available at the ‘Revenue outturn housing services (RO4)’ tables at Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2023 to 2024 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We must address homelessness levels and deliver long term solutions. The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors, councils and key stakeholders across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.

More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, building 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament, and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The Government has also confirmed £450 million for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which will support local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. Local authorities have reported the costs of providing temporary accommodation for 2023/24. This information is available at the ‘Revenue outturn housing services (RO4)’ tables at Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2023 to 2024 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We must address homelessness levels and deliver long term solutions. The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors, councils and key stakeholders across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.

More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, building 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament, and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The Government has also confirmed £450 million for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which will support local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. Local authorities have reported the costs of providing temporary accommodation for 2023/24. This information is available at the ‘Revenue outturn housing services (RO4)’ tables at Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2023 to 2024 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We must address homelessness levels and deliver long term solutions. The Government will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors, councils and key stakeholders across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.

More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, building 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament, and abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which will prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The Government has also confirmed £450 million for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which will support local authorities to obtain better quality temporary accommodation for homeless families.

The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. Local authorities have reported the costs of providing temporary accommodation for 2023/24. This information is available at the ‘Revenue outturn housing services (RO4)’ tables at: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2023 to 2024 individual local authority data - outturn - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.

The Government will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness and rough sleeping once and for all.

Whilst we develop our new strategy, the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) is providing £547 million over the period from April 2022 to March 2025 to 300 local authorities across England for local, tailored rough sleeping services.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people. We will look at these issues carefully and will consider youth homelessness as we develop our long-term, cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.

The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.

The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.

The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.

The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.

The department does not hold information on the immigration status of those on the waiting lists.

Local Authority Housing Statistics show that, at 31 March 2023, Horsham District Council had 740 households on the waiting list for social housing, Chichester District Council had 2,029 households on the waiting list, and Arun District Council had 1,732 households on the waiting lists.

Local Authority Housing Statistics also show that Horsham District Council has a local connection test in place to determine who qualifies for social housing, Chichester District Council has both a residency and local connection test, and Arun District Council has a residency test.

The Government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and ensuring that every part of the country benefits from it.

We will set out further details in due course.

The DPM is responsible for cross-governmental coordination of policy to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and will update in due course.

This Government is committed to resetting the relationship between local and regional government to establish partnerships built on mutual respect, genuine collaboration and meaningful engagement. We are keen to work with any local authorities facing challenges to support recovery and reform.

As part of the sector support programme the ministry funds the Local Government Association (LGA) to deliver a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) review programme. Local authorities are subject to scrutiny from a number of government bodies, including inspectorates and ombudsmen. External audit is also important, which is why, on 30 July, the Government announced measures to tackle the local audit backlog we inherited. We will also update the House in the autumn on longer-term plans to fix the local audit system.

It is important that Government can act where local authorities may need more intensive support or intervention in order to meet their Best Value Duty. The Secretary of State has a set of tools and statutory powers, detailed in the statutory guidance ‘Best value standards and intervention’. This includes a statutory power to commission inspections of local authorities in relation to their compliance with the Best Value Duty. Decisions about statutory inspections are taken based on the circumstances of each case following an evidence based assessment.

Public access to council meetings is an essential part of ensuring accountability and transparency at the local level. Except where specific exemptions apply, the Local Government Act 1972 is clear that all council meetings are open to the public.

Under the current rules it is for individual local authorities to agree and determine the provisions for remote public access to local authority meetings through their standing orders.

Many councils already broadcast their meetings online, which the public can attend, and meeting agendas and papers are routinely shared in advance of meetings on council websites.

Councils are responsible for their own financial management.

This Government recognises the vital work that local councils do for their communities. The department works closely with local government and other government departments to understand specific demand and cost pressures facing councils. We stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.

This Government will get councils back on their feet by providing multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system.

The Government is committed to ensuring that every part of England can rapidly benefit from devolution, moving power out of Westminster back to those who know their areas best. District councils are an important part of local government and should play an active role in devolution arrangements in their area, often as an important delivery partner.

There is no place in our society for religious or racial hatred of any kind. Tackling Islamophobia is a priority for this Government, especially in light of last month’s violent disorder, where we saw mosques and Muslim communities targeted. This is deplorable, and there can be absolutely no place in our society for this violence and intimidation that has wreaked havoc on our communities. This Government has taken rapid action to step up protections for mosques facing significant, imminent threats of disorder, or those dealing with the immediate aftermath of attacks, as part of our Protective Security for Mosques scheme.

We are actively reviewing our approach and considering various options for how best to tackle Islamophobia and all forms of hatred, to deliver a more integrated and cohesive approach to this vital work. We recognise the complexity of this issue, and we want to make sure that any new approach comprehensively reflects multiple perspectives and implications for different communities. We will provide further updates in due course.

The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech set out the state of the UK’s spending inheritance from the previous Government. In this context, the Chancellor has set out a path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30th.

We understand that this may have caused uncertainty about the status of the Community Ownership Fund. The Government will seek to provide certainty wherever it can between now and conclusion of the Spending Review.

The Government currently has no plans to reform council tax. Ahead of any decisions taken on the tax, the Government will carefully consider the impact on councils and taxpayers. The Government is committed to keeping taxes on working people as low as possible.

The Government does not collect data on the individual characteristics, or benefits received, of residents of households receiving a single person council tax discount.

The Government does not collect data on the individual characteristics, or benefits received, of residents of households receiving a single person council tax discount.

The 2024/25 Internal Drainage Board levy support allocations target the local authorities who have experienced the greatest financial pressures from IDB special levy increases over the past two years.

MHCLG recognises the need for a long-term solution and are working with Defra to explore potential approaches.

As previously set out in my answer to Question UIN 3908 on 5 September 2024, officials attended the meeting between the former Secretary of State and Max Caller on 26 September 2023. As has been the case under successive administrations, the details of internal correspondence and meetings between officials are not routinely published.

The Government currently has no plans to reform council tax. Decisions on future local authority funding will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged.

I refer my hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 1157 on 30 July 2024.

Decisions on funding post March 2025 are a matter for the Budget on October 30th.

We recognise the challenges this brings for some projects. We are working closely with local authorities and key stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition to future funding, so communities continue to benefit from this vital support. In the meantime, officials remain available to discuss any issues impacting delivery.