Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 a) the Intelligence and Security Committee report on Russia, HC 632, published on 21 July 2020, and b) the 2017-2019 Robert Mueller special counsel investigation in the United States, if he will instruct the relevant UK authorities to launch an investigation into whether UK elections have been affected by Kremlin-linked political interference.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government takes any attempts to intervene in democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes, including from foreign interference.
On 16th December, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. Review findings will be delivered to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Security Minister by the end of March and will inform the forthcoming elections and democracy bill. This builds on the major reforms announced in the Elections Strategy in July, and the launch last month of the Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan to disrupt and deter spying from states.
The Government’s strategy for modern, secure and inclusive elections, published in July, sets out our plan to strengthen oversight of and safeguards against known and emerging threats, including foreign interference through covert political funding. We will deliver a robust and proportionate response to known risks, protecting the integrity of our system and reinforcing public trust in democracy.
This sits alongside the government’s robust toolkit of measures to investigate and disrupt the threat from foreign interference in UK politics. This includes the National Security Act 2023, the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which coordinates work to protect UK political parties, elected officials and the electoral infrastructure, and the Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit, which coordinates work across government to protect UK elections and referendums. However, as the tactics of foreign interference actors evolve, the Government is committed to ensuring our approach also evolves to effectively combat the threat.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 clear and accessible fire safety regulations for leaseholders and residents in managed buildings.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Article 21A of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes clear that the person responsible for fire safety in blocks of flats must communicate the risks identified in the fire risk assessment to residents (including whenever this is updated) as well as the precautions taken to address these risks. They are not required to share the whole assessment as there is an expectation that they summarise the risks given the potentially technical nature of the assessment.
On 4 July 2025, we launched a wide-ranging consultation on proposals to hold landlords and managing agents to account for the services they provide and the charges and fees they levy. This consultation closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people that are currently homeless in Poole constituency will be taken out of homelessness following the introduction of the homelessness strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government publishes homelessness statistics on gov.uk here.
Our National Plan to End Homelessness will end the use of B&B accommodation for families except in emergencies, halve long-term rough sleeping and increase the proportion of people whose homelessness is prevented. As set out in the strategy, local authorities will be required to publish by Autumn next year, and regularly update, their action plan. This must include local targets to improve performance against each of the metrics relating to homelessness and rough sleeping in the Outcomes Framework for local government.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homeless people there are in Poole constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government publishes homelessness statistics on gov.uk here.
Our National Plan to End Homelessness will end the use of B&B accommodation for families except in emergencies, halve long-term rough sleeping and increase the proportion of people whose homelessness is prevented. As set out in the strategy, local authorities will be required to publish by Autumn next year, and regularly update, their action plan. This must include local targets to improve performance against each of the metrics relating to homelessness and rough sleeping in the Outcomes Framework for local government.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 written statement of 4 December 2025, HCWS1128, on Devolution Priority Programme, how much funding in each of the combined authorities in the devolution priority areas that was originally scheduled for (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28 will be delayed as a consequence of the postponement of the 2026 mayoral elections.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We remain committed to the long-term funding offer announced on 4 December, confirming that once mayors are in post, the six mayoral strategic authorities on the Devolution Priority Programme will receive close to £200 million collectively per year for 30 years through their investment funds. Government will provide each area with a proportion of their investment funds to ensure they can start delivering on key local priorities and deliver the benefits of devolution on the ground, ahead of the mayors taking office.
The new mayoral strategic authorities will also be supported to build core capacity to ensure they can deliver for local people. All six areas will receive £3 million each as a minimum flat payment over the next three financial years, in addition to an initial payment of £1 million each when the statutory instruments are laid in Parliament, to help with the costs of establishing the new authorities.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for introducing a Mayoral Combined Authority or Authorities for Devon, for Cornwall, or for Devon and Cornwall.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Devon and Torbay already benefit from devolution as a Combined County Authority and will be designated as a Foundation Strategic Authority once the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill becomes law. Further devolution in the South West will be announced in due course, following local conversations and ministerial decisions.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 has issued guidance on charging travellers for using transit sites for caravans.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has not issued guidance on charging travellers for using transit sites for caravans. This would be a decision for the local authority to make.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
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 help tackle the causes of homelessness in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Through our National Plan to End Homelessness the Government is putting prevention at the heart of public services, alongside with actions to address the root causes of homelessness through building more homes, reforming renters’ rights, and tackling poverty.
Local councils are at the front line of the response to homelessness and must lead the way in putting prevention at the core of their services. The Government has increased funding for homelessness services this year to over £1 billion, including a £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant announced on 11 December 2025. You can find allocations here.
We are also investing £3.5 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, through more flexible multi-year funding arrangements that enable councils to invest more in prevention.
Asked by: Calvin Bailey (Labour - Leyton and Wanstead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will consider implementing a rule of one approach to building safety remediation, whereby each affected building is remediated once to a standard set by the Department and certified by an independent fire engineer appointed by the Department rather than the developer.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Remediation Acceleration Plan Update, published in July 2025 announced the Government’s intent to embed in law the standards and robust assurance practices used in the Government’s cladding remediation programmes. This will include making it a legal requirement for relevant Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEWs) to follow the British Standards Institute (BSI) methodology for assessing external wall defects (PAS 9980), with approved audits to ensure consistency and quality.
This aims to establish a clear, legally enforceable standard – using a consistent framework set by the BSI and already used in government remediation programmes – to define the remediation works required at each building, providing clarity and confidence. This will be achieved as part of the Remediation Bill, to be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.
The developer remediation contract sets the standard that developers must meet when remediating buildings covered by the contract. Remediation of external defects must be undertaken in line with PAS 9980 and remediation of internal defects must be undertaken in line with relevant industry standards and applicable law. Remedial works must reduce life-critical fire safety defects in the building to a tolerable level, in line with these standards. The developer remediation contract provides the necessary powers for the Government to audit developers’ assessments to assure quality and consistency of assessments.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 4 December 2025 to Question 97317 on Local Government: Reorganisation, whether he expects the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners and the re-organisation of local government structures to have any impact on Department spending.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to cutting the cost of politics by reducing unnecessary layers of governance and bureaucracy.
Both the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners, alongside local government reorganisation is intended to deliver savings for the taxpayer over time, with efficiencies reinvested in frontline services.
Exact savings from local government reorganisation will vary depending on the area and the final decisions on which proposals, if any, are implemented.