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 23 March 2026, to Question 120664, on Travellers: Caravan sites, how the changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on traveller sites are a material consideration in the application for a possession order in relation to land that the travellers do not own but are residing on without the landowner’s permission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals to incorporate policies relating to traveller sites, currently set out in Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, within relevant chapters of the draft NPPF.
The consultation also included a proposed policy on retrospective planning applications and unauthorised development which sets out that if it is concluded, based on evidence, that the unauthorised development was intentional, that fact should be given substantial weight in considering whether to grant planning permission.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response 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, with reference to his department's press release of 22 March 2026 entitled Seven new towns proposed to kickstart housebuilding push, whether the (a) chair of the National Housing Bank and (b) four interim advisers are (i) civil servants, (ii) regulated public appointments, (iii) special advisers or (iv) direct ministerial appointments; what their remuneration is; and whether they have made declarations of political activity.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The role of National Housing Bank Chair is not a civil servant, regulated public appointment, special adviser, or a direct ministerial appointment.
The Chair is a non-executive director on the Board of Homes England and was appointed by that Agency, with the approval of the Secretary of State through a regulated public appointment.
The Chair’s remuneration is currently £60,000 per annum inclusive of their role on both the Board of Homes England and the National Housing Bank.
A declaration of interest was made by the Chair during their appointment to the Homes England Board. No declarations of political activity have been made.
The four interim advisers supporting the New Towns programme are independent advisers, engaged on a time limited basis through the Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) framework to provide specialist advice, challenge, and engagement support to the programme.
The roles are not civil servants, regulated public appointments, special advisers, or direct ministerial appointments.
The advisers are remunerated at a rate of £135 per hour and have been appointed for a fixed period of up to nine months.
As these advisers are not regulated public appointees or special advisers, they are not required to make formal declarations of political activity, and therefore such declarations are not held by the Department.
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 4 March 2026 to Question 115420 on Affordable Housing: Housing Starts, what assessment his Department has made of the number of (a) affordable and (b) non-affordable homes starts that have been de-applied as starts in revisions since July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In June 2025, Homes England revised their figures for starts and completions from 2022-23 and 2023-24. Minor corrections have also been made to starts data published in November 2024 due to processing errors affecting First Homes units for 2023-24 provided via LAHS.
Details of the revisions made each year to the publication are available in the technical note corresponding to that year’s publication. Revisions made in 2024/25 are available on gov.uk here and revisions made in 2023/24 are available on gov.uk here.
Housing Supply: Indicators of new supply statistical releases always reflect the latest available data provided to my Department. All revisions are made in accordance with the policy for scheduled revisions as set out in Section 5 of its technical notes, which are available on gov.uk here.
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, whether an Environmental Principles Assessment was produced for the Revised Planning Practice Guidance published in December 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44485 on 22 April 2025.
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 14 January 2026, to Question 103288, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Pakistan, and further to Deposited Paper DEP2026-0218, committed on 27 February 2026, what was discussed in the six meetings with the Government of Pakistan; and how this related to departmental responsibilities.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rt Hon Member, as a former Foreign Secretary, will know that it is the long-standing practice of successive governments not to comment on private diplomatic meetings.
Paragraph 16 of the Guidance on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance), sets out the types of external engagement that would not automatically be classed as meetings, including events such as conventions and conferences.
The former Minister has, however, requested that his transparency return has been updated to include the meeting with UNHCR.
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 3 February 2026, to Question 108220, on Affordable Housing: Greater London, whether any other assessment has been made of affordable housing starts in London which have then not been built, despite being registered as started.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Affordable Housing Supply statistical release that my Department publishes is produced using a number of different sources. These include data from local authorities, Homes England and the Greater London Authority (GLA).
The GLA and Homes England provide information in respect of individual developments, but this is only at the point they start or complete. As such, the data my Department publishes does not distinguish between developments where construction has started and is ongoing and developments where construction has started but has stalled or been abandoned.
The GLA expect all schemes will continue to proceed. In instances where that does not prove possible, they will ensure that all grant is recouped and reinvested in social and affordable housing.
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 3 February 2026, to Question 108220, on Affordable Housing: Greater London, whether affordable housing starts in London are tracked from start on site to competition, to ascertain that they are (a) actually delivered and (b) not stalled.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Affordable Housing Supply statistical release that my Department publishes is produced using a number of different sources. These include data from local authorities, Homes England and the Greater London Authority (GLA).
The GLA and Homes England provide information in respect of individual developments, but this is only at the point they start or complete. As such, the data my Department publishes does not distinguish between developments where construction has started and is ongoing and developments where construction has started but has stalled or been abandoned.
The GLA expect all schemes will continue to proceed. In instances where that does not prove possible, they will ensure that all grant is recouped and reinvested in social and affordable housing.
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 14 January 2026, to Question 103288, and further to Deposited Paper DEP2026-0218, committed on 27 February 2026, for what reason the (a) Overseas Pakistanis Convention and (b) external meeting with UNHCR was not listed in the quarterly transparency return of the Minister of meetings with external organisations.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rt Hon Member, as a former Foreign Secretary, will know that it is the long-standing practice of successive governments not to comment on private diplomatic meetings.
Paragraph 16 of the Guidance on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance), sets out the types of external engagement that would not automatically be classed as meetings, including events such as conventions and conferences.
The former Minister has, however, requested that his transparency return has been updated to include the meeting with UNHCR.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 38 of the policy paper entitled Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, published on 9 March 2026, what mechanism will be used to connect local and national networks.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office Disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, will be expanded with additional resource to disrupt extremist networks at a national and local level. We will be refreshing our reporting mechanisms that will allow local partners to refer their concerns directly to us.
The Government’s focus is to use existing mechanisms to analyse, prevent and disrupt the spread of high-harm extremist ideologies that can lead to community division and to radicalisation into terrorism, particularly those that radicalise others but deliberately operate below CT thresholds.
There are a wide range of offences and powers that can be used to counter the threat from extremism and we are working to maximise their use. These include powers to regulate charities; broadcasting and education; immigration powers; and offences such as encouragement of terrorism and public order offences.
The Home Office works with a range of national and local partners to deliver this work, ensuring timely sharing of information so where there is evidence of purposeful actions that are potentially radicalising others into terrorism or violence, proportionate disruptive action can be considered.
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, whether local billing authorities will be compensated for the cost of the new 15% pub relief if they grant the pub relief to the (a) business rate supplements levied by the Mayor of London and (b) business improvement district levies on business rates over and above the main business rate liability.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department will publish the cost of compensating local authorities for the relief as part of the 2026-27 NNDR3 outturn data reconciliation, following the end of the 2026-27 financial year.
Local authorities will be fully compensated for the loss of income associated with granting the pubs and live music venues relief they award against the main business rates liability.
The Greater London Authority is not reimbursed for the lost revenue arising from government funded discretionary reliefs awarded under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, such as the 15% Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief, when this relief is applied to a Business Rates Supplement (BRS). While these reliefs are applied on a parallel basis to reliefs on Non-Domestic Rates, the Greater London Authority bears the entire cost in respect of the resulting reduction in BRS revenues.
Business Improvement District (BID) levies are established under separate legislation from the business rates system and are payable in addition to non-domestic rates.
Business rates reliefs granted under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, such as the Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief, apply only to a ratepayer’s liability for non-domestic rates and do not apply to BID levies. These reliefs therefore reduce a ratepayer’s liability to non-domestic rates only. Individual BIDs may allow for a reduction in a levy in line with their own schemes but this is a matter for individual BIDs to determine.
Where a billing authority grants discretionary business rates reliefs (including reliefs under section 47 of the 1988 Act), the authority is compensated for the resulting loss of non-domestic rates income via grant paid under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. This compensation relates solely to reductions in non-domestic rates liability and does not extend to BID levies. Accordingly, there is no provision for central reimbursement in respect of BID levy amounts.