Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what reason political parties and elected representatives are not permitted to have access to the expiry date of an elector’s postal vote mandate, but are allowed access to the list of electors with postal votes; and what assessment they have made of whether the drop off in registered postal voters is a result of the expiry of previously registered postal votes.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As stated in the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92034 on Absent Voting, the Government has no plans to make changes to the information which is shared as part of the electoral register or absent voters lists.
Information relating to postal vote applications is held by independent Electoral Registration Officers rather than the UK Government and so it is not possible to provide more information about the number of postal vote applications that were not renewed during any period. The department does not actively track trends in the level of postal vote renewals, or the number and proportion of postal vote applications that were renewed, over any period.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the business rate information letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027, published on 27 January, whether a restaurant or hotel which makes the majority of its turnover from these activities, but which also has a pub or bar open to the general public and permits drinking without requiring food be consumed, is eligible for the new Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief on the whole Rateable Value of the hereditament.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Local authorities are responsible for the administration of business rates, including decisions on the awarding of and eligibility for various reliefs. Guidance for local authorities on the administration of the pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027 was published on 18 February 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here (attached). It is for local authorities to determine whether individual properties meet the definitions contained within the guidance to be eligible for the Pubs and Live Music Venues relief.
As set out in the local authority guidance, the government will fully reimburse billing authorities and major precepting authorities for their loss of income under the business rates retention scheme as a result of awarding the relief.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's business rate information letter 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027, published on 27 January, whether local billing authorities are allowed to award the new Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief to, and will be reimbursed by central government for, a social club which has a club premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003, and only serves alcohol to club members and their guests.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Local authorities are responsible for the administration of business rates, including decisions on the awarding of and eligibility for various reliefs. Guidance for local authorities on the administration of the pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027 was published on 18 February 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here (attached). It is for local authorities to determine whether individual properties meet the definitions contained within the guidance to be eligible for the Pubs and Live Music Venues relief.
As set out in the local authority guidance, the government will fully reimburse billing authorities and major precepting authorities for their loss of income under the business rates retention scheme as a result of awarding the relief.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether local authorities in England are able to enforce against (1) building regulation, and (2) planning control, breaches by embassies and high commissions.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Section 1 of the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, which governs UK Ministerial consent for use of the land as an embassy, includes consideration of all material considerations, and in particular the safety of the public, national security and town and country planning. Embassies are also expected to respect local laws, including the Building Regulations and planning legislation. In terms of planning enforcement by local planning authorities, I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 43486 on 16 April 2025. In terms of enforcement by building control authorities, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, embassies and their staff are protected from the jurisdiction of the host country's courts.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the assumed monetary and percentage increase in Band D council tax in (1) Westminster, and (2) Wandsworth, in each of the three years of the 2026–27 to 2028–29 Local Government Finance Settlement.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is for individual councils to decide their level of council tax, taking into consideration a range of local factors, including impact on taxpayers. Westminster’s band D council tax level in 2025-26 is £529 and Wandsworth’s is £507. The government’s estimate of Core Spending Power for these councils, assumes that they will increase these band D council tax levels by 5% in 2026-27 and by 5% plus an additional £150 in both 2027-28 and 2028-29.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 26 January (HL Deb col 715), why they postponed elections in six priority areas; and why elections were not postponed in the remaining 14 areas.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is important to distinguish between elections scheduled in existing mayoral authorities and these inaugural mayoral elections, which we have not had before and are only taking place in the six Devolution Priority Programme areas.
The Government is committed to ensuring our mayoral institutions are best placed to deliver and, as a result, is now minded to hold inaugural mayoral elections for the four Devolution Priority Programme places that are also undertaking local government reorganisation in May 2028 rather than May 2026, so that areas can complete the reorganisation process before Mayors take office. This will ensure that these institutions are built on firm foundations and that their Mayors are able to deliver for their regions and local communities from day one.
The inaugural mayoral elections for Cheshire and Warrington and Cumbria will be held in May 2027, as these areas have already undergone local government reorganisation, and mayoral elections in existing mayoral authorities will proceed as scheduled, as these institutions are already established. These mayoral elections are also distinct from local council elections.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 26 January (HL Deb col 715), when the mayoral elections for the 14 remaining areas will take place.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is important to distinguish between elections scheduled in existing mayoral authorities and these inaugural mayoral elections, which we have not had before and are only taking place in the six Devolution Priority Programme areas.
The Government is committed to ensuring our mayoral institutions are best placed to deliver and, as a result, is now minded to hold inaugural mayoral elections for the four Devolution Priority Programme places that are also undertaking local government reorganisation in May 2028 rather than May 2026, so that areas can complete the reorganisation process before Mayors take office. This will ensure that these institutions are built on firm foundations and that their Mayors are able to deliver for their regions and local communities from day one.
The inaugural mayoral elections for Cheshire and Warrington and Cumbria will be held in May 2027, as these areas have already undergone local government reorganisation, and mayoral elections in existing mayoral authorities will proceed as scheduled, as these institutions are already established. These mayoral elections are also distinct from local council elections.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 26 January (HL Deb col 715), what assessment they have made of the ability of the 14 remaining areas to deliver local government reorganisation to the proposed timescale of 12 months less time than the six priority areas.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As I set out on 26 January, the remaining 14 local government reorganisation areas do not have 12 months less time than the other areas.
On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities in 21 areas and their neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local government. Following the submission of proposals, the Government has since announced two new unitary authorities in Surrey and concluded a statutory consultation on final proposals for a further six areas. Decisions on which proposals, if any, to implement for those six areas will be taken by March 2026. Following elections in 2027, the new unitary councils will go live in 2028.
For the remaining 14 areas, the Government launched a statutory consultation on 5 February, which will close on 26 March. Decisions on which proposals, if any, to implement will then be announced around the time of the Summer Recess in 2026. Following elections in 2027, the new unitary councils will go live in 2028.
My officials are in regular contact with councils to support them to undertake preparatory work to ensure readiness for any transition to new authorities.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to align the definition of brownfield land for the purposes of the Building Safety Levy to the definition in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Works on previously developed sites will be charged at the 50% discount rate for the Building Safety Levy. This has been put in place to account for the higher costs of developing a previously developed/ brownfield site.
As set out in our response to the technical consultation, we have implemented a definition of “Previously Developed Sites” in the Building Safety Levy regulations, which draws on the definition of “Previously Developed Land” set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Appropriate amendments have been made to reflect that the NPPF definition is primarily designed to inform planning policy whereas the Building Safety Levy definition is used in regulations to apply a tax discount.
We are considering whether the approach in regulations could be more closely aligned with the NPPF, while maintaining the level of precision required for a taxation system.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan for water and sewerage companies to no longer be statutory consultees on individual applications that are part of a local plan on which they have already been consulted.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Water companies are not statutory consultees on individual planning applications, but they are consulted as part of the preparation of local development plans. We have no plans to change these arrangements.
On 17 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation closes on 13 January 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.