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, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2026 to Question 111129, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Pakistan, when the summary of the former Minister’s schedule will be placed in the Library of the House.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The summary has now been placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Young of Acton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether an equalities impact assessment was carried out before the decision to adopt the definition of anti-Muslim hostility; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
An Equalities Impact Assessment for adopting a definition of anti-Muslim hostility was carried out by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Asked by: Lord Woodley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 17 March (HL Deb cols 757–758) that “it is not true that commissioners are blocking a viable deal”, whether they will confirm that those commissioners last year blocked a deal that had been reached between the chief executive of Birmingham Council and the Unite union to end the industrial dispute between the council and refuse workers, and if so, what steps they will take to clarify that point publicly.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have been clear that the government is not a party to the ongoing waste dispute, and this is a local matter that the relevant parties must resolve. Like all authorities, Birmingham City Council has legal duties with which its statutory officers must ensure compliance, including in relation to equal pay and the ongoing waste dispute. Throughout the all-out strike, Commissioners have consistently outlined that any resolution to the dispute must be lawful, must represent value for money and must not exacerbate unfairness relating to equal pay. Commissioners have also set out that any possible agreement with Unite must be approved through the Council's formal processes.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they gave to including targets for building permanent affordable social housing in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Child Poverty Strategy was developed in collaboration with the National Plan to End Homelessness because the government is focussing on delivering long-term solutions across both agendas. The National Plan to End Homelessness includes our action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including a generational increase in new social and affordable homes. We are delivering a new 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme backed by a £39 billion investment, which aims to build 300,000 social and affordable homes over the programme’s lifetime.
Asked by: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they will give to introducing regulations for the use of premises for the sale of vaping products, following the fire in Glasgow on 8 March.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides powers for Ministers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to establish a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping and nicotine products in their respective nations. Instead of retail licensing, Scotland has an established register of tobacco and vape retailers which has been in place for over 15 years.
Retail licensing will strengthen enforcement of tobacco and vape legislation, supporting retailers who operate responsibly while deterring those who break the law. The Government sought evidence on the implementation of retail licensing through a call for evidence which closed in December last year. We will hold a subsequent consultation on our proposals before introducing regulations.
In terms of fire safety, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a range of legal duties on Responsible Persons (the person in control of a premises which can include building owners, landlords and employers), chief among which is the need to undertake a fire risk assessment. The assessment must identify any general fire safety precautions that need to be taken to ensure that the premises, and people within it, are safe from fire. Additionally, the Responsible Person must put those precautions in place and ensure they are subject to a suitable system of maintenance.
In order to help Responsible Persons discharge their duties MHCLG publish a range of guides including a guide for persons with duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended) and are in the process of updating the Offices and Shops guide where we will take any learning from this fire and see how this can be captured in guidance.
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, pursuant to the written statement of 2 March 2026, HCWS1375, on Flexible Voting Pilots, how many and which councils applied to be pilots; and what were the criteria used to select those which were chosen.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 84647 on 29 October 2025, UIN 118656 on 16 March 2026, and UIN 116760 on 25 March 2026.
The government have worked closely with the Electoral Commission in the design of the pilots, and will continue to work with them on their evaluation.
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 Electoral Commission was consulted by his department prior to the publication of the prospectus on local election pilots in May 2026.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 84647 on 29 October 2025, UIN 118656 on 16 March 2026, and UIN 116760 on 25 March 2026.
The government have worked closely with the Electoral Commission in the design of the pilots, and will continue to work with them on their evaluation.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 had discussions with stakeholders on the adequacy of the BREEAM Excellent £2,000,000 threshold, in the context of inflation since it was set.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has not held discussions with stakeholders on this matter.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the building safety regulator is (a) fully staffed and (b) working at full capacity.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) on 27 January 2026 officially moved to become an arm’s length body of MHCLG. BSR increased their regulatory capacity throughout 2025 and now have a headcount across all functions approaching 500, an increase of over 40% since June 2025. BSR will continue to recruit throughout 2026 and has plans in place to drive greater efficiencies whilst ensuring resources are matched to the demand for its regulatory services.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 holds information on the proportion of cases to the building safety regulator that (i) currently and (ii) historically require an extension before being assessed.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Building Safety Regulator officials have provided the below data: