Speeches by Pennycook.

“We need to understand this issue better, because answers were not forthcoming in the consultation carried out under the previous Government regarding the rationale for the commission. I assure the hon. Gentleman that in the very near future we will go out to consult and to find more evidence, so that we can take the ac…”

“This is not the whole answer, but having up-to-date local plans and infrastructure funding statements in place can make a huge difference in ensuring that the right infrastructure comes forward at the appropriate time. I am more than happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss what more we can do not only to get her local a…”

“I certainly will not rule in or rule out development on any particular site. The hon. Member knows why I cannot speak to particular planning applications, but he knows from our recent meeting on the subject that it is for local planning authorities to determine whether exceptional circumstances exist to justify the rel…”

“Not just because I have accepted a large number of meetings, I think a far better way for the hon. Gentleman to submit his views would be through the appropriate consultation on freehold estates, where he can bring that case and the issues it raises to life for us.”

“As part of the proposals we set out in a build out working paper last year, we are looking at some of the powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 that allow local planning authorities to refuse planning permissions to developers who consistently do not build out. On the issue of highways, I will happily re…”

“Local plans that are up to date provide protection from speculative development. Local authorities have to ensure that they are meeting housing delivery targets; that is an essential part of the system. Again, I will happily respond if the hon. Gentleman writes to me with further detail.”

“We have provided significant support for local planning authorities to help them with capacity and capability pressures. My hon. Friend will know that through the provisions in the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, we are allowing local authorities to set their own fees at a local level to ensure that their costs c…”

“The definition of grey belt for the purposes of both plan making and decision making is set out in the glossary of the national planning policy framework. The Government also updated green-belt planning practice guidance in February last year, to assist local planning authorities with identifying and considering propos…”

“It is a pleasure, as always, to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on securing this important debate, and thank him for his clear and comprehensive account of the challenges of poorly managed, and in particular non-commissioned, exempt accommoda…”

“We issued guidance earlier this week in respect of some of the provisions that are in the Act, but I will ensure that the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness has heard my hon. Friend’s call for more support and guidance in that area, alongside the implementation of other elements of the Act. The Government a…”

“The policy is designed to account for mixed developments. I again come back to the wider point and a lesson that I learned in opposition with the 2024 Act. This is an incredibly technical and complex policy area. We saw with the 2024 Act that if you do it in a rushed way, you can make mistakes. We cannot switch on the …”

“I am not sure there is a tension but there is a challenge. If we rush in and make changes too fast or that are not well thought through, there would be an impact on housing supply. That is specifically why went out to consultation, alongside publication of the draft Bill, so that we can look at a series of niche questi…”

“Broadly, yes. Ground rents are a niche investment. We judge the risk of wider contagion to be low. We will provide further detail but, again, it comes back to what our objective is. It is to deliver on specific commitments made in our manifesto, in the context of those wider reforms, to deal with well-known harms takin…”

“You will have lots of opportunities to scrutinise: a policy paper that set out the rationale was published on the day, we will provide the response to the 2023 consultation that the previous Government carried out and there will be an impact assessment. The Committee will be able to draw on a range of products for its …”

“To clarify, as Minister Rigby said, we took into account investor concerns when developing the policy. We think it strikes a fair balance between the interests of leaseholders, freeholders and those invested in ground rents. Just to be very clear, as I think I was in my statement to the House on the day that we publish…”

“If I could help, Ms Yang, we will publish—as I think the Committee knows; I will be responding to your letter in the coming days—a full impact assessment associated with the draft Bill for the Committee to scrutinise as part of its PLS work.”

“I take the point. We need to flesh out more detail, and I encourage the Committee to make suggestions if it has them, but we have broadly indicated the direction of travel through the social and affordable homes programme. We are thinking very carefully about what more can be done to improve the staircasing process and…”

“Broadly, I would encourage all providers to look at the changes we are introducing to the shared ownership model through the social and affordable homes programme and roll them out as far as they possibly can. On staircasing specifically, we recognise that it can be complex and costly; it involves valuations and other …”

“No? I would have to have clarity on which exact product we are talking about.”

“At the risk of misleading the Committee, if the Committee wants to write to me about a particular product, I am happy to give the Government’s position on it, but what the social and affordable homes programme will support, both in terms of sub-market rent and low-cost home ownership, is all set out in the prospectuses…”