Written questions by Anderson.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to assist village halls to upgrade their facilities.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of permitted development rights on the rural economy.

My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of permitted development rights on the rural economy. The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support affordable housing delivery in rural areas.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework, that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes proposals to strengthen support for rural exception sites, which deliver affordable housing to meet local needs in rural areas, and to make it easier for authorities to require affordable housing on smaller sites in rural areas. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here. I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 101017 on 6 January 2026 and to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771) and 28 January (HCWS1283).

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support communities impacted by flooding in South Shropshire constituency.

Government support for communities affected by flooding is assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the scale and nature of the impact on the affected area. In the first instance, local authorities are expected to have well-established contingency arrangements in place and therefore be able to support their local communities from within their existing budgets. The Flood Recovery Framework (the Framework) is typically deployed following severe weather incidents with significant flood impacts across multiple local authority areas.

Communities and Local Government, what steps are being taken to support community-backed housing schemes.

The government recognises that the community-led housing sector delivers a wide range of benefits including strengthening community participation in local decision-making, engendering community cohesion, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy. In March, we announced a £20m 10-year social finance investment to provide capital finance for community-led housing, which is expected to directly support the construction of more than 2,500 new homes over the next decade. These housebuilding projects will be led by communities to specifically address local needs in their area. The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing. The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme seeks to support an increase in the delivery of community-led and rural housing. The flexibility in grant rates provided for under the new programme will help community-led schemes achieve viability and help the sector grow towards its full potential. The government is also considering opportunities to legislate to establish a legal framework for a co-operative housing tenure, which would help formalise the rights and responsibilities of both co-operatives and their tenants, and make co-operative housing a more attractive option.

Communities and Local Government, if he will reinstate financial support for the development of neighbourhood plans.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59114 on 19 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of extending Energy Performance Certificate regulations to short-term holiday lets on the finances of owners of those properties.

We expect that the impact of extending Energy Performance of Buildings regulations to short-term holiday lets on the finances of owners of those properties will be minimal. We published an impact assessment alongside our consultation on reforms, accessible here: Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime: impact assessment, in which we modelled the cost of obtaining a domestic EPC at £70, which are valid for 10 years. We are keeping the impacts of the proposals under review, and will publish a government response shortly.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support community ownership.

Through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, we are introducing a new community right to buy to give communities stronger powers to take ownership of a range of assets which are important to them and protect them for future community use. Communities will be given the right of first refusal on the purchase of registered assets of community value when they are put up for sale and a longer timeframe to raise funds to purchase the asset.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure protections are in place for the provision of (a) sports, (b) physical activity and (b) green spaces in the consideration of planning applications.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that access to high-quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and physical activity is important for the health and well-being of communities. The Framework includes strong protections for existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields, setting out that they should not be built on unless they are no longer needed, equivalent or better provision is made, or the development is for alternative sports or recreational provision which offers benefits that clearly outweigh the loss of the current or former use.

Communities and Local Government, what support his Department plans to provide through the Plan for Neighbourhoods to (a) towns and (b) villages in South Shropshire constituency.

On 25 September the government announced the Pride in Place Programme, supporting 244 of Great Britain’s most in need neighbourhoods with up to £20 million each over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March.New areas across England were selected using a robust, metrics-based methodology based on deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) and community need (the Community Needs Index) to identify areas with the poorest social and economic outcomes. The Pride in Place strategy sets out how this government will support all places throughout the UK, with communities given new tools and powers to shape their neighbourhoods in a way that is truly reflective of local need. We want to make it as easy as possible for communities in places such as South Shropshire to make the changes they want to see, acknowledging that local people are best placed to understand local priorities.The full list of areas and place selection methodology was published and is set out on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what funding is available for community ownership projects.

The government is committed to supporting community ownership and empowering local people to take control of valued community assets.As part of the forthcoming English Devolution Bill, this government will legislate to introduce a new Community Right to Buy. This will enable communities to acquire assets such as empty shops, pubs, and community spaces when they come up for sale, helping to bring them back into community use and tackle the issue of vacant premises on high streets.In addition, the government has launched the Pride in Place programme, which will invest up to £5 billion over ten years, supporting 244 places across the United Kingdom. Community ownership projects such as youth clubs, libraries, community grocers, cultural venues, and health and wellbeing services will be eligible for support where they align with the needs and ambitions of local communities.We have also launched the Pride in Place Impact Fund, with £150 million to invest in up to 95 communities, helping to rebuild community pride in local areas. One of the objectives is to support community spaces; creating, extending, improving or refurbishing existing community facilities and enabling community organisations to take control or ownership of underused but valued local assets.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support for community land projects.

The government recognises that the community-led housing sector delivers a wide range of benefits including strengthening community participation in local decision-making, engendering community cohesion, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy. In March, we announced a £20m 10-year social finance investment to provide capital finance for community-led housing, which is expected to directly support the construction of more than 2,500 new homes over the next decade. These housebuilding projects will be led by communities to specifically address local needs in their area. The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to publish a call for evidence on park home sales commission.

The government recognise that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home.The previous government published a report in June 2022 on the impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission. It can be found on gov.uk here.We will set out plans in due course to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase the number of community (a) pubs and (b) social clubs.

This Government recognises the crucial role that pubs and social clubs play in our communities, supporting local economies, providing a sense of community pride, and fostering belonging and connection. We want to support communities to take ownership of assets that are important to them. Community Right to Buy, introduced in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, will help local people acquire valued community spaces, such as pubs and social clubs, if they come up for sale, keeping these assets in the hands of the community.

Communities and Local Government, what the Department's long-term strategy is for enabling local communities to save valued community assets from deterioration.

Through the English Devolution Bill, we are committed to legislate for a ‘right to buy’, giving local people stronger powers to secure and preserve valued community assets if they come up for sale. We are also committed to regenerating our country’s neighbourhoods. As the chancellor announced at the spending review the government will be supporting communities with funding for up to 350 places. More details will be announced in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help local authorities in rural areas effectively use compulsory purchase orders to bring derelict buildings back into community use.

Local authorities have various compulsory purchase powers which they can use to acquire and develop derelict or empty properties. To assist them in the use of their powers, the government has implemented the package of reforms in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 to streamline and modernise the compulsory purchase order (CPO) process and clarify that local authorities’ CPO powers can be used to deliver regeneration in their areas. Further reforms to improve the CPO process and land compensation rules have been included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We also publish guidance on the compulsory purchase process to help local authorities understand and use their powers.

Communities and Local Government, what the operating costs are for Mayoral Combined Authorities for (a) the 2025-26 and (b) each of the next five financial years.

The costs for operating Mayoral Combined Authorities can vary depending on their size, the responsibilities they exercise, and local political and financial decisions. Mayoral Combined Authorities are best placed to make assessments of the allocation of funding towards these costs. The government does not hold estimates of future operating costs. Mayoral Combined Authorities’ financial information can be found in their published, annual budgets.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to tackle pockets of deprivation in rural local authority areas.

The 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement begins to fix the foundations of local government by targeting additional funding to places with greatest need and demand for services (using deprivation as a proxy for this), and less ability to raise income locally, through a new Recovery Grant, worth £600 million. Through the Settlement, places with a significant rural population will on average receive almost a 6% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. Broader redistribution of funding will follow from 2026-27 and we are committed to fundamentally reforming how we assess need to ensure funding is distributed to where it is needed most. The government will use the best available evidence to assess differences in the need for local government services – including deprivation – and resources available to local authorities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase the (a) skills and (b) capacity of planning authorities in rural areas.

Supporting local planning authorities to attract, retain and develop skilled planners is crucial to ensuring they provide a proactive, efficient planning service for local communities and that new developments are well designed and facilitate local growth. The government appreciates that planning departments across the country, including in rural areas, are experiencing challenges with recruitment, retention, and skills gaps and that in many cases these issues are having a negative impact on service delivery. At the Budget, the Chanceller announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system as a one-year settlement for 2025-2026. Our manifesto committed us to appointing 300 new planning officers into LPAs. We are on track to meet that commitment through two routes, namely graduate recruitment through the Pathways to Planning scheme run by the Local Government Association and mid-career recruitment through Public Practice. On 27 February, the government announced funding to support salaries and complement graduate bursaries. Further information can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 27 February 2025 (HCWS480). On 25 February, the draft Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 were agreed. These regulations increase planning fees for householder and other applications, with a view to providing much-needed additional resources for hard-pressed LPAs. More broadly, the Department’s established Planning Capacity and Capability programme is also developing a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that LPAs have the skills and capacity they need, both now and in the future, to modernise local plans and speed up decision making, including through innovative use of digital planning data and software. Lastly, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which was introduced on 11 March includes provisions that will allow LPAs to set planning fees or charges at a level that reflects the individual costs to the LPA to carry out the function for which it is imposed and to ensure that the income from planning fees or charges is applied towards the delivery of the planning function.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support the renovation of (a) village halls and (b) community centres.

Community centres and village halls are important parts of our social fabric in towns and villages across the UK. Through the English Devolution Bill, we will introduce a new Community Right to Buy to help local people acquire valued community spaces, which will help to bring them back into use and rejuvenate high streets across the country. We have also announced a further £750,000 as a 1-year extension to the £3 million Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund for 2025/2026. This will support the modernisation or improvement of village hall facilities by providing capital grants between £2000 and £75,000, up to a maximum of 20 per cent of eligible project costs. Since 2022, it has supported 142 large projects (£7,500 to £75,000) and 90 small projects (£2000 to £5000).