Speeches by Pennycook.

“Just to supplement that, the bar for an exemption has to be extremely compelling in my mind. Let us see the evidence as to whether or not this type of lease meets that bar.”

“We do not need a wholesale, fresh consultation on the ground rent cap, just this brief technical exercise to try to get a bit more evidence and supplement what little we got through the PLS process in terms of specifically negotiating quid pro quo leases.”

“Sorry, what do you mean by consulting on ground rents?”

“I would not say it is fair to characterise what we have done as prioritising quid pro quo leases. As I said, we need further evidence and have launched the technical consultation. We are hoping to publish the consultation on valuation rates imminently. As Committee members will know, that sits within the context that w…”

“Again this is where lots of the issues you are touching on are cross-departmental in important ways. The fuel poverty standard responsibility rests with DESNZ rather than MHCLG. We agree that it is right to retain the current fuel poverty measure. It reflects some structural drivers of fuel poverty, such as building qu…”

“I have always been really candid about the trade-offs that exist, and there are some real tensions and trade-offs when it comes to overcrowding policy. What I would say in general terms is that the statutory definition of overcrowding has been in flux basically since the Victorian era. It was overhauled in 1935 and aga…”

“I am taking from you that you want to see generous allocations to London and other parts of the country so they do not have to face this problem. That is the balance we face. Families are being housed in these areas because of the lower rental values.”

“To give you a specific example, the HHSRS system was introduced in 2004 so that residents had a means of redress when it came to particular hazards. As I said, overheating is a hazard. When it comes to a tenant being able to seek redress for that particular problem—I am just trying to explain how the system works—it is…”

“I will come back to you with a final comment. You can hold us to the theoretical 100% standard that the previous Government committed to and had no plan to deliver, or you can hold us to the very significant uptick that we are seeking through this 40% minimum and discretion, given that lots of local areas are planning …”

“No. The proposed framework is very clear that you must plan to meet local housing need. You should be assessing the need for M4(3) properties. We are just saying in the sense that where on M4(2) there is a floor and that discretion to adjust for need, on M4(3) there is complete discretion, to be brought forward through…”

“I cannot make a judgment on whether it would definitely reject x local plan or not; it would be looking at the plan in the round and judging whether it was sound, but it would have to take this into account. This is all subject to whether we confirm the 40% M4(2) in the final NPPF; as I say we are working through the f…”

“I will do so again around the proposed changes to the NPPF, which we are in the final stages of analysing. The previous Government made a commitment to 100% M4(2) but had no plan whatsoever about how they would deliver that commitment. On arriving in office and looking at changes to the planning framework, we sought to…”

“It is a plan for social and affordable housing delivery. I wanted to emphasise that we have complementary strategies in various areas that we are taking forward. I have pressed individual Members on this, and I genuinely would love to know what the Committee thinks the long-term housing strategy can address that existi…”

“From memory the feedback we have had to the NPPF is that a minimum threshold of M4(3) is not particularly appropriate in the way that a minimum percentage of M4(2) is. It is a very different product.”

“Do I think the MHCLG should be nationally monitoring temperatures in individual homes?”

“I am extremely proud of the measures we have taken to boost rates of house building over the past two years. We have seen some incredibly encouraging green shoots. I thought this might come up. Let me cite some evidence we have to date. To the year ending March 2026, outlined planning applications were up 54% from a ye…”

“That is a really good question. Through the NPPF we have tried to limit the discretion of local authorities to put in place their own standards when there are national standards in place. We are working through all this right now. On energy efficiency and internal layout, what is the amount of discretion that is approp…”

“It is quite early days for some of this stuff. For tribunal challenges, for example, we are just seeing the very early data coming through.”

“To go back to Mr Mohindra’s question—he has left so does not get to hear me opine on this—this is one of many things I am really proud of. It was a previous Government commitment to introduce Awaab’s law, and I fully recognise what they did to make that initial commitment, but we have stepped up and made sure that we a…”

“I will chase a reply on that, Chair.”