Written questions by Mullane.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to deliver a sustainable supported housing sector.

The government values the vital role played by supported housing in helping older, disabled and other vulnerable people to live independently and well, and the contribution it makes to wider government objectives, including tackling rough sleeping and homelessness.Funding for the local commissioning of local housing-related support services is through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The final 2026-27 Settlement makes available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26. The final 2026-27 to 2028-29 Settlement confirms £740 million in new grant funding additional to the provisional Settlement, bringing the total new grant funding delivered through the multi-year Settlement to over £4 billion.As part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, we have provided £159 million for targeted areas over 2026-29 for support services in supported housing, with the primary focus on reducing single homelessness and rough sleeping.At the Spending Review, the government announced £39 billion for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. This programme also seeks to support an increase in the delivery of specialist and supported housing.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help reduce local authority reliance on temporary accommodation.

Through our National Plan to End Homelessness the government is putting prevention at the heart of public services, alongside with actions to address the root causes of homelessness through building more homes, reforming renters’ rights, and tackling poverty. Local councils are at the front line of the response to homelessness and must lead the way in putting prevention at the core of their 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 £3.6 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. This includes over £2.2 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping through the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant. Allocations are published on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure social housing delivery reduces the number of families waiting for (a) three, (b) four, and (c) 5 bedroom homes.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that local authorities should assess the size, type, and tenure of housing needed for different groups, including those who require affordable and social rent homes, and should reflect this in their planning policies and decisions. Assessments of affordable housing need should estimate the numbers of those who cannot meet their needs in the market, including those in need of larger family homes. Local planning authorities are expected to set out the proportion and type of affordable and social rent housing that new development will be required to provide. The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, rules- based policies for plan-making and decision-making. The consultation includes policies to increase the viable provision of more affordable homes. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on ensuring infrastructure accompanies new housing delivery.

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. It also supports the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. 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 Land and Infrastructure funding programmes, such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund. 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. Our Planning and Infrastructure Act includes various provisions designed to streamline the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure. The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes policies designed to further strengthen support for proposals that provide new or improved community facilities and public service infrastructure. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support the regeneration of existing social housing stock.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1283).

Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department of providing additional resource for local authorities to enforce 12 month relet bans on landlords who do not adhere to incoming legislation within the Renters Rights Bill.

In accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities created by the Renters’ Rights Bill are fully funded.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending planning legislation on digital advertising screens.

The advertisement control regime seeks to control the impact of advertisements by reference to their effect on amenity and public safety. Responsibility for the application of the legislation rests with local planning authorities and they are best placed to consider the impact of specific advertisements. My Department has not made any assessment of the impact of digital advertising screens and we have no current plans to issue guidance to local planning authorities on the cumulative impact of such installations.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent the decommissioning of supported housing schemes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 51474 on 19 May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to include provisions for youths in the upcoming homelessness strategy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20895 on 19 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken with Homes England to encourage SMEs to build affordable homes.

The government has set Homes England a strategic objective that funding for the Affordable Homes Programme for 2021-26 should support use of small and medium-sized enterprise contractors. When Homes England assess a bid to the programme for funding, they will look at how the proposed development meets this strategic objective. Homes England will also include this objective in any grant agreement for the programme.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing emergency funding for temporary accommodation in London.

This government has increased funding for homelessness services in 2025/26 by £233 million to nearly £1 billion. This includes more than £277 million for London, an increase of more than £78 million from 2024/25.Councils can draw from the wider local government finance settlement to help meet homelessness and temporary accommodation costs. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 makes available a total Core Spending Power of up to £10.14 billion for London Boroughs excluding the GLA, representing an increase of 6.6%.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has issued guidance on the use of offsite manufacture in house building.

Building regulations apply equally to homes built using modern methods of construction as those built using traditional methods. Developers are responsible for complying with the functional requirements of the building regulations, which are set out in legislation and the Approved Documents.We are working with the British Standards Institution to create a Publicly Available Specification for modern methods of construction new build residential properties, which will be published in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to support councils in London with temporary accommodation pressures.

Homelessness levels are far too high, and we are taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.This Government has inherited record levels of temporary accommodation, and we recognise the pressure this has put on councils. The government regularly takes a wide range of evidence into account when determining the overall level of funding available for local government services, including expected temporary accommodation pressures in 202/26. The majority of funding provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement is un-ringfenced in recognition that local councils are best placed to understand the needs of their communities. The Government has confirmed there will be over £5 billion additional government grant funding available for local government services in 2025/26, over and above increases to council tax. Of this, over £2 billion is being made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26.The Government is clear that, in the short-term, we must prioritise eliminating the worst forms of temporary accommodation such as families in Bed and Breakfast (B&B), other than in genuine emergencies. We have also launched Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £8 million, to work with 20 local councils with the highest use of B&B accommodation for homeless families, including 11 London Boroughs. This will support LAs to move families into more suitable accommodation.In addition, the £1.25 billion Local Authority Housing Fund will provide capital funding directly to English councils and is expected to around 7,700 homes by 2026. It will create a lasting asset for UK nationals by building a sustainable stock of affordable housing and better-quality temporary accommodation for local communities.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring that both staircases in new residential buildings over 18 metres function as fire-fighting staircases.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the UK government took significant steps to enhance fire safety in new residential buildings including increased provisions of sprinkler systems, and the ban on combustible materials in external walls.Following engagement with the sector including fire and rescue services, developers and designers, the government proposed to introduce new guidance making provisions for a second staircases in new residential buildings exceeding 18 metres in height. This new guidance takes effect on 30 September 2026.The current guidance, Approved Document B (Fire Safety), is already clear that residential buildings with a floor area of 900sqm should include a minimum of two firefighting stairs. For buildings below this threshold where a second stair is provided, the second staircases should be, as a minimum, a protected escape stair able to provide an effective means of egress for occupants.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the quality of new residential units that were converted from commercial buildings through permitted development rights.

The government acknowledge the concerns that exist about the quality of residential units created through permitted development rights, particularly office-to-residential conversions. We will continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) landlords and (b) management companies are held accountable for safety defects in leasehold properties.

Regulators – local authorities, fire and rescue authorities and the Building Safety Regulator – have powers to compel landlords and other responsible persons to remediate their unsafe buildings. Where necessary, regulators have powers to prosecute those who are failing to fulfil their duties.The Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) published this week (2 December) sets out key measures to fix buildings faster, identify remaining buildings still at risk and ensure that residents are supported through the remediation process. We are increasing funding to ensure that local regulators have the capacity to drive remediation where responsible parties fail to undertake the work quickly. A further £30 million investment in 25/26 will provide capacity for regulators to tackle hundreds of enforcement cases a year, targeting those failing to remediate their buildings.The Government has published new guidance for regulators on the enforcement of remediation work. The guidance establishes key principles for remediation enforcement, such as the designation of a lead regulator at each building. This reduces ambiguity and allows regulators to work together and drive remediation effectively.For landlords, the message is clear: time is running out to do the right thing. Those who fail to fix their buildings can expect swift and robust enforcement action from regulators with the full support of government behind them.

Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on increasing the number of social housing available in Dagenham and Rainham constituency.

I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.