Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what datasets the Office for National Statistics collates and holds of the size of the population, and population growth, by religion, faith or belief, other than from the Census.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Rt. hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 7th January is attached.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the guidance entitled National Fraud Initiative: public-sector data specifications, updated on 11 November 2025, whether the council tax data matching will include the second homes council tax premium, where single person discount is not being claimed.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The National Fraud Initiative (NFI), as part of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), works closely with local authorities to help them identify and prevent fraud.
As part of this, the NFI is currently collaborating with local authorities to understand the fraud risks related to council tax second home premiums.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025, to Question 84476, on Proof of Identity: Digital Technology, what the wider policy and guidance from the Cabinet Office is on whether departments should consider written consultation responses from individuals or organisations who are subject to a policy of non-engagement.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Cabinet Office has published consultation principles which set out how consultations should be conducted.
They are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consultation-principles-guidance.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95883, on Visitor Levy, whether the Office for National Statistics intends to classify the overnight visitor levy as a tax for statistical purposes.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Rt. hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 7th January is attached.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the high value council tax surcharge will be payable by Ministers in official Ministerial residences which are (a) occupied as a primary residence and (b) occupied as a secondary residence.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to PQ 95176.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025, to Question 89453, on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, what was the monetary value of the council tax bill issued to the Government by Westminster City Council in March 2025 for payment from 1 April 2025.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Admiralty House sits within Council Tax Band H and details of the bands, current Council Tax charges, additional premiums and published notices about Council Tax can be found at the following page: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-band-and-charges
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what number and proportion of housebuilding in the most recent year for which ONS holds figures was built in each constituent nation of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Rt. Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 28th November is attached.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 86644 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, whether the initial council tax bill issued to HM Government in March 2025 included a second homes council tax premium.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Second Homes Premium was introduced by Westminster City Council on the 1st April 2025. This was billed by the council in July 2025 as a one-off payment for the financial year and paid on the same day.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate has the Office for National Statistics made of the (a) cash terms and (b) percentage terms increase in private rent prices since July 2024 in (i) each local authority and (ii) England.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Rt. Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th November is attached.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2025, to Question 86766, on Admiralty House: Council Tax, on what council tax (a) discounts, (b) premiums, (c) exemptions and (d) disregards, were applied to the Government’s council tax bill for the occupied Ministerial residence in Admiralty House (i) between November 2024 and March 2025 for the year 2024-25 and (ii) in March/April 2025, for the year 2025-26, according to records held by the Government Property Agency.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The second homes premium was applied to the council tax bill for the former Deputy Prime Minister’s residence at Admiralty House for 2025-2026. No other premiums, discounts, exemptions, or disregards were applied.