Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 plans to review the home-buying and selling process in England and Wales, with the aim of reducing transaction fall-through rates and associated financial losses for buyers and sellers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87197 on 7 November 2025.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the government is taking to cap service and estate management charges paid by residents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to cap service charges or estate management charges given this would prevent necessary funds being raised for legitimate purposes.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the government is taking to abolish leasehold tenures for (a) flats and (b) other properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to consult this year on the best approach to banning new leasehold flats, ensuring this works effectively alongside the robust ban on leasehold houses provided for by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to help tackle the intersectional stigma of place-based ageing.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I recognise that people can face challenges as they age, and so I welcome the University of Stirling Research on the Intersectional Stigma of Place-based Ageing and look forward to seeing it's report in due course.
This research is exploring how interventions such as home and environmental modifications can help people to age well within their homes and communities.
This government recognises how important home adaptations are in enabling older and disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. This is why government has boosted funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which can contribute to the cost of adaptations for eligible people of all ages and tenures, to £711 million for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026.
DFG funding helps adapt over 55,000 homes annually, helping disabled people and their families to live independently and well in their own homes and communities for longer.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce the number of empty retail units and (b) help regenerate high streets in (i) Eastbourne and (ii) other towns.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government is taking several steps to reduce empty retail units and regenerate high streets in Eastbourne and other towns across the country. Eastbourne will benefit from up to £20 million over 10 years through the £1.5 billion Plan for Neighbourhoods programme announced in March, which aims to regenerate local areas, including high streets in deprived areas.
Additionally, the government is tackling vacancy with High Street Rental Auctions, giving local authorities the power to auction rental rights of persistently vacant commercial properties. We are also legislating through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill for a new Community Right to Buy, enabling communities to acquire valued assets. These measures will help revive footfall, boost local economies, and empower communities.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support single parents to secure affordable accommodation suitable for their children following a separation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local housing authorities set their own allocation schemes, governed by a legal framework set by central government. This allows councils to design schemes in a way that best meets local needs.
Local housing authorities may consider a household’s size and needs when allocating housing. They may also take into account the circumstances of a separated parent who needs to accommodate visiting children.
Local housing authorities must publish a summary of their allocation scheme and ensure that advice and information is available free of charge to everyone in their area about the right to apply for an allocation of accommodation.
Applicants have the right to information that will enable them to assess how their application is likely to be treated under the authority’s allocation scheme, including whether they are likely to fall within any of the priority categories and whether accommodation appropriate to their needs is likely to be made available.
Allocation schemes must also be framed so as to give applicants the right to be informed of certain decisions and the right to review certain decisions.
The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. On 2 July, the government set out its plan for kickstarting a decade of social and affordable housing renewal and I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on that day (HCWS771).
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities are transparent with other Councils receiving out-of-area placements.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The legislation and guidance set out that in the first instance, local authorities should try to place individuals within their own area, and when this is not possible, they should place the household as near as possible to the original local authority.
On 11 November 2024 the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to all local authority Chief Executives in England about out-of-area accommodation placements, including temporary accommodation and housing offers to end a homelessness duty. This letter referred to section 208 of the Housing Act 1996, and reminded local authorities that they are required by law to notify the receiving local authority of any out-of-area placement and that this should be happening in every case.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities are meeting their obligation to support (a) individuals and (b) families placed in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
The government has increased funding for homelessness services by £233 million in 2025/26, taking the total to a record £1 billion to prevent increases in the number of individuals and families in temporary accommodation.
As announced at the Spending Review, the government is providing £950 million of investment for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund to increase the supply of good quality accommodation. This follows our programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, which are working with 20 local authorities with some of the highest levels of B&B use, backed by £8 million to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives to provide more suitable accommodation for homeless families.
Temporary accommodation must be suitable in relation to the applicant and to all members of their household who normally reside with them.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether investment in local swimming facilities is accommodated in the pre-approved interventions for the Plan for Neighbourhoods.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The new £1.5 billion Plan for Neighbourhoods will deliver up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade into 75 communities across the UK, laying the foundations to kickstart local growth and drive-up living standards.
We are putting power in the hands of local people to address deprivation and regenerate their local area and unleashing the full potential of places that have for too long been overlooked.
The 75 communities will set up Neighbourhood Boards bringing together residents, businesses, and grassroots campaigners to draw up and implement Plans for how they will spend the up to £20 million of funding, whether that is repairing pavements and high streets, setting up community grocers providing low-cost alternatives when shopping for essentials, or neighbourhood watches to keep people safe.
We have doubled the number of interventions that communities can spend the money on and we are focusing on three long-term aims - building thriving places, strengthening communities and empowering people to taking back control instead of sticking plaster policies. We are giving local people their say by strengthening our consultations to make sure local people have a voice on how the funding is spent.
The pre-approved interventions have been drafted broadly to give flexibility to boards as to how and what they can deliver, providing examples where possible to indicate ideas for spend, but it is not exhaustive. Investment in local swimming facilities would fall under the category of ‘Funding for local sport and activity facilities, events, teams and leagues, to foster community engagement and connection’.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to provide funding for social rented housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In October 2024, the government announced £500 million in new in-year funding for the Affordable Homes Programme. As a result of significant demand from housing providers across the country, that additional funding is already oversubscribed.
In February 2025, the government announced a further allocation of £300 million to the Affordable Homes Programme. This will support the near-term delivery of more social and affordable housing, delivering up to 2,800 new homes with more than half being Social Rent homes.
We have asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding.
At the multi-year Spending Review later this year, the government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.