Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of local government reorganisation on the ability of councils to support young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The reorganisation programme is designed to support stronger, more joined up local services. By bringing services such as employment support, education, youth services, children’s social care, and housing together within a single council, councils are better able to coordinate services and identify need early to improve outcomes for young people.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
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 plans to issue guidance to local planning authorities on maintaining mobile connectivity where redevelopment affects existing telecommunications infrastructure.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 124803 on 20 April 2026.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
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 plans to amend Part 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 to ensure that ecology surveys have to be completed on land prior to any temporary permitted development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has no such plans.
The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 comparative effectiveness of insured and custodial tenancy deposit schemes in ensuring that tenants' deposits are fully protected and landlords remain compliant with statutory requirements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with stakeholders to discuss the operation and efficacy of the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) system.
This engagement includes gathering information about the difference in service quality between the two types of TDP schemes, and issues that service users may have with these schemes and how they can be addressed.
My Department also receives Key Performance Indicator data from all TDP providers across both types of schemes. Where reporting shows that there are performance issues, we actively escalate matters with the relevant scheme and require them to take corrective action if necessary.
Tenant representative groups consistently report low awareness of the difference between custodial and insured schemes. Under the insured model, tenants who dispute a landlord’s deduction can feel pressured to accept a deduction, rather than pursue Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Where ADR is used, feedback from tenant representative groups report that it operates effectively and the impartial service provided by TDP providers is valued.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 undertaken analysis of user experience differences between insured and custodial tenancy deposit schemes, including on (a) awareness of dispute rights and (b) ease of navigating end-of-tenancy processes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with stakeholders to discuss the operation and efficacy of the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) system.
This engagement includes gathering information about the difference in service quality between the two types of TDP schemes, and issues that service users may have with these schemes and how they can be addressed.
My Department also receives Key Performance Indicator data from all TDP providers across both types of schemes. Where reporting shows that there are performance issues, we actively escalate matters with the relevant scheme and require them to take corrective action if necessary.
Tenant representative groups consistently report low awareness of the difference between custodial and insured schemes. Under the insured model, tenants who dispute a landlord’s deduction can feel pressured to accept a deduction, rather than pursue Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Where ADR is used, feedback from tenant representative groups report that it operates effectively and the impartial service provided by TDP providers is valued.
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, what the budget is for local election pilot schemes in the May 2027 local elections; and whether a prospectus will be published on gov.uk.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not yet confirmed whether local election pilot schemes will take place at the May 2027 local elections. We very much welcome the positive feedback we have had from local authorities and communities on the 2026 pilots, and are also keen to consider the findings of the formal evaluation currently in progress.
Details regarding funding and communications for potential future pilots will be made available in due course.
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, what proportion of (a) remediation applications and (b) new build applications are rejected by the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator publishes Gateway 2 building control data on a monthly basis which can be found here.
At Gateway 2 the Building Safety Regulator rejected 10% of validated new build applications and 21% of validated remediation applications over the 12-week reporting period to 30th May 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
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 adequacy of planning guidance in accounting for the potential presence of undocumented military remains where local authority records are known to be incomplete.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no specific assessment of the adequacy of planning guidance in accounting for the potential presence of undocumented military remains where local authority records are known to be incomplete.
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning authorities (LPAs) should require developers to undertake appropriate assessments where a development site includes, or has the potential to include, heritage assets with archaeological interest.
LPAs should also maintain, or have access to, a historic environment record containing up-to-date evidence about the historic environment in their area. This should be used to predict the likelihood that currently unidentified heritage assets, particularly sites of historic and archaeological interest, will be discovered in the future.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that environmental assessments are undertaken at an early stage in the planning process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Environmental assessments are an iterative process undertaken throughout the planning process.
The initial screening process determines whether an Environmental Impact Assessment is required to ensure that decision-makers can take account of any likely significant effects on the environment.
This process runs alongside assessment under the Habitats Regulations which ensures potential impacts on protected sites are considered at an early stage, with competent authorities required to ascertain that plans or projects will not adversely affect the integrity of those sites before permission can be granted.
As the government progresses with developing Environmental Outcomes Reports, we will ensure the value and rigour of environmental assessment is retained, while securing better environmental outcomes.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
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 potential impact of high service charges and low resale prices of inherited retirement flats on people living in those flats.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 4726 on 8 June 2026.