Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
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 adequacy of the (i) systems and (ii) manpower capacity in local authorities to implement local government reorganisation; and if he will place a copy of those assessments in the Library.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils, as independent employers, are responsible for the management of their staff and undertaking workforce planning. As part of the local government reorganisation programme, local authorities were required to set out in their proposals how they would manage implementation, including their approach to systems, staffing and governance. The Government has considered this information as part of its assessment of proposals, including where decisions have already been taken, and continues to do so for proposals under consideration.
After decisions are taken on proposals, councils are required to put in place the necessary plans to implement the agreed proposal, including putting in place governance arrangements to oversee the delivery of implementation work.
We will continue to work actively with councils to support an effective transition, including providing support to ensure a smooth transfer of staff from councils that will be wound up to incoming new councils.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
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 adequacy of the availability of (i) ward and (ii) parish financial data to facilitate funding disaggregation as a result of boundary changes and deliver local government reorganisation in Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Decisions about how funding, assets and liabilities are managed are for councils to take forward locally as part of their transition planning, including how budgets and financial risks are apportioned between successor councils and the arrangements needed to maintain safe and legal services during transition.
Recognising the complexity of this work, the Government has made transition funding available and is working with sector partners to provide practical implementation support to help councils manage the additional complexity where disaggregation is required.
The Secretary of State’s consideration of local government reorganisation proposals is based on information provided by councils, representations received through the statutory consultation, and official advice and analysis drawing on published sources and sector data.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Annual Report 2024-25 and pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105347 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Expenditure, for a breakdown of the (a) £1,012,406,000 in RDEL in 2024-25 on the Affordable Housing Programme, (b) £167,774,00 in RDEL in Investment Funds and (c) programme spend and income of RDEL in FY 2024/5 in the Estimate Lines for (i) Housing and Planning, and (ii) Local Government and Public Services.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
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 recent planning reforms on the protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 45684 on 7 May 2025.
Asked by: Sean Woodcock (Labour - Banbury)
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 considered the report published by TYI on 18 March 2026, titled ‘Small Changes, Big Rewards: Ensuring planning connects with mobile infrastructure ambitions’.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On December 18 2025, my Department, in conjunction with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, launched a joint Call for Evidence on reforming planning rules to accelerate deployment of digital infrastructure. This Call for Evidence closed on 26 February 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
My officials are aware of the report in question, and it will be taken into account as part of the wider body of evidence submitted to the Call for Evidence.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his department has made an assessment of future local planning timetables and how they align with national housing objectives.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data relating to future unpublished local plan timetables and their correlation with national housing objectives.
The new plan-making system includes a new process for producing plans with clear steps that a local planning authority will need to take. This should support faster preparation of plans and more frequent updates, helping to ensure that plans delivering higher housing figures are in place more quickly.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 25 February 2026 to Question 78241 on MHCLG: Ministers’ Private Offices, whether there are any (a) direct ministerial appointments or (b) external paid consultants who provide advice to Ministers on housing and planning.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG ministers are advised by civil servants employed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Given the technical nature of this work, the Department does procure some technical planning advice. All Ministerial advice from within the Department, however, is provided by civil servants
There are two Direct Ministerial Appointments as part of the Euston Housing Delivery Group and the Oxford Growth Commission where advice on housing and planning may form elements of advice to Ministers in the specific circumstances of Euston and Oxford. The Chair of the Euston Housing Delivery Group was appointed on 15 October 2024. The Chair of the Oxford Growth Commission was appointed on 12 May 2025.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the level of proposed development on Green Belt land in the Epping Forest District, and what steps his Department is taking to protect the Green Belt.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to preserving Green Belts, which have served England’s towns and cities well over many decades. We have not changed the five purposes of the Green Belt set out in paragraph 143 of the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework still contains strong protections for the Green Belt, making it clear that inappropriate development should not be approved unless justified by very special circumstances.
It is for local planning authorities themselves, including Epping Forest District Council, to determine whether exceptional circumstances exist that justify the release of Green Belt, and we expect them to first demonstrate that they have examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting identified need for development – including making as much use as possible of suitable brownfield sites and underutilised land, optimising the density of development, and working with neighbouring authorities to assess whether identified need might be sensibly accommodated.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support her Department is providing to help first-time buyers access mortgage finance and enter the housing market.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The most sustainable long-term method to improve housing affordability and help people into homeownership is to increase the supply of housing. The government is committed to building 1.5 million homes this parliament.
The Government is bringing forward ambitious reforms to streamline and improve the planning system to deliver on its Plan for Change. We have announced major changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility to deliver 170,000 additional homes and add £6.8bn to the economy by 2029/30.
The Government recognises the difficulties some prospective first-time buyers face in buying a home and is committed to helping them get on the housing ladder. To address these issues, we introduced a new permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme in July 2025. It is designed to support and sustain the availability of low deposit mortgage products for credit-worthy borrowers.
The government will also consult on introducing a new, first-time buyer only ISA product that will provide a government bonus when a person uses it to buy a house, removing the need for a withdrawal charge and giving savers flexibility in case their circumstances change.
It will remain possible to open a Lifetime ISA until the new product becomes available and for account holders to continue to save into their Lifetime ISA in line with the existing rules indefinitely.
This sits alongside our work with the financial regulators to give mortgage lenders more flexibility, including on how they assess affordability, which means borrowers can now borrow 10% more than they could at the start of last year. Thanks to our work with the Bank of England, lenders also have more flexibility to offer larger loans. They estimate this could help as many as 36,000 more customers become first time buyers in the first year. Those looking to buy their first home should speak with a mortgage broker to learn more about what’s available to them.
Asked by: Sean Woodcock (Labour - Banbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many members of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel have been allocated to support the drafting of (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation in pursuit of planning reforms, in (i) total headcount and (ii) full-time equivalent.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Within the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) and Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) legal teams there are lawyers working on MHCLG related business, alongside members in the Government Legal Department. There is no group of Parliamentary Counsel within OPC that is assigned to work exclusively on planning reform for MHCLG.