Housing & Planning
93mentions · last 12 months↑
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This Commons select committee scrutinises housing policy, local government, communities and associated public bodies. It conducts inquiries through oral evidence sessions with ministers, officials, experts and stakeholders, drawing on testimony to inform parliamentary scrutiny. The committee has recently focused on leasehold and commonhold reform, examining ground rents and right-to-manage provisions across multiple sessions with industry representatives and expert witnesses. It has also investigated housing conditions in England, hearing from the Housing Ombudsman and builders on standards and complaints. The committee examined housing affordability in collaboration with Treasury ministers including Pennycook, exploring funding and economic levers. Additionally, it has undertaken work on modernising elections and reform matters affecting local government.
25 sessions published in the last 12 months
Click any cell in the heatmap to see the sessions held that day and the insights extracted from them.
357 insights
14 Jul 2026
The Committee scrutinised MHCLG’s housing delivery record, the delay to long-term housing strategy publication, the status of the £39 billion social and affordable homes programme, the Housing Ombudsman appointment, local government finance, council tax reform, devolution, and community cohesion. Steve Reed defended the Department’s planning and devolution reforms, said the long-term housing strategy is due at the beginning of September, and described several decisions as paused during the transition to a new Administration. He also confirmed continued work on Pride in Place, local government reorganisation, and a rolling devolution programme, while acknowledging wider legislative and fiscal reform would need cross-government agreement.
07 Jul 2026
The Committee scrutinised MHCLG’s response to poor housing conditions across England, focusing on leasehold reform, overheating and cold homes, overcrowding, accessibility standards, Awaab’s law, the decent homes standard, the PRS database, HMO controls, and the £39 billion social and affordable housing programme. Minister Matthew Pennycook repeatedly defended a phased, evidence-led approach and said the Government is committed to publishing further consultations and rolling out reforms, including phase two of Awaab’s law later in 2026, while the long-term housing strategy remains without a publication date. He also confirmed work on a technical consultation on ground rents, imminent consultation on valuation rates, and a review of part O, but gave no fixed timetable for several other items.
30 Jun 2026
The Committee scrutinised threats from foreign financial interference in UK politics, including crypto donations, overseas donors, corporate donations, unincorporated associations, pre-candidacy funding and the adequacy of the Electoral Commission. Philip Rycroft argued for tighter transparency, a moratorium on crypto donations, caps on overseas donations, stronger corporate rules based on post-tax profit, and more regulator information-sharing powers. The second panel largely backed a universal donations cap, stronger know-your-donor rules, annual or year-round spending controls, and a better-resourced Electoral Commission with stronger investigative powers; witnesses also wanted Parliament, not ministers alone, to decide when any crypto ban could be lifted.
16 Jun 2026
The Committee scrutinised Bill Butler, the Government’s preferred candidate to chair the new Local Audit Office, on how he would tackle the local audit backlog, high levels of disclaimed opinions, weak market capacity and the risk that local government reorganisation could worsen audit problems. He set out a partnership model for reform, argued the LAO must provide cohesion, standards and leadership, and said the system should move over five years toward mostly clean opinions and stronger supply. He also stressed institutional independence from ministers, closer working with the FRC, NAO, CIPFA and ICAEW, support for councillor training, and detailed safeguards to manage conflicts arising from his current PSAA role.
09 Jun 2026
The Committee scrutinised MHCLG’s approach to local government reorganisation, devolution-linked fiscal reforms, audit recovery, homelessness and rough sleeping, supported housing, domestic abuse accommodation, and resettlement. Ministers defended the timetable for new unitary authorities by 2028, argued that reform should be judged area-by-area and linked to growth and sustainability, and said support structures and transition funding were in place. On finance, the Minister backed fair funding, accepted council tax is unfair, signalled further work on fiscal devolution, and said the overnight visitor levy and high-value council tax surcharge are part of a broader shift. On homelessness, MHCLG cited reductions in family B&B use, a target to halve long-term rough sleeping, support for Housing First-style approaches, and action with other departments on temporary accommodation, LHA, supported housing and domestic abuse refuges.
19 May 2026
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s session scrutinised the scale, sources and impact of online misinformation and disinformation in UK elections, with a focus on AI-generated content, platform algorithms, and cross-border influence. Witnesses underlined measurement challenges, highlighted high‑impact but low‑volume deep fakes and abusive online conduct toward candidates, and pressed for stronger governance. Proposals spanned a centralised public body to coordinate the response, a central political-ad library, better media literacy, and enforcement improvements, including senior‑manager accountability. While ministers signalled ongoing regulatory work (e.g., Online Safety Act processes and the Representation of the People Bill), no firm government commitments were made during this session. The committee emphasised clarifying responsibilities across government, regulators, and platforms to deliver concrete reforms ahead of future elections.
14 Jul 2026