Written questions by Stephenson.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) consultations and (b) reviews conducted by his Department since 4 July 2024.

This Government is committed to using reviews, consultations and wider public engagement to inform effective decision-making and delivery. These activities are undertaken as part of the Department’s routine business, and costs are not separately recorded in a way that would enable us to provide the estimate requested.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses on brownfield land rejected for planning permission since 4 July 2024.

My Department publishes the number of planning applications for dwellings granted and refused per quarter by local authority in the PS2 open data file in our quarterly planning application statistics release. It can be found on gov.uk here. The number of applications on brownfield land is not collected.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of homes on brownfield land granted planning permission since 4 July 2024.

My Department publishes the number of planning applications for dwellings granted and refused per quarter by local authority in the PS2 open data file in our quarterly planning application statistics release. It can be found on gov.uk here. The number of applications on brownfield land is not collected.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the build-out guarantees that will be required to secure National Housing Bank funding.

On 17 June, the government announced that it would establish a new National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England which will be publicly owned and backed with £16 billion of financial capacity to accelerate housebuilding in England.My Department is currently working with Homes England and HM Treasury to establish the Bank, including developing its investment strategy and further details will be announced in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of staffing levels in local government on the financial sustainability of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

The Local Government Pension Scheme is well funded, with a funding level of 107% at the 2022 fund valuation. The 2025 valuation is currently underway, which will value the assets and liabilities of each fund, and set employer contributions locally to ensure the long term sustainability of each fund.The potential impacts of change in the number of active members and any redundancies will be taken into account as part of the valuation.Member pensions and benefits are protected as they are guaranteed in statute and are not affected by the performance of investments or by the structural changes.

Communities and Local Government, if he will ask the Office for National Statistics to produce deprivation statistics at output area level.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced recently that the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 will be published on Thursday 30th October 2025. This has been confirmed on GOV.UK As part of this, the Department is working to enhance and update its measures of deprivation in line with recommendations from its 2022 user consultation - Indices Futures: Updating the English Indices of Deprivation (IoD) - consultation - GOV.UK. This includes assessing the feasibility and provision of data at Output Area (OA) level.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the amount of Section 106 funding that was not drawn down and subsequently lost in each of the past ten years.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 54059 on 6 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61248 on Green Belt: Maps, if he will list the local authorities that have received funding.

The government has provided 133 local planning authorities with £70,000 of pump priming funding each to contribute towards the costs of carrying out Green Belt reviews in their areas. Eligible local authorities submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) form requesting a share of this funding. The EOIs were reviewed, and funding has been awarded. Further details, along with a list of successful local authorities, can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2025 to Question 44048 on Environmental Delivery Plans, whether measures that require permanent maintenance will be funded from the initial levy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44048 on 24 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many planning permissions were granted in each of the past five years.

My Department publishes the number of planning applications granted permission per quarter in our quarterly planning applications statistical release which can be found on gov.uk here. England level data can be found in live table 120 for all planning decisions, and for residential planning decisions in live table 120A.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the amount of Section 106 funding returned to developers in each of the last five years; and what the most common infrastructure needs that funding had been allocated for are.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 54059 on 6 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to disapply the cap on council tax rises for 2026-27 as part of the fair funding review.

The Spending Review confirmed the government intends to maintain the referendum threshold at 3%, with 2% for the adult social care precept. This is in line with the threshold set up by the previous government. Final referendum principles will be confirmed at the local government finance settlement, subject to approval by the House of Commons, in the usual way.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61255 on Planning: Apprentices, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the number of planners with a Level 7 Chartered Town Planner Apprenticeship qualification that are employed by (a) local authorities and (b) developers.

My Department currently has no plans to collect data on the number of planners with a Level 7 Chartered Town Planner Apprenticeship qualification employed by local authorities or developers.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61251 on Affordable Housing: Greater London, what level of affordable housing delivery in London he is targeting; and what progress his Department has made on this.

The GLA’s target range for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme in London is 17,800-19,000.The GLA last published their affordable housing statistics in August 2025. From the beginning of the programme to June 2025, there have been 5,500 starts, and 997 completions.

Communities and Local Government, how many social houses have begun construction since 4 July 2024 in (a) England, (b) the East of England and (c) Bedfordshire.

Data on new social and affordable housing supply, including starts, for the period between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 has been pre-announced for publication in November/December 2025 and can be found on gov.uk here. The pre-announcement will be updated with the release date soon, according to the code of practice for Statistics.The subset of that data relating to the delivery in the aforementioned period by Homes England and the Greater London Authority is already available at England level in Live Table 1012, available on gov.uk here.Data on affordable housing supply, including starts for the period between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 has been pre-announced for publication in November/December 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here. This pre-announcement will be updated with the release date in due course and according to the code of practice for Statistics.

Communities and Local Government, what is his planned timetable for implementing local government re-organisation in Bedfordshire.

The English Devolution White Paper announced that we will facilitate a programme of local government reorganisation for two-tier areas, and for unitary councils where there is evidence of failure or where their size or boundaries may be hindering their ability to deliver sustainable and high-quality public services.On 5 February councils in all 21 two-tier areas together with small neighbouring unitary authorities were invited to submit proposals for unitary local government. The three councils in Bedfordshire were not included as part of this process. The Government is open to discussions with all areas where structural change will help them get onto a more sustainable footing.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the value of allotments to local communities.

We recognise the significance of allotments and the valuable contribution they make to the health, wellbeing, and spirit of communities. Local Authorities have a duty to provide allotments if there is sufficient demand, and we believe they are best placed to assess the needs of their areas. Therefore, there is currently no national assessment of the value of allotments to local communities. However, we are seeking to improve allotment provision through the Government’s Green Flag Award scheme. Under this scheme, allotments (if entered as a community garden) can be awarded Green Flag accreditation if they meet the highest quality standards. Recent updates to the Green Flag Award contract, managed by the MHCLG, have included a criterion for ‘community involvement’, which evaluates the value of green spaces to their local communities.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to direct local authorities to always reject planning applications which the lead local flood authority deem would increase the risk of flooding for existing properties.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk (whether existing or future). Where development is necessary in such areas, the development should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that sustainable drainage systems provided as part of proposals for major development should take account of advice from the Lead Local Flood Authority. Planning practice guidance sets out that when considering proposals for major development the local planning authority will need to consult the lead local flood authority on surface water drainage. The guidance is clear that local planning authorities may find it helpful to agree with lead local flood authorities the circumstances and locations where site specific flood risk assessments will be required due to surface water or other local flood risks and lead local flood authority advice can be sought on other planning applications which raise surface water or other local flood risk issues. This can be achieved by having regard to the available information on local flood risks, including the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and the updated map of flood risk from surface water which can be found on gov.uk here. To ensure a proportionate, pragmatic and constituents approach to surface flood risk, we published updated planning practice guidance to clarify how the sequential test should be applied in September 2025. We will consider whether any further changes are required to national planning policy for flooding as part of the new suite of national policies for decision making that we intend to consult on later this year.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the financial sustainability of housing associations.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given Question UIN 76512 on 16 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to allow local authorities to reject planning applications from developers on the basis of previous failures to (a) build and (b) maintain sustainable drainage infrastructure.

The government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that developments of all sizes should use sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts, and that appropriate maintenance arrangements should be in place to ensure an acceptable standard of operation for the lifetime of the development. By law, planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Each application is judged on its own individual merits and the weight given to these considerations is a matter for the local planning authority as the decision taker in the first instance. Local planning authorities should consider the use of conditions or planning obligations to make development acceptable, which may include flood mitigation works, and have a broad range of powers to take enforcement action against breaches of planning control.