Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the importance of initiatives such as furnished tenancies to reduce material deprivation amongst vulnerable groups.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84054 on 3 November 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether he will encourage local authorities to utilise furnished tenancies in their social housing stock to provide a safe and stable environment for those who are leaving homelessness, often without any possessions or financial savings.

The Government is committed to moving away from a system focussed on crisis response, taking a holistic approach to preventing homelessness in the first place. That's why we've invested a record amount in prevention services this year as part of our £1 billion funding for homelessness services. The Household Support Fund enables local authorities in England to provide discretionary support to vulnerable households in the most need with the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food.Local authorities have the flexibility to design their scheme within the parameters set by Department for Work and Pensions, and this can include supporting vulnerable households with the cost of wider essentials, which could include furniture, furnishings and appliances. We consulted earlier this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It proposed that the Government develop best practice guidance for all landlords including providing information about where tenants in need can access help on furniture provision. The consultation has now closed, and responses are being analysed. More information about future guidance will be released as part of the Government response.

Communities and Local Government, whether his department has considered the impact of furniture poverty on homelessness; and what steps they are taking to prevent homelessness by ensuring low-income households can access essential items.

The Government is committed to moving away from a system focussed on crisis response, taking a holistic approach to preventing homelessness in the first place. That's why we've invested a record amount in prevention services this year as part of our £1 billion funding for homelessness services. The Household Support Fund enables local authorities in England to provide discretionary support to vulnerable households in the most need with the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food.Local authorities have the flexibility to design their scheme within the parameters set by Department for Work and Pensions, and this can include supporting vulnerable households with the cost of wider essentials, which could include furniture, furnishings and appliances. We consulted earlier this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It proposed that the Government develop best practice guidance for all landlords including providing information about where tenants in need can access help on furniture provision. The consultation has now closed, and responses are being analysed. More information about future guidance will be released as part of the Government response.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) blind and (b) partially sighted voters can exercise their right to secret ballot in (i) local and (ii) general elections.

The Government is committed to ensuring blind and partially sighted voters can vote independently. The Government convenes the Accessibility of Elections Working Group to provide a forum and impetus for development amongst organisations with an interest in supporting disabled people to engage in the democratic process. The Elections Act 2022 requires Returning Officers to provide tailored support and equipment at polling stations, and the Government continues to work closely with stakeholder organisations, such as RNIB, Mencap, and the Electoral Commission to promote innovation, improve guidance, and raise awareness of the support available.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department considered providing low interest loans to councils in the context of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

My Department did explore providing low interest loans to councils but having carefully considered the fiscal implications we reluctantly arrived at the conclusion that the scheme would be for Private Registered Providers only.As part of our commitment to reinvigorating council housebuilding, we have confirmed a number of other measures designed to support delivery of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme by councils. Full details can be found in my 7 November letter to local council leaders which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether he considered including a target for council housing in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

As set out in detail in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November 2025 (which can be found on gov.uk here), the new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed and does not adopt the previous approach of setting numerical targets for particular types of homes.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the four day week trial taking place in some local authorities.

This Government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities and will not micromanage their day-today running. However, it is Government’s view that local authorities should not be offering full time pay for part time work.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to increase property service charge thresholds under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

I refer the hon. Member to the proposals set out in the consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services published on 4 July 2025 which can be found on gov.uk here. The consultation closed on 26 September, and we are analysing responses.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect leaseholders from increasing ground rents on properties sold prior to the implementation of new leasehold reforms.

The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to leasehold on (a) the relative value of existing flats and (b) new flats with no ground rent.

The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to eliminate escalating ground rents on existing leases.

The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, which Minister is responsible for overseeing the Government’s Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition; whether a successor has been appointed to the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith and Communities; and what arrangements are in place for the Group’s secretariat and stakeholder engagement.

The Minister responsible for overseeing the Government’s Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition is Miatta Fahnbulleh. The secretariat hasn’t changed. This independent Working Group engaged extensively with a wide range of communities and have now provided their independent, evidence-based advice to Ministers for consideration. Ministers are reviewing the advice and next steps in due course.

Communities and Local Government, who the (a) members are and (b) chair is of the Inter-ministerial Group on Rough Sleeping and Homelessness.

The Inter-Ministerial Group includes ministers from across government and is focused on developing a long-term strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness. This includes ministers from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Health and Social Care, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, Cabinet Office, and His Majesty’s Treasury.The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government or his delegate chairs the Inter-Ministerial Group on homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure there is sufficient future supported housing to meet demand.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 69642, on 4 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether the forthcoming long-term housing strategy will address the (a) viability and (b) supply of supported housing.

The government intends to publish a long-term housing strategy later this year. For obvious reasons, we do not intend to share details about tis content ahead of publication.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy review the level of fines that local authorities can levy in relation to illegal parking.

While councils are responsible for their own parking arrangements, we are determined to reduce costs for motorists which is why we keep a limit on the fines councils can give. These limits can be found in The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022.In addition to those limits, government published statutory guidance on local authority parking contraventions which makes clear that parking charges should be proportionate, meaning authorities should not set them at unreasonable levels.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing new restrictions on developers who have a history of bankcruptcy on the housing sector.

No such specific assessment has been made by my Department. I refer the hon. Member to the information on restrictions for people who have declared bankruptcy available on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a cap on private rents for residential properties.

The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures. We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of private landlords that have issued Section 21 notices to their tenants since 5 July 2024.

My Department does not hold data on Section 21 evictions issued by landlords. However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families. The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, what proportion of the funding announced for affordable and social housing will go to social housing; and what the Government's target is for social housing annually in the next five years.

The new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme that was announced at the Spending Review will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent. We will confirm further details in due course. The government has not set an affordable housing target to date, but we continue to keep the matter under review.