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 he has received representations from (a) the Welsh Government and (b) members of the Welsh Senedd over the use of the Internal Market Act 2020 to deliver the Pride in Place programme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I recently wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government in the Welsh Government to express my commitment to greater collaboration between the UK and Welsh Governments on areas of shared interest.
In Wales, we have set out the requirement for Pride in Place Neighbourhood Boards to consider how their plans align with the objectives of the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government, the Well-being of Future Generations Act, the Transforming Towns programme, and the Future Wales: National Plan 2040 planning framework, as well as other relevant strategies. We believe the close collaboration within communities and across government will make these neighbourhood boards stronger and more effective.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Valuation Office Agency special category code hereditaments are eligible for the 2026-27 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multipliers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VOA Special Category codes do not determine eligibility for RHL multipliers. Local authorities are responsible for administering the business rates multipliers for qualifying Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her planned timetable is for business rate bills to be issued for 2026-27; and what is the timetable for appeals against the new draft valuations published on 25 November 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Local councils are responsible for the timing and issuing of business rates bills, typically these are sent in February or March for the following tax year.
New valuations cannot be formally challenged until they come into force on 1 April 2026. Until then valuations are draft. Ratepayers can let the VOA know now if any of the information used to calculate the valuation is wrong, and if necessary, the valuation will be corrected.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax: practice notes, Basis of Valuation- Valuation Assumptions, Section 4.3: Tenure, what estimate the Agency has made of the average difference between sale prices and council tax valuations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency values properties in line with legislation. It is not required to provide estimates relating to the difference between sales prices and Council Tax valuations to carry out this work.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's publication, VOA rating list downloads, whether the Unique Address Reference Number matches individual hereditaments on the 2026 draft non-domestic rating list with their previous entry on the 2023 non-domestic rating list; and how are properties matched if they do not have an Unique Address Reference Number.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
All properties in the rating list are assigned a Unique Address Reference Number (UARN).
The UARN for each property is the same between both lists and will continue into the compiled list, due to come into effect on 1 April 2026.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the council tax bands, banding thresholds and multipliers for the new council tax surcharge will be set in (a) primary or (b) secondary legislation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government expects that the implementation of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) will require both primary and secondary legislation.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether an Electric Vehicle chargepoint within the curtilage of a domestic dwelling is deemed to be a material consideration by the Valuation Office Agency when a property is valued or revalued for council tax, including the new surcharge.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency considers a range of factors when valuing domestic properties, including property attribute details, sales data, and the valuations of similar properties.
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 paragraph 87 of the policy document entitled Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29, of 20 November 2025, what the maximum council tax percentage threshold is that his Department will except; and whether councils will be allowed to set a threshold above 5% over multiple years.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This week the government published the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, which restated our commitment to review requests for additional flex. This aligns with precedent set by the previous government and is in recognition of the extremely difficult financial situation that many councils are facing.
We have not set out a maximum percentage threshold for each year, or set out limits on whether councils can request flexibility over multiple years. We encourage councils to provide this information when making requests to the Department, with detail on their financial position over multiple years.
It is for local authorities to decide the level of council tax they wish to request and set. This will reflect the service needs of each area having taken account of their other sources of income. The government is clear that in doing so, they should put taxpayers first.
Fairness for taxpayers is at the heart of this government’s decision making. We will not accept requests for additional flexibility where this would result in taxpayers paying bills above the average. For the vast majority of councils, the government intends to maintain a core referendum threshold of 3%, and a 2% adult social care precept over the multi-year Settlement.
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 his Department advises councils to undertake an economic or housing market impact assessment prior to implementing (a) empty or (b) second home premiums on council tax.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not prescribe any specific impact assessments that should be undertaken when councils decide to charge council tax premiums. However, we have published guidance setting out some of the steps they should take. This includes making an assessment of impacts on the local population, its communities, and the local economy. Councils are required to have regard to this guidance, which is available here.
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 the consultation response entitled Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England – consultation results and government response, of 11 November 2025, whether the mandatory code of conduct will extend to conduct in a personal capacity.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The mandatory code the government intends to introduce as part of the full reform of the local government standards and conduct framework will ensure that every elected member in England is clear what standard of conduct and behaviour is demanded of them in all aspects of their public office.