Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of meetings held between Liverpool City Council planning department staff and members of the public and whether such meetings are recorded.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what oversight does the Chief Executive and planning committee members of Liverpool City Council have of complaints and FOI's about the planning department.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of FOI requests that Liverpool City Council have declined to respond to in the last two years relating to the planning department.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data her Department holds on how many FOIs have been submitted to Liverpool City Council specifically related to the planning department in the last two years.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many FOIs were submitted to Liverpool City council relating to the planning department were responded to within the legal time limit in the last two years.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department does not hold this information, but Liverpool City Council will hold this information.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment the government has made of the accessibility of the process of applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Disabled Facilities Grant is administered by local authorities who determine their own application processes in line with their statutory duties.

Government collects Disabled Facilities Grant data from local authorities through a voluntary annual data collection. This includes information on average delivery times at key stages of the grant process. Nearly 97% of councils reported that their average time frame for approving valid applications was within the 6-month legal timeframe. Nearly 98% of councils reported that their average time to complete works was within the 12-month deadline.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the Disabled Facilities Grant application process is accessible and responsive to applicants’ needs. Government guidance encourages local authorities to meet faster best practice timelines and provides information on making the application process accessible and responsive.

The Government continues to work with local authorities and the national body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies, currently Foundations, to support effective delivery of the Disabled Facilities Grant.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the government has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Statutory Maternity Pay to cover essential living costs.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 24 April 2026 to Question UIN 124467.

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 women sleeping rough are identified and included in the Government’s commitment to get everyone in by Christmas.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping. We have announced £442 million new funding to support this ambition, taking total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to over £4 billion.

The Government recognises that women experiencing rough sleeping are often less visible and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse and exploitation. Local areas are encouraged to work proactively with specialist women’s services, domestic abuse and violence against women and girls services, health partners and community organisations to identify and support women who may be sleeping rough or at risk of doing so. Further guidance on how local authorities are expected to support women through the Rough Sleeping Programme can be found here: Rough Sleeping Programme Guidance - GOV.UK

You can find data about the number of women sleeping rough in England on gov.uk here. Since June 2025 we have included a question on the number of women sleeping rough in our monthly rough sleeping survey. The annual rough sleeping snapshot also includes data on the number of women estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in England. In addition to our official rough sleeping statistics, we continue to gather information from a variety of sources to understand women’s rough sleeping, including the Women’s Census.

Through the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund, we are providing £37 million over three years to support specialist organisations that work with women facing some of the greatest barriers to accessing support.

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 women experiencing rough sleeping are identified and supported as part of the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping. We have announced £442 million new funding to support this ambition, taking total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to over £4 billion.

The Government recognises that women experiencing rough sleeping are often less visible and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse and exploitation. Local areas are encouraged to work proactively with specialist women’s services, domestic abuse and violence against women and girls services, health partners and community organisations to identify and support women who may be sleeping rough or at risk of doing so. Further guidance on how local authorities are expected to support women through the Rough Sleeping Programme can be found here: Rough Sleeping Programme Guidance - GOV.UK

You can find data about the number of women sleeping rough in England on gov.uk here. Since June 2025 we have included a question on the number of women sleeping rough in our monthly rough sleeping survey. The annual rough sleeping snapshot also includes data on the number of women estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in England. In addition to our official rough sleeping statistics, we continue to gather information from a variety of sources to understand women’s rough sleeping, including the Women’s Census.

Through the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund, we are providing £37 million over three years to support specialist organisations that work with women facing some of the greatest barriers to accessing support.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of recipients of Disabled Facilities Grants according to the latest figures available waited longer than the statutory deadline of 12 months for the work to be completed after approval of an application.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Disabled Facilities Grant is administered by local authorities who determine their own application processes in line with their statutory duties.

Government collects Disabled Facilities Grant data from local authorities through a voluntary annual data collection. This includes information on average delivery times at key stages of the grant process. Nearly 97% of councils reported that their average time frame for approving valid applications was within the 6-month legal timeframe. Nearly 98% of councils reported that their average time to complete works was within the 12-month deadline.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the Disabled Facilities Grant application process is accessible and responsive to applicants’ needs. Government guidance encourages local authorities to meet faster best practice timelines and provides information on making the application process accessible and responsive.

The Government continues to work with local authorities and the national body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies, currently Foundations, to support effective delivery of the Disabled Facilities Grant.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of applications for Disabled Facilities Grants according to the latest figures available were approved or rejected within the statutory deadline of 6 months.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Disabled Facilities Grant is administered by local authorities who determine their own application processes in line with their statutory duties.

Government collects Disabled Facilities Grant data from local authorities through a voluntary annual data collection. This includes information on average delivery times at key stages of the grant process. Nearly 97% of councils reported that their average time frame for approving valid applications was within the 6-month legal timeframe. Nearly 98% of councils reported that their average time to complete works was within the 12-month deadline.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the Disabled Facilities Grant application process is accessible and responsive to applicants’ needs. Government guidance encourages local authorities to meet faster best practice timelines and provides information on making the application process accessible and responsive.

The Government continues to work with local authorities and the national body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies, currently Foundations, to support effective delivery of the Disabled Facilities Grant.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the capacity of schools to deliver the nature, outdoor and adventure enrichment benchmark across all regions of England.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has published a new enrichment framework with benchmarks to provide a clear structure against which schools can evaluate and make considered improvements to their offer, including nature, outdoors and adventure provision. Baroness Grey-Thompson has been appointed as Nature, Outdoors and Adventure Ambassador, to highlight effective enrichment practice, and help develop and expand opportunities for young people.

The £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme, which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the department are working in partnership to deliver, will work with over 400 schools to support them to meet the benchmarks set out in the enrichment framework. The programme will support connections between providers and organisations (including, for example, zoos), and schools, enabling pupils to take advantage of the expertise, capacity and experiences available.

This is alongside a variety of governmental programmes which can support schools with enrichment, for example National Education Nature Parks. DCMS’s Every Child Can programme will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes structured around the 5 enrichment categories within the framework, delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to work with zoos and other outdoor learning providers to support delivery of the nature, outdoor and adventure enrichment benchmark.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has published a new enrichment framework with benchmarks to provide a clear structure against which schools can evaluate and make considered improvements to their offer, including nature, outdoors and adventure provision. Baroness Grey-Thompson has been appointed as Nature, Outdoors and Adventure Ambassador, to highlight effective enrichment practice, and help develop and expand opportunities for young people.

The £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme, which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the department are working in partnership to deliver, will work with over 400 schools to support them to meet the benchmarks set out in the enrichment framework. The programme will support connections between providers and organisations (including, for example, zoos), and schools, enabling pupils to take advantage of the expertise, capacity and experiences available.

This is alongside a variety of governmental programmes which can support schools with enrichment, for example National Education Nature Parks. DCMS’s Every Child Can programme will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes structured around the 5 enrichment categories within the framework, delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support schools to deliver the nature, outdoor and adventure enrichment benchmark, including through sufficient funding.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has published a new enrichment framework with benchmarks to provide a clear structure against which schools can evaluate and make considered improvements to their offer, including nature, outdoors and adventure provision. Baroness Grey-Thompson has been appointed as Nature, Outdoors and Adventure Ambassador, to highlight effective enrichment practice, and help develop and expand opportunities for young people.

The £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme, which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the department are working in partnership to deliver, will work with over 400 schools to support them to meet the benchmarks set out in the enrichment framework. The programme will support connections between providers and organisations (including, for example, zoos), and schools, enabling pupils to take advantage of the expertise, capacity and experiences available.

This is alongside a variety of governmental programmes which can support schools with enrichment, for example National Education Nature Parks. DCMS’s Every Child Can programme will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes structured around the 5 enrichment categories within the framework, delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will review the impact of historic Housing Revenue Account debt on the ability of local authorities to deliver social homes.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that many councils are facing significant financial pressures on their Housing Revenue Accounts.

The government has already taken a number of steps to rebuild the capacity of councils to borrow and invest in new and existing homes, including fundamental reform of the Right to Buy scheme, a 10-year social housing rent settlement, and Social Rent convergence.

We will continue to explore further ways we might support councils to expand their stock of social homes, including low-cost borrowing options.

Found: Costa (Conservative; South Leicestershire) (Chair) James Asser (Labour; West Ham and Beckton) Paula Barker