Written questions by Hayes.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with local authorities on the proposed establishment of a Central South Combined Authority.

In July, the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to places without devolution agreements, including across this area, asking them to come forward with proposals for their areas. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is reviewing the proposals received through this process, in tandem with finalising our new devolution offer to be published soon as part of the English Devolution White Paper.This Government believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined authorities or combined county authorities, supported by a mayor and established over sensible economic geographies. We want to see all parts of England represented by a Mayor on the Council of Nations and Regions, with strong and effective partnerships in place with councils and other partners to deliver through devolution the missions we have set out to transform the country.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a regional planning policy to help deliver more affordable homes.

The Government has no plans to reintroduce regional level planning frameworks for the regions of England outside London.In our recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, we made clear we intend to introduce formal strategic planning mechanisms through new legislation as part of a move to a model of universal strategic planning within the next five years.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to include a chapter on youth homelessness in the future homelessness strategy.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people and care leavers. We will look at these issues carefully and will consider youth and care leaver homelessness as we develop our long-term, cross-government strategy working with Mayors and councils across the country, to get us back on track to ending homelessness.Helping care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this Government. We will improve access to social housing for care leavers under 25 and exempt them from local connection and residency tests for social housing. We will work with the sector and engage with relevant stakeholders to bring forward these changes in due course.The Homelessness Reduction Act places duties on local housing authorities to take reasonable steps to try to prevent and relieve a person’s homelessness. These duties apply irrespective of whether a person has 'priority need' or if they are 'intentionally homeless'.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the homelessness sector will be consulted on the homelessness strategy.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people and care leavers. We will look at these issues carefully and will consider youth and care leaver homelessness as we develop our long-term, cross-government strategy working with Mayors and councils across the country, to get us back on track to ending homelessness.Helping care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this Government. We will improve access to social housing for care leavers under 25 and exempt them from local connection and residency tests for social housing. We will work with the sector and engage with relevant stakeholders to bring forward these changes in due course.The Homelessness Reduction Act places duties on local housing authorities to take reasonable steps to try to prevent and relieve a person’s homelessness. These duties apply irrespective of whether a person has 'priority need' or if they are 'intentionally homeless'.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions has she had with the homelessness sector on youth homelessness.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people and care leavers. We will look at these issues carefully and will consider youth and care leaver homelessness as we develop our long-term, cross-government strategy working with Mayors and councils across the country, to get us back on track to ending homelessness.Helping care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this Government. We will improve access to social housing for care leavers under 25 and exempt them from local connection and residency tests for social housing. We will work with the sector and engage with relevant stakeholders to bring forward these changes in due course.The Homelessness Reduction Act places duties on local housing authorities to take reasonable steps to try to prevent and relieve a person’s homelessness. These duties apply irrespective of whether a person has 'priority need' or if they are 'intentionally homeless'.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to (a) prevent landlords from not considering prospective tenants that have pets and (b) support people with pets to find somewhere to rent.

The Renters' Rights Bill will prevent landlords from unreasonably denying tenants' requests to keep pets. Once a landlord has consented to a pet, it will be an implied term of that tenancy and so consent cannot be withdrawn without agreement from both parties. We believe that by strengthening tenants' rights, we will see an increase in pet-friendly properties and a positive shift in landlords' attitudes to pet ownership.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that tenants with permission to keep pets are able to keep those pets throughout their tenancy.

The Renters' Rights Bill will prevent landlords from unreasonably denying tenants' requests to keep pets. Once a landlord has consented to a pet, it will be an implied term of that tenancy and so consent cannot be withdrawn without agreement from both parties. We believe that by strengthening tenants' rights, we will see an increase in pet-friendly properties and a positive shift in landlords' attitudes to pet ownership.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to publish guidance on when landlords may refuse a request from tenants to have a pet.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 9679 on 24 October 2024.

Communities & Local Government, with reference to her oral statement on British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations of 7 October 2024, Official Report, column 45, whether the Government plans to provide housing support to Chagossians in the UK.

As British citizens living in the UK, Chagossian British Citizens have the same rights and responsibilities as any other British citizens and are able to live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls.The Government has published guidance for Chagossian British Citizens moving to the UK, which confirms Chagossians should make their own accommodation arrangements before they travel.The department is committed to working in partnership with local authorities to ensure they are able to support Chagossian arrivals in their area.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to bring forward the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.

As outlined in the King’s Speech, the Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. This includes a new valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise and includes measures such as removing the requirement to pay marriage value, capping the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value in the calculation, and prescribing rates for the calculation. A small number of provisions came into force on 24 July, two months after Royal Assent, relating to rentcharge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners.The Government will further reform the leasehold system by enacting remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture. We will also reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.The Government has 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.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to allow people caring for a loved one with a medical emergency to be eligible to apply for an emergency proxy vote.

Alongside work to deliver on our manifesto commitments, the Government is considering a range of policies and approaches to tackle the challenges in the current systems for electoral registration and conduct. This will include considering the current arrangements for proxy voting. If any changes are found to be necessary or appropriate, we will bring forward proposals for them in due course.