Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of mould and damp in council-owned housing in England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 37561 on 19 March 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 improve accountability for councils not resolving mould and damp complaints from tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 113896 on 2 March 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 licences granted for Houses of Multiple Occupancy do not adversely impact community cohesion.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 110684 on 11 February 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support his Department is able to provide the conveyancing sector to digitise the property transaction process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103007 on 13 January 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 is taking any steps to assist the digitisation of the conveyancing process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103007 on 13 January 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what conditions are attached to the Exceptional Financial Support granted to councils in 2026; and whether those conditions include requirements for (a) asset disposals, (b) service reductions and (c) workforce restructuring.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system.
On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. Full details of all support agreed under the Exceptional Financial Support process since 2020-21 are available on GOV.UK. As a requirement of support, the government will be seeking additional external assurance on all of these councils to support local improvement as well as provide an assessment on the actions each council is taking locally to manage its position.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have applied for Exceptional Financial Support in each financial year since 2020; and what the total value of support approved has been in each year.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system.
On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. Full details of all support agreed under the Exceptional Financial Support process since 2020-21 are available on GOV.UK. As a requirement of support, the government will be seeking additional external assurance on all of these councils to support local improvement as well as provide an assessment on the actions each council is taking locally to manage its position.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to publish proposals for a long-term funding settlement for adult social care during this Parliament.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-27 to 2028-29 sets out multi-year
settlements for local authorities, including upper tier authorities that have social care responsibilities. As part of this, the government have set out the funding available to local authorities for adult social care over three years, with around £4.6 billion of additional funding being made available for adult social care in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26.
Alongside a document setting out priority outcomes and expectations for local authorities’ delivery of adult social care from 2026-27, the Department of Health and Social Care has published local authority level notional allocations for adult social care to facilitate local authority budget setting and plans to progress the delivery of adult social care priorities. Notional allocations are not formal spend expectations but will instead act as a reference point to support local authorities in budget-setting. These will be reviewed annually to reflect new data and any wider changes in local government funding.
The provisional Local Government Settlement consultation has closed and the government will publish the final details in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 directors being on the boards of housing developers and building management companies simultaneously on conflicts of interest.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Companies Act 2006 sets out the rules around conflicts of interests for the directors of boards.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 ability of vulnerable groups to access planning consultations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under the Equality Act 2010, all public bodies have a Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) to have due regard to certain equality considerations when exercising their functions, this includes public engagements such as planning consultations.
Planning consultations are carried out through a range of methods and local planning authorities are required to publish these on their website. Public authorities must make their website accessible and publish and keep updated an accessibility statement on their website.
The duty should always be applied in a proportionate way depending on the circumstances of the case and the seriousness of the potential equality impact.