Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on including locally manufactured materials such as natural stone in planning conditions and development frameworks.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National design guidance, which supports the National Planning Policy Framework, states that well-designed places should be responsive to local history, culture and heritage. The guidance highlights the role of resources, including the careful selection of materials and construction techniques, to minimise any environmental impacts.
A local design code can introduce requirements on the use of materials for new development, if appropriate.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to ensure that local authorities recognise natural stone as a low-carbon material in planning guidance and local plan development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National design guidance, which supports the National Planning Policy Framework, states that well-designed places should be responsive to local history, culture and heritage. The guidance highlights the role of resources, including the careful selection of materials and construction techniques, to minimise any environmental impacts.
A local design code can introduce requirements on the use of materials for new development, if appropriate.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 lowering affordable housing requirements on levels of social housing supply in London in the (a) long and (b) short term.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When it comes to development, London faces challenges that are common to all parts of England over recent years. These include a significant increase in building material prices; a rise in financing costs; and planning capacity and capability pressures.
In addition, the capital faces a number of challenges unique to its housing market which differs in important ways from the rest of the country. These include the fact that London is overwhelmingly reliant on flatted developments; has depended over recent decades on demand from international buyers and investors; and has a higher proportion of landowners (and traders acting on their behalf) who are global investors allocating development funding based on competing returns globally and across asset classes.
The combination of these and other factors has resulted in a perfect storm for housebuilding in our capital. Overall home starts in London in 2024-25 totalled just 3,990. Affordable housing starts in 2024/25 were less than 20% of their 2022/23 level. In the first quarter of this year, more than a third of London Boroughs recorded zero housing starts.
My Department has engaged extensively with housebuilders, registered providers of social housing, and London Boroughs to understand fully the housing delivery challenge in London and to develop measures to address it.
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 where they commit to 20 per cent affordable housing (60% of which must be Social Rent), of which half will be eligible to receive grant funding, with a gain-share mechanism to increase affordable delivery on sites that continue into the next decade where market conditions improve.
Our engagement with the sector indicates that these measures will encourage schemes to come forward, and existing schemes to progress, in the near-term, and will thereby support a rapid recovery in housing delivery.
The GLA opened a consultation for this time-limited measure on Thursday 27 November, and published a background information document with supporting evidence for decision making which can be found here.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of Question 21 October 2025 to Question 84026 on housing prices, what data he uses to inform targeted housing policy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department uses a wide range of data sources to inform the development of policy.
Public sources include the English Housing Survey; ONS datasets on house prices, rents and affordability; and Departmental statistics on housing supply, affordable housing, and homelessness and rough sleeping.
Local Authority Housing Statistics provide information on waiting lists, allocations, and lettings, while programme delivery data from Homes England and the Greater London Authority track outputs under the Affordable Homes Programme.
Planning and housing supply data, including starts, completions and permissions, are published quarterly.
Certain proprietary data cannot be published due to contractual restrictions and commercial sensitivities.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 protect green spaces and parks as part of the local government review.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parks and urban green spaces are important for community cohesion, biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and civic pride.
Responsibility for funding, managing and maintaining them lies mainly with local authorities. The government is committed to supporting Local Authorities in developing best practice to look after parks and green spaces.
The cornerstone of our support for communities is the government’s Pride in Place Programme, providing up to £5 billion funding and support over 10 years to 244 places. This flagship offer will help build strong, resilient and integrated communities in areas that experience the most entrenched social and economic challenges. This includes opportunities for communities to invest in their local parks and green spaces.
We are also committed to maintaining the quality of parks and green spaces through the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Award, which sets the national quality standard. The scheme has helped to transform thousands of parks and green spaces across the country.
The government's statutory guidance on local government reorganisation requires that unitary structures must prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to citizens and that unitary structures should enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment, including parks and green spaces.
The government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is also clear that planning policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places and make sufficient provision for the conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including green infrastructure.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of parks and green spaces on communities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parks and urban green spaces are important for community cohesion, biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and civic pride.
Responsibility for funding, managing and maintaining them lies mainly with local authorities. The government is committed to supporting Local Authorities in developing best practice to look after parks and green spaces.
The cornerstone of our support for communities is the government’s Pride in Place Programme, providing up to £5 billion funding and support over 10 years to 244 places. This flagship offer will help build strong, resilient and integrated communities in areas that experience the most entrenched social and economic challenges. This includes opportunities for communities to invest in their local parks and green spaces.
We are also committed to maintaining the quality of parks and green spaces through the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Award, which sets the national quality standard. The scheme has helped to transform thousands of parks and green spaces across the country.
The government's statutory guidance on local government reorganisation requires that unitary structures must prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to citizens and that unitary structures should enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment, including parks and green spaces.
The government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is also clear that planning policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places and make sufficient provision for the conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including green infrastructure.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Independent Age entitled Jumping Through Hoops, published on 4 March 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. From the end of this Parliament, as a result of our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, spending on State Pensions is forecast to be around £34 billion more a year, compared with 2024/25. This will see pensioners’ yearly incomes rising by up to £2,100.
We have revived the Pensions Commission which will consider the broader questions of adequacy, fairness, and sustainability to guide the long-term future of our pensions system. Amongst other things, the Commission will look at how to improve retirement outcomes, especially for those on the lowest incomes and at the greatest risk of poverty or under-saving.
Maximising the take-up of Pension Credit remains a key priority. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends. And we are making better use of data to directly target potentially eligible households. Since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit. Looking ahead, aligning the administration of Pension Credit with pensioner Housing Benefit will help ensure that more pensioners receive the financial support they are entitled to.
The Department keeps policies and processes under regular review, including monitoring poverty through annual statistics and research into retirement planning, as well as considering the contributions of stakeholders such as the reports by Independent Age and others.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Independent Age entitled Too Little Too Late, published on 15 May 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. From the end of this Parliament, as a result of our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, spending on State Pensions is forecast to be around £34 billion more a year, compared with 2024/25. This will see pensioners’ yearly incomes rising by up to £2,100.
We have revived the Pensions Commission which will consider the broader questions of adequacy, fairness, and sustainability to guide the long-term future of our pensions system. Amongst other things, the Commission will look at how to improve retirement outcomes, especially for those on the lowest incomes and at the greatest risk of poverty or under-saving.
Maximising the take-up of Pension Credit remains a key priority. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends. And we are making better use of data to directly target potentially eligible households. Since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit. Looking ahead, aligning the administration of Pension Credit with pensioner Housing Benefit will help ensure that more pensioners receive the financial support they are entitled to.
The Department keeps policies and processes under regular review, including monitoring poverty through annual statistics and research into retirement planning, as well as considering the contributions of stakeholders such as the reports by Independent Age and others.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to accelerate brownfield regeneration in the West Midlands; and what support is available to local authorities to bring derelict land back into use.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements, including the development of under-utilised land and buildings to meet the need for homes and other uses.
Through the revisions made to the NPPF on 12 December 2024 we broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas.
On 22 September 2024, the government published a ‘brownfield passport’ working paper inviting views on how we might further prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land. This included exploring the role of national policy in setting minimum density expectations for certain types of locations, to support intensification in the right places. Utilising the feedback provided, we intend to consult this year on a new suite of national policies for decision making that will give effect to these proposals.
On 18 June 2025, my Department announced £5 billion of new capital grant funding for infrastructure and land. This funding will be administered by the new National Housing Delivery Fund, through which councils will be able to secure funding for prospective projects, to contribute to the Government’s priority of delivering 1.5 million homes. Details of the funding made available to WMCA in 2025/26, via the Integrated Settlement, is available on gov.uk here. Details of the funding for 2026/27 onwards will be set out shortly.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer given 17 November 2025 (UIN 88239), if she will publish the evidence provided to her in relation to the A12 Widening Scheme by (a) the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and (b) other agencies to inform her decision to cancel the A12 Widening Scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The evidence provided to the Secretary of State for Transport in relation to the A12 Widening Scheme by (a) the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and (b) other agencies, formed part of a much larger body of evidence that informed the Spending Review and subsequent decisions.
There are no plans to publish officials’ advice and evidence base to Ministers that informed the Spending Review and subsequent decisions, as has been the usual practice of successive administrations, including the one the Rt Hon Lady served in.
Detailed information on the analysis of the A12 widening scheme, conducted in accordance with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance, was published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, available here: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR010060.