Written questions by Heylings.

Communities and Local Government, how many reported cases of fraudulent visa sponsorship offers linked to the Homes for Ukraine scheme have been recorded since its launch.

Ukrainian guests arriving under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are supported by a robust programme of safeguards. All sponsors and adults living in a sponsors’ household are subject to stringent security checks before an applicant is allowed to travel to the UK. Local authorities conduct further checks as a second layer of safeguarding. Local authorities are responsible for the detection and prevention of sponsor payment related fraud on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The Home Office does not hold data on refusal reasons and, as such, numbers of applications that were refused on the basis of being fraudulent cannot be provided.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the levels of risks to Ukrainian refugees, including risks of sexual exploitation, from informal online matching processes under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Ukrainian guests arriving under Homes for Ukraine are supported by a robust programme of safeguards, and they are working. The approach to safeguarding under Homes for Ukraine is based on a balance of risk between the need to get Ukrainians into the country quickly and protecting their safety once they have arrived. All sponsors and all adults living in a sponsor’s household are subject to stringent checks before the applicant is allowed to travel to the UK. The issuance of a visa is contingent on the outcome of these checks. Councils conduct safeguarding checks as a second layer of safeguarding. The Department is alert to the risk that malign individuals may use the scheme to exploit beneficiaries. It keeps safeguarding risk understand constant review. Many successful matches have been made through social media, which has provided a fast and effective way for prospective guests to find a suitable sponsor under Homes for Ukraine. The Homes for Ukraine Scheme recommends taking precautions when matching online and these are published at gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adding chalk streams to the list of irreplaceable habitats in the National Planning Policy Framework.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included explicit recognition of chalk streams as features of high environmental value.We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason the (a) Housing Delivery Test is calculated separately for Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council and (b) five-year housing land supply is assessed jointly for Greater Cambridge.

I refer the hon. Member to the correspondence sent to her on 16 March.

Communities and Local Government, what timetable he has set for concluding his Department’s consideration of potential changes to the Housing Delivery Test methodology in relation to Greater Cambridge.

I refer the hon. Member to the correspondence sent to her on 16 March.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Housing Delivery Test outcomes on the delivery of strategic housing sites in Greater Cambridge, including Northstowe and Waterbeach.

I refer the hon. Member to the correspondence sent to her on 16 March.

Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on considering potential changes to national planning policy to enable joint Housing Delivery Test scoring in areas with aligned spatial strategies across multiple local planning authorities.

I refer the hon. Member to the correspondence sent to her on 16 March.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Housing Delivery Test outcomes on the operation of the five-year housing land supply and the application of the presumption in favour of sustainable development in Greater Cambridge.

I refer the hon. Member to the correspondence sent to her on 16 March.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of applying the Housing Delivery Test on a joint basis across Greater Cambridge.

I refer the hon. Member to the correspondence sent to her on 16 March.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of publishing a call for evidence for the independent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics.

Decisions made about the Rycroft Review, within the scope of its terms of reference, are a matter for the independent reviewer and his team. The review team’s email address is published online alongside the terms of reference here. The review findings will be delivered to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Security Minister by the end of March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that the consultation process for the independent review into foreign interference in UK politics remains (i) transparent and (ii) accessible to people outside major political parties.

Decisions made about the Rycroft Review, within the scope of its terms of reference, are a matter for the independent reviewer and his team. The review team’s email address is published online alongside the terms of reference here. The review findings will be delivered to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Security Minister by the end of March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to introduce reforms to Energy Performance Certificates, in the context of the development and implementation of the Home Energy Model.

The government consulted on reforms to EPCs to provide consumers with more useful information on the energy performance of buildings, and so that they better support our key objectives of achieving Clean Power by 2030 and accelerating to Net Zero. We are analysing the feedback received to the consultation, and will publish a government response in due course. The Home Energy Model (HEM) will replace the current Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) as the methodology underpinning domestic EPCs. The government expects to introduce HEM and reformed domestic EPCs in 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what his timeline is for publishing the outcome and response to the Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime consultation.

We are analysing the feedback received to the consultation on reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime, and will publish a government response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timeline is for publishing the final Local Government Outcomes Framework.

The Local Government Outcomes Framework will be published alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. The data will be displayed in a digital tool from Spring 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) streamline and (b) better resource Neighbourhood Plans in (i) less affluent communities and (ii) other communities.

Following the Spending Review, my Department has announced that it is unable to commission new neighbourhood planning support services for 2025 onwards. Technical support which has already been awarded will continue to be provided but must be completed before the end of March 2026. The government remains of the view that neighbourhood plans can play an important role in the planning system. Communities can continue to prepare neighbourhood plans where they consider that doing so is in their best interests.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of strengthening the Decent Homes Standard for all forms of tenure.

The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Centre for Ageing Better on its Good Home Hubs initiative.

My Department and I engage in regular discussions with a wide range of housing stakeholders. Baroness Taylor of Stevenage met with the Centre for Ageing Better in September last year and discussed a range of topics, including its Good Homes Hubs initiative.

Communities and Local Government, whether the housing strategy will include measures to help tackle (a) poor quality and (b) unsafe housing stock.

The government intends to publish a long-term housing strategy later this year.

Communities and Local Government, how many overdue tree preservation order appeal cases are outstanding.

As of 31 December 2024, there were 423 overdue and outstanding tree preservation order appeal cases.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number of Planning Inspectorate appeals related to Tree Protection Orders that have been overdue in financial year 2024-25.

Between 1 April 2024 and 31 December 2024, 177 decisions were made on Tree Preservation Order works appeals that missed the ministerial target. This does not include cases due between these dates - but were still awaiting a decision.