Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will undertake a review of (a) current levels of on-call firefighters and (b) the challenges faced by fire and rescue services to recruit on-call firefighters.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and Rescue Authorities are responsible for resourcing their services.
To support the future of the on-call system, the Government funded the National Fire Chiefs Council to undertake detailed research into the sustainability of the retained duty system. This work- the National On-Call Research Study was published in November 2025 and has been shared with Fire and Rescue Authorities to inform future planning, improvement activity, and local workforce strategies.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what routes are available for local housing authorities and homelessness providers outside of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities to apply for funding through the Social Housing and Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All registered providers of social housing, including local housing authorities, are eligible to apply for funding from the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, from Homes England outside London, or the GLA within London. This is true both in areas with an Established Mayoral Strategic Authority and those without.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with [i] Local Councils and [ii] third party charities and advice organisations to understand the potential challenges faced with [a] supporting people with council tax debts and [b] using bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has recently consulted on the administration of council tax, including its collection and enforcement. As part of this consultation, my officials held direct engagement sessions with local councils and the debt advice sector on these issues. The government is currently considering all responses to the consultation and will publish its response in due course.
Separately, the Ministry of Justice has consulted on proposals to introduce independent statutory regulation of the enforcement sector. The government will publish its response to that consultation in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has with supported accommodation providers on the (a) role and (b) needs of those providers in the development of local homelessness strategies.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Homelessness Code of Guidance sets out that housing authorities will need work with partners when drafting their homelessness strategies and have regard for supported housing provision to help prevent and resolve homelessness for people with support needs. You can read the Code of Guidance on gov.uk here.
I regularly meet with stakeholders, including supported housing providers and representatives, to discuss a broad range of homelessness policy issues.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had ahead of the Autumn Budget 2025 with supported accommodation providers on sustainable levels of funding support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government values the vital role played by supported housing in helping older, disabled and other vulnerable people to live independently and well, and the contribution it makes to wider government objectives, including tackling rough sleeping and homelessness. I have been fully briefed on the challenges facing the supported housing sector and, together with my officials, I am committed to working together with the sector on the issues.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 encourage the (a) development of sporting facilities and (b) maintenance of playing fields through National Planning Policy Guidance.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that access to high-quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and physical activity is important for the health and well-being of communities.
The Framework sets out that planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities and opportunities for new provision, which plans should then seek to accommodate.
It also includes strong protections for existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields, setting out that they should not be built on unless they are no longer needed, equivalent or better alternatives are provided, or the development is for alternative sports or recreational provision which offers greater benefits.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the statutory role of Sports England consultee in planning decisions on the (a) development of sporting facilities and (b) maintenance of playing fields.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to reviewing the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), we intend to consult on removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including Sports England. We also intend to review the range and type of planning applications on which statutory consultees are required to be consulted and consider whether some types of application could be removed, or addressed by alternative means of engagement and provision of expert advice. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 local government reorganisation in Leicestershire on local service provision.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local Government Reorganisation creates a huge opportunity to establish modern, responsive public services for citizens.
We have asked all councils to tell us how their proposals for unitarisation will improve service provision, and to ensure high standards are maintained during the transition
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 for ensuring that (a) district and (b) parish councils provide allotments in response to public demand.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under the Small Holdings and Allotment Act 1908, local authorities have a duty to provide allotments if there is sufficient demand. The responsibility for the running, management, and organisation of these allotments also falls on the local authority. A local authority, when faced with sufficient demand, must acquire suitable land, freehold or leasehold by agreement or, if necessary, by compulsion. At present, we have made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Act to ensure demand is met by district and parish councils.
We are content with effectiveness of the clearly defined legal process to protect allotments as outlined under the Allotments Act 1925. The National Allotment Society stated that the eight approvals quoted in parliament from July 2024 to July 2025 represented a slight decrease in allotment disposals in recent years, and that it had not challenged any of the applications as they had all met the legal threshold with either low take-up of plots or alternative allotment space provided elsewhere.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Allotment Act 1925 for protecting allotments from being sold by local authorities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under the Small Holdings and Allotment Act 1908, local authorities have a duty to provide allotments if there is sufficient demand. The responsibility for the running, management, and organisation of these allotments also falls on the local authority. A local authority, when faced with sufficient demand, must acquire suitable land, freehold or leasehold by agreement or, if necessary, by compulsion. At present, we have made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Act to ensure demand is met by district and parish councils.
We are content with effectiveness of the clearly defined legal process to protect allotments as outlined under the Allotments Act 1925. The National Allotment Society stated that the eight approvals quoted in parliament from July 2024 to July 2025 represented a slight decrease in allotment disposals in recent years, and that it had not challenged any of the applications as they had all met the legal threshold with either low take-up of plots or alternative allotment space provided elsewhere.