Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote soil education among planning officers, developers, landowners and the public.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of soil education and promoting the importance of soil health, through sustainable and responsibly managed soil practices.
Defra continues to engage with the industry to disseminate a range of material to support planning officers, farmers and land managers to make informed choices about how to sustainably manage their soil. This includes engaging with the British Society of Soil Science to introduce a soil scientist apprenticeship programme to increase the number of qualified experts to support them.
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by protecting and enhancing sites of geological value and soils. The associated guidance is clear that soil is an essential natural capital asset that provides important ecosystem services. More broadly, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have also established a ‘Planning Capacity & Capability’ programme to develop a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 make an estimate of the average cost per elector of elections for a) Police and Crime Commissioners and b) Mayors.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishes detailed reports on the cost of running Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections, including the average cost per elector. These reports are available on gov.uk here.
It is intended that a report on the cost of the 2021 PCC elections will be published in due course. The cost of the 2024 PCC election is subject to future publication once all the costs relating to that poll have been finalised and settled.
For combined authority mayoral and local authority mayoral elections, costs are met by the relevant local authorities. MHCLG does not hold any data on the cost of these elections.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 90716 on Asylum: Housing, which local government bodies the Government is currently working with.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is working closely with the Home Office, local authorities and their national membership bodies in addition to devolved partners to develop and deliver a new, more sustainable model for asylum accommodation.
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 discussed Departmental business at the Labour YIMBY awards on 24 November 2025.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State gave a speech on the overall government approach to housing. No other departmental business was discussed at this event.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
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 the proposed transfer of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, whether current staff will retain (a) access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and (b) access to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
For those connected to the transition of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to a new body, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) understands this represents a significant change. The Department is committed to ensuring a smooth transition for all as valued colleagues.
The Transfer of Undertaking Protections of Employment (TUPE) and Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSOP) provides protections to employee rights when they transfer. MHCLG is committed to protecting existing terms and conditions wherever we can and will continue to engage staff and Trade Unions ahead of the consultation process. We have heard what is important to colleagues and will prioritise, namely the Civil Service Pension Scheme and access to internal Civil Service jobs.
The consultation process with trade unions will cover the full range of measures affected by the transfer. We expect this consolation to start in early January as agreed with HSE Trade Unions but are awaiting confirmation. Both HSE and the Department have extensive experience in managing transitions of this nature and will work closely together to ensure that all affected colleagues are fully supported throughout the process.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Local Growth Fund 2024/25 has been allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK Government will invest £45.5 million per annum of the Spending Review period to provide targeted, long-term funding to support local growth across Northern Ireland.
The Local Growth Fund will begin delivery next April, and will be designed and delivered in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive, the Northern Ireland Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
More information on the Local Growth fund in Northern Ireland including the delivery model will be set out soon.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the impact of long-term stays in temporary accommodation on (a) children’s physical and mental health and (b) children’s educational outcomes; and what steps they are taking to mitigate any negative effects identified.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Child Poverty Strategy sets out a range of measures to support families in need of temporary accommodation.
The government will end the unlawful placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond the six-week limit and work with the NHS to end the practice of discharging mothers with newborn babies into bed and breakfasts or other unsuitable housing.
The government will provide £950 million through the fourth and largest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund from April 2026 to deliver up to 5,000 high quality homes for better temporary accommodation by 2030.
A new legal duty will also be introduced for councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, so no child is left without support.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will also introduce a clinical code on children in temporary accommodation to improve data collection, with the aim of preventing further deaths caused by gaps in health care provision.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking alongside Cabinet colleagues to increase healthcare provision on new housing estates in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning, which includes planning, securing, and monitoring, general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient medical services, including general practice, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes.
Local planning authorities are responsible for negotiating and agreeing developer contributions to support necessary associated infrastructure when new housing developments are built. The Department for Health and Social Care is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to determine how developer contributions from new housing developments can be better used towards local health services and infrastructure.
As part of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government has committed to deliver a Neighbourhood Health Centre (NHC) in every community across the country over the course of the plan. We announced our commitment at the Autumn Budget to deliver 250 NHCs through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments to expand and improve sites over the next three years, and new-build sites opening in the medium term.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Housing First interventions for people experiencing homelessness on (a) health outcomes and (b) costs to the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. We are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to support those experiencing homelessness with multiple and complex needs.
The Government published an evaluation of the Housing First pilots, including their impact on health outcomes, a copy of which is attached. However, Housing First is not a Department of Health and Social Care policy, therefore the National Health Service has not undertaken analysis of its effectiveness and costs.