Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he can provide an update on the a) effectiveness and b) adequacy of Department's 'brownfield' first approach to development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements, including the development of under-utilised land and buildings to meet the need for homes and other uses.
Through the revisions we made to the NPPF on 12 December 2024, we broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas. The definition in question can be found in the NPPF glossary on gov.uk here.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new NPPF. The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included a range of proposals to further strengthen support for brownfield development. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
We have also announced £5 billion of land and infrastructure capital grant funding. This funding, to be administered by a new, single National Housing Delivery Fund that will complement investment from our National Housing Bank, can be used to address viability gaps on brownfield sites.
It nevertheless remains the case that there are simply not enough sites on brownfield land registers to deliver the volume of homes that the country needs each year and Green Belt land will consequently need to be released for development where individual local planning authorities determine that exceptional circumstances exist and have first demonstrated that they have examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting identified need for development – including making as much use as possible of suitable brownfield sites and underutilised land, optimising the density of development, and working with neighbouring authorities to assess whether identified need might be sensibly accommodated.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 damp and mould in social housing in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The first phase of Awaab’s Law, which came into force on 27 October 2025, requires all social landlords to repair emergency hazards within 24 hours and fix dangerous damp and mould within fixed timescales.
My Department published a response to our consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes on 28 January 2026. It can be found on gov.uk here. As part of the new Decent Homes Standard, landlords will need to ensure that their homes are free from damp and mould.
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of future governance arrangements for Charter Trustee areas; and whether he plans to bring forward legislation to establish parish councils in those Charter Trustees areas affected by local government reorganisation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
During local government reorganisation, Charter Trustees are a longstanding mechanism that may be established in unparished areas to preserve historical rights. They are dissolved when the Charter Trustee area becomes wholly comprised in one or more parishes. The creation of parishes is a matter for principal councils through the Community Governance Review process and the Government has no plans to change this.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of child mortality rates among children living in temporary accommodation in England in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to improve the safety and suitability of temporary accommodation for families with children.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is unacceptable that living situations are contributing to the tragic deaths of children. The Child Poverty Strategy and our National Plan to End Homelessness set out our commitments to eradicate unsuitable or poor-quality accommodation and ensure children in temporary accommodation do not experience gaps in health care provision.
These include our commitment to eliminating the unlawful use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for families by the end of this Parliament, introducing a clinical code to improve data and prevent incidents in temporary accommodation, ending the practice of discharging newborns into B&B or other unsuitable shared accommodation, and providing proactive outreach to families in temporary accommodation.
Through our Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, we have been driving place-based good practice by working with local authorities with the highest use of B&B accommodation, backed by £10.5 million over two years. We will expand this work through an Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme, backed by £30 million over three years.
The government is providing £950 million of investment for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund – the largest investment in the fund to date - to support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of costly B&B and hotels.
Alongside this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will provide the strongest protections in a generation, making sure vulnerable children are identified and supported. We are also introducing a new temporary accommodation notification duty, to inform schools and specified health providers when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, to allow additional or different support to be provided to these children.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how the Department monitors local authority performance in supporting young people facing homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Housing authorities have a duty to assess any eligible applicant who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. They must work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan with actions to be taken by the authority and the applicant to try and prevent or relieve homelessness.
We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reforms to the statutory consultee system on Sport England's ability to represent the interests of grassroots sports clubs during planning applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 119470 on 23 March 2026.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Department plans to undertake a formal review to understand why the rate of young people presenting as homeless has continued to rise.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Housing authorities have a duty to assess any eligible applicant who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. They must work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan with actions to be taken by the authority and the applicant to try and prevent or relieve homelessness.
We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Department is taking to ensure consistency in how local authorities interpret and apply statutory duties to young people presenting as homeless.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Housing authorities have a duty to assess any eligible applicant who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. They must work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan with actions to be taken by the authority and the applicant to try and prevent or relieve homelessness.
We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if the Department will undertake a formal review of how local authorities assess young people who present as homeless under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people.
Housing authorities have a duty to assess any eligible applicant who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. They must work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan with actions to be taken by the authority and the applicant to try and prevent or relieve homelessness.
We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the answer of 20 April 2026 to WPQ 126191, what guidance will be issued to local authorities, including Newcastle-under-Lyme District Borough Council, to ensure the preservation of Green Belts in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme b) Staffordshire and c) England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 94093 on 1 December 2025 and UIN 103333 on 14 January 2026.