Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 21 April 2026 to Question 126747 on Travellers: Caravan Sites, if she will publish the Public Sector Equality Duty assessment.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government takes all necessary steps to ensure that legislation is developed in line with its statutory obligations, including the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Equality impacts were considered as part of the development of the amendment to police powers in relation to unauthorised encampments.

The Home Office keeps under review what information can appropriately be published but does not routinely publish internal advice or assessments that inform policy development.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) planning applications for traveller sites and (b) retrospective planning permission for unauthorised sites will be a matter for a Planning Committee.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Between 26 March and 23 April 2026, the government consulted on the draft Regulations and guidance underpinning the government’s planning committee reforms from the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.

We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the London Borough of Tower Hamlets accepted the free portrait of the Sovereign offered by the Cabinet Office to all local authorities.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Honourable Member to the information published on GOV.UK on 28 November 2024 which provided a summary of the His Majesty The King Official Portrait Scheme, including the number of portraits provided and the total cost of the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech of Baroness Taylor of Stevenage of 13 April 2026, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 121, for what reason the review is now an internal review; and whether there will be a public consultation on the legislation on open spaces.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government’s commitment has consistently been to review existing statutory protections rather than to conduct a consultation. The review will involve gathering evidence from a wide range of sources and stakeholders in a targeted and proportionate way.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 21 April 2026, to Question 126742, on Asylum: Hillingdon, how much was provided to Hillingdon in 2025-26 for asylum grant funding.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Cabinet Office publish annual grant funding data (Government Grants Data and Statistics) where you can find details of grant levels by local authority area broken down per year. The Home Office does not publish any additional information.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the statutory guidance entitled Appointing mayoral commissioners and setting/reporting allowances, 16 April 2026, paragraph 75, who determines whether a Commissioner has mislead a Local Scrutiny Committee; and to what standard of proof.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act provides Overview and Scrutiny Committees in Mayoral Combined Authorities and Mayoral Combined County Authorities (known as Local Scrutiny Committees) with the power to impose a civil penalty on a person that misleads the Committee. A person is deemed to mislead a committee if they intentionally alter, suppress, conceal, or destroy information or documentation that has been requested by the Committee.

Regulations made under the Act will set out the detailed arrangements governing the award of such a civil penalty, including their application to Mayors and Commissioners, together with the appeal mechanism available to those subject to a determination of this kind. The relevant regulations will be laid in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the publication MHCLG: spending over £25,000, January 2026, published on 25 February 2026, what the spending on transaction CFO & Corporate Coram (Thomas Coram Foundation), Ref: 5105609031, for £37,075 was for.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Thomas Coram Foundation research contract was commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as part of the Supporting Families programme in 2023. When the programme moved to the Department for Education (DfE) as part of a machinery of government change in 2024, the management of, and funding for, the research contract moved to DfE. The contract continues to be held in MHCLG for commercial reasons.

The research contract aims to test whether systemic practice is an effective way to work with families to achieve positive outcomes. It is a randomised control trial working with 12 local authorities. We expect to receive the findings later in the year.

Further information is available in the Supporting Families annual report which was published on 9 June 2025 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-families-programme-annual-report-2024-to-2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the High Court Consent Order in relation to Nair v London Borough of Tower Hamlets of March 2024, whether Ministerial Envoys in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have assessed the conduct of licensing councillors on that council.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Ministerial Envoys do not take, or assess the impact of, individual funding and regulatory decisions by the authority; the responsibility for which remains with the Council. As part of the statutory intervention in Tower Hamlets, the Envoys are supporting the Council on their improvement journey which includes political culture.

In addition to this, as set out in the Ministerial Directions of 17 March 2026, the Envoys are conducting a ‘deep dive’ into allegations of misconduct in identified council functions, which include the allocation of resources, such as community assets and community grants, and licensing decisions. The Envoys will report their findings to the Secretary of State in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Ministerial Envoys to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have reviewed the council's 2025-26 expenditure and procurement of the Mosque Engagement Programme.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Ministerial Envoys do not take, or assess the impact of, individual funding and regulatory decisions by the authority; the responsibility for which remains with the Council. As part of the statutory intervention in Tower Hamlets, the Envoys are supporting the Council on their improvement journey which includes political culture.

In addition to this, as set out in the Ministerial Directions of 17 March 2026, the Envoys are conducting a ‘deep dive’ into allegations of misconduct in identified council functions, which include the allocation of resources, such as community assets and community grants, and licensing decisions. The Envoys will report their findings to the Secretary of State in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the press release, Red tape slashed to revamp high streets with new cafes and bars, of 26 July 2025, whether (a) combined authority mayors and (b) the Greater London Authority mayor will be given powers over Licensing Act 2003 licensing decisions and policy.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, the Government has conferred new licensing functions on the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority. This is to enable a more coherent, city-wide approach to licensing decisions across the capital to support the hospitality industry and nighttime economy

The Government has also published a first iteration of a National Licensing Policy Framework setting out a strategic vision for a modern licensing system across England and Wales. This will support a more strategic approach to licensing in other Mayoralties while the new measures are piloted in Greater London.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Council tax information letter 3/2026 published on 15 April 2026, whether a new burdens payment will be made to local authorities further to the changes outlined in the letter.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government, in its response to the council tax administration consultation, committed to conduct a New Burdens assessment to ensure changes are appropriately funded. The published response can be found here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how the proposed ban on crypto-donations and overseas donations over £100,000 will apply to hon. Members.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 124668 on 20 April 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 97134 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Departmental Responsibilities, for what reason the Secretary of State's attendance at the Labour YIMBY event on 28 October 2025 was not listed in (a) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ministers' Hospitality - October 2025 and (b) MHCLG: ministerial meetings, October to December 2025.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

At the events on 28 October and 24 November the Secretary of State spoke about the overall government approach to housing. No other departmental business was discussed. As these were party political events, it would not be appropriate for the Department to publish the Secretary of State’s remarks or include in transparency returns, as has been the case with previous administrations. The Secretary of State was not accompanied by a private secretary.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 118523 on Council Tax: Valuation, whether new DwellingHouseCodes were added by the Valuation Office to assist the council tax revaluation in Wales.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

For the Council Tax revaluation in Wales, the Valuation Office has not collected additional DwellingHouse Codes over and above those already used within England and Wales.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Surrey County Council paper, "Implementation Programme Update Report, Annex 3 – Draft Illustrative Financial Baseline", of April 2026, what assessment has his department made of whether the estimated West Surrey Council (a) net borrowing of £3.841 billion and (b) gross financing cost of £319.5 million a year, and (c) a gross financing cost as percentage of net revenue budget of 39.9%, is financially sustainable for the new unitary council.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Multi-year allocations for all councils, including those which have been invited to undergo reorganisation, were set out in the final Local Government Finance Settlement. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities. For Surrey County Council, the multi-year Settlement makes available up to £1,275.2 million in Core Spending Power by 2028-29, an increase of 6.9% compared to 2024-25, equivalent to £82.6 million.

The local government reorganisation in Surrey is a critical intervention to improve the financial viability of the area’s councils. Putting Surrey’s local authorities on a more sustainable footing is vital to safeguarding the services its residents rely on, as well as investing in their futures. In general, as with previous restructures, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation.

The government has committed to unprecedented debt repayment support for Woking Borough Council ahead of their inclusion in the new West Surrey Council, given the significant and exceptional unsupported debt at the council linked to historic capital practices. Further to this unprecedented commitment to repay in-principle an initial £500m of Woking Borough Council’s debt in 2026-27, we are committed to providing interim financial support to the new council until a final decision is made. It is crucial that any debt support must consider value for money for local and national taxpayers.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the new unitary councils will be required to give 12 months notice to apply the second homes or empty homes council tax premium in their unitary council area, if (a) some and (b) all of their predecessor councils did not levy such premiums.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Restructured councils must make a determination to introduce the second homes premium at least 12 months before the financial year in which it will be charged in a predecessor area for the first time. The government has recently made The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 to clarify this.

Restructured councils are not required to make a determination at least 12 months in advance before applying the empty home premium in a predecessor area for the first time. They must make a determination prior to the start of the financial year in which it will be charged.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 27 April 2026, to Question 126743, on Home Office: Greenpeace, when the Home Office last engaged with Greenpeace; and whether it is subject to a formal policy of non-engagement under the engagement principles.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is no standing policy of non-engagement with Greenpeace. Ministerial engagements with external stakeholders are published and available online.

Home Office: ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings - GOV.UK

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether guidance has been given to the London Assembly on whether Assembly Members in council tax arrears may vote on the setting of the Greater London Authority’s council tax precept.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

No specific government guidance has been issued to the London Assembly in relation to whether Assembly Members in council tax arrears may vote on council tax requirements arising from the Mayor of London’s annual budget proposals.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has published any guidance on the operation of Section 9I of the Localism Act 2011.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Section 9I is a provision of the Local Government Act 2000. The Department has not published specific guidance on this provision.

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