Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 bring empty homes back into use.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 6686 on 14 October 2024.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 any plans to review the 10% commission charge applied to the sale of park homes by site owner.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The park homes sector is an important part of the housing market and must be a safe and secure place for residents.
The Government recognises that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home.
The Government will set out its position on this matter in due course.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 make it her policy to implement part 10 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is fully committed to rejuvenating our high streets and tackling the issue of persistent vacancy. To achieve this, we will implement new High Street Rental Auctions as set out in Part 10 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. This will empower local authorities to require landlords to rent out persistently vacant commercial properties to new tenants. Secondary legislation will be introduced shortly to enable local authorities to exercise this power.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 cavity-nesting birds on the Red List.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to help red-listed birds, including how to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of swift bricks in new build housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 4279 on 12 September 2024.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to prevent developers land banking in their area.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 900294 on 2 September 2024.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 plans to take to increase the availability of social housing across England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. Our aspiration is to ensure that, in the first full financial year of this Parliament (2025-26), the number of Social Rent homes is rising rather than falling.
Our proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework include setting a clear expectation that housing needs assessments must consider the needs of those requiring Social Rent homes, and that local authorities should specify their expectations on Social Rent delivery as part of broader affordable housing policies.
We have asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise the number of Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding. The Government has started to review the increased Right to Buy discounts introduced in 2012, on which we will bring forward more details and secondary legislation to implement changes in the autumn. We have also announced new flexibilities for how councils can use their Right to Buy receipts to deliver replacement homes; these flexibilities will be in place for an initial 24 months, subject to review.
We are committed to setting out details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of ending the Right to Buy scheme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 4158 on 12 September 2024.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 take steps to ensure that new houses are built with specifications that enable them to be carbon neutral.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises the important contribution that the energy efficiency of buildings has to make in meeting it.
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. A Government response has not yet been issued.
We fully support the need for low carbon homes, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation and will publish the Government response in due course.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 upgrade roads to enable housing targets to be met.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the vital role that transport infrastructure plays in facilitating new housing development. A range of funding programmes exist to support the delivery of infrastructure, including roads, to support the delivery of new housing including the £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund and the £1.5 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land fund.