Written questions by Berry.

Communities and Local Government, if he will take legislative steps to bring into force section 63 and schedule 30 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on considering (a) the establishment of a research college and (b) the implementation of an Areas of Research Interest approach to support research and innovation in fire and rescue services.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness in the debate on Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements on 20 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Brighton and Hove City Council's adherence to the homelessness code of guidance; and what steps he is taking to engage with stakeholders to gather evidence for strengthening that guidance, including BHCC.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a duty on local authorities to provide a minimum level of provision of free access to public toilets in (a) town and city centres and (b) other areas with high numbers of visitors and resident need.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, if he will (a) confirm how many local council external auditors' annual reports identified serious financial sustainability issues, as well as the number of local authorities considered at serious threat of a Section 114 notice being issued, and (b) what steps he is taking to monitor the impact of central government financial awards to councils not complying with the requirements for statutory spending.

The department engages closely with local authorities, including in relation to any serious concerns raised through the external audit process. The issuing of a Section 114 notice is a local decision for a council’s statutory Section 151 officer and government has no role in the process. The government has been clear that any council that has concerns about its ability to set or maintain a balanced budget should approach the department in the first instance. The government is delivering fairer funding for local government, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system. There will continue to be a support framework in place to support councils in the most difficult positions ahead of 2026-27 as councils start the transition to new funding allocations. Details of Exceptional Financial Support were announced on 23 February 2026 and published on GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Brighton and Hove City Council on the external auditor’s report findings on (a) the risk of a Section 114 notice being issued and (b) demand for statutory services.

In the multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government made available a Core Spending Power increase for Brighton of 14.2% between 2024-25 and 2028-29, worth £47.6m – coming good on our promise of reforming the funding system. We know that recovering from the legacy of the local government finance system overseen by previous governments will take time. On 23 February, this government announced £15m of in-principle Exceptional Financial Support for Brighton and Hove City Council. The department continues to engage with the council on a confidential basis to support them to transform their services.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Homes England about access to grant funding for small housing providers.

Small housing providers can bid for grant funding through the government’s new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.Guidance to bidders from Homes England can be found on gov.uk here, and to bidders from the Greater London Authority here. The government’s policy statement to accompany this guidance can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure affordable housing for young people.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 113747 on 2 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to support local authorities to fast-track planning applications that deliver 100% affordable housing.

The government has no specific plans to fast-track planning applications that deliver 100% affordable housing. We have already taken a number of steps to streamline planning processes generally. We are currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework, that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to take steps to support local authorities seeking to build social housing to access finance to purchase land being sold by NHS Trusts.

The government is not taking any specific action to support local authorities to purchase land being sold by NHS Trusts.However, in January we announced that we would extend the ‘preferential’ borrowing rate for council housebuilding from the Public Works Loan Board for another year until the end of March 2027. This will provide councils with greater certainty to increase their supply plans, including through land-led development.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of remediation needed on large panel system (LPS) housing blocks on the finances of local authorities; and whether building safety financial support will cover more LPS buildings with delays in remediation.

The issues with Large Panel System (LPS) buildings are longstanding and well known. Building owners are responsible for managing safety and performance risks in their buildings, in a proportionate, risk- based and evidence-based way. We have made it clear they are therefore responsible for any maintenance or remedial works required on their LPS buildings, including any strengthening works or removal of mains gas supply. Guidance has long been made available to support building owners in taking the right steps and measures to mitigate risks in their LPS buildings. This includes the British Research Establishment Report: Handbook for the structural assessment of large panel system (LPS) dwelling blocks for accidental loading (BR 511) Local authorities are responsible for managing their budgets to fulfil their duties. This includes keeping the housing conditions in their area under review with a view to identifying any actions that may need to be taken by them. Where remediation or maintenance works are required in LPS buildings, or any other issues, local authorities should do so within their budgets.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of (a) trends in the level of demand for and (b) the adequacy of older people’s housing, including sheltered housing and care homes, for older LGBTIQA+ people.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if he will support the establishment of structured, research-led innovation through an Areas of Research interest approach for fire and rescue services, similar to that adopted by police services in England.

The Government recognises the importance of working collaboratively with sector partners.The implementation of an Areas of Research Interest (ARI) approach to support research and innovation will be considered as part of the due process associated with any future establishment of a college. This ensures that decisions are informed by evidence-based priorities and aligned with fire sector needs.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 80755 on High Rise Flats: Fires, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the adequacy of legislation on the communication of fire risk assessment information from local authorities to residents.

The requirement to share relevant fire safety information with residents in multi-occupied residential premises came into effect in October 2023. We ran a survey in 2023 to ascertain preparedness for this requirement and a high degree of public sector bodies that responded (such as local authorities) indicated they were aware and planned to share this information. We plan to formally review the legislation in the future which may include a further survey or other relevant research to determine whether the above finding remains the case. Additionally, we have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders (including local authorities) on this legislation to hear how this is working in practice.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report by the Citizens Advice entitled The Hidden Cost of Homelessness, published in September 2025 on (a) addressing poor standards in temporary accommodation by implementing the extension of the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) and Awaab’s law and (b) working more closely with local authorities to improve the quality of temporary accommodation.

The Renters’ Right Act provides powers to extend Awaab’s Law to temporary accommodation occupied under licence. We will be consulting in due course on how best to apply Awaab’s Law to such accommodation. We announced in February this year that subject to consultation we plan to extend the Decent Homes Standard to temporary accommodation. We are now carefully considering all responses to the consultation. These will inform our proposals, which we intend to publish in due course. The Government is providing £950 million of investment for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund – the largest investment in the fund to date - to support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels. We have also invested more than £1 billion in homelessness services this year, an increase of more than £316 million on the previous year. This includes £10.9 million additional funding announced last month to increase access to support and services for families in temporary accommodation.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 21A of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on the timeframe within which the responsible person should give residents of domestic premises (a) comprehensible and (b) relevant information about the risks to residents identified by risk assessments of their housing stock.

Article 21A of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes clear that whenever there has been a fire risk assessment in a multi-occupied residential building, the risks identified in the assessment must be communicated to residents as well as the measures being taken to address these risks. This requirement is also the case whenever the fire risk assessment is updated. In guidance we publish on these requirements, titled Check your fire safety responsibilities under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022, we advise that those responsible for fire safety communicate this information alongside the instructions to residents on what to do in the event of a fire which is an annual requirement. This advice is repeated in guidance on blocks of flats. There is a regulatory making power to mandate the frequency of this information, and we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the legislation to identify if such a mandate is necessary, but the important information should already be communicated to residents under the existing provision.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 3 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, when she plans to lay a report before Parliament on the delivery of the levelling-up missions.

The Government published the Levelling Up Missions annual report 2024 to 2025 on 21 May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the installation of wood burning stoves in newbuild homes on levels of public health.

The government recognises that the use of solid fuel appliances in domestic settings is a major source of air pollution and is committed to cleaning up our air and protecting public health by developing a series of interventions to reduce emissions so everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced. That is why the government has launched a rapid review of the Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) to make sure it is fit for purpose to deliver legally binding targets to improve air quality. We published a statement of the rapid review’s key findings on 30 January 2025, to be followed by publication of a revised EIP later this year. As part of the EIP, we are developing a series of intervention to reduce emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), including from domestic combustion. Legislation is currently in place to restrict the sale of the most polluting fuels used in domestic burning. This includes restrictions on the sale of small volumes of wet wood for domestic burning; limits on the emission of sulphur and smoke from manufactured solid fuels; and phasing out the sale of bituminous coal (traditional house coal). These regulations aim to move people to cleaner fuels: from wet wood to dry wood, and from traditional house coal to smokeless coal and low sulphur manufactured solid fuels, resulting in lower particulate matter emissions.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to Building Regulation Approved Document T: Toilet Accommodation, last updated on 1 October 2024, if she will take legislative steps to (a) ensure that new buildings include the provision of universal toilets and (b) permit universal toilets in addition to or in place of single-sex provision.

Requirement T1 of the Building Regulations calls for universal toilets to be provided where space allows and is also clear that universal toilets may be provided in addition to single-sex toilets. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) have a duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review. The BSR continually reviews the suite of Approved Documents to ensure the statutory guidance remains relevant, as well as advising government on the safety and standards of all buildings. This Government is always keen to receive feedback on the real-world application of the Building Regulations and will consider comments received, monitor stakeholder experience, and keep the new Approved Document T under review.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled £2 billion new investment to support biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, published on 25 March 2025, how many and what proportion of these homes will be social housing for people experiencing homelessness.

At Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and contribute to our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 25 March 2025 (HCWS549). The investment made at Spring statement follows the £800 million in new in-year funding which has been made available for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme and that will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being Social Rent homes. We will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent. Homes England and GLA will assess bids received in the usual way before awarding funding. Exact funding to different places and the locations of homes that will be built will depend on the bids received from local authorities and housing associations. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership. We have asked HE, GLA and bidders to prioritise homes for social rent, and will publish the number of homes delivered at each tenure in an annual report to Parliament. Local authorities are responsible for their own allocation scheme within the framework of legislation. By law, people who are homeless must be given ‘reasonable preference’ (priority) and local authorities can give ‘additional preference’ (high priority) to those who have urgent housing needs.