Written questions by Dillon.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she will take to remove barriers to accessing social housing for those most in need.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 98397 on 17 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many households have been refused social housing due to affordability checks; and what alternative affordable housing options are available to those households to help prevent homelessness.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 98397 on 17 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate provision of one-bedroom homes for young people within the Government’s target of delivering 180,000 homes for social rent.

For details on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 11 November 2025 (HCWS1027). The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that it is for local planning authorities to assess the size, types and tenure of housing needed for different groups, including (but not limited to) those who require social rented homes and to reflect this in their planning policies.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Centrepoint’s call to build 40,000 one-bedroom homes per year to address record levels of youth homelessness.

Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out how we will tackle the root causes of homelessness, including by building 1.5 million homes, including a generational increase in new social and affordable homes backed by £39 billion investment through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed, and we are asking providers to come forward with ambitious bids that reflect this diversity. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing (including Social Rent), and reflect this in their planning policies. The Government is consulting on changes to the Framework, including proposals relating to the delivery of social rent and affordable homes. The consultation document is available here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Centrepoint’s finding that local authorities face a £400 million funding shortfall in meeting their statutory duties to young people experiencing homelessness.

The government has provided more than £1 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services this year. Councils should use this record investment to meet the needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in their area, including young people.

Communities and Local Government, what metrics his Department will use to assess whether the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is achieving its stated objectives and its impact on the housing market more broadly.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 88657 on 21 November 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what support he is providing to local authorities to ensure they receive additional dedicated funding for homelessness services.

The Government has increased funding for homelessness services this year to over £1 billion, including a £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant announced on 11 December 2025. You can find allocations here. We are also investing £3.5 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, through more flexible multi-year funding arrangements that enable councils to invest more in prevention.

Communities and Local Government, what immediate steps his Department is taking to help reduce levels of homelessness and rough sleeping.

The Government has increased funding for homelessness services this year to over £1 billion, including a £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant announced on 11 December 2025. You can find allocations here. We are also investing £3.5 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, through more flexible multi-year funding arrangements that enable councils to invest more in prevention.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on West Berkshire Council, with regards to their capacity to sustain statutory services and meet local demand.

On Thursday 20 November, we published the government response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0, which sets out the government’s plan to introduce a fairer and evidence-led funding system. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities, realigning funding with need and deprivation. We are delivering fairer funding and targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade from 2026-27, and giving local authorities greater flexibility and certainty by streamlining over 33 funding streams worth almost £47 billion. We expect that the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement. We will publish provisional local authority allocations at the upcoming provisional multi-year Settlement in December. Proposals and allocations will be subject to consultation and the usual Parliamentary process.

Communities and Local Government, whether he is considering a 4% minimum annual increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities.

This Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years which includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding which will be delivered through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29. The £3.4 billion, when taken together with a 3% core council tax referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept, results in a 2.6% real terms average annual increase in Core Spending Power over the Spending Review period. We expect that the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement and by 2028-29 and that the 10% most deprived authorities will see a significant increase in their Core Spending Power per head compared to the least deprived. The government wants to move decisively to a reformed system, but we have heard clearly that we need to implement funding reform in 2026-27 with transitional arrangements to allow others time to adjust. We will therefore phase in allocations over the multi-year Settlement, and protect the income of authorities which would see losses from funding reform using a range of funding floor levels appropriate to specific groups of authorities’ circumstances. Further details can be found here: Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 - GOV.UK. We will publish provisional local authority allocations at the upcoming provisional multi-year Settlement in December. Proposals and allocations will be subject to consultation and the usual Parliamentary process.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed Community Right to Buy on the establishment of community owned businesses.

Through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, we are introducing a new community right to buy to give communities stronger powers to protect a range of assets which are important to them. This will help to ensure that community owned businesses have the spaces they need to operate effectively, meeting the needs of the community and benefiting the local economy.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a rural community ownership fund.

The Department commissioned an evaluation of the Community Ownership Fund in May 2023 to measure the social and economic impacts of different kinds of asset ownership, which will conclude in March 2026. Interim findings will be published in the coming months highlighting the impact of the funding. A final report will be published in Spring 2026. The evaluation will assess the impact of assets across a range of different types of geography including assets based in rural areas.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that all potential liabilities associated with unadopted assets in the housing sector are (a) identified and (b) accounted for.

My Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential liabilities associated with unadopted assets in the housing sector.An overview of the government’s plans in respect of private and mixed-tenure housing estates can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to require registered providers of social housing to provide data on (a) the number and (b) location of all market sales over the past five years and the (i) value, (ii) age, (iii) condition and (iv) other information on stock in the forthcoming housing strategy.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) sets out when it must be notified if a private registered provider disposes of homes – including where these might be disposed of by market sale.RSH sets out different requirements dependent on the nature of the disposal but requires providers that are selling homes out of the regulated sector to identify the location and number of homes sold. The relevant RSH guidance can be found on gov.uk here.RSH publishes a range of statistics, including on sector and provider-level number of sales. These are available on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of undertaking a public consultation on the reorganisation of local government.

As set out in the English Devolution White Paper we are ending the two-tier system of local government and establishing single tier councils everywhere. Two tier local government slows down decision making and delivery. It leads to fragmented public services, wastes money on duplication, and is confusing about who is responsible for what.We have invited proposals for unitary councils from councils in the 21 two-tier areas in England. There is a requirement for the Secretary of State to consult with affected councils and such other persons as he considers appropriate before implementing a proposal.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to take steps to avoid postponement of scheduled local elections during future reorganisation processes.

The Government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification. The Government will work with areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible, as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation. Legislation to implement proposals for unitary councils replaces any planned elections with elections for the new councils. This avoid the cost and disruption of elections to short-term posts in councils which will shortly be abolished.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered reducing the desired population size for new unitary councils to 300,000 residents.

New unitary councils must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.The 500,000 figure is a guiding principle, not a hard target. We understand the need for flexibility, especially given our ambition to build out devolution and take account of housing growth alongside local government reorganisation.All proposals – whether they are at, above, or below the guided level – should clearly set out the rationale for the proposed approach. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of requiring councils to adopt a cabinet model of governance under proposed legislation.

Requiring all councils in England to operate an executive model of governance will simplify local authority governance arrangements and provide clearer, more easily understood decision-making structures. The vast majority of councils already operate a cabinet model of governance and will not be affected by the requirement.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to review the criteria for designating Assets of Community Value to consider environmental benefit as a qualifying factor.

The new community right to buy, which we are introducing through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, will give communities stronger powers to take ownership of assets that are important to them and save them for future community use. Communities will be able to nominate any asset that furthers the social or economic wellbeing of the community, which will include a range of environmental assets, and purchase these if they are put up for sale.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Single Transferable Vote system in elections for newly established unitary councils.

Elections for existing unitary councils are held under the First Past the Post system. There are no plans to change the voting system for local council elections in England and elections for newly established unitary councils will also be held under this voting system.