Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which (a) people and (b) organisations have been invited by his Department to review the proposals put forward by the Working Group on Islamophobia/Anti-Muslim Hatred.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of the Government’s careful consideration of the Working Group’s advice, officials have undertaken some limited and focused informal engagement with stakeholders. It is standard practice for Government to engage stakeholders on policy thinking.
These engagements and the Working Group's advice are kept private to allow government the necessary time and space to carefully consider the advice before confirming next steps.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the barriers would be to local authorities (1) taking contribution holidays while their pension schemes are in significant surplus, and (2) using the money that would otherwise have paid employer pension contributions to fund local services.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Contribution rates for employers in the Local Government Pension Scheme are set every three years as part of a valuation process, where Pension Funds will work with actuaries and employers – including local authorities – to determine a rate which is sustainable for employers and will allow the Fund to pay out pensions in the future.
The 2025 valuation is underway, which will set contribution rates for the three years from 2026-27. Pension contributions are paid for from local authorities’ general fund and there is no ring-fenced funding stream. This means any reduction in contributions may allow for greater budget flexibility to provide local services.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the relevant councils following the cyber attacks on Westminster Council, Hammersmith and Fulham Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, including in relation to the people or organisations behind the attacks.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement have been working closely with the impacted councils, to understand the risk to their services and to wider government, and to support effective remediation and restoration of services for the public. Councils have been working diligently with specialist support to validate the security of their networks and bring essential services back online. We are aware that some council data may have been stolen by criminal actors. The impacted councils, government and law enforcement are thoroughly investigating the accuracy and potential impact of any data loss. There is an ongoing law enforcement investigation which the councils and MHCLG are fully supporting.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to change the threshold for on-site affordable housing from 10 to 50 units.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government retains a strong preference for, and commitment to, on-site delivery of social and affordable housing, reflecting the benefits this provides in terms of the delivery of mixed communities, controlled land prices, and secure cash flow for developers of all sizes.
At the same time, the government also wishes to provide for a more proportionate and streamlined planning system for SME housebuilders, to help bring competition and diversity to the market, and support faster build out.
As such, the government has decided to explore further the potential benefits and drawbacks of enabling developers to discharge social and affordable housing requirements through cash contributions in lieu of direct delivery in the category of “medium” sites as part of the consultation on the draft National Planning Policy Framework, published on 16 December 2025.
Further information is set out in the Government’s consultation ‘National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system’ which can be found on gov.uk (attached) here.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 97277 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, if he will modify the Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) sent to English Billing Authorities on 26 November 2025 so that the calculation for Base Liability aligns with the case studies in the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Factsheet.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) is already aligned with the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure factsheet.
On 15 December 2025, the government published the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief local authority guidance which is intended to support billing authorities in administering the scheme. It can be viewed on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of emergency accommodation capacity in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency during winter 2025-2026.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is investing more than £1 billion in homelessness services in 2025/26. This includes £255.5 million for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant so that local authorities can support people sleeping rough in their areas, including a £69.9 million top up announced in October to tackle additional pressures. Allocations are published on GOV.UK here.
It is for each local authority to determine what service provision is appropriate for the needs of their areas.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding has been allocated to homelessness services in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency for winter 2025-26.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is investing more than £1 billion in homelessness services in 2025/26. This includes £255.5 million for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant so that local authorities can support people sleeping rough in their areas, including a £69.9 million top up announced in October to tackle additional pressures. Allocations are published on GOV.UK here.
It is for each local authority to determine what service provision is appropriate for the needs of their areas.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support available to people sleeping rough in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency during winter 2025-26.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is investing more than £1 billion in homelessness services in 2025/26. This includes £255.5 million for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant so that local authorities can support people sleeping rough in their areas, including a £69.9 million top up announced in October to tackle additional pressures. Allocations are published on GOV.UK here.
It is for each local authority to determine what service provision is appropriate for the needs of their areas.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the total Revenue Support Grant provided to Telford and Wrekin Council for each year that data is available, including the provisional settlement for 2026/2027.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The total Revenue Support Grant provided to Telford and Wrekin Council has consistently been published as part of the annual Local Government Finance Settlement for each year. A full record of recent Local Government Finance Settlements can be found online on gov.uk.
Local Government Finance Settlements prior to 2014-15 are now stored on the National Archives here.
We have published provisional allocations of the Revenue Support Grant for the next three years at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his timeline is for publishing the outcome and response to the Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime consultation.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are analysing the feedback received to the consultation on reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime, and will publish a government response in due course.