Written questions by Slade.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of processes by which local authorities can be (a) incentivised and (b) held accountable to meet their social housing targets.

On 2 July, the government published a plan setting out the foundations for a decade of renewal in social and affordable housing. This is focused on delivering the biggest increase in supply in a generation, alongside a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of homes. The plan includes a “call to arms” to everyone with a role in social and affordable housing – including local authorities – to step up and prove they can deliver at scale and at pace. We have asked all Council Leaders to examine what role they can play in reinvigorating council housebuilding. Councils will be able to bid for the new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which is the biggest long-term investment in social and affordable housing in recent memory – with a target to deliver at least 60% of the homes as Social Rent. We also want to make it easier for councils to use their own resources and land to build more homes. For those without a Housing Revenue Account, we are reviewing the threshold of homes they hold at which they need to open one. We will exempt newly built social homes from Right to Buy for 35 years, ensuring councils are not losing homes before they have recovered the costs of building them. We are also allowing councils to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales with greater flexibility on how to spend them to accelerate and increase delivery of replacement homes. We are helping councils borrow more cheaply from the Public Works Loan Board until the end of 2025-26 and with the LGA, the government has established a new Association of Directors of Housing to help councils collaborate and share best practice. We have also launched the Council Housing Skills and Capacity Programme, backed by £12m of funding in 2025-26. This programme will be delivered in partnership with Homes England and the Local Government Association, to support councils to upskill their existing workforces, recruit and retain graduates to specialist housebuilding positions, and enhance their engagement with the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that, in their role as local planning authorities, councils are responsible for establishing the need for affordable housing in their area – including for Social Rent homes in particular. Local authorities who own social housing are required to meet regulatory standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing – including for the quality of accommodation they provide. As part of our commitment to ensuring that all social and affordable housing tenants can live in a warm and decent home, on 2 July we launched consultations on an updated and modernised Decent Homes Standard and on a new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. These new standards would be binding on local authorities and other registered providers of social housing. On 3 July the government launched the new Local Government Outcomes Framework, which represents a new approach to outcome-based accountability for councils in England. The Framework includes draft metrics on the year-on-year change in social rented dwellings held in local authorities’ Housing Revenue Account and the proportion of council-owned social housing deemed decent.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing price caps for basic foodstuffs.

Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food supply matters. It is not for the Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses. Nonetheless, we appreciate concerns about how these dynamics may affect the most vulnerable consumers and will continue to engage with industry stakeholders on these important issues. The Government’s Food Strategy, announced in December, is focused on creating a food system that delivers healthy, sustainable, and affordable food for all. We are working across the Government and with the food supply chain to help achieve better outcomes for consumers.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of paragraph 129 of the First Report of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee of Session 2021-22 entitled The Future of the Planning System, HC 38 on creating an allowance of 18 months within which development work should begin on a site after planning permission has been obtained.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 63881 on 7 July 2025.

How much funding was allocated for preparations for the 2031 census in each of the past three financial years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd July is attached.

Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to amend the local plan process to (a) include a stronger needs assessment for social housing across the plan period and (b) require local authorities to deliver against social housing targets.

On 2 July, the government published a plan setting out the foundations for a decade of renewal in social and affordable housing. This is focused on delivering the biggest increase in supply in a generation, alongside a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of homes. The plan includes a “call to arms” to everyone with a role in social and affordable housing – including local authorities – to step up and prove they can deliver at scale and at pace.We have asked all Council Leaders to examine what role they can play in reinvigorating council housebuilding. Councils will be able to bid for the new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which is the biggest long-term investment in social and affordable housing in recent memory – with a target to deliver at least 60% of the homes as Social Rent. We also want to make it easier for councils to use their own resources and land to build more homes. For those without a Housing Revenue Account, we are reviewing the threshold of homes they hold at which they need to open one. We will exempt newly built social homes from Right to Buy for 35 years, ensuring councils are not losing homes before they have recovered the costs of building them. We are also allowing councils to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales with greater flexibility on how to spend them to accelerate and increase delivery of replacement homes.We are helping councils borrow more cheaply from the Public Works Loan Board until the end of 2025-26 and with the LGA, the government has established a new Association of Directors of Housing to help councils collaborate and share best practice. We have also launched the Council Housing Skills and Capacity Programme, backed by £12 million of funding in 2025-26. This programme will be delivered in partnership with Homes England and the Local Government Association, to support councils to upskill their existing workforces, recruit and retain graduates to specialist housebuilding positions, and enhance their engagement with the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme.The government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that, in their role as local planning authorities, councils are responsible for establishing the need for affordable housing in their area – including for Social Rent homes in particular.Local authorities who own social housing are required to meet regulatory standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing – including for the quality of accommodation they provide. As part of our commitment to ensuring that all social and affordable housing tenants can live in a warm and decent home, on 2 July we launched consultations on an updated and modernised Decent Homes Standard and on a new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. These new standards would be binding on local authorities and other registered providers of social housing.On 3 July the government launched the new Local Government Outcomes Framework, which represents a new approach to outcome-based accountability for councils in England. The Framework includes draft metrics on the year-on-year change in social rented dwellings held in local authorities’ Housing Revenue Account and the proportion of council-owned social housing deemed decent.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the amendments made in Schedule 6, Part 2, Clause 41 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill relating to the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 on (a) the potential number of badgers killed and (b) local wildlife populations.

These amendments standardise licences for development purposes under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 with those for other species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations, 2017. This is intended to facilitate strategic-level Environmental Delivery Plans. We are legislating that all badger licences will be subject to strict tests required by the Bern Convention, which set a high bar. For licences under the Nature Restoration Fund, an overall improvement in the conservation status of badgers will be required. The impact of these provisions will depend on practical application by Natural England through EDPs or individual licences.

When he plans to make a formal decision on the methodology for the 2031 Census; and what steps he plans to take to hold stakeholder consultation prior to that decision.

The UK Statistics Authority published their recommendation on the next (2031) Census on 17 June. The recommendation outlines the consultation they undertook in order to reach their recommendation. The Government will publish their response in due course.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help support small landowners in accessing (a) legal and (b) technical advice when negotiating agreements under the Electronic Communications Code.

The Government is keen that negotiations for Electronic Communications Code agreements are developed as collaboratively as possible. We recognise the benefits of all parties having access to sufficient information and advice to support this.We endorse the work of the National Connectivity Alliance, an alliance of telecommunications providers, infrastructure providers, landowners and their professional advisers who are brought together to collaborate on areas of mutual interest. Their activity includes a working group specifically aimed at developing guidance notes to provide education around issues in telecoms leases, with a view to assisting in the timely conclusion of wayleaves and code agreements for mobile sites.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the funding available to (a) housing associations, (b) property owners and (c) local authorities for the provision of infrastructure for the secure storage of (i) mobility scooters, (ii) e-bikes and (iii) e-scooters, in the context of the (A) potential fire risk posed by lithium ion batteries and (B) needs of people who use mobility scooters who do not live on the ground floor.

No such specific assessment has been made.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the effective roll out of broadband infrastructure in rural areas.

Project Gigabit is designed to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to premises that will not be built to by the market without subsidy. The significant majority of these premises will be in rural areas.More than £2.3 billion of Project Gigabit contracts have already been signed to connect over 1 million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband. This includes two contracts being delivered by Wessex Internet benefiting the Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency.

What steps her Department is taking to review the system for bereavement damages.

The Government is working to deliver a major series of reforms to the civil justice system and while the issue of bereavement damages is being kept under review, there are no immediate plans to undertake a formal review of this issue.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of duplicate fibre broadband cabling on the (a) distribution of fibre coverage nationally, (b) environment and (c) infrastructure for residents on roads with duplicate cabling.

Competition in the broadband market leads to positive outcomes for consumers, including widespread coverage and competitive pricing. We do not intervene in commercial deployment decisions.We are aware that having multiple operators can mean deployment of overlapping networks. The sharing of ducts and poles between operators can minimise the disruption this can cause. To support, this Ofcom has put regulations in place to require Openreach to give access to its physical infrastructure to other networks. The Access to Infrastructure (ATI) Regulations 2016 also gives operators the right to request access to another operator’s physical infrastructure to facilitate sharing across utility, transport and communications sectors.

What discussions the Office for National Statistics has had with local government stakeholders on the 2031 census.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon Lady’s Parliamentary Question of 17th June is attached.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to include youth homelessness in the cross-government homelessness strategy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 52307 on 14 May 2025.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the housing benefit taper rate on young people in supported housing who increase working hours.

The income taper in Housing Benefit ensures people in work are better off than someone wholly reliant on benefits. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health. Notwithstanding these positive outcomes from work, the Department acknowledges there is a challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those residing in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation and receiving their housing support through Housing Benefit. The department is considering the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help local authorities with the costs for the provision of temporary accommodation.

The Government has invested £1 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services in 2025/26, a £233 million increase on the previous year. The 2025 Spending Review has protected this record level of investment. Where families do end up in temporary accommodation, it should be high quality and affordable for local authorities. 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 to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of inappropriate and costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.

With reference to the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency's consultation entitled Improving car driving test booking rules, published on 28 May 2025, what her Department's planned timeline is for making changes to car driving test booking rules.

As part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) plan to reduce driving test waiting times, announced in December 2024, the agency launched a call for evidence seeking views and experiences of booking and managing practical car driving tests, which received almost 27,000 responses. The DVSA analysed the evidence from this and developed proposals on improving processes. On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced the consultation, following on from the call for evidence, had been fast-tracked. As acknowledged in the announcement regarding these measures, DVSA understands the potential impact on learner drivers, including younger drivers, and the importance of helping learners pass quickly. The consultation launched on 28 May. Views are being sought from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties. The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 23 July 2025. The consultation has already seen a large number of responses. Once closed, and all responses analysed, DVSA will announce next steps as soon as possible.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the process for booking a driving test through the DVLA test booking system on the mental health of young people.

As part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) plan to reduce driving test waiting times, announced in December 2024, the agency launched a call for evidence seeking views and experiences of booking and managing practical car driving tests, which received almost 27,000 responses. The DVSA analysed the evidence from this and developed proposals on improving processes. On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced the consultation, following on from the call for evidence, had been fast-tracked. As acknowledged in the announcement regarding these measures, DVSA understands the potential impact on learner drivers, including younger drivers, and the importance of helping learners pass quickly. The consultation launched on 28 May. Views are being sought from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties. The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 23 July 2025. The consultation has already seen a large number of responses. Once closed, and all responses analysed, DVSA will announce next steps as soon as possible.

If his Department will take steps with the Food Standards Agency to (a) review the standards for baby food products and (b) ensure that those standards are updated to include (i) new baby foods made available in the last 20 years, (ii) a limit on the total sugar content of baby foods and (iii) standards for health claims made by manufacturers on baby food packaging.

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of wellbeing in later life.It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we have regulations in place that set nutritional, compositional, and labelling standards for commercial baby food. These ensure that the ingredients used in commercial baby food are suitable for the nutritional needs of infants and require businesses to ensure that labelling in clear and not misleading. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy. We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure they reflect the latest scientific and dietary guidelines.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that it conducts a full review of the requester's (a) case and (b) complaint when Access to Work reconsideration requests are made.

The Access to Work process for reviewing reconsideration requests, as well as complaints, includes a full review of the original case, including all relevant documentation and communications relating to the original decision. To help ensure impartiality, these reviews are conducted by staff there were not involved in the original decision.