Written questions by Brewer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to increase the resources available to fire and rescue services and land managers to prevent and respond to wildfires during periods of drough

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that new residential developments in rural constituencies such as North East Hampshire are required to provide residents with meanin

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefit of giving councils the power to designate Independent Shop Zones.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what timelines are in place for the allocation of the £301 million High Street Innovation fund announced in March and what specific metrics will be used to determine how funds ar

The Government will bring forward a High Streets Strategy later this year, backed by £301 million. Within this envelope, £61 million will support the Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund, empowering communities to take control of valued local assets...

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the strategy for recruiting fire station volunteers.

The government highly values the contribution of fire station volunteers, whose roles contribute to protecting their local communities. Decisions on resourcing, including strategies for recruiting fire station volunteers, are a matter for individual Fire ...

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure there is sufficient water supply capacity to meet housing growth targets in North East Hampshire.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Water to Question UIN 6660 on 10 June 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his department has made of the potential impact of insufficient water supply capacity on planning in North East Hampshire.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Water to Question UIN 6660 on 10 June 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to assess the potential merits of making local fire and rescue services statutory consultees for industrial lithium ion battery storage planning appl

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 80508 on 16 October 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) metrics and (b) performance measures his Department plan to use to assess whether changes to the statutory consultee system are meeting their goal of (i) providing timel

I refer the hon. Member to the consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system that took place between 18 December 2025 and 13 January 2026. It can be found on gov.uk here. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our re...

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that buildings which previously qualified for the Building Safety Fund and have since been transferred to the Cladding Safety Scheme

How many of those buildings have begun on‑site remediation?37 applicationsHow many of those buildings have completed remediation?0What the current end‑to‑end process times are from eligibility assessment to works startingCurrent estimations suggest that a...

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) address cases in which property developers repeatedly establish new companies and fail to complete housing developments and (b) imp

The government expects all developers to build high-quality homes, delivered according to their planning approval, and to treat customers fairly. Nearly all new-build homes are issued with a 10-year new-build warranty which may protect homeowners against ...

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for publishing more information on (a) the High Streets Strategy and (b) how funding will be allocated to specific places.

Later this year we will bring forward a new cross-government High Streets Strategy backed by £301m, to support local communities to reimagine and revive struggling high streets and make them fit for the future. We will continue to have conversations with ...

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the difficulty in selling retirement flats on families inheriting properties; and whether he plans to take steps to support people affected.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 95245 on 5 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the sustainability of fire and rescue services in England over the next three years; and what steps he plans to take to address budget deficits facing fire and rescue authorities.

The 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester). This was the first multi-year funding Settlement in 10 years, giving services the certainty to plan and invest for the long term. In 2026/27, all standalone services will see an above inflation increase in CSP, with services seeing CSP increases between 3.8% and 7.7% compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, we will have provided a 12.75% increase in CSP compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority. The Ministry will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure that fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to empower communities in local decision-making processes.

The Government’s Pride in Place Programme empowers local people to shape the future of their neighbourhoods, providing up to £5.8 billion funding and support over 10 years for 284 neighbourhoods. Additionally, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will require all local authorities in England to establish neighbourhood governance, to move decision-making closer to residents.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to review the income thresholds for the First Homes scheme.

My Department has no current plans to review the income thresholds for the First Homes scheme.

Communities and Local Government, what measures the Government has enacted to ensure local plans identify and manage the impacts of development on chalk stream rivers; whether these include buffer zones, green corridors or exclusion zones; and whether such measures are mandated in planning policy guidance.

The government is consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, more rules-based policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes explicit recognition of chalk streams as features of high environmental value. Our proposed policy is clear that local plans must identify and manage the impacts of development on these sensitive areas, for instance by creating buffer zones or green corridors, while giving local authorities flexibility to decide which measures are best suited to their local context. We have also set out more clearly expectations for development proposals to assess and mitigate adverse impacts to water quality on these sensitive waterbodies.

Communities and Local Government, how explicit protection of chalk stream rivers is defined in government policy or guidance, as referenced during the Planning Reform debate on 16 December 2025.

The government is consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, more rules-based policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes explicit recognition of chalk streams as features of high environmental value. Our proposed policy is clear that local plans must identify and manage the impacts of development on these sensitive areas, for instance by creating buffer zones or green corridors, while giving local authorities flexibility to decide which measures are best suited to their local context. We have also set out more clearly expectations for development proposals to assess and mitigate adverse impacts to water quality on these sensitive waterbodies.

Communities and Local Government, whether his proposal to raise the threshold for consultation from 150 to 250 units would override an exclusion zone in a local plan.

Our consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system seeks views on raising the threshold for consulting Active Travel England on residential development from 150 to 250 units. It is expected that this will focus resources on sites which are most likely to be able to benefit from Active Travel England’s advice on enhanced active travel opportunities. No decisions will be made until we have fully considered views on the impacts of these proposals. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 13 January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to fully implement the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).