Asked by: Pam Cox (Labour - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners have been released with a resettlement passport in each month since their introduction.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government is committed to ensuring individuals have plans in place before release, identifying needs early, and linking people to the right support, such as housing, employment, and health services, to help reduce reoffending. No prisoners have left with a resettlement passport as formal introduction of a digital tool is yet to take place. However, development work has marked important progress in testing approaches to improve pre-release planning across the estate.
This testing, carried out in ten prisons and four probation regions, has gathered valuable insight and learning throughout, including a comprehensive understanding of current practice and identification of gaps and opportunities in service delivery. It has also provided insight relevant to ARNS (Assess, Risks, Needs and Strengths), supporting its development as part of HMPPS’s wider digital transformation strategy. ARNS is designed to modernise offender assessments by moving towards a more dynamic, collaborative, and strength-based approach to resettlement planning, offender management, and risk assessment.
These findings will feed into work to improve the operational processes to support preparation for release, to support delivery of recommendations from the Independent Review of Sentencing.
Asked by: Pam Cox (Labour - Colchester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made to introduce resettlement passports for prison leavers.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government is committed to ensuring individuals have plans in place before release, identifying needs early, and linking people to the right support, such as housing, employment, and health services, to help reduce reoffending. No prisoners have left with a resettlement passport as formal introduction of a digital tool is yet to take place. However, development work has marked important progress in testing approaches to improve pre-release planning across the estate.
This testing, carried out in ten prisons and four probation regions, has gathered valuable insight and learning throughout, including a comprehensive understanding of current practice and identification of gaps and opportunities in service delivery. It has also provided insight relevant to ARNS (Assess, Risks, Needs and Strengths), supporting its development as part of HMPPS’s wider digital transformation strategy. ARNS is designed to modernise offender assessments by moving towards a more dynamic, collaborative, and strength-based approach to resettlement planning, offender management, and risk assessment.
These findings will feed into work to improve the operational processes to support preparation for release, to support delivery of recommendations from the Independent Review of Sentencing.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has received representations from (a) the Welsh Government and (b) members of the Welsh Senedd over the use of the Internal Market Act 2020 to deliver the Pride in Place programme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I recently wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government in the Welsh Government to express my commitment to greater collaboration between the UK and Welsh Governments on areas of shared interest.
In Wales, we have set out the requirement for Pride in Place Neighbourhood Boards to consider how their plans align with the objectives of the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government, the Well-being of Future Generations Act, the Transforming Towns programme, and the Future Wales: National Plan 2040 planning framework, as well as other relevant strategies. We believe the close collaboration within communities and across government will make these neighbourhood boards stronger and more effective.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees sections of her Department's Environmental Improvement Plan, published on 1 December 2025, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on maintaining the level of planning protections for protected landscapes in the forthcoming review of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has engaged with MHCLG on the forthcoming review of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This government is committed to the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 which includes an action to maintain current protections in the NPPF for ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees and improve the implementation of the policy. The government is currently consulting on changes to the NPPF and the proposed wording, which maintains current protections for ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees, is available to view here National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system - GOV.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 meet with the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon and their constituents to discuss how to improve access to appropriate accommodation for families with significant medical needs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government recognises how important the right home environment is in enabling disabled people to live as safely, well and independently as possible.
As part of the legislative framework for social housing allocations, Local Housing Authorities are required to give reasonable preference (priority) to people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability. This is to ensure that social housing goes to those who need it most.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies. Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing. This can include setting out the proportion of new homes to be delivered to accessibility standards. The government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a capital grant administered by local authorities in England that can help meet the cost of adaptations for people of all ages and tenures to make their home safe and suitable for their needs.
The DFG is there to enable all eligible disabled people to access vital home adaptations, subject to a needs assessment and means test. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the DFG to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Government continues to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. We have consulted on a new approach to allocating DFG funding to local authorities in England to ensure funding for the grant is better aligned with local needs. Responses have been carefully analysed and we are now considering next steps.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to help families in which at least one person has a serious medical condition to access appropriate housing.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government recognises how important the right home environment is in enabling disabled people to live as safely, well and independently as possible.
As part of the legislative framework for social housing allocations, Local Housing Authorities are required to give reasonable preference (priority) to people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability. This is to ensure that social housing goes to those who need it most.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies. Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing. This can include setting out the proportion of new homes to be delivered to accessibility standards. The government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a capital grant administered by local authorities in England that can help meet the cost of adaptations for people of all ages and tenures to make their home safe and suitable for their needs.
The DFG is there to enable all eligible disabled people to access vital home adaptations, subject to a needs assessment and means test. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the DFG to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Government continues to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. We have consulted on a new approach to allocating DFG funding to local authorities in England to ensure funding for the grant is better aligned with local needs. Responses have been carefully analysed and we are now considering next steps.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will reform the Disabled Facilities Grant system to improve support for families who need to move to access an adaptable property.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government recognises how important the right home environment is in enabling disabled people to live as safely, well and independently as possible.
As part of the legislative framework for social housing allocations, Local Housing Authorities are required to give reasonable preference (priority) to people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability. This is to ensure that social housing goes to those who need it most.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies. Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing. This can include setting out the proportion of new homes to be delivered to accessibility standards. The government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a capital grant administered by local authorities in England that can help meet the cost of adaptations for people of all ages and tenures to make their home safe and suitable for their needs.
The DFG is there to enable all eligible disabled people to access vital home adaptations, subject to a needs assessment and means test. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the DFG to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Government continues to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. We have consulted on a new approach to allocating DFG funding to local authorities in England to ensure funding for the grant is better aligned with local needs. Responses have been carefully analysed and we are now considering next steps.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to strengthen national guidance on accessible housing provision within local plans.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government recognises how important the right home environment is in enabling disabled people to live as safely, well and independently as possible.
As part of the legislative framework for social housing allocations, Local Housing Authorities are required to give reasonable preference (priority) to people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability. This is to ensure that social housing goes to those who need it most.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies. Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing. This can include setting out the proportion of new homes to be delivered to accessibility standards. The government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a capital grant administered by local authorities in England that can help meet the cost of adaptations for people of all ages and tenures to make their home safe and suitable for their needs.
The DFG is there to enable all eligible disabled people to access vital home adaptations, subject to a needs assessment and means test. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the DFG to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Government continues to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. We have consulted on a new approach to allocating DFG funding to local authorities in England to ensure funding for the grant is better aligned with local needs. Responses have been carefully analysed and we are now considering next steps.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of post-planning early- and late-stage reviews on development viability in London.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Planning practice guidance on viability states that plans should set out circumstances where review mechanisms may be appropriate and how they will operate. The application of this and wider guidance in London is a matter for local planning authorities and the Greater London Authority.
While viability pressures are impacting residential development in many parts of the country, we know they are particularly acute in London. Those pressures were already resulting in proportions of affordable housing being reduced on schemes following viability assessment. According to Greater London Authority (GLA) monitoring data, the average affordable housing level of referable applications that have been approved through their viability tested route was 20 per cent between 2022-2024.
To address this, the Secretary of State and the Mayor of London announced a new package of support for housebuilding in London that included developers to access a new, time-limited planning route to incentivise build out. This will sit alongside the existing Fast Track and Viability Tested routes and will enable developers to secure planning permission without a viability assessment on private land within certain conditions.
The GLA opened a consultation for this time-limited measure, and the proposal of the targeted withdrawal of guidance that limits density, on Thursday 27 November which can be found at Support for Housebuilding LPG | London City Hall (attached).
My Department also launched a consultation on the temporary relief from the Community Infrastructure Levy and changes to Mayoral planning powers which can be found at Support for housebuilding in London - GOV.UK (attached). These consultations close on 22 January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the London Plan 2021 on the number of houses built in London.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Section 346 of the Greater London Authority (GLA) Act 1999 places a duty on the Mayor to monitor the implementation of the Mayor’s London Plan. The second Annual Monitoring Report under the 2021 Plan, was published in September 2025 and showed that housing completions reduced in 2022-23. You can find the Annual Monitoring Report published by the Greater London Authority here: Monitoring the London Plan | London City Hall.
The Government recognises that London housing delivery is below the level of housing need in London and below the annual target set out in the London Plan 2021. To address this, the Secretary of State and the Mayor of London announced a new package of support for housebuilding in London in October 2025. I refer the Noble Baroness to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 23 October 2025 (HLWS989).
The Mayor is currently working on a new London Plan, with consultation on a draft expected in summer 2026. The Government will work with the Mayor to ensure that the next London Plan is ambitious and aligned with our priorities set out nationally through the National Planning Policy Framework.