Written questions by Pinkerton.

Communities and Local Government, what consultation he has undertaken with relevant stakeholders on developing PAS 9980.

The Government has sponsored the British Standards Institution (BSI), who developed and are responsible for the PAS 9980 guidance, to review it to ensure it captures best practice, meets the needs of the market and identify whether any revisions are required. BSI has established a steering group with wide stakeholder representation and conducted a public consultation as part of the review. They expect to publish updated guidance in Summer 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking steps to support remediation in cases where leaseholders fall outside the scope of the Building Safety Act 2022.

Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further but is committed to reviewing how to better protect leaseholders from costs. There is a range of support in place for those leaseholders whose lease does not qualify for protection under Part 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022. All leaseholders in buildings above 11 metres or five storeys are protected from paying towards the remediation of all fire related and structural defects where the developer has signed the developer remediation contract or where the freeholder is, or was associated with, the developer. More information on the developer remediation contract can be found on gov.uk here. Where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced, or held responsible, funding is available for fire safety related cladding remediation on buildings over 11 metres through the Cladding Safety Scheme. Guidance on the Cladding Safety Scheme can be found on gov.uk here. The leaseholder protections do not apply to collectively owned buildings because there is no ‘separate’ freeholder to bear the costs, which would be borne by the leaseholders themselves – so the protections would not have their intended effect. Leaseholders and freeholders of residential buildings of all heights can use rights to redress introduced by the Building Safety Act. The Act extended the limitation period for Defective Premises Act claims to 30 years, providing more time to seek redress for poor workmanship. It also introduced new rights to bring civil claims where defective products have made a home unfit for habitation.

Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the number of Homes in Multiple Occupation in Surrey Heath constituency.

Data on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) is not collected by parliamentary constituency. Estimates of the number of HMOs by local authority in England can be found in Section F of the Local Authority Housing Statistics. Estimates for 31 March 2024 can be found on gov.uk here. Publication of estimates for 31 March 2025 has been pre-announced for 29 January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of houses in multiple occupation on public service infrastructure in Surrey Heath constituency.

My Department does not make assessments of the potential impact of Houses in Multiple Occupations (HMOs) on public service infrastructure in individual parliamentary constituencies. Local planning authorities already have planning powers to limit the concentration or proliferation of HMOs within their locality. They can remove the national permitted development right for smaller HMOs to protect the local amenity or wellbeing of an area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction which, once in place, requires all new HMO proposals to secure planning permission. We keep the powers to regulate HMOs under review.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 on (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For Surrey Council, we are making available up to £1.3 billion in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of up to 6.9% compared to 2024–25. For Surrey Heath Council, we are making available up to £15.4 million in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of up to 2.4% compared to 2024–25.

Communities and Local Government, what steps are being taken to support (a) local resilience and (b) emergency planning arrangements in response to cold weather conditions in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

Surrey's Local Resilience Forum (LRF) is well versed in preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies including severe weather events. The LRF has plans in place to enable them to respond effectively to severe weather events including periods of cold weather, recognised as high-risk events in their 2025-2026 Community Risk Register. MHCLG support Surrey LRF through a Strategic Resilience Advisor who gives critical support and guidance to the LRFs core business. Additionally, when UKHSA issue cold health alerts MHCLG encourages Local Authorities to initiate the policies and procedures associated with the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol. alongside MHCLG’s Night Shelter Operating Principles, for safe street night shelter provision. The £547 million committed through the Rough Sleeping Initiative to local authorities across England from April 2022 to March 2025 includes support for local area winter planning. A further £10 million was allocated to local authorities through the Rough Sleeping Winter Pressure funding for 2024/25. Allocations can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities in Surrey undergoing transition to unitary status on taking major strategic planning decisions during the reorganisation period.

The Planning Advisory Service has a range of resources available to assist local planning authorities going through reorganisation, including their local government Reorganisation Delivery Network, which allows authorities to share best practice. I encourage councils going through transition to take full advantage of these resources. Following Royal Assent of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, the new duty to prepare a spatial development strategy (SDS) will be commenced later in 2026. Initially this duty will sit with Surrey County Council and will then transfer to the new unitary councils in 2027. Officers from the County Council are in contact with MHCLG officials and will consider how best to manage this duty over the coming year.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that development firms meet their agreed affordable housing commitments in Surrey Heath constituency.

We are consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, including proposals relating to developer contributions and viability. The changes aim to promote greater clarity about expected contributions, including those related to affordable housing, and the limited circumstances in which site-specific viability assessments may be justified. The consultation is available here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of developers reducing affordable housing delivery on levels of unmet local housing need in Surrey Heath constituency.

We are consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, including proposals relating to developer contributions and viability. The changes aim to promote greater clarity about expected contributions, including those related to affordable housing, and the limited circumstances in which site-specific viability assessments may be justified. The consultation is available here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, how changes to the fair funding formula will affect the spending power of (a) Surrey County Council and (b) district and borough councils in Surrey.

This multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. Our reforms will ensure that this funding is allocated fairly, and that the places and services which need it most are supported. Since coming into power, this government will have made available a 23.6% cash-terms increase in Core Spending Power in 2028-29 compared to 2024-25, worth over £16 billion. By the end of the provisional multi-year Settlement (2028/29), Surrey’s Core Spending Power will have increased by £82m (7%) since 2024/25. We will support local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by phasing in changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income, including locally retained business rates growth. Areas will need to agree how to divide available funding locally in a sustainable way during the local government reorganisation implementation period. This will provide areas with greater flexibility.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the 2026–27 local government finance settlement on councils in Surrey.

This multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. Our reforms will ensure that this funding is allocated fairly, and that the places and services which need it most are supported. Since coming into power, this government will have made available a 23.6% cash-terms increase in Core Spending Power in 2028-29 compared to 2024-25, worth over £16 billion. By the end of the provisional multi-year Settlement (2028/29), Surrey’s Core Spending Power will have increased by £82m (7%) since 2024/25. We will support local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by phasing in changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income, including locally retained business rates growth. Areas will need to agree how to divide available funding locally in a sustainable way during the local government reorganisation implementation period. This will provide areas with greater flexibility.

Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to support councils in Surrey in managing projected SEND deficits beyond 2026–27.

We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits on their accounts and that they will need continued support during the transition to a reformed Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. This will include working with local authorities to manage their SEND system, including deficits. On 23 June, as part of the Fair Funding Review 2.0, we announced a two-year extension to the DSG Statutory Override, now due to end in March 2028. We will provide further detail on our plans to support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits later in the Settlement process.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard residents of retirement housing from (a) inappropriate or (b) unfair management practices.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 68820 on 2 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance is available to local authorities on assessing the social value of community facilities when determining planning applications.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that to provide the social, recreational and cultural facilities and services the community needs, planning policies and decisions should plan positively for the provision and use of shared spaces, community facilities (such as local shops, meeting places, sports venues, open space, cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship) and other local services to enhance the sustainability of communities and residential environments. The NPPF is also clear that local planning policies and decisions should guard against the unnecessary loss of valued facilities and services. The government is currently consulting on further reforms to the NPPF to provide for clearer, more rules-based policies for decision-making and plan-making. This includes policies relating to community facilities. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, if his Department will review self-regulatory arrangements for retirement housing management.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 68820 on 2 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what consideration is given within the planning system to the potential impact of housing developments on nearby (a) small businesses and (b) local employment.

Local planning authorities are expected to assess economic needs as part of their evidence base and to consider these issues when determining individual applications, including the potential effects of new housing development on nearby businesses and on opportunities for local employment. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies and decisions should ensure that new development can be integrated effectively with existing businesses. Where the operation of an existing business or community facility could have a significant adverse effect on new development in its vicinity, the applicant (or ‘agent of change’) should be required to provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed. The government is currently consulting on changes to the NPPF, including updated policy on the agent of change principle so that it is more explicit about the matters to be considered and types of activity which may be affected. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of warm hubs for local residents in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 79025 on 29 October 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what oversight his Department will provide to ensure that (a) borough and (b) district councils do not take on significant costs during local government reorganisation in Surrey.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 99016 on 19 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) protections and (b) guidance his Department will provide to mayoral candidates for new unitary authorities in Surrey.

There are currently no local authority mayoralties operating in Surrey, and no mayoral elections are planned for the new unitary councils. Under provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, any new council created through local government reorganisation will adopt the leader and cabinet model of governance.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) homelessness and (b) temporary accommodation on (i) families and (ii) children in Surrey Heath constituency.

Homelessness is one of the deepest forms of poverty. A stay in temporary accommodation is linked to worse outcomes for children’s education, health and future.Through our Child Poverty Strategy and National Plan to End Homelessness, this government is focussing on delivering long-term solutions to tackle poverty, boost living standards, and address the lack of affordable housing supply, whilst also taking immediate action to end the unlawful use of Bed and Breakfasts for families, improve the quality of temporary accommodation and reduce the costs for councils.