Written questions by Cooper.

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for publishing the cross-government homelessness strategy.

We will publish our cross-Government homelessness strategy later this year.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) town and (b) parish councils that have taken on functions previously managed by (i) district, (ii) county, (iii) unitary and (iv) metropolitan authorities in each of the last five years.

There is no centrally held data on the total number of functions town and parish councils have taken on from principal local authorities.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Help to Buy scheme on low income, first time buyers.

The Help to Buy Scheme was closed in May 2023. An evaluation into the impact of the scheme is ongoing.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the funding requirements for community organisations to make effective use of the proposed Community Right to Buy.

The Government is committed to giving communities real power to secure assets that are important to them and will introduce Community Right to Buy as part of the English Devolution Bill. We are currently finalising the policy and have consulted a range of groups including community organisations and local authorities on its design. We will continue this engagement as the powers are implemented.The Government appreciates that securing funding to purchase community assets can be challenging and we want to ensure that community groups have the right support to do this under Community Right to Buy.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to consult (a) community groups and (b) local authorities on the design and implementation of the strengthened Community Right to Buy.

The Government is committed to giving communities real power to secure assets that are important to them and will introduce Community Right to Buy as part of the English Devolution Bill. We are currently finalising the policy and have consulted a range of groups including community organisations and local authorities on its design. We will continue this engagement as the powers are implemented.The Government appreciates that securing funding to purchase community assets can be challenging and we want to ensure that community groups have the right support to do this under Community Right to Buy.

Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made in preparing the strengthened Community Right to Buy proposals ahead of the introduction of the English Devolution Bill.

The Government is committed to giving communities real power to secure assets that are important to them and will introduce Community Right to Buy as part of the English Devolution Bill. We are currently finalising the policy and have consulted a range of groups including community organisations and local authorities on its design. We will continue this engagement as the powers are implemented.The Government appreciates that securing funding to purchase community assets can be challenging and we want to ensure that community groups have the right support to do this under Community Right to Buy.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of sanctions available to local government standards committees for the actions of town and parish councillors.

In December the Government launched a consultation seeking views on a range of measures to strengthen the standards and conduct framework that applies to all types and tiers of local authorities in England. The proposals consulted upon included a requirement for all principal authorities to convene formal standards committees to make decisions on code of conduct breaches, and the introduction of suspension of members for serious misconduct. We are now in the process of analysing the responses to the consultation to ensure we are taking full account of sector views on all of the measures proposed, and the Government Response will be issued in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of audit requirements for town and parish councils following the abolition of the Audit Commission in 2015.

In December 2024, the government launched a strategy to overhaul the local audit system in England. Through the strategy and subsequent consultation response, the government has committed to a number of measures in relation to smaller bodies including to review the effectiveness of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return process for smaller bodies. The government will introduce legislation to move away from audit regimes based solely on thresholds to ensure a risk based and proportionate approach. As part of the wider reforms, the government is establishing the Local Audit Office (LAO) to streamline and oversee the currently fragmented system. In the longer term, the LAO’s appointment and contract management function will expand to include the smaller authorities’ appointment and assurance framework to minimise fragmentation in the system.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of bringing town and parish councils into scope of the local government ombudsman.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) provides members of the public with a vital complaints resolution service for when things go wrong with the public services they rely on. Their investigations provide the public with personal redress and improve the delivery of these services by local authorities. Most of their complaints are about key public services, such as children’s services, adult social care and homelessness. The Government has no plans to bring town and parish councils within the LGSCO’s scope.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the Land Registry to (a) record and (b) publish a property owner's Company Registration Number on title register documents.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) requires that the registration number of a company is supplied when a UK company is being registered. Company registration numbers are recorded in the proprietorship entry of the title register. Copies of title registers are normally available from HMLR’s Search for land and property information page on gov.uk here. HMLR publishes information about registered land and property in England and Wales owned by UK companies on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase the supply of affordable housing in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.

I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support councils in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England to reduce homelessness.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This government recognises the devastating impact this can have on those affected.We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Government is looking at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all. This includes a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, bringing together ministers from across government.The Government is also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including the delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.There is £1.2 billion committed through the Homelessness Prevention Grant from 2022 to 2025, of which Chesire East, Cheshire West and Chester received a combined total of £6,442,462.48. Basildon received £3,743,552.85 and Thurrock £3,340,472.94. And, as announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping.The budget committed nearly £1 billion total spend on homelessness services in 2025/26 and is the first step to getting us back on track to ending homelessness. We expect to publish allocations for funding for 2025/26 alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.

Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on ending rough sleeping in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) the rest of England.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected.We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.The Government is also taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group which the Deputy Prime Minister will chair, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness.Two unitary authorities in Cheshire received funding to tackle rough sleeping through the Rough Sleeping Initiative in 2024/25:Cheshire East UA received £222 thousand; andCheshire West & Chester UA received £661 thousand.Future allocations to local authorities will be announced in due course and made available on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase the supply of social housing in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.

I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring students studying for a royal town planning institute course to complete a 12-month placement within a local planning authority as part of their accreditation.

The government recognise the importance of town planning students getting the broadest range of knowledge and experience as they study, including an understanding of the vital work undertaken by local planning authorities. That is why the department funds the Local Government Association’s Pathways to Planning programme. This places non-planning graduates, from a variety of backgrounds and locations, into local planning authorities whilst also receiving a bursary for an RTPI fully accredited master’s course. Many universities offer a year out in industry which benefits students and readies them for work.More broadly, the government has announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system to support capacity and capability in local planning authorities, including through the recruitment and training of 300 graduate and apprentice planners and the development of skills needed to implement reforms and unlock housing delivery.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of homeless people who have died while living on the street in each of the last five years in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England; and what steps her Department is taking to end rough sleeping in those areas.

Every death of someone sleeping rough on our streets is one too many. The estimated number of deaths of homeless people in England and Wales is published by the Office for National Statistics. You can find the data for between 2013 and 2021 here. ONS are doing further work revising their methodology for the data set to make it more robust so it is likely that their next publication will be in 2025.We are developing a new cross-government strategy to get us on back on track to ending homelessness and rough sleeping. The £547 million Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) is continuing its support to up to 300 local authorities across England by funding local, tailored rough sleeping services. Cheshire East received £222,000 and Cheshire West and Chester received £661,000 of RSI funding for 2024-25.As announced at Budget, we are also providing an additional £233 million in 2025-26 to prevent homelessness, taking total spending to £1 billion in 2025-26.

Communities and Local Government, how many families with children were housed in temporary accommodation in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. Local authorities report their statutory homelessness statistics on a quarterly basis and these can be accessed: here.The Government is taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) will chair, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including:Delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.Abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of families living in temporary accommodation in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. Local authorities report their statutory homelessness statistics on a quarterly basis and these can be accessed: here.The Government is taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) will chair, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including:Delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.Abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help reduce health inequalities through housing in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.

The Government is taking steps to reduce health inequalities through housing reforms including extending ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the private rented sector and introducing a new Decent Homes Standard to drive up the quality of rented housing. In addition, as part of the recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, we sought views on changes aimed at increasing the provision of public service infrastructure across England, including hospitals, and addressing issues like childhood obesity. The consultation closed on 24 September and responses are being analysed with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a licensing regime for short-term lets.

While recognising the benefits that short-term lets can have for local economies, the Government appreciates that excessive concentrations in some areas of the country can impact on the availability and affordability of homes to buy and rent as well as having a detrimental impact on local services.The Government is committed to the introduction of a short-term let registration scheme and to abolishing the furnished holiday lets tax regime to remove the tax incentive that short-term let owners have over long-term landlords. In addition, we are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to better manage excessive concentrations of such properties.