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 planning policy and guidance he has issued in relation to planning applications to convert a single dwelling into a House of Multiple Occupation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010 introduced a new Use Class, Class C4 (houses in multiple occupation). This covers use of a dwellinghouse by not more than six residents as a house in multiple occupation within the meaning of section 254 of the Housing Act 2004, excluding converted blocks of flats to which section 257 of that Act applies.
Houses in multiple occupation are not explicitly referenced in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published in December 2024.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new NPPF. The consultation on the revised framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals for a more flexible Article 4 policy so local planning authorities can remove permitted development rights where it is necessary to protect the amenity or wellbeing of an area, for instance where there is an overconcentration of small Houses in Multiple Occupation. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
The government has published no specific guidance in respect of planning applications to convert single dwellings into houses in multiple occupation.
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 the answer of 24 April 2026 to Question 124786 on Affordable Housing: Greater London, whether there have been cases where (a) Homes England and (b) GLA schemes have not proceeded and the grant has been recouped.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department is aware of occasions where affordable housing schemes have been unable to proceed and where, as a result, Homes England has made use of clauses set out in the relevant grant agreement to reclaim grant that has already been paid and reinvest it back into affordable housing.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) also operates grant recovery arrangements for schemes funded through its Affordable Homes Programme. Where a funded scheme does not proceed, or where other circumstances arise that trigger recovery under the terms of the funding agreement, the GLA may recover grant and reinvest those funds in the delivery of affordable housing. The GLA's Affordable Housing Capital Funding Guide, which can be found here, contains specific rules set out regarding grant recovery where schemes cannot proceed.
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 comparative assessment his Department has made of shared ownership residents’ liability for building safety and cladding costs with the liability of the underlying owner of the shared equity lending for such costs.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such specific comparative assessment.
No costs for cladding remediation are payable by shared owners of leases which qualify for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022.
Any contributions towards non-cladding remediation costs are capped according to the size of the share of the property owned on 14 February 2022, irrespective of whether that share is later increased through staircasing, including up to 100%.
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 his Department holds information on which local housing authorities have introduced housing allocations policies on requiring (a) a local connection and (b) British citizenship.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local housing authorities cannot discriminate on the basis of nationality so none will have allocations policies that include a requirement for British citizenship.
People whose immigration status means they have no recourse to public funds are not eligible for an allocation of social housing. Local housing authority allocations policies will reflect this.
Information on which local housing authorities have introduced local connection requirements (and if they exempt members of the UK armed forces community, victims of domestic abuse and care leavers) can be found at section C of the Local Authority Housing Statistics dataset, published 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, pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2026, to Question 9006, on MHCLG: Labour Housing Group, whether the Minister of State for Housing and Planning has discussed official departmental business with the Labour Housing Group at those events.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At the events in question, I gave a general overview of the government’s approach to housing and planning. No other departmental business was discussed.
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 consultation outcome, Home buying and selling reform roadmap, updated 19 June 2026, whether HMRC Valuation Office will have access to the digitised property data and sales packs.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The roadmap in question commits the government to supporting the secure sharing of trusted property data and the wider use of digital logbooks and sales packs.
Detailed implementation arrangements, including how organisations may access digitised property data and sales packs, will be confirmed as the measures are developed.
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 17 June 2026 to Question 8092 on Bakerloo line: Housing, whether his Department has had discussions with the Mayor of London on the proposed Bakerloo line extension.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government continues to engage with the Greater London Authority on a range of transport and infrastructure matters.
The Bakerloo Line Extension has featured in wider discussions between the government and the Greater London Authority on the Mayor’s infrastructure priorities.
The government remains committed to working collaboratively with the Mayor and other partners to support sustainable growth and infrastructure delivery across the capital.
As transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and Transport for London, it is for them to make decisions on the merits of investment including any upgrade to the Bakerloo Line.
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 any special advisers have left his Department since July 2024 for (a) misconduct and (b) breaches of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
They have not.
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 the answer of 2 March 2026, to Question 113737, on Council Tax: City of Westminster and Wandsworth, what assessment his Department has made of the financial viability of the six councils if they do not increase council tax by the assumed 5% + £150 on Band D in each of the next two financial years.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government does not intend to set referendum principles for six authorities in 2027-28 and 2028-29 including City of Westminster and Wandsworth. Within our modelling, we made an assumption that these authorities increase their council tax by 5% plus an additional £150 in each of 2027-28 and 2028-29 for the purposes of calculating their funding floor allocations in these years. Decisions on council tax levels in these areas remain a matter for the individual local authorities.
The Local Government Finance Settlement ensured these councils were funded according to their needs, taking into account their ability to raise council tax, assuming 5% plus £150 in each of 2027-28 and 2028-29. We monitor the financial health of councils on a regular basis using a range of data as well as through extensive direct engagement. While councils are responsible for their own financial management, any council that has concerns about its ability to set or maintain a balanced budget should approach the department in the first instance where we will treat all discussions in confidence.
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, further to the press release, Seven new towns proposed to kickstart housebuilding push, of 22 March 2026, how much central government funding will be provided to (a) Adlington, (b) Heyford Park, (c) Marlcombe, (d) Plymouth, (e) South Barking and (f) Wychavon Town to support their housing and regeneration schemes; and what proportion of the Plymouth scheme will be funded via the Defence budget.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question 6376 on 12 June 2026.