Written questions by Maguire.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that planning decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate account for local housing need in (a) areas where there is (i) acute demand for affordable homes and (ii) community opposition to retirement-only developments and (b) other areas.

The Planning Inspectorate is an arm’s length body, responsible for examining local development plans impartially to ensure they are legally compliant and sound, and for considering appeals against planning decisions.Inspectors will make decisions in light of the policies in the given adopted Plan, of relevant policy in the National Planning Policy Framework, and of all other factors material to a particular planning case and its location including the evidence and concerns of local people.The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities should assess the size, type, and tenure of housing needed for different groups, including those who require affordable housing (including Social Rent) and older people, and reflect this in their planning policies.Plan making authorities should also set clear policies to address the housing needs of older people and, where there is an identified unmet need for specialist housing for older people, local authorities should take a positive approach to schemes that propose to meet this need.The needs of different groups should be taken into account in making planning decisions. This includes an expectation that major development should provide the affordable housing required to meet identified local needs.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, if her Department will publish their methodology for (a) calculating and (b) allocation of funding from her'10-year local growth fund to the 350 deprived communities.

On 11 June 2025, the government has announced communities funding for up to 350 places, including the 75 places named in the Plan for Neighbourhoods in March 2025. Within this, 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods will receive up to £20 million over the next decade. We will set out full place selection and methodology in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of low housing stock on young families in (a) North Cornwall and (b) other rural areas.

The government recognises the impact of low housing stock on young families in North Cornwall and other rural areas.We are taking decisive action to boost the supply of homes of all tenures and are giving further consideration to what more we can do to promote rural affordable housing and support local authorities to respond to the pressures caused by excessive concentrations of short-term lets and second homes.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure that (a) schools, (b) hospitals, (c) sewage capacity and (d) other key infrastructure are in place before housing development works are started.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 26106 on 5 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the levels of availability of (a) affordable and (b) social housing on people living in (i) North Cornwall constituency and (ii) rural areas.

It is for local authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and to reflect this in their planning policies.However, the government have made clear that authorities should consider the particular needs of those who require Social Rent homes when undertaking needs assessments and setting policies on affordable housing requirements.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming social housing eligibility criteria to include families local to the area being considered who cannot (a) afford to rent a property privately and (b) obtain a mortgage in (i) rural areas and (ii) Cornwall.

Local authorities are responsible for designing and managing their own social housing allocations policies to meet local need, including setting qualification criteria appropriate to their local area. These schemes are governed by a legal framework set by central government. Local authorities may (but are not obliged to) take an applicant’s financial resources into account when considering their application for social housing, including whether they can secure alternative accommodation at market rent. Local authorities can also adopt a residency or local connection test for social housing which require a well-established local association or the individual(s) having lived in their area for a certain period before they can access the social housing waiting list.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a review of the Mobile Homes Act 2013 to help support full time residential park-home owners.

A review of the effectiveness of the Mobile Homes Act 2013 was undertaken in 2017 and it made a number of recommendations. Most have been implemented, such as the introduction of a fit and proper person test and changes to the pitch fee review inflationary index from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to local authorities in rural areas with high levels of (a) executive housing and (b) second homes on revising the (i) points and (ii) banding systems used to allocate social housing.

Local Authorities are responsible for designing and managing their own housing allocations policies to meet local need within the framework of legislation under which certain categories of people must be given priority. Social housing allocations guidance can be found here. The Department has no plans to issue additional guidance to local authorities in rural areas.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring housing developers to consult with water companies at every stage when building new homes, in the context of establishing sewage infrastructure.

As set out in Paragraph 7 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of homes, commercial development and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. Sustainable development should be pursued both through the preparation and implementation of local development plans, and the application of policies in the framework.The government is clear that housing must come with appropriate infrastructure, including appropriate water infrastructure. We believe that strategic issues such as water capacity are best dealt with at a strategic level through the plan-making process, rather than through individual planning applications.A key function of local development plans is to guide development to the most suitable and sustainable locations and to ensure that the associated infrastructure requirements are addressed. Effective co-operation early in the plan-making process is essential to ensuring not only that housing and infrastructure need is appropriately planned for, but that they are aligned with each other. The NPPF makes it clear that local planning authorities should collaborate with each other and with other public bodies, including infrastructure providers, to identify relevant strategic matters to be addressed, including providing for sustainable water supplies.Water companies are under a statutory duty to provide new water and sewerage connections to residential properties, as well as planning to meet the needs of growth as part of water resource management plans, and drainage and wastewater management plans. The water resources planning guidance published by the government set out how those companies should forecast demand for water based on existing customers and planned levels of household and non-household growth, with the number of planned developments being based on published local plans.Relevant planning practice guidance sets out that good design and mitigation measures should be secured during development, both through site-specific and non-site-specific policies on water infrastructure. The revised NPPF published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that developments of all sizes should use sustainable drainage techniques when the development could have drainage impacts and should have appropriate maintenance arrangements in place. We continue to explore whether more needs to be done to ensure sustainable drainage technologies are taken up more widely in new development, either through planning policy or by commencing schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, and a decision on the best way forward will be made in the coming months.Ensuring that we take a strategic spatial planning approach to the management of water, including tackling pollution and managing pressures on the water environment at a catchment, regional and national scale, is a core objective of the ongoing independent review into the regulatory system of the water sector, launched in October 2024 by the UK and Welsh Governments. The review is expected to report next year, and we will carefully consider its findings.

Communities and Local Government, what support her Department has made available to residents facing increases in management fees by (a) landlords and (b) management companies.

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

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that landlords cannot lawfully obstruct emergency vehicle access to residential properties.

The Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 makes clear that it is an offence to obstruct or hinder certain emergency workers from responding to present or imminent emergency circumstances. As a matter of public safety, property owners and managers should keep access routes clear, so that emergency vehicles can gain access if needed.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support young people onto the housing ladder in North Cornwall constituency.

The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of home ownership. This government is determined to change that, ensuring that young families and hardworking renters can buy a home of their own. The most sustainable long-term method to improve housing affordability and help people into home ownership is to increase the supply of housing. That is why the Government committed to deliver 1.5 million homes over the Parliament in the Plan for Change. In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, we are committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme meaning first-time buyers in North Cornwall and across the country will be able to take their crucial first step on to the property ladder with only a small deposit.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rent increases on recent trends in the level of tenants being evicted.

The English Housing Survey found that in 2023-24 just under a third of private renters (32%) reported finding it either fairly or very difficult to afford their rent. This is an increase on the proportion seen in 2022-23 (29%), and pre-pandemic (27%).The English Private Landlord Survey in 2023-24 also found that one of the most common reasons for a landlord evicting a tenant was rent arrears (42%).The government recognises that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The Renters’ Rights Bill empowers private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases, with all rent increases taking place via an existing statutory process.Tenants who receive a rent increase that they feel is not representative of the market value will be able to challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal. This will prevent unscrupulous landlords using rent increases as a backdoor means of eviction, while ensuring rents can be increased to reflect market rates.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase funding for social housing, in the context of the forthcoming spending review.

The government will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.Since October 2024, we have announced £800 million in new funding for the current Affordable Homes Programme. This will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being Social Rent homes.

Communities and Local Government, whether any alternative funding streams are available for parish councils seeking to purchase community assets following the closure of the Community Ownership Fund.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29854 on 12 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of a new planning class and permitted development rights for short-term lets on the number of (a) short-term lets and (b) private rented homes.

Whilst short-term lets can benefit local economies, the government appreciate that excessive concentrations in some areas of the country can impact the availability and affordability of homes both to rent and buy. We have committed to introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets and removing the furnished holiday let rules to ensure all income from property will be treated the same for tax purposes. We also recognise that more needs to be done and are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets.

Communities and Local Government, whether planned leasehold reforms will include (a) protection for owners of park homes and (b) control of charges and commissions payable when a site owner wishes to sell and leave a site.

The government’s planned reforms to the leasehold sector will not apply to park homes, which are legally defined as caravans. The contractual terms between a site owner and a park home resident for stationing a home on a pitch are set out in the Mobile Homes Act 1983. Park home owners do not have leases for their homes or the pitch on which the home sits. The government recognises that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home. We will set out plans in due course to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral response to the hon. Member for North Cornwall during Prime Minister's Questions on 16 October 2024, if she will meet with hon. Members representing Cornish constituencies.

The Deputy Prime Minister held a meeting with all six Cornish Members of Parliament on 17 December 2024. There has also been a significant number of meetings with Cornish MPs individually and collectively with government ministers.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in employer's National Insurance on public services provided by Cornwall Council.

We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. That is why the government is providing an additional £2 billion of grant funding through the Settlement, which includes £502 million of additional grant funding to manage the impact of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) changes on council budgets.Additional funding for employer NICs has been determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff and the grant distribution methodology has been published in an explanatory note on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-explanatory-note-on-the-employer-national-insurance-contribution-grant-2025-to-2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to prevent the permanent conversion of public houses to other uses through the High Street Rental Auctions scheme in (a) Cornwall and (b) England.

The government champions the community value of pubs and has included a number of protections in the high street rental auction legislation. The local authority may restrict the use of the property within the lease terms. Should a change of use be approved, key infrastructure must be maintained, and the premises will revert to being a pub unless an application for change of use is made under the standard process. Therefore, even if a pub is subject to a High Street Rental Auction, its ability to become a functioning pub again can be guaranteed.