Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of houses built or under construction since the financial year 2012–13 which had air conditioning.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not estimated the number of houses built which had air conditioning.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many houses granted planning permission in England since the financial year 2012–13 have (1) commenced construction, and (2) been completed.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply. This includes estimates of new homes built in each local authority, in each financial year, to 2024-25 and can be found in Live Table 123 on gov.uk here.
The Department also publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes more timely estimates of new build starts and completions in England, and in each local authority district. Statistics to the quarter ending March 2026 can be found in Live Table 253a on gov.uk here. This dataset cover new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the number of people on waiting lists for social housing in (1) rural, and (2) urban, areas in the last 10 years have increased or declined.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The number of households on local authority housing registers (commonly known as social housing waiting lists) in England, including breakdowns by regions, is available each year since 1987 in live table 600 on gov.uk here.
Using the Office for National Statistics’ 2021 rural-urban classification for the 2024 geography in England, which can be found here, it is possible to present sub-national trends in rural and urban areas.
On 31 March 2025, there were 1,340,527 households on local authorities housing registers in England, a 7% increase compared to 31 March 2015. Of these, 230,200 households were classified as rural and 1,110,327 were classified as urban. These figures represent a 1% and 8% increase compared to 31 March 2025.
The number of households on housing registers (waiting lists) is not the same as the number of households waiting.
Local authorities periodically review their registers to remove households who no longer require housing, so the total number of households on housing registers may overstate the number of households who still require social housing at any one time. Housing register size may also be affected by other factors. For example, there is the potential for some households to be on the housing register of more than one local authority.
The frequency of reviews varies between local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Patten (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 percentage of people living in rural areas in England and working in the farming and agricultural sectors able to buy a home in those areas.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not made a specific assessment of the percentage of people living in rural areas in England and working in farming and the agricultural sectors able to buy a home in those areas.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Statistical Digest of Rural England provides a range of statistics covering rural England, including information on housing affordability in rural areas. This can be found on gov.uk, here.
Asked by: Lord Patten (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 number of affordable homes made available in the last 10 years in (1) urban, and (2) rural, areas in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Published statistics on affordable housing supply in England can be found on gov.uk here.
Using the Office for National Statistics’ 2021 rural-urban classification for the 2024 geography in England, which can be found here, it is possible to present sub-national trends in rural and urban areas.
Between April 2015 and March 2025, there were 542,563 new affordable housing homes delivered in England. These include new build as well as acquisitions of existing stock previously not used for affordable housing.
Of the 542,563 new affordable housing homes, 152,304 were in local authorities classified as rural; 389,724 in local authorities classified as urban and 535 for which there was no local authority information.
Asked by: Lord Patten (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 their ability to create new communities.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to promoting well-designed, healthy and inclusive places through flagship initiatives including the New Towns programme and Pride in Place. This includes the seven proposed new towns which government has recently consulted on, with the ambition of getting spades in the ground in at least three new towns by the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Patten (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 their ability to build beautifully.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to building more high-quality, well-designed, and sustainable homes and places. There is a clear framework through policy and guidance on how to achieve well-designed and beautiful places and the principles of good design are set out in national design guidance, as referenced in the National Planning Policy Framework.
We recently consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and the updated Design and Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance, which will better support local areas to determine what good design means to them and how to deliver this locally. We are currently analysing the feedback received to both and will publish our responses in due course.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the New Towns Draft Programme on 23 March, in what year they expect construction to begin on the site of the first new town.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The identification of potential new towns has been carried out in line with the objectives set out in the draft New Towns Programme consultation. The proposed programme includes a mixture of standalone sites as well as urban extensions, all with the potential for at least 10,000 homes and for infrastructure to be in place at the outset.
The government intends to confirm final locations and adopt the New Towns Programme later this year, once the SEA has concluded and any other necessary environmental assessments are complete (including Habitats Regulations Assessment), alongside a full response to the Taskforce report. This includes responding to the Taskforce recommendations on skills and delivery.
This government is determined to get spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament and the government is prepared to progress work on a far larger range of locations if it proves possible. Collectively, schemes in these locations have the potential to provide hundreds of thousands of new homes in the decades ahead.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the New Towns Draft Programme on 23 March, when they expect their programme of new towns to be completed.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The identification of potential new towns has been carried out in line with the objectives set out in the draft New Towns Programme consultation. The proposed programme includes a mixture of standalone sites as well as urban extensions, all with the potential for at least 10,000 homes and for infrastructure to be in place at the outset.
The government intends to confirm final locations and adopt the New Towns Programme later this year, once the SEA has concluded and any other necessary environmental assessments are complete (including Habitats Regulations Assessment), alongside a full response to the Taskforce report. This includes responding to the Taskforce recommendations on skills and delivery.
This government is determined to get spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament and the government is prepared to progress work on a far larger range of locations if it proves possible. Collectively, schemes in these locations have the potential to provide hundreds of thousands of new homes in the decades ahead.
Asked by: Lord Patten (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 capacity of the construction industry to deliver the New Towns Draft Programme.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The identification of potential new towns has been carried out in line with the objectives set out in the draft New Towns Programme consultation. The proposed programme includes a mixture of standalone sites as well as urban extensions, all with the potential for at least 10,000 homes and for infrastructure to be in place at the outset.
The government intends to confirm final locations and adopt the New Towns Programme later this year, once the SEA has concluded and any other necessary environmental assessments are complete (including Habitats Regulations Assessment), alongside a full response to the Taskforce report. This includes responding to the Taskforce recommendations on skills and delivery.
This government is determined to get spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament and the government is prepared to progress work on a far larger range of locations if it proves possible. Collectively, schemes in these locations have the potential to provide hundreds of thousands of new homes in the decades ahead.