Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 3 July 2025 to Question 62978 on MHCLG: Travel, if he will provide the (a) date, (b) cost and (c) approximate location of each Ministerial journey.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This information is not held centrally and can only be collated at a disproportionate cost to the department.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 22 July 2025 to Question 68060 on Islamophobia, whether the Working Group has had a meeting with MCB; and whether they have received evidence from the MCB.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Working Group is an independent, non-statutory body which will provide advice to ministers on a definition of anti-Muslim hatred/islamophobia. Ministers will consider the advice that the independent working group provides.
The Working Group have engaged with a range of stakeholders and proposed definition by the independent Working Group should reflect a wide range of perspectives from different communities. The terms of reference set out that the Working Group should work within HMG’s published engagement standards. The Government has a non-engagement policy with the MCB and that position has not changed.
The Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive engagement they’ve already undertaken. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the British Muslim Trust will be contractually obliged to use the Government's new definition of Islamophobia when recording anti-Muslim hatred under Combating Hate Against Muslims fund; and if he will publish a copy of the contract.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The British Muslim Trust and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have signed a Grant Funding Agreement, rather than a contract. It is not a stipulation of the Grant Funding Agreement that any specific definition is used by the British Muslim Trust. The prospectus set out that to apply for funding an organisation must ‘be willing to record and monitor instances of anti-Muslim hate crime in such a way that is consistent with the government’s working definition of anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia, should the government choose to adopt a definition in future’.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) retaining, (b) reforming and (c) removing the requirement for (i) applicants to councils and (ii) councils to place statutory notices in local newspapers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of tax (a) evasion and (b) avoidance linked to candy retail stores.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As my rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister said, the Government recently launched a major crackdown against criminals using high street businesses to launder money at almost 400 properties, which involved securing freezing orders over bank accounts totaling more than £1 million and arresting 35 individuals.
HMRC is leading a cross-Government risk assessment to establish a shared understanding of the key risks and their underlying drivers. The findings of this assessment will inform a revitalised and more ambitious coordinated cross-government approach to addressing the harms associated with these retail models.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the (a) Office for National Statistics and (b) Social Mobility Commission classify the socio-economic background of a firefighter.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 issued guidance to local authorities on purchasing empty homes for the purpose of housing asylum seekers.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department has not issued any guidance at this stage to local authorities on purchasing empty homes for the purpose of housing asylum seekers.
We continue to work closely with the Home Office and local authorities to develop a more sustainable model of asylum accommodation supply which will ensure basic accommodation is made available for asylum seekers on a temporary basis.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 publication entitled MHCLG areas of research interest, published on 5 March 2025, whether research has been commissioned since 4 July 2024 in relation to reform, revaluation or replacement of council tax.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not commissioned research in relation to council tax reform. The Government remains committed to keeping all taxes and elements of the local government finance system under review. The Government has recently set out its intention to modernise the administration of council tax to ensure it remains fair and efficient for both taxpayers and local authorities.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 page 81 of her Department's annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, HC 1062, for what reason core departmental contingent labour spending increased from 2023-24 to 2024-25.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The increase in contingent labour spend between 2023–24 and 2024–25 (£6.808m to £7.674m) reflects targeted use of specialist contractors to support priority programmes, particularly in digital, technical, and transformation services.
The department remains committed to reducing reliance on external suppliers and consultants, having already achieved a 50% reduction in consultancy use since 2023/24. As part of our ongoing invest-to-save initiative, we are actively replacing contractors and professional services with permanent civil servants. This approach has already delivered substantial savings and is expected to generate further annual efficiencies. By building in-house capability, the department is not only reducing costs but also enhancing the skills and sustainability of the civil service workforce, which in turn supports more effective and efficient delivery of our objectives.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 4 September 2025 to Question 69674 on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group, if he will amend the terms of reference of the working group such that representations submitted by organisations which (a) are subject to the Government’s policy of non-engagement and (b) condone criminal activity should not be considered by the working group.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per their Terms of Reference, the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group should work within HMG’s published engagement standards and will inform the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in writing of all external engagement prior to it taking place. The Working Group has engaged extensively to inform their independent advice to Ministers on a definition and have not met with any organisations subject to the Government’s policy of non-engagement. The Working Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive engagement they’ve already undertaken. The Call for Evidence closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.