Written questions by MacCleary.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority includes Brighton in its name.

The name ‘Sussex and Brighton’ for the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority reflects the make-up of the constituent councils. This is an approach taken in other areas, such as Cheshire and Warrington. The name of the Combined County Authority was a point that was raised by respondents in the consultation process on establishing the authority held last spring, which government carefully considered. Ultimately, the constituent councils have all agreed that the authority should be legally named the ‘Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent parking regulator.

A parking regulator was considered as an option; however, it was dismissed as disproportionate.Establishing a regulator would have involved significant cost, complexity and even further delay, duplicating functions that can be delivered more efficiently through the introduction of a new government Code of Practice.

Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to regulate the property management sector, especially for leaseholders.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Questions UIN 85213 on 4 November 2025 and UIN 113165 on 2 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of removing the 10% commission charge on the sale of park homes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97962 on 15 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of compounded leasehold reform on the housing-with-care for older people sector.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 108467 on 3 February 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to give freehold home owners the right to self property management.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill on private investment in the supply of housing-with-care for older people.

The government recognise that some specialist retirement housing providers have distinct operational and financing arrangements, and we value the important contribution that this sector makes to supporting older people. We want to ensure providers can continue to operate effectively and with confidence. As per the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278), we will consider through the scrutiny and consultation process whether particular arrangements may be appropriate for certain forms of specialist provision.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill on access to fixed charges for retirees living in housing-with-care.

The government recognise that some specialist retirement housing providers have distinct operational and financing arrangements, and we value the important contribution that this sector makes to supporting older people. We want to ensure providers can continue to operate effectively and with confidence. As per the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278), we will consider through the scrutiny and consultation process whether particular arrangements may be appropriate for certain forms of specialist provision.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure accountability for flood risk considerations in the planning process.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 81948 on 14 October 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the arrangements between local planning authorities and advisory Lead Local Flood Authorities on decision making in the planning system.

Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) are statutory consultees within the planning system and provide expert advice on surface water drainage for major planning applications, supporting local planning authorities in the decision-making process. Local planning authorities must take into account comments raised by LLFAs when determining whether to grant planning permission.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to increase the accessibility of specialist housing-with-care to older people.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 61360 on 30 June 2025, UIN 61666 on 30 June 2025, UIN 59953 on 23 June 2025, and UIN 40972 on 1 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to protect (a) freehold property owners and (b) freehold property owners in new build housing estates from high maintenance fees.

The government remain committed to protecting residential freeholders on private and mixed-tenure housing estates from unfair chargeWe will consult this year on implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act’s new consumer protection provisions for the up to 1.75m homes that are subject to these charges, and bring these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter. These include ensuring that homeowners who pay an estate management charge have better access to information they need to understand what they are paying for, the right to challenge the reasonableness at the First-tier Tribunal (in England), and to go to the tribunal to appoint a substitute manager.The government is also determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will consult next year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March to Question 37889 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased insurance premiums due to cladding on the finances of leaseholders in buildings under 11 metres in height.

We do not hold information on insurance premiums for buildings under 11 metres in height. However, insurers should offer affordable premiums in line with risk, where life safety fire risk is generally proportional to the height of buildings. The department has been examining buildings under 11 metres on a case-by-case basis. To date, we have only identified a small number of under 11 metre buildings that require cladding remediation works. In the rare cases where remediation work is required, the department has engaged the relevant developers in conversations about funding these works so that leaseholders do not pay. Regardless of the height of the building, the responsibility for the costs of fixing such defects should rest with building owners, and not leaseholders.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) adequacy of the pace of the existing system for identifying and remediating dangerous cladding and fire safety issues; and what steps she is taking to accelerate the process.

This government has been clear that the pace on remediation has been too slow. Seven years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it is unacceptable that so many buildings still have unsafe cladding. We have announced a step change towards addressing the building safety crisis through the publication of our ambitious Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP). Our plan will drive the pace of remediation through new proposed legal duties and powers, new funding, new resources and new partnerships. In December 2024, the Remediation Acceleration Plan was launched. We recognise that the scale and importance of the challenge is so significant that we expect to publish a further update on this plan in summer 2025 to report on progress and to reflect the second phase of the spending review. Through this plan, we aim that by the end of 2029 all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a government funded scheme will have been remediated. Furthermore, by the end of 2029, every 11m+ building with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated, have a date for completion, or the landlords will be liable for severe penalties. We are also driving pace and effectiveness through existing funding schemes. The Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) was launched in 2023 to help fund work to address unsafe cladding for buildings between 11-18 metres, as well as those over 18 metres outside London, but has since been expanded to include all government funded remediation projects outside London. The benefits of transferring buildings to this scheme include increased pace through the use of automated processes, better experience for residents, and greater cost effectiveness. We are continuing to seek opportunities to exploit the benefits of the CSS further.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support community-led developments; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the funding available for such schemes.

The government recognises that community-led housing delivers a wide range of benefits, including additional housing supply, empowering communities, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy.A range of funding sources are available to support the development of community-led housing, although eligibility will depend on the nature of specific developments. This includes the Levelling-Up Home Building Fund, which provides affordable loan finance for the development of sites of five units or more, and the Affordable Homes Programme, which provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing in England.Beyond funding, the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.As part of the development of our Long Term Housing Strategy, we are considering how the government may further support the growth of the community-led housing sector and I recently met with the Chief Executive of the Community Land Trust Network and other stakeholders to discuss options in that regard.

Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on its target to build 1.5 million homes during this Parliament.

The government’s Plan for Change includes an ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.Progress will be measured through the number of net additional dwellings.The department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’. This includes estimates of new build starts and completions, by local authority, in each financial year since 1980-81, shown in Live Table 253 on gov.uk here.We will continue to update Parliament in the usual manner.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with local authorities on parish and town councils, in the context of her Department's proposals to reorganise local government structures.

The English Devolution White Paper was clear that “We know people value the role of governance at the community scale and that can be a concern when local government is reorganised. We will therefore want to see stronger community arrangements when reorganisation happens in the way councils engage at a neighbourhood or area level. We will also rewire the relationship between town and parish councils and principal Local Authorities, strengthening expectations on engagement and community voice”.

Communities and Local Government, whether the local government reorganisation plans will include provision on (a) planning responsibilities held by the South Downs National Park Authority for Lewes and (b) other National Parks.

The government’s proposals for local government reorganisation will not change the planning responsibilities held by the South Downs Park Authority or any other national park. National Park authorities will remain the local planning authority for their areas.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support communities with high levels of housing growth where necessary infrastructure is not in place; and if she will have discussions with Lewes District Council on the impact of house building targets in Ringmer.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through the Housing Infrastructure Fund.The changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced on 12 December will support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure.The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.Due to the quasi-judicial role of ministers in the planning system, it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the specific details of planning issues in Lewes District, but council officers may wish to contact officials at my department to discuss the general issues raised.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) identify and t(b) rack the ownership of long-term empty properties.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to the Question UIN HL3269 on 20 December 2024. The statistics in question are published annually and include a breakdown of vacant dwellings by local authority district. They can be found on gov.uk here.