James Cleverly

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th September is attached.

Engagement with Westminster City Council (WCC) regarding Council Tax is managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA).

The GPA last engaged with WCC regarding the former Deputy Prime Minister's official residence in Admiralty House on 29th July 2025.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Rt. Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 16th July is attached.

We routinely, for internal purposes, consider production levels of cement and other foundational industries products. We also maintain close contact with the Mineral Products Association, the industry trade body and individual businesses to consider and address the issues facing the sector.

The cement sector has been included in the Government's future Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and some cement firms are supported by the British Industrial Supercharger and Energy Intensive Industries (EII) Compensation Scheme. These policies ensure UK cement firms remain competitive and mitigate carbon leakage.

The Rt.hon Member’s correspondence has been transferred to the Department of Health and Social Care as the department responsible for the topic of enquiry.

The Government wants to ensure we have a licensing system that not only addresses crime and protects communities but supports businesses and promotes growth. Councils already use designated zones to preserve hospitality, leisure, and cultural areas, and we are keen to work collaboratively to understand how these approaches are working and explore whether Councils have the tools they need to create and maintain designated zones effectively. Businesses within and outside designated zones will benefit from a more balanced licensing regime. We will issue a Call for Evidence to gather insights and inform policy discussions shortly.

Designating zones and cumulative impact policies are a matter for local authorities, and the two are not mutually exclusive. The Government’s considers that both designating zones and implementing cumulative impact policies should be fully considered, clearly evidenced, monitored, and subject to review to ensure they remain effective and proportionate.

We are committed to working with councils, businesses and local partners to understand how these approaches are being applied and to ensure councils have the tools they need to create and maintain designated zones effectively. We will issue a Call for Evidence to gather insights and inform policy discussions shortly.

In the recent Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy, the government committed to publishing a consultation on whether the existing permitted development rights are fit for purpose and if they could support other forms of small-scale onshore wind deployment. The Department is currently conducting stakeholder engagement to prepare for this consultation. As part of this, some stakeholders have expressed interest raising the height limit for a permitted development onshore wind turbine to 30 metres, alongside other suggestions, conditions and limits. The Government will consider all options carefully ahead of consultation.

Parliament legislated for a registration scheme for short-term lets in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. A pilot will launch later this year with the scheme launching in 2026.

The Government is concerned about the sustainability of local journalism and DCMS is developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We also recognise that local press continues to play a vital role in informing local communities, and that statutory notices can play an important role in helping inform the public of decisions made by their council which may affect their quality of life, local services or amenities, or their property.

However, we are also aware of concerns from some sectors about the audience reach of these notices and the desire for greater digitalisation. In this context, the sector’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, taking advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and providing a centralised resource for all types of statutory notice. We also welcome the Portal's current expansion to include archive and consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively.

DCMS is monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of statutory notices. This type of industry innovation and collaboration is integral to securing the sector’s future. It will be taken into account in our planned review of statutory notices as part of the Local Media Strategy, which will more broadly consider the merits of making changes to existing requirements to place statutory notices in print local newspapers. More will be announced on the Strategy in the coming months.

Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Convention on Wetlands. Most Ramsar sites are also already designated as Habitats Sites or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and so subject to strict protections. However, in view of our international commitments as signatories to the Convention, it is Government policy that all Ramsar sites are afforded protection under the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) process as a matter of policy.

The statutory recognition of Ramsar sites through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will formalise existing practice, reducing ambiguity and potential legal risk, and providing greater clarity and certainty for developers. Adding Ramsar sites to the Habitats Regulation also enables Ramsar sites, and development that impacts upon these sites, to benefit from the new Nature Restoration Fund model, supporting both nature recovery and sustainable development.

The Government remains committed to the effective implementation of its international obligations and to the three pillars of the Aarhus Convention of access to environmental information, participation in environmental decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

We remain committed to working with the Convention's mechanisms to ensure it functions effectively and upholds these principles.

Swift bricks cannot be counted towards Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units, which must be calculated using the statutory biodiversity metric or its small sites version. The metric does not account for species-specific features, which are typically installed to mitigate the loss of features in the built environment.

Permitted development rights (PDRs) are subject to national conditions and limitations and therefore do not remove the need to comply with the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

Where a development that benefits from PDR is likely to have a significant effect on a habitats site, a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) must be carried out, and mitigation may be required. Where appropriate this could be delivered through nutrients credits or through payments which contribute towards the delivery of Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space.

Further advice is available at Habitats regulations assessments: protecting a European site and via Planning Practice Guidance: When is permission required? - GOV.UK.

Government guidance confirms Biodiversity net gain (BNG) does not apply to development granted permission by General Permitted Development Order. See: Understanding biodiversity net gain - GOV.UK.

Permitted development rights (PDRs) are subject to national conditions and limitations and therefore do not remove the need to comply with the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

HRAs require an evaluation of whether a plan or project, including those benefiting from PDR, is likely to adversely affect any habitat site designated under the Habitats Regulations and/or its qualifying feature(s), and for any harm to be mitigated before the plan or project proceeds (unless there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest, no alternatives and necessary compensation is secured).

Guidance on the HRA process is available on Habitats regulations assessments: protecting a European site - GOV.UK, and via Planning Practice Guidance: When is permission required? - GOV.UK.

The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as each relevant vehicle record would need to be manually interrogated to calculate the vehicle excise duty paid in the last two financial years.

There is support through the social security system for low-income households renting in the private or social rented sector which is paid to those in receipt of either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.

The number of bedrooms required to calculate housing support is determined using a size criterion. The criterion takes account of the number of people in a household and their ages. These size criterions provide a bedroom for a couple, a single person aged 16 or over, two children of the same sex under the age of 16, two children of the same or opposite sexes under the age of 10 and a sole or remaining child. There are exceptional circumstances where support for an additional room can be awarded.

The latest guidance to local authorities was issued following changes to the size criterion in 2017 Housing Benefit Circular: A3/2017. The criteria has not changed since.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.

I have received the hon. Member’s letter and I have responded.

The Department of Health and Social Care allocated public health funding to Kent County Council of £86.6 million in 2024/25 and £91.3 million in 2025/26, which consists of:

[1] Includes contributions from the Department for Work and Pensions for individual placement and support funding and from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for rough sleeping drug and alcohol treatment funding which are transferred to the Department of Health and Social Care, and paid out via Department of Health and Social Care grants.

Core funding for local authorities’ public health responsibilities is provided through the Public Health Grant. Local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to use this funding in support of their public health responsibilities. There is no specific requirement for them to use it to support access to National Health Service childhood immunisations, but local authority funded services may play an active role in promoting uptake of childhood vaccinations – for example through local authority-commissioned health visiting services that may advise parents on childhood vaccinations.

NHS England undertook a baseline assessment of artificially intelligent (AI) auto-contouring systems in summer 2024 which indicated that, at that time, 39 trusts had some AI arrangements in place.

The use of AI auto contouring technology to plan for treatments is not always suitable, useful, or available for all areas of the body, therefore, the actual percentage of cases where AI technology was used is not known.

Any future spending commitments beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process, which will conclude in June.

The Department continuously supports the National Health Service in reviewing opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to transform diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and supporting staff with their workload.

Furthermore, the Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed across the NHS through a number of initiatives, including the NHS AI Lab’s Ethics Initiative, which invests in research and practical interventions that could strengthen the ethical adoption of AI within health and care and addresses risks and concerns over their use.

We will improve National Health Service cancer waiting time performance, so patients are diagnosed and treated faster. We will also improve cancer survival rates by diagnosing cancers at an earlier stage.

We will build on recent successes, including the roll out of the Lung Screening programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost survival rates.

Furthermore, the recently announced National Cancer Plan will set out key goals and actions to improve on cancer waiting time performance and survival rates.

The Department supports the NHS in reviewing opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence to transform performance, bring down waiting times, and improve survival rates.

UK contractors routinely visit our overseas missions around the world, including in China, to carry out maintenance and repairs. We have not had cause to raise this with the Chinese authorities.

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

The UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) supports Jordan's transition towards economic self-sufficiency, helps reduce the drivers of migration and has supported Jordan as it delivered humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The Minister for International Development made Jordan her first official visit overseas in her new role from 23-25 March. She announced that UK funding for the Global Concessional Financing Facility will support Jordan's efforts to host its 3.5 million refugee population. Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do globally. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. Figures for the UK Funding to UNRWA for the last five financial years can be found below. The decrease in funding from the Financial Year 2020/21 to Financial Year 2021/22 was due to the move from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent Official Development Assistance.