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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) private and (b) social homes started in London between 1 January and 31 March 2025.

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

My Department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build starts and completions, by tenure of developer, in London. Statistics to the quarter ending March 2025 can be found in Table 217 on gov.uk here. This dataset covers new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply.

My Department also publishes an annual release entitled ‘Affordable Housing supply, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of affordable housing supply. This includes estimates of new social homes started in London, in each financial year, to 2023-24 and can be found in Table 1006-1008 on gov.uk here. Data for 2024-25 will be published in November/December 2025.

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 17 July 2025 to Question 66191 on Private Rented Housing: Rents, whether she has made an assessment of the reasons for those increases.

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

The factors affecting changes in rents are complex and difficult to disentangle. They include house prices, supply and demand, taxation policy, interest rates and the movement of tenants into homeownership or social rented housing. It is not possible to assess the specific impact of each of these factors.

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 guidance entitled Summary: Planning and Infrastructure Bill, Government Amendments to Part 3 (Lords Committee Stage), published on 17 July 2025, in what circumstances the mitigation measures would have to be (a) in place and (b) be completed before the substantive development is allowed to be (i) started and (ii) occupied.

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

Where a developer has been granted permission relying on the payment of the Nature Restoration Levy, Natural England will be responsible for securing the necessary conservation measures to outweigh the negative effects of the development.

Natural England are being given the powers they need to deliver conservation measures at pace, to reduce any short-term impacts on the environment. There is no strict requirement to always have conservation measures in place in advance of impacts as there are instances when this could unnecessarily delay development and create liabilities for public finances.

However, an Environmental Delivery Plan must however set out the anticipated sequencing of the implementation of the conservation measures by reference to the development to which the Environmental Delivery Plan applies.

Ultimately, an Environmental Delivery Plan can only be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied the delivery of conservation measures will materially outweigh the negative effects of development by the plan’s end date.

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 her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, April 2025, published on 30 May 2025, what the research commissioned from the Greater London Authority on 22 April 2025 was.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 60469 on 20 June 2025.

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 17 July 2025 to Question 64085 on Oxford Growth Commission: Public Appointments, if she will publish the letter.

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

The Department does not routinely publish information on the remuneration of direct ministerial appointments as they are not regulated public appointments. The Chair of the Oxford Growth Commission wrote to the previous shadow Secretary of State sharing details of his remuneration on 16 July.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia has had meetings with (a) MEND, (b) CAGE, (c) MCB and (d) Palestine Action; and whether that group plans to accept written representations from those bodies.

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

The Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Working Group has not met with any of the mentioned groups. The Working Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive consultation they’ve already undertaken which closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was welcome to submit evidence.

Per the Terms of Reference for the Working Group, the Group is supported by a small secretariat function based within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with Senior Civil Servant-level oversight provided in the usual manner.

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 17 July 2025 to Question 65809 on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Working Group, what the (a) grade and (b) title is of the senior civil servant providing oversight of the working group.

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

The Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Working Group has not met with any of the mentioned groups. The Working Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive consultation they’ve already undertaken which closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was welcome to submit evidence.

Per the Terms of Reference for the Working Group, the Group is supported by a small secretariat function based within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with Senior Civil Servant-level oversight provided in the usual manner.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the name of each contractor who currently provides asylum hotels and accommodation to her Department.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The asylum accommodation estate is provided by Serco, Mears, Clearsprings Ready Homes and CTM. The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,, how many asylum hotels are in operation in each local authority area.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The asylum accommodation estate is provided by Serco, Mears, Clearsprings Ready Homes and CTM. The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2025, to Question 65280, on Asylum: Housing, if she will place the requested information from Question 65280 in the Library of the House in light of the hyperlinks on ContractFinder giving "URL No Longer Exists" errors.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The award notices Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts are already published and available on Contracts Finder as follows:

Wales AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Wales - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)

South AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract South - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)

North West AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NW - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)

Midlands & Eastern England AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract MEE - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)

North East Yorks & Humber AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NEYH - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)

Scotland AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Scotland - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)

Northern Ireland AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NI - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)

Due to changes in Contract management software Schedules are temporarily unavailable. This will be corrected shortly.

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 her Department's guidance entitled Summary: Planning and Infrastructure Bill, Government Amendments to Part 3 (Lords Committee Stage), published on 17 July 2025, whether an impact assessment has been undertaken on those measures.

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

The amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill tabled on 17 July do not constitute a substantive change to the way the Nature Restoration Fund will operate and so a formal Impact Assessment is not necessary.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the (a) expected and (b) average office attendance rate is in each of her Department's offices outside London.

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

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government expects staff to work towards attending the office or other premises for official business for 60% of their working time. Some of our offices cannot currently accommodate this level of attendance and lower expectations are therefore in place.

MHCLG publishes quarterly HQ Occupancy Statistics for its headquarters at 2 Marsham Street, London (not proportional attendance). We do not intend to publish individual office attendance information.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people on waiting lists for an allotment.

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

There are strict criteria in place to protect statutory allotments – these are sites covered by the Allotment Act 1925. A local authority cannot sell or dispose of statutory allotment land without the consent of the Secretary of State, who will only grant it if they are satisfied that either adequate alternative provision is made for displaced plot holders, or that such provision is unnecessary or not reasonably practicable.

The rules on sales of assets have also been in place since 2016 and they have not changed. In fact, ministerial approval for sales of allotments were lower in 2024/25 than the average for previous years.

The information regarding the number of people on waiting lists for an allotment is held by individual Local Authorities, not MHCLG, as they have the responsibility for the running, management and organisation of allotments.

Government has made no formal assessment on the merits of selling statutory allotment sites in rural or smaller communities. The protections under the Allotment Act 1925, and the requirements under the Small Holdings and Allotment Act 1908 for local authorities to provide allotments where there is demand, provides the framework to ensure allotments are available to all communities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with combined authority mayors on provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on restrictions on being Members of Parliament.

Answered by Jim McMahon

My department has engaged with Mayors and the local government sector ahead of publication of the English Devolution White Paper, where this policy was introduced.

The post of mayor is a significant role at the forefront of delivering change and demands the full attention of any post holder. That is why the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will prohibit individuals from holding the office of Member of Parliament (or being a member of the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and mayor simultaneously. This is already the case for Mayors who hold Police and Crime Commissioner responsibilities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to commission research to assess the consequences of the second homes council tax premium on the housing market in England.

Answered by Jim McMahon

It is for individual councils to decide whether to apply a premium in their area, taking into account local circumstances. The government does not currently make housing market assessments based on the use of premiums.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local billing authorities have set a second homes premium on council tax in 2025-26.

Answered by Jim McMahon

The Department will publish data on the number of second homes liable for a council tax premium in November as part of the annual council taxbase statistics.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding is provided to councils with high numbers of people granted refugee status; and whether the Fair Funding 2.0 proposals would affect this level of funding.

Answered by Jim McMahon

The government has been listening closely to the views expressed by the public, local authorities and other stakeholder bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation.

No final decisions on the outcome of the review have yet been taken. However, the government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most. The vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement. For those councils who would see their funding fall as a result of these changes, our intention is to protect the vast majority of these councils’ income through a funding floor.

We will publish further information in the government’s consultation response in Autumn, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether councils will receive compensatory payments for increases in employer National Insurance contributions in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

Answered by Jim McMahon

The government provided an additional £515 million for local government in 2025-26 to manage the impact of changes to employer National Insurance Contributions. The recent Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29.

The government will bring forward its proposals for 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 59362 on Asylum: Housing, whether local authorities have a right of objection to the housing of asylum seekers in (a) hostels, (b) hotels, (c) HMOs and (d) private rented sector accommodation in their locality.

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

An important part of our procurement process allows for local authorities across the UK to feed in local intelligence before our providers commit to accommodation. They have the opportunity to respond to consultation requests from our providers regarding either individual properties or specific postcode areas.

We are committed to working closely with communities and stakeholders to ensure destitute asylum seekers are housed in safe, secure and suitable accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity while their asylum claim is considered.

The asylum accommodation estate is provided by Serco, Mears, Clearsprings Ready Homes and CTM.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which individual local authorities have received funding from her Department under the Prevent scheme in 2024-25; and what the (a) mechanism and (b) timing is by which the funding will be distributed in 2025-26.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Following local authorities received funding under the Prevent Programme in 2024-25:

Each year the Home Office conducts an annual prioritisation exercise led by the Home Office’s Homeland Security Analysis and Insight (HSAI) team to understand which Local Authorities are facing the highest threat of radicalisation. The model incorporates both quantitative and qualitative elements.

The prioritisation exercise is carried out in the autumn and funding is granted from 1 April for the following financial year. The exercise for the financial year 2025/26 took place in the Autumn of 2024 and funding was released via grants from 1 April 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Protective Security Authority has provided advice on the proposed new Chinese Embassy.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and he will make this quasi-judicial decision independent from the rest of Government.

We have been clear that national security is the first duty of Government and that we have considered the breadth of national security issues. Where necessary, relevant agencies and departments have been consulted on the national security implications of the application. It would be inappropriate to provide any further specific detail.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question HL8772 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, through what mechanism her Department had access to the unredacted drawings.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on issues of national security, but as set out in the written representations by the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary to the Planning Inspectorate, we have carefully considered the breadth of national security risks associated with China's planning application.

A final decision has yet to be made. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government in his independent, quasi-judicial role will make the final decision in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on (a) transparency and local scrutiny on how Prevent funding is spent and (b) which organisations receive it.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

In 2023, the Home Office updated its assurance process to help ensure that local authorities are delivering their statutory Prevent duty in line with the Prevent duty guidance. This includes assurance of local authorities that receive Prevent funding due to being assessed as having high levels of terrorism threat and risk.

The ‘Prevent duty toolkit for local authorities’ outlines eight benchmarks that Prevent delivery is measured against and includes suggested examples of good and best practice.

The Home Office works with all local authority Prevent Leads in England, Wales and Scotland to complete a Prevent assurance exercise each year against 7 of the Prevent duty benchmarks. An assurance of the eighth benchmark, Channel, is subject to a separate process (the Channel Annual Assurance Statement).

This exercise provides local Prevent Partnerships and the Home Office with assurances that the Prevent duty is being met in proportion to the threat and risk in each area. It also helps to understand where there are gaps in Prevent delivery, to identify and share good practice, and to improve performance and standards.

Prevent also funds Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to deliver projects in communities. CSOs in receipt of Prevent funding are required to demonstrate that outcomes they have delivered contribute to Prevent’s overall aim: to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

As a requirement of Prevent funding, every CSO must adhere to best practice principles for programme design, delivery and monitoring and evaluation. All project providers are subject to random project delivery observation from the Home Office, and comprehensive due diligence is completed for all CSOs that receive Prevent funding.

The groups we work with are vital partners in protecting society from the dangers of radicalisation, and providing support to people who are being radicalised.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has provided to local authorities to distribute as grants under the Prevent scheme in 2024-25; and what the budget is for 2025-26.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Home Office provides Prevent funding to those local authorities (LAs) assessed to have the highest threat and risk from terrorism. This funding can be used by LAs in support of dedicated Prevent posts, with Prevent coordinators employed by the local authority to support delivery of Prevent on the ground. Funding can also be used by LAs to support targeted project delivery to tackle the threats in their area.

The Home Office provided the below funding to local authorities under the Prevent programme in financial years 2024-25:

• Local authority posts - £6,008,271.63
• Project delivery - £2,365,309.72

The Programme’s projected spend for the current financial year 2025-26 is:

• Local authority posts - £6,000,000
• Project delivery - £2,000,000

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the (a) cash terms and (b) real terms increase in the police settlement for 2025-26 includes (i) the increase in council tax and (ii) the compensatory funding for the increase in National Insurance.

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

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement.

This includes precept actuals, which was a £407.7 million increase compared to the 2024-25 settlement, and the £230.3 million for the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 4 July 2025 to Questions 62600 and 62603 on Nuisance, what her policy is on (a) whether nuisance begging is an offence and (b) giving powers to (i) police and (ii) local authorities to issue prevention orders relating to nuisance (A) begging and (B) rough sleeping.

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

On 10th June, the Government announced its intention to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. The Government has been clear that no one should be criminalised simply for having nowhere to live.

We have introduced targeted replacement measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain, and an offence of trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, both of which were previously provided for under the 1824 Act.

We know police forces make effective use of existing powers to tackle anti-social behaviour that occurs in this context, and we will update statutory guidance on the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to provide more certainty on how existing powers can be applied to anti-social behaviour where it occurs in the context of begging that is causing problems for local communities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled Red tape slashed to revamp high streets with new cafes and bars, published on 26 July 2025, whether the Government intends to consult on the new National Licensing Policy Framework.

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

This government has committed to launching a call for evidence to seek views on a range of pro-business reforms proposed by the recent Licensing Taskforce, including the development of a National Licensing Policy Framework.

This will provide an opportunity for the public to shape the development of a framework designed to provide clearer national direction for local licensing authorities while preserving local discretion in licensing decisions. We will consider further opportunities to gather evidence and engage with a wide range of stakeholders as a framework is implemented.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has provided to high street retailers on whether they may (a) share details of suspected shoplifters with other retailers and (b) post photographs of suspected shoplifters.

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

It is the legal responsibility of retailers to decide on a case-by-case basis if it is necessary, proportionate and lawful to share personal details of alleged shoplifters.

The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance on data sharing, including for retailers. The Home Office has worked with retailers and the Information Commissioner’s Office to support retailers in lawfully and safely sharing information amongst themselves and with police for the purposes of preventing, detecting and investigating shop theft.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 65009 on Islamophobia, whether her Department has (a) submitted evidence to and (b) had meetings with the Working Group.

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

The work he refers to is being overseen by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

As agreed with the Home Secretary, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing are currently conducting a review of non-crime hate incidents. We will update Parliament in due course on the findings of that review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to use the Islamophobia Working Group definition for non-criminal hate incidents.

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

The work he refers to is being overseen by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

As agreed with the Home Secretary, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing are currently conducting a review of non-crime hate incidents. We will update Parliament in due course on the findings of that review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's asylum support statistics, how much (a) initial accommodation, (b) dispersal accommodation and (c) contingency accommodation across the country is provided by (i) Serco, (ii) Mears, (iii) Clearspring Homes, (iv) Corporate Travel Management and (v) via Cushman and Wakefield in the most recent period for which figures are available.

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

The Home Office is working closely with a range of stakeholders to fulfil its statutory obligations, while seeking to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation for the taxpayer.

Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. This data can broken down by accommodation type. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 75 of the Home Office's annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, HC1133, what the total cost of asylum accommodation was in 2024-25.

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

Wider asylum accommodation costs other than hotels are not routinely published by the Home Office.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 43109 on Asylum: Local Government, what data is shared with local government under cross-cohort, place-based data sharing.

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

The Home Office is sharing more cross-cohort, place-based data with our partners; providing SMPs and Local Authorities with a better view of the asylum, resettlement and National Transfer Scheme population in their area. We are improving the level of visibility that partners have over the breakdown of the protection-based migrant population in their area, enabling SMPs and Local Authorities to better coordinate projects and services based on the local demographic of asylum cases.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was a allocated each individual local authority from (a) Grant 7 and (b) Grant 6 programmes for asylum in 2024-25.

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

The Home Office does not publicly publish grant payment levels by local authority.

The total amount allocated to Local Authorities in 2024/25 for Asylum Dispersal Grants 6 and 7 was £121,840,400.

Current accommodation funding arrangements are published on Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 59362 on Asylum: Housing, whether her Department provides guidance on objections to specific properties which (a) should be accepted by accommodation provided and (b) are not valid.

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

The Home Office Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts (AASC) are published and set out our requirements for the sourcing and procurement of accommodation, including how providers should work and consult with local authorities on a range of issues, from pressure on services, to security and the impact on the wider community.

It is through this consultation and liaison that the Home Office seeks to consider and understand the concerns of local authorities and where evidenced objections may be made, including on behalf of the local community. The Home Office and its providers consider such evidence carefully, balancing the need to address local concerns with the integrity and lawfulness of the asylum system.

For the safety, security and wellbeing of staff and those being accommodated, the Home Office does not disclose information to the general public, about accommodation sites which may or may not be utilised.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65011 on Police: Finance, what estimate she has made of the total monetary value of council tax receipts from the police precept in England in (a) 2024-25 and (b) each subsequent year of the Spending Review, on which the increase in police spending power was calculated.

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

The published total council tax receipts for policing 2024-25 and 2025-26 can be found below (£m):

As set out in the Spending Review (SR) 2025 document, published 11 June 2025, the Phase 2 settlement provides an average 1.7% real terms increase per year in police spending power. Over the SR period, police spending power is projected to increase by an average 2.3% per year in real terms.

Police spending power includes projected spending from additional income, including estimated funding from the police council tax precept.

However, this remains subject to final decision on precept levels and individual police and crime commissioner decisions. The final police precept level and core government funding will be set out in the annual police funding settlement in the usual way.