Local planning authorities have a wide range of planning enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance, available to them.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to strengthening the policy on intentional unauthorised development. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

The Commercial Payments Bill provides the Small Business Commissioner with the power to investigate a larger business where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that it has persistently engaged in poor payment practices. The Commissioner must consider the extent and impact of the suspected conduct, the resources required for an investigation, and whether an investigation would be proportionate in all the circumstances. Further detail will be set out in secondary legislation.

The Government will work with the Commissioner to ensure businesses understand their obligations and to consider what operational guidance should be published before the new legislation comes into force.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) does not currently collect data that would enable an assessment of changes in enforcement activity against landlords at local authority level over the last five years. From April 2027 we intend to require local authorities to provide MHCLG with a suite of data on the private rented sector in their local area. We expect that data to include, for example, the number of formal enforcement notices issued; the number of civil penalties issued by category of offence; revenue received from civil penalties; total number of staff in private rented sector enforcement teams; and total spend on private rented sector enforcement.

Through the Renters’ Rights Act, the government is strengthening local authorities’ enforcement powers and extending and increasing ring-fenced civil penalties to support a ‘polluter pays’ approach to enforcement in the private rented sector.

In accordance with the new burdens doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities resulting from the Act are fully funded. To that end, the Department is providing £41.12 million to local housing authorities for this financial year to help them undertake their new enforcement responsibilities. This funding is in addition to the £18.2 million provided in 2025/26.

Our intention is to use fees from the Private Rented Sector Database to provide funding over the long term for local authorities to use on work to improve compliance in the private rented sector.

The Government has assessed section 2E(2) as part of the wider impact assessment for the Commercial Payments Bill as a whole, where the measures are aimed at addressing the estimated £11 billion cost of late payments to cost the UK economy each year.

Section 2E(2) provides a targeted exemption from the statutory payment term restrictions, where the purchaser is the smaller party, preserving flexibility for smaller purchasers when contracting with larger suppliers. The impact assessment looks at the costs of businesses identifying and implementing exemptions. Exemptions introduce additional administrative burdens for businesses, with larger estimated costs for large businesses compared to smaller ones. The full assessment can be found in the costs and benefits analysis annex of the published impact assessment: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c054b11263ce46c3690c7c/prompt-payments-primary-legislation-impact-assessment.pdf

My department has made no assessment of the use of artificially generated images in relation to the housing enforcement functions of local housing authorities.

Once fully implemented the digital waste tracking service will require certain information about waste movements to be entered before the movement, followed by confirmation that a waste carrier has collected it and confirmation that it has been received at a waste receiving site.

If these confirmations are not provided, then this will highlight to regulators that this waste may have been ‘lost’ and potentially mismanaged. They can then act accordingly to investigate this.

This transparency and near real time data will reduce the opportunities for organised waste criminals to operate; making it much harder to commit waste crime such as fly-tipping.

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, this Government would like to see an end to the practice of culling male chicks. The Government is monitoring the rapid progress currently being made with in-ovo sexing and has funded research into the use of dual breed chickens that remove the need to kill male chicks.

The government has no plans to commission such an independent research report.

On 23 June 2026, my Department laid new statutory guidance on the operation and enforcement of the revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). It can be found on gov.uk here.

We will monitor the implementation of the revised HHSRS and seek feedback from the sector as it embeds.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, with a range of enforcement powers. The Department holds the CQC to account regularly for its overall performance and delivery of its regulatory functions.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the CQC has civil and criminal enforcement powers enabling it to protect the public and hold registered providers and managers to account where fundamental standards are not met, or regulated activities are provided without CQC registration. Civil powers focus on reducing risks to people using services, while criminal powers enable the CQC to take action in response to serious failures. In some cases, the CQC may use both types of enforcement action.

Decisions on enforcement action are a matter for the CQC, exercised in line with its statutory remit and published enforcement policy.

The government will continue to work with local authorities to understand the impact of the PRS Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES).

We have already set out a number of measures designed to ease the compliance burden and to support local authority efforts in respect of compliance and enforcement, including amendments and improvements to the exemptions regime and the recent launch of an improved PRS Exemptions Register.

Through existing and forthcoming legislation, we will ensure local authorities are further supported through improved access to data and strengthened powers. The government will increase the maximum fine for non-compliance to £30,000 per property, per breach, to deter poor practice and the PRS Database and improved Exemptions Register will reduce administrative burdens and make it easier to identify non-compliance.

As outlined in the roadmap for implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which can be found on gov.uk here, roll out of the PRS Database on a geographical basis will begin from late 2026.

In relation to the additional resourcing for local authorities, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 2020 on 27 May 2026.

My Department has published no such guidance.

I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 75141 on 16 September 2025.

A new financial penalty of up to £7,000 for a failure to take reasonably practicable steps to remove a category 1 hazard came into force on 22 June.

Statutory guidance on new financial penalties is included within revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System Enforcement Guidance published on 23 June which can be found on gov.uk here. This statutory guidance seeks to provide a clearer, more transparent and more consistent framework for setting civil penalties across England.

This statutory guidance adopts the same approach to penalty setting as the statutory guidance published in November 2025 on penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act and other housing legislation which can be found on gov.uk here.

I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 2020 on 27 May 2026.