Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 3 November (HL11135), whether they will take into consideration the burden that monitoring the proposed pilots of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England will impose on police forces when selecting the local authorities to carry out those pilots.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is exploring ways to make voting in person more efficient, more convenient, and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors.

Local authorities were invited to submit applications to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. We are working with individual local authorities to shape the detail of their flexible voting pilots. We will continue to work with key stakeholders and local authorities throughout development and delivery of the pilots.

We are currently reviewing applications from local authorities wishing to pilot at the May 2026 elections and we will share further details in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 3 November (HL11135), which local authorities have applied to pilot flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England; which voting methods will be piloted; and what criteria will be applied when selecting the local authorities to operate these pilots.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is exploring ways to make voting in person more efficient, more convenient, and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors.

Local authorities were invited to submit applications to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. We are working with individual local authorities to shape the detail of their flexible voting pilots. We will continue to work with key stakeholders and local authorities throughout development and delivery of the pilots.

We are currently reviewing applications from local authorities wishing to pilot at the May 2026 elections and we will share further details in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 3 November (HL11135), which organisations and political parties have been consulted on the election pilots.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is exploring ways to make voting in person more efficient, more convenient, and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors.

Local authorities were invited to submit applications to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England. We are working with individual local authorities to shape the detail of their flexible voting pilots. We will continue to work with key stakeholders and local authorities throughout development and delivery of the pilots.

We are currently reviewing applications from local authorities wishing to pilot at the May 2026 elections and we will share further details in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 3 November (HL11277), whether the gardens of Leaden Hall fall within the description as part of a nationally significant setting to be protected as defined by the National Planning Policy Framework.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As set out in the definition of ‘the setting of a heritage asset’ in the National Planning Policy Framework, its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. It is therefore for the decision maker to decide what the setting of a particular heritage asset is when considering a relevant planning application.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 27 October (HL Deb col 1192), whether the aim to "sort out Hillside" referred to the consequences of the decision of the Supreme Court in Hillside Parks Ltd v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2022] UKSC 30 or the planning status of the hillside location in Aberdyfi; and when they expect the Hillside issue to be resolved.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My remarks to the House set out the Government’s proposed approach to handling the broader implications of the Supreme Court judgement on the use of drop in permissions for the development sector in England, not the specific case in Wales subject to the judgement.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 13 October (HLWS946), whether additional homes already committed to in a local plan will count towards the ministerial commitment to get spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

On 28 September, the government published the New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response.

As set out in their report, the Taskforce have prioritised sites where housing can be delivered quickly to reflect the urgent need for housing and with high quality placemaking standards. New towns are necessarily long-term projects which should continue to grow over decades to come, but government is determined to begin work as soon as possible, with spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

The government takes on board the Taskforce’s recommendations to consider the interaction between new towns and housing targets ahead of its fuller response. We want to ensure that the right incentives are in place to support proactive local authorities to work with us to bring new towns forward.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 13 October (HLWS946), for each identified new town, how many of the additional homes identified are already committed to in a local plan.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

On 28 September, the government published the New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response.

As set out in their report, the Taskforce have prioritised sites where housing can be delivered quickly to reflect the urgent need for housing and with high quality placemaking standards. New towns are necessarily long-term projects which should continue to grow over decades to come, but government is determined to begin work as soon as possible, with spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

The government takes on board the Taskforce’s recommendations to consider the interaction between new towns and housing targets ahead of its fuller response. We want to ensure that the right incentives are in place to support proactive local authorities to work with us to bring new towns forward.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 13 October (HLWS946), what evidential basis or metric will be used to determine when a new town has spades in the ground.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

On 28 September, the government published the New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response.

As set out in their report, the Taskforce have prioritised sites where housing can be delivered quickly to reflect the urgent need for housing and with high quality placemaking standards. New towns are necessarily long-term projects which should continue to grow over decades to come, but government is determined to begin work as soon as possible, with spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

The government takes on board the Taskforce’s recommendations to consider the interaction between new towns and housing targets ahead of its fuller response. We want to ensure that the right incentives are in place to support proactive local authorities to work with us to bring new towns forward.

Found: appropriate persons before making the regulations and the subsequent changes to them.10 9 Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Found: Letter dated 31/10/2025 from Baroness Taylor of Stevenage to Lord Ravensdale regarding the importance

Found: Letter dated 31/10/2025 from Baroness Taylor of Stevenage to Lord Ravensdale regarding the importance

Found: Rebecca Evans MS also held bilateral meetings with:  Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, UK Parliamentary