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, what assessment has his Department made of the potential impact of local government reorganisation on future recruitment and retention of Trading Standards Officers.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Trading standards is a statutory local authority function, and councils are responsible for ensuring they are able to discharge their duties. During local government reorganisation, the expectation is staff employed by existing local authorities, such as Trading Standards Officers, will transfer to a new unitary council set up for the area.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding is available to leaseholders for cladding remediation works on buildings under 11 metres in height.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Funding is not currently available for buildings under 11 metres in height. However, the Department announced targeted funding for multi-occupied residential buildings under 11 metres in the Remediation Acceleration Plan update. This funding will be available in exceptional cases, where there are life-critical fire safety risks from cladding and no alternative route to funding.
Additional details about funding for exceptional cladding remediation in buildings below 11 metres in England will be shared by the Department in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for each of the past five years, what proportion of households refused a homelessness duty were (a) UK nationals, (b) EU nationals and (c) non‑EU nationals, and what proportion were refused due to immigration‑related ineligibility.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government publishes quarterly data on the number of households refused a homelessness duty, which you can access in Table A1 of the quarterly and annual statutory homelessness data published on gov.uk here. This data does not include the reason why a household was refused a duty.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Future Homes Standard will require new homes to be built with solar panels installed.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Future Homes Standard (FHS) was published on 24 March 2026.
The Future Homes Standard will require new homes to achieve very low carbon emissions and high levels of energy efficiency. Although the FHS is performance based, and does not mandate specific technologies, we expect that in most cases, the requirements will be met through the installation of rooftop solar panels, subject to practical constraints such as site conditions. We expect the majority of new homes to include solar, helping to save families hundreds of pounds a year, while also strengthening energy security by reducing families’ exposure to international gas markets.
Electric vehicle charging points are already required for new residential buildings with parking spaces under existing Building Regulations introduced in 2021, and this requirement will continue to apply.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 building regulations in ensuring the quality, efficiency, and resilience of installed heat network systems.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Regulations set performance requirements for buildings, including buildings connected to heat networks, but they are not responsible for regulating the detailed design or operation of heat network systems themselves. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is also consulting on mandatory technical standards for heat networks, that include proposals to ensure new and existing heat networks are designed, built, and operated to a standard, that will deliver good outcomes for consumers.
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, if he will publish all substantive communications made to the court by the Government in the context of the legal challenge on the cancellation of the May 2026 local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Correspondence with the court has been routine and administrative; there are therefore no substantive communications to publish.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 merits of mandating technologies such as solar panels or electric vehicle chargers in the Future Homes Standard.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Future Homes Standard (FHS) was published on 24 March 2026.
The Future Homes Standard will require new homes to achieve very low carbon emissions and high levels of energy efficiency. Although the FHS is performance based, and does not mandate specific technologies, we expect that in most cases, the requirements will be met through the installation of rooftop solar panels, subject to practical constraints such as site conditions. We expect the majority of new homes to include solar, helping to save families hundreds of pounds a year, while also strengthening energy security by reducing families’ exposure to international gas markets.
Electric vehicle charging points are already required for new residential buildings with parking spaces under existing Building Regulations introduced in 2021, and this requirement will continue to apply.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 include solar panels as a default requirement in the Future Homes Standard.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Future Homes Standard (FHS) was published on 24 March 2026.
The Future Homes Standard will require new homes to achieve very low carbon emissions and high levels of energy efficiency. Although the FHS is performance based, and does not mandate specific technologies, we expect that in most cases, the requirements will be met through the installation of rooftop solar panels, subject to practical constraints such as site conditions. We expect the majority of new homes to include solar, helping to save families hundreds of pounds a year, while also strengthening energy security by reducing families’ exposure to international gas markets.
Electric vehicle charging points are already required for new residential buildings with parking spaces under existing Building Regulations introduced in 2021, and this requirement will continue to apply.
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 9 March 2026, to Question 116479, on Elections: Proof of Identity, whether the cash withdrawal cards that will be accepted as identification will include reloadable, non-bank-account-linked payment cards.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 121736 on 27 March 2026.
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 guidance has been given on whether overseas broadcasts to influence elections in the United Kingdom are permitted.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Since March 2025, the Foreign Interference Offence has been a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, requiring platforms to put in place proportionate systems and processes designed to prevent users from encountering content that amounts to the Foreign Interference Offence, minimise the length of time it is on their service and remove any illegal content on user-to-user services where they become aware of it.
Ofcom has published its Codes of Practice which outline guidance on how platforms can comply with these duties. Platforms have already been required to assess the risk of illegal content (including foreign interference) on their services against this guidance.
Ofcom has robust enforcement powers to enforce compliance with the illegal safety duties, with providers being required to implement the safety measures set out in the Codes or use other effective measures to protect users from illegal content and activity.