Written questions by Coyle.

Communities and Local Government, how (a) temporary accommodation use and (b) all forms of homelessness were factored into assessments of levels of need in the Fair Funding review of local authority needs.

The government has set out our proposal for consolidating funding across all forms of homelessness, through the first multi-year settlement in a decade, in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation on gov.uk here. The Fair Funding Review 2.0 includes proposals to roll funding for Temporary Accommodation, currently part of Homelessness Prevention Grant, into the Local Government Finance Settlement Revenue Support Grant and the creation of a consolidated Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Grant thematic pot. Taking this approach of separating out temporary accommodation funding will end the current tension that forces local authorities to choose between investment in prevention and meeting current temporary accommodation costs, creating dedicated ringfenced funds for the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping. This follows the government’s consultation on the Homelessness Prevention Grant. You can read the response to this consultation on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has put guarantees are in place for using British-made glass in the windows and doors in her Department’s housebuilding programme.

My Department has not stipulated the use of British-made glass in developments funded through housebuilding programmes.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help prevent leaseholders facing high fees for leasehold renewals.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44852 on 22 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many planning applications for housing to local authorities were (a) partially and (b) wholly funded by the Government since July 2024.

The Department does not collect or publish data on how planning applications made to local planning authorities are funded.

Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has for regulation of the residential property management sector to improve standards and protect leaseholders and other residents.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 41307 on 2 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will impose higher penalties on freeholders who do not implement fire safety works within timetables set out in court Remediation Orders.

The Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) provides that a First-tier Tribunal decision made under or in connection with section 123 (remediation orders), will be enforceable with the permission of the County Court. Proceedings will function in the same way as under orders of that Court. The current regime is intended to provide security to the majority of leaseholders and support actions to ensure buildings are remediated. As with all policies, the Government will keep open the option of considering changes in the future. Indeed, our Remediation Acceleration Plan sets out our plan to go further in making sure there are severe penalties for landlords that delay works on cladding issues. We intend to introduce new criminal and civil sanctions for those who fail to assess and remediate unsafe buildings within fixed timescales, backed by a further £33 million investment in 25/26 to provide local and national regulators with capacity and capability to tackle hundreds of enforcement cases a year, targeting those neglecting to quickly remediate their buildings.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take with (a) developers and (b) freeholders who fail to meet remediation orders on time.

The Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) provides that a First-tier Tribunal decision made under or in connection with section 123 (remediation orders), will be enforceable with the permission of the County Court. Proceedings will function in the same way as under orders of that Court. The current regime is intended to provide security to the majority of leaseholders and support actions to ensure buildings are remediated. As with all policies, the Government will keep open the option of considering changes in the future. Indeed, our Remediation Acceleration Plan sets out our plan to go further in making sure there are severe penalties for landlords that delay works on cladding issues. We intend to introduce new criminal and civil sanctions for those who fail to assess and remediate unsafe buildings within fixed timescales, backed by a further £33 million investment in 25/26 to provide local and national regulators with capacity and capability to tackle hundreds of enforcement cases a year, targeting those neglecting to quickly remediate their buildings.

Communities and Local Government, whether freeholders are liable for insurance costs for leaseholders if court ordered safety works are not completed in time.

The terms of individual leases determine when freeholders can pass on insurance costs to leaseholders. This remains the case even if there is a delay to remediating the building. We are pushing for faster remediation as set out in the Remediation Acceleration Plan. We also intend to make it a criminal offence, and apply civil sanctions, against those who fail to remediate their unsafe buildings - including freeholders. Freeholders who delay works can expect swift and robust enforcement action from regulators, with the full support of government. We remain committed to ensuring residents have access to information regarding their buildings insurance and can challenge unreasonable costs. Under the Leasehold & Freehold Reform Act we are making sure landlords provide leaseholders with information about their building’s insurance.

Communities and Local Government, under what circumstances freeholders become liable for higher insurance fees if they delay fire safety works.

The terms of individual leases determine when freeholders can pass on insurance costs to leaseholders. This remains the case even if there is a delay to remediating the building. We are pushing for faster remediation as set out in the Remediation Acceleration Plan. We also intend to make it a criminal offence, and apply civil sanctions, against those who fail to remediate their unsafe buildings - including freeholders. Freeholders who delay works can expect swift and robust enforcement action from regulators, with the full support of government. We remain committed to ensuring residents have access to information regarding their buildings insurance and can challenge unreasonable costs. Under the Leasehold & Freehold Reform Act we are making sure landlords provide leaseholders with information about their building’s insurance.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that penalties are enforced for businesses and freeholders that delay works on cladding issues.

Landlords are legally responsible for making sure their buildings are safe and must do so without delay. Where works on cladding issues are delayed, regulators have legal powers to compel work by a set time and can penalise inaction. In 2023, Newham Council became the first council to successfully prosecute a landlord for delays in removing dangerous cladding. Others are following suit: As of 19 February 2025, enforcement action has been, or is being, taken under the Housing Act against 532 landlords of 11m+ buildings with unsafe cladding. This Government is committed to working hand-in-glove with regulators to get unsafe buildings fixed without delay. We recently published ‘remediation enforcement guidance for regulators’, and launched a new fund which LAs and FRAs can access to obtain funding to get their own specialist legal advice on enforcement cases. The Department’s Recovery Strategy Unit also holds organisations to account who are failing to fix unsafe buildings and contribute to remediation costs. Our Remediation Acceleration Plan sets out our plan to go further in making sure there are severe penalties for landlords that delay works on cladding issues. We intend to introduce new criminal and civil sanctions for those who fail to assess and remediate unsafe buildings within fixed timescales, backed by a further £33 million investment in 25/26 to provide local and national regulators with capacity and capability to tackle hundreds of enforcement cases a year, targeting those neglecting to quickly remediate their buildings.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of holiday lets on the affordability of rents; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving councils greater licensing powers to regulate the (a) number and (b) use of holiday lets.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 13348 on 18 November 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of Building Safety Regulator processing speeds; and what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of those speeds on the delivery of approved buildings.

We are aware that there have been delays for applicants using the building regulation approval process for Higher Risk Buildings. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has told applicants to currently plan on the basis of 20 weeks to clear gateway two, although we are seeing signs that this processing time is improving. This is compared to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 12 weeks for new builds. We recognise that changes are still bedding in and the BSR is a regulator in its infancy. However, it is clear that the sector must also take responsibility for the projects they deliver. We understand the BSR have rejected a significant number of Gateway Two applications for failing to meet the building safety regulatory standards. The BSR continue to support applicants to ensure they are meeting the functional requirements of the building regulations and guidance is available to support them in understanding their duties. MHCLG and BSR have taken the following actions, which are embedding, to enable applications to be processed more efficiently: The BSR has recruited additional personnel and they are starting to process applications; the department has granted funding to HSE this financial year to improve its infrastructure, training and processes to maximise the BSR’s efficiency and effectiveness; MHCLG and the BSR are also reviewing how the multidisciplinary teams which assess applications are resourced to enable faster stand-up times; the Government has invested in new local authority building control inspectors to support the BSR; the Government has provided funding to support additional Fire and Rescue (FRS) staff to support the BSR and work to recruit and train these additional staff is well underway.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to issue new guidance to help reduce Building Safety Regulator workload.

We are aware that there have been delays for applicants using the building regulation approval process for Higher Risk Buildings. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has told applicants to currently plan on the basis of 20 weeks to clear gateway two, although we are seeing signs that this processing time is improving. This is compared to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 12 weeks for new builds. We recognise that changes are still bedding in and the BSR is a regulator in its infancy. However, it is clear that the sector must also take responsibility for the projects they deliver. We understand the BSR have rejected a significant number of Gateway Two applications for failing to meet the building safety regulatory standards. The BSR continue to support applicants to ensure they are meeting the functional requirements of the building regulations and guidance is available to support them in understanding their duties. MHCLG and BSR have taken the following actions, which are embedding, to enable applications to be processed more efficiently: The BSR has recruited additional personnel and they are starting to process applications; the department has granted funding to HSE this financial year to improve its infrastructure, training and processes to maximise the BSR’s efficiency and effectiveness; MHCLG and the BSR are also reviewing how the multidisciplinary teams which assess applications are resourced to enable faster stand-up times; the Government has invested in new local authority building control inspectors to support the BSR; the Government has provided funding to support additional Fire and Rescue (FRS) staff to support the BSR and work to recruit and train these additional staff is well underway.

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's target response time to Freedom of Information requests is; and when she plans to respond to Case NC39961.

The statutory timescale for responding to FOI requests is 20 working days. A response to the Honourable Gentleman was issued by MHCLG’s correspondence team on 10 January 2025. I hope that he will accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused by the delay to this response.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure almshouse providers who do not have 1,000 homes but are willing to become registered social landlords are able to do so.

As part of the recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, the government sought views on whether changes were needed to the definition of ‘affordable housing for rent’ to make it easier for organisations that are not Registered Providers, including almshouses, to develop new affordable homes.While the government are committed to making it easier for almshouses to develop new affordable homes, we ultimately decided against extending the definition to capture almshouses for the reasons set out in our response to the consultation which can be found on gov.uk here.Informed by the points raised in the consultation, the government will actively explore options in future changes to national policy related to decision making.For those landlords who wish to register with the Regulator of Social Housing, there is no bar to registration because of size. Registered providers of social housing must meet standards that ensure tenants live in homes that are good quality and well-maintained and that landlords are well-managed and remain financially viable. The Regulator is operationally independent and has designed a registration process that seeks to ensure providers are able to meet its standards once registered.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to allow almshouses to secure funding as affordable housing providers.

As part of the recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, the government sought views on whether changes were needed to the definition of ‘affordable housing for rent’ to make it easier for organisations that are not Registered Providers, including almshouses, to develop new affordable homes.While the government are committed to making it easier for almshouses to develop new affordable homes, we ultimately decided against extending the definition to capture almshouses for the reasons set out in our response to the consultation which can be found on gov.uk here.Informed by the points raised in the consultation, the government will actively explore options in future changes to national policy related to decision making.For those landlords who wish to register with the Regulator of Social Housing, there is no bar to registration because of size. Registered providers of social housing must meet standards that ensure tenants live in homes that are good quality and well-maintained and that landlords are well-managed and remain financially viable. The Regulator is operationally independent and has designed a registration process that seeks to ensure providers are able to meet its standards once registered.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill on relocation agents.

The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.The Government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will distinguish between (a) relocation, (b) estate and (c) property agents within the housing sector in the context of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.

The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.The Government has also made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Housing Revenue Account borrowing on investment in council homes.

We recognise the importance of borrowing for investment in new council homes. Local authorities have access to a preferential rate from the Public Works Loans Board to support housebuilding in the Housing Revenue Account. The preferential rate of gilts +0.4% is available until June 2025. The Government is committed to supporting councils to build their capacity and invest in new social rented homes.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating a proportion of new-build homes to (a) teachers, (b) police officers, (c) NHS staff and (d) other key workers in (i) London and (ii) England.

The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people, including key workers, are now locked out of homeownership.In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the Government has committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme and to giving first-time buyers the first chance to buy homes.Local authorities are delivering First Homes which can be targeted towards key workers. These are homes which are sold to first-time buyers with a discount of at least 30% from full market value.