Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on arrangements for sharing intelligence between police forces, local authorities and relevant regulators concerning criminal exploitation associated with supported exempt accommodation.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is working with policing and other partners to strengthen the way data is used through improved integration, common standards and clearer national parameters and guidance, while retaining appropriate local decision making and safeguards.
The Government is strengthening the response to the criminal exploitation of vulnerable people in their homes through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which creates a bespoke offence of cuckooing. This makes it an offence to exercise control over another person’s dwelling without their consent for the purpose of enabling the dwelling to be used in connection with the commission of specified criminal activity.
Effective identification and disruption of cuckooing relies on close partnership working between police, local authorities and safeguarding partners, both to share relevant information lawfully and to ensure vulnerable victims are identified and supported.
The government is also implementing the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act to raise standards and drive out the minority of poor providers taking advantage of the Housing Benefit system whilst providing little or no support to residents. On 15 October the government took the next step in implementing the Act by publishing a consultation on draft regulations, which will close on 10 December. The licensing regulations will be laid early next year following the analysis and consideration of consultation responses. We expect licensing to be fully implemented in 2027/28.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of concentrations of houses in multiple occupation and supported exempt accommodation on the number of incidents of serious crime in the West Midlands; and what guidance her Department provides to police forces on identifying and addressing associated risks.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office works closely with policing partners to understand and address the drivers of serious violence, including through programmes such as the Knife Crime Concentrations Fund (KCCF), which supports a targeted, data-led approach to tackling violence in the areas most affected. In addition, the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance for policing (owned by the College of Policing), recognises living conditions such as HMOs as potential indicators of exploitation.
The Department has not, however, undertaken analysis or made a specific assessment of the impact of concentrations of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) or supported exempt accommodation on the number of incidents of serious crime in the West Midlands. Nor does it provide specific guidance to police forces on houses in multiple occupancy and supported exempt accommodation.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for evidence submitted to Digital Forensics Units to be processed; how many cases are currently awaiting processing; and how many criminal cases have been delayed as a result of backlogs.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold the information requested, but we recognise that digital forensic backlogs remain a significant challenge. Increasing numbers of seized devices, growing data volumes, rapid technological change and workforce pressures can contribute to delays in digital examinations. Police reform will enable the creation of national governance in the National Police Service, which will provide a national service to policing and ultimately benefit victims and the criminal justice. We have appointed a dedicated Director of Forensic Services to lead this transformation.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to use the data held by central and local government agencies to identify individuals entitled to the means-tested Pension Credit and to ensure those individuals entitled to Pension Credit receive it.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is making better use of data to reach potentially eligible households. For example, since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit. The Department also shares extensive data with local authorities for a variety of purposes. Local authorities are allowed to re-use that data under the terms of a data sharing Memorandum of Understanding, to help identify people eligible for Pension Credit – subject to them notifying the Department of their intent and the appropriate legal considerations. This data reuse process can be used to help identify people eligible for Pension Credit.
Maximising Pension Credit take-up is a key Government priority. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign across Great Britain to encourage pensioners and their families to check their eligibility and make a claim. We are building on this with the launch of our autumn campaign and a Pension Credit week of action from 12 October. The campaign includes new advertising across television, radio, print and social media, supported by media partnerships and social media influencers. We are also distributing some 660,000 leaflets to selected households across Great Britain and we continue to work closely with partners and Local Authorities to help support the campaign.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of public transport connectivity on levels of regional inequality in the West Midlands.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is supporting improvements to public transport connectivity across the West Midlands through the £2.4 billion Transport for City Regions settlement allocated to the West Midlands Combined Authority through to 2031/32.
This devolved funding provides the Combined Authority and the Mayor with the flexibility to determine regional investment priorities, enabling funding to be directed towards projects that support connectivity, economic growth and the reduction of regional inequalities.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the next spending review will include provision for completing the East Birmingham tram extension.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Extensions to the Birmingham Metro are being delivered by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). WMCA has been allocated £2.4 billion of Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding for the period up until 2031/32. This funding settlement is devolved, and it is for the Mayor to determine how this funding is allocated across the city region in line with local transport priorities. Decisions on funding at future Spending Reviews have not been made and will be taken in the usual way.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the availability of capital funding for brownfield housing developments led by housing associations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such specific assessment.
Registered Providers can bid for grant funding for eligible developments through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, including those on brownfield land.
My Department launched the National Housing Delivery Fund (NHDF) on 1 April 2026. The NHDF will provide c.£5 billion of capital grant funding for infrastructure and land from 2026 to 2030. This includes £1.3 billion allocated through the Integrated Settlement for Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities (EMSAs) to support mayors to deliver more housing over the Spending Review period.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
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 brownfield regeneration on community cohesion.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Poolway Centre site in Garretts Green, Birmingham, is eligible for funding under current brownfield regeneration schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has announced £5bn of capital grant funding for infrastructure and land through the National Housing Delivery Fund (NHDF).
£175 million of the NHDF has been allocated to West Midlands Combined Authority through the Integrated Settlement to deliver projects in the region. Eligibility of site in question will be determined by the Combined Authority.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made towards meeting the Government's brownfield-first housing delivery targets in urban areas with high unemployment.
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 91369 on 27 November 2025 and Question UIN 106779 on 27 January 2026. My Department is currently analysing the feedback received to the consultation on the new National Planning Policy Framework and will publish our response in due course.
In December 2024, the government implemented a new standard method for assessing housing needs, that better directs new homes to where they are most needed and least affordable. The new method focusses growth in our city regions – housing need across Mayoral Combined Authority areas increases by over 20% compared to the previous method.
During 2024/25 over 27 hectares of brownfield land were reclaimed on schemes supported by Homes England. Our Brownfield Infrastructure and Land programmes had unlocked capacity for over 51,000 homes by the end of 2024/25. Homes England will be reporting further delivery on brownfield land in its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26 to be published later in July.
The £5 billion National Housing Delivery Fund, launched in April 2026, will be the main funding point for brownfield land, through Homes England and devolved allocations.