Written questions by Egan.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of Local Authority’s experience of introducing Article 4 Directions covering Houses in Multiple Occupation; and whether any proposals will be brought

My Department engages regularly with local authorities about a range of planning matters, including those that have introduced an ‘Article 4’ direction. Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework (...

Communities and Local Government, whether his department has made an assessment of levels of prevalence of voting fraud in (a) postal voting, and (b) proxy voting.

Data on allegations and outcomes of electoral fraud is collected by police forces across the UK and provided to the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission publishes this information annually on its website. The Government continues to work closely...

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing the Normal Minimum Pension Age from 6 April 2028 on members of the Local Government Pension Scheme with fewer th

HMRC has published details of the general equalities impacts of the increase in Normal Minimum Pension Age. The Finance Act 2022 already includes protections for members of registered pension schemes who have an unqualified right to access their pension b...

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure that deposit schemes represent good value for tenants and landlords; and what steps he is taking to ensure the system is transparent.

The recent extension of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDP) contracts secured significant improvements in value for money and overall performance, including enhanced financial transparency and the introduction of more stretching and relevant Key Performance ...

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure parity of recognition between Fire Control staff and other operational personnel who contribute to incident response, including thos

Control staff are a vital part of Fire and Rescue services and it is right that their outstanding work is recognised. Chief Fire Officers, and senior leaders, should ensure that nominations for recognition of deserving members of staff, should be consider...

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the eligibility criteria applied to Fire Control staff for the award of the Platinum Jubilee Medal, Diamond Jubilee Medal, and Gold

The eligibility criteria for each Jubilee medal were agreed across government, in consultation with the Devolved Administrations, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, and approved by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals an...

Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department has given to strengthening regulatory interfaces, including the UK’s machinery and building‑safety frameworks, to ensure that lifts, doors, and other powered egress‑related systems allow for rapid evacuation of vulnerable residents during fire emergencies.

The government is reviewing the recommendation from the Grenfell Inquiry to mandate fire safety strategies for higher risk buildings. Such strategies would require a building’s responsible person to set out clear plans for what vulnerable people should do to evacuate in an emergency. Additionally, government has committed to review and update guidance to the Building Regulations set out in Approved Document B (Fire Safety). The Building Safety Regulator has launched a public consultation setting out proposals including new provisions for evacuation lifts in residential buildings over 18 metres to support safe evacuation of residents who may not be able to use stairs. The consultation closes on 17 June 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to improve recognition of non-visible disabilities, including stoma use, in the design of public facilities.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 70255 which was answered on 4 September 2025. Government policies relating to Building Regulations and how the accessibility and use of buildings is reflected in design are made in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty. Changes to the statutory guidance which accompanies the Building Regulations (Approved Document M Volume 2) made in January 2021 make provision for facilities, including Changing Places toilets, in new buildings (or those undergoing major redevelopment) other than dwellings, that fall above a certain size threshold. This aims to make accessibility a mainstream consideration in how public spaces are planned and built.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in the home buying and selling process.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 87197 on 7 November 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of walking, wheeling and cycling routes on disused railways to access to new housing sites.

The provision of walking, wheeling and cycling routes plays an important role in new developments and has wide ranging benefits, including reducing impacts associated with traffic, as well as supporting health and wellbeing. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, using a vision led approach to identify transport solutions that deliver well-designed, sustainable and popular places. This includes identifying and pursing opportunities to promote walking and cycling, which could include routes on disused railways, to help ensure safe and suitable access to new housing sites for all users.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken by the Building Safety Regulator to process (a) applications and (b) approvals on levels of employment in the construction sector.

The department recognises the importance of Gateway 2 approvals to the supply of new homes and the construction sector. That is why the government announced in June 2025 changes to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). These reforms include delivering operational improvements in the BSR which will allow decisions on applications submitted to the BSR to be made more quickly. The department will continue to work with the BSR to deliver further improvements in its performance in the short and medium term.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the planning system in supporting the rollout of electric vehicle charging points.

Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of electric vehicle charge points without the need to submit a planning application, subject to certain conditions.In its response to the Climate Change Committee’s 2024 progress report published on 17 December last year, the government made clear that it intended to amend these rights to further support the roll out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, so that opportunities from changing transport technology and usage are realised. The NPPF also sets out that applications for development should be designed to enable charging of plug-in vehicles in safe, accessible and convenient locations.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) quality and (b) adequacy of the regulation of houses in multiple occupation in the private rented sector.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are subject to mandatory licensing in properties where five or more persons in two or more households share facilities. Local authorities also have the power to introduce additional licensing for smaller HMOs which are...