Written questions by Robertson.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with Isle of Wight Council on (a) local government reorganisation and (b) devolution.

At the start of February I was pleased to confirm Hampshire and the Solent’s place on the Devolution Priority Programme. Since then both I and Baroness Taylor have met with leaders from the Isle of Wight Council and their neighbours to discuss both reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timescale. The council is also invited to formally respond to the consultation Government is currently running in the area, seeking views on Mayoral devolution. My officials have engaged regularly with their counterparts in local government in the region.With regards to reorganisation, on 5 February, I invited unitary proposals from all councils in two-tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. All councils in Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight have been invited to submit an interim plan by 21 March and any final proposal(s) by 26 September. Departmental officials have recently met with officers from all councils in the area, including the Isle of Wight to discuss to discuss the process for reorganisation set out in the statutory invitation letter and next steps.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had discussions with local authorities on the potential implications for their policies of the inheritance tax changes to agricultural land and property made at the Autumn Budget 2024.

Ministers and officials in the department engage regularly with counterparts in local government on a range of issues. Details of ministerial meeting with external organisations are published on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) help prevent land banking by developers and (b) ensure that land earmarked for housing development is used to increase the supply of affordable housing.

The government wants to see homes built faster and we recognise the frustrations that stalled or delayed sites can cause to communities.Once housebuilders have been granted permission for residential development, meeting local housing needs and preferences, we expect to see them built out as quickly as possible.Local planning authorities already have powers to issue a completion notice to require a developer to complete their development if it is stalled. If they fail to do so, the planning permission for the development will lapse.The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December includes policies designed to support increased build out rates, including the promotion of mixed tenure development.In addition, our New Homes Accelerator aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be.To enhance transparency and accountability in respect of build out rates, the government intend to take steps to implement build out reporting following technical consultation.We also intend to provide local planning authorities with powers to decline to determine planning applications submitted by developers who have failed to implement previous permissions.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to make local councils aware of the High Street Rental Auctions scheme.

The government continues to work with local councils to support the implementation of the High Street Rental Auction powers.In November I wrote to the leaders and chief executives of every local authority in England notifying them of the commencement date for the powers and inviting them to be early adopters. We have since announced three initial early adopter areas (Bassetlaw, Darlington and Mansfield) and are supporting them closely, along with other councils actively developing plans for using the powers.The department has hosted a national showcase event and five webinars raising awareness, promoting the funding support and toolkits available to local authorities to assist delivery. On 2 December, the department published technical guidance and prospectuses explaining what funding is available and how councils can apply.

Communities and Local Government, how many (a) internal policy reviews, (b) independent reviews, (c) external reviews, (d) taskforces, (e) public consultations, (f) investigations and (g) other reviews their Department launched between 5 July 2024 and 5 January 2025; what the titles were of those reviews; and how many of those reviews have been (i) completed and (ii) published.

This Government has outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out an ambitious set of milestones - across the missions - for this Parliament. As the House would expect, Government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer. Public reviews and consultations will be available on GOV.UK as they are published.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations of the report entitled Our Future Homes: Housing that promotes wellbeing and community for an ageing population, published on 26 November 2024.

The government are giving careful consideration to the recommendations in the final report of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce. We are committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy