Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, whether tenancy deposit scheme data will be made available under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

The use of data collected by Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) schemes is governed by the Housing Act 2004 and the individual data sharing agreements with providers. Details of the purpose of data collection, and where and how TDP data is shared with other bodies is set out in the TDP privacy notice. This can be found on gov.uk here. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 does not grant the power to allow further use of TDP data beyond its current uses as set out in the Housing Act 2004, contractual agreements, and privacy notice.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has modelled any increase in contingent liabilities arising from changes to rent review certainty under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

My Department engages regularly with build to rent operators and other stakeholders from the sector in relation to the reforms that we are making to the private rented sector and will continue to do so to ensure the successful implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The Impact Assessment for the Act is available here. While this does not model the specific impacts referred to in the hon. Member’s questions, it concludes that the costs of our reforms are estimated to be just £22 per rented property annually (0.2% of mean annual rents).

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 16 December 2025, what guidance his Department intends to provide to local planning authorities on how to consider (a) retrospective planning applications and (b) planning enforcement appeals by travellers on (i) Green Belt land and (ii) open countryside.

The government will consider whether any new guidance is required following consideration of responses received to the consultation process. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued to local planning authorities on enforcing land restoration following the removal of solar developments.

The Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) on renewable and low carbon energy sets out that solar farms are normally temporary structures and that planning conditions can be used to ensure that installations are removed when no longer in use and the land restored. Local planning authorities have powers to take enforcement action against any breach of planning requirements. The PPG on renewable and low carbon energy can be viewed here and guidance on planning enforcement can be found on gov.uk here. The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes policy on the decommissioning of renewable and low carbon energy development and site restoration. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether land previously used for solar farms is classified as brownfield following decommissioning.

Brownfield land, also known as previously developed land, is defined in the glossary of the National Planning Policy Framework which can be found on gov.uk here. It is for those making decisions on specific planning proposals to determine whether a site constitutes brownfield land given the particular circumstances of the case, taking into account any requirements for site restoration.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question HL12628 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if he will make it his policy not to determine the planning application until the full unredacted internal drawings requested by his Department on 6 August 2025 have been provided by the applicant.

My Department does not comment on live planning cases. The full reasons for the decision will be set out in the final decision letter.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2025, to Question 97532 on Local Government: Elections, what consideration was given by Ministers to consulting the Electoral Commission before the cancelation of the 2026 mayoral elections.

The Government has announced that it is minded to hold the inaugural mayoral elections for Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Greater Essex in May 2028, with areas completing the local government reorganisation process before Mayors take office. The inaugural elections have been postponed because devolution is strongest when it is built on strong foundations, and Government will keep the Electoral Commission informed as we proceed. The Government intends to establish Mayoral Strategic Authorities via secondary legislation for all the Devolution Priority Programme areas as soon as possible, subject to the councils’ consent.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance the (a) Government and (b) Planning Inspectorate has given to local planning authorities and inspectors on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the planning policy in relation to (i) retrospective planning applications and (ii) unauthorised development.

Neither the government nor the Planning Inspectorate has issued guidance to local planning authorities on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to retrospective planning applications and unauthorised development.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2025 to Question 94722 on Public Spaces: Political Activities, whether local authorities may charge more than cost recovery when levying such fees for political street stalls in public places.

When setting fees local authorities are encouraged to be mindful of their legislative requirements and any guidance issued to them. The Local Government Association has published guidance on locally set licensing fees here which sets out the reasonable costs of administering, processing and enforcing a licensing regime.

Communities and Local Government, what planning weight can decision-makers give to the emerging policy in the draft National Planning Policy Framework of 16 December 2025 during the consultation period.

The proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework published in draft on 16 December are subject to consultation prior to being finalised. It is at the discretion of individual decision makers as whether any weight should be given to the proposals during this period, taking into account their status as draft policies.

Communities and Local Government, further to the written statement of 16 December 2025 HCWS1186, on electoral resilience, whether the review will consider the foreign influence on UK politics through US-registered Resolute 1850 Inc.

It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. On 16 December, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. The purpose of the review is to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards and make recommendations. The review will be led by the former Permanent Secretary Philip Rycroft, reporting both to the Secretary of State responsible for elections, and to the Minister of State for Security, as the Chair of the Defending Democracy Taskforce. The terms of reference for the review can be found here. Given the review’s independence, we cannot pre-empt specifics of the ground it will cover, nor the recommendations it will make. It is right that the review is independent of Government and independent of any political party. However, we will be looking to mitigate the risk of foreign financial interference in UK politics from any actors and individuals who might wish to undermine our democracy.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the feasibility of meeting the target of delivering 1.5 million homes in England by 2029.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 27400 on 3 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many new homes his Department estimates will be delivered in each year until 2028-29.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer prior to the publication of the consultation on reforms to landfill tax.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Building Safety Regulator will clear the Gateway Two backlog by January 2026.

In August 2025, following the June reforms to the Building Safety Regulator, the new innovation unit began to expedite all new cases for building control approvals for new buildings, whilst still assuring the delivery of safe, high-quality homes.  The innovation unit has dramatically reduced decisions times by 20 or more weeks compared with the previous peak of 38 weeks for approved new build decisions. Applications for new buildings already in the BSR system submitted before 4 August carried on via the existing model.  BSR has reduced the number of these existing new builds every month since August 25 and has significantly driven up the rate of approval. The latest published data shows that cases in the backlog reduced from 103 on 1st September 2025 to 63 as of the 24th November 2025, with 9 further applications being considered as being suitable for approval with requirements. The BSR continues to prioritise these legacy applications and expects the majority to be determined by the new year. With operational performance improving, quality applications are essential to ensure projects can progress. The BSR will continue to support industry leaders as they publish guidance for applicants but will not compromise on safety.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve the viability of brownfield development in London.

The government announced a package of support for housebuilding in London on 23 October, which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on densification in urban homebuilding.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including a number of proposals designed to driving urban and suburban densification in sustainable locations. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, Pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2025, to Question 92034, on Electoral Register: Absent Voting, whether his department has had discussions with the Parliamentary Parties Panel on this issue.

An issue with the availability of information shared as part of the electoral register has been raised with the Government. As stated in the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92034 on Absent Voting, the Government has no plans to make changes to the information which is shared as part of the electoral register.

Communities and Local Government, Further to the written statement of 4 December 2025, HCWS1128, on Devolution Priority Programme, whether the (a) Electoral Commission or (b) Labour Party were (1) consulted or (2) informed of the decision to cancel the scheduled mayoral elections in May 2026.

The Government has announced that it is minded to hold the inaugural mayoral elections for Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Greater Essex in May 2028, with areas completing the local government reorganisation process before Mayors take office. This decision has been taken because devolution is strongest when it is built on strong foundations. The Government intends to establish Mayoral Strategic Authorities via secondary legislation for all the Devolution Priority Programme areas as soon as possible, subject to the councils’ consent.

Communities and Local Government, Further to the written statement of 4 December 2025, HCWS1128, on Devolution Priority Programme, what is the criteria that he will use to determine whether local council elections scheduled for 2026 are (a) held as currently scheduled, (b) postponed or (c) cancelled.

Our starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification otherwise.