Written questions by Berry.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of increased funding support needed for local authorities to speed up the completion of non-cladding remediation works in social housing.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the data included in the climate change mitigation metric in the Local Outcomes Framework; what plans he has to update this metric; and when will the first results from the Local Outcomes Framework be published.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to speed up the remediation of non-cladding defects in residential buildings, including social housing stock.

The government expects responsible persons to make sure their buildings are safe and undertake remedial works where necessary. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced tools to support and speed up remediation of non-cladding defects, including remediation...

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to question UIN 88528, answered in November 2025, on High Rise Flats: Fires, if he will confirm whether Brighton and Hove City Council responded to the survey in 2023 ab

A survey of responsible persons titled ‘Responsible persons in England: changes in fire safety legislation’ was conducted by the Home Office between 6 July and 4 September 2023. In total, responses from 362 responsible persons working in England were anal...

Communities and Local Government, if he will provide funding to local authorities to acquire council homes.

Funding is already available through our Social and Affordable Homes Programme for local authorities to acquire market homes for use as social and affordable housing.

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.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS65) made on 21 May 2026.

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 r

The Government recognises the importance of research and innovation in supporting effective fire and rescue services.The Government accepted the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s recommendation to establish a College of Fire and Rescue. The Inquiry envisaged that ...

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,

Legislation and statutory guidance are clear that local authorities should, wherever possible, place homeless households within their own area. If this is not possible, they should secure accommodation as close as possible to where the household was previ...

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) tow

In keeping with our commitment to funding simplification, the Government has no current plans to introduce a statutory duty or ringfenced funding relating to public toilet provision. Local authorities best understand local needs and are therefore best pla...

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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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, 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.