Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has issued guidance on the use of offsite manufacture in house building.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Building regulations apply equally to homes built using modern methods of construction as those built using traditional methods. Developers are responsible for complying with the functional requirements of the building regulations, which are set out in legislation and the Approved Documents.
We are working with the British Standards Institution to create a Publicly Available Specification for modern methods of construction new build residential properties, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to support councils in London with temporary accommodation pressures.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high, and we are taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.
This Government has inherited record levels of temporary accommodation, and we recognise the pressure this has put on councils. The government regularly takes a wide range of evidence into account when determining the overall level of funding available for local government services, including expected temporary accommodation pressures in 202/26. The majority of funding provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement is un-ringfenced in recognition that local councils are best placed to understand the needs of their communities. The Government has confirmed there will be over £5 billion additional government grant funding available for local government services in 2025/26, over and above increases to council tax. Of this, over £2 billion is being made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26.
The Government is clear that, in the short-term, we must prioritise eliminating the worst forms of temporary accommodation such as families in Bed and Breakfast (B&B), other than in genuine emergencies. We have also launched Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £8 million, to work with 20 local councils with the highest use of B&B accommodation for homeless families, including 11 London Boroughs. This will support LAs to move families into more suitable accommodation.
In addition, the £1.25 billion Local Authority Housing Fund will provide capital funding directly to English councils and is expected to around 7,700 homes by 2026. It will create a lasting asset for UK nationals by building a sustainable stock of affordable housing and better-quality temporary accommodation for local communities.
Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring that both staircases in new residential buildings over 18 metres function as fire-fighting staircases.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the UK government took significant steps to enhance fire safety in new residential buildings including increased provisions of sprinkler systems, and the ban on combustible materials in external walls.
Following engagement with the sector including fire and rescue services, developers and designers, the government proposed to introduce new guidance making provisions for a second staircases in new residential buildings exceeding 18 metres in height. This new guidance takes effect on 30 September 2026.
The current guidance, Approved Document B (Fire Safety), is already clear that residential buildings with a floor area of 900sqm should include a minimum of two firefighting stairs. For buildings below this threshold where a second stair is provided, the second staircases should be, as a minimum, a protected escape stair able to provide an effective means of egress for occupants.
Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the quality of new residential units that were converted from commercial buildings through permitted development rights.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government acknowledge the concerns that exist about the quality of residential units created through permitted development rights, particularly office-to-residential conversions. We will continue to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
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 (a) landlords and (b) management companies are held accountable for safety defects in leasehold properties.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Regulators – local authorities, fire and rescue authorities and the Building Safety Regulator – have powers to compel landlords and other responsible persons to remediate their unsafe buildings. Where necessary, regulators have powers to prosecute those who are failing to fulfil their duties.
The Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) published this week (2 December) sets out key measures to fix buildings faster, identify remaining buildings still at risk and ensure that residents are supported through the remediation process. We are increasing funding to ensure that local regulators have the capacity to drive remediation where responsible parties fail to undertake the work quickly. A further £30 million investment in 25/26 will provide capacity for regulators to tackle hundreds of enforcement cases a year, targeting those failing to remediate their buildings.
The Government has published new guidance for regulators on the enforcement of remediation work. The guidance establishes key principles for remediation enforcement, such as the designation of a lead regulator at each building. This reduces ambiguity and allows regulators to work together and drive remediation effectively.
For landlords, the message is clear: time is running out to do the right thing. Those who fail to fix their buildings can expect swift and robust enforcement action from regulators with the full support of government behind them.
Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on increasing the number of social housing available in Dagenham and Rainham constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.