Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, what assessment the Client Board has made of the potential impact of government regulations on the projected costs of the Restoration and Renewal of Parliament; and whether it has had discussions with the Building Safety Regulator on Restoration and Renewal.
Answered by Nick Smith
The Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Client Board’s recent report, Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals (HC Paper 1576) sets out a recommended way forward for the R&R Programme, including the scope of the works and cost and timing estimates of different delivery options.
Design work for the R&R works was carried out to meet the requirements set out by the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 and a range of relevant UK regulations regarding building standards, health and safety, and consents. The outcome level assessment conducted by the R&R Programme Board also made specific reference to regulations and standards. A separate assessment of “the potential impact of government regulations” on the projected costs set out the R&R Client Board’s report has not been undertaken.
Officials from Parliament’s R&R Client Team have engaged recently with the Chair of the Building Safety Regulator. The R&R Delivery Authority plans engagement with the Building Safety Regulator and the Health and Safety Executive at the next stage of design.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether (a) her Department and (b) the Equality and Human Rights Commission has issued guidance to political parties on candidate shortlists for elected office restricted on the basis of protected characteristics.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Guidance on what the Equality Act 2010 means for political parties, including candidate shortlists, is provided by the Equality and Human Rights Commission here: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/equality-act-2010-guide-political-parties
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 13 June 2025, to Question 58058, on Local Government Pension Scheme, and of 12 February 2026, to Question 111138, on Local Government: Redundancy Pay, whether any changes are being made to the Local Government Pension Scheme to reduce the cost of pension strain following unitary local government restructuring; and whether this department has made a wider estimate of the likely cost of unitary restructuring on council exit payments in 2026-27 onwards.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Council staff are expected to transfer to new unitary councils. The cost of any exit payments made by a council offered as part of a voluntary exit scheme or resulting from any compulsory redundancies implemented by a new unitary council, including payments under the Local Government Pension Scheme, will depend on local workforce decisions and the composition of the workforce. The Government cannot predetermine or form a view on the outcome of local decisions on the operational and staffing structure of new unitary councils, including the outcome of any consultation with affected staff and their representatives. Councils should work with relevant administering authorities on any implications for the Local Government Pension Scheme and it is for all councils concerned to determine their own policies on exit payments.
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, what is the timetable for the publication of the social cohesion strategy, and whether there will be a consultation or green paper.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We published Protecting What Matters: Towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom on Monday 9 March 2026. This publication sets out this government’s vision for a fair, tolerant and decent country and the steps we are taking to tackle threats to social cohesion.
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 12 February 2025 to Question 26030 on Radicalism, when he plans to publish the minutes of the steering group.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The terms of reference for the Communities and Recovery Steering Group (Ministerial) were published on GOV.UK in March 2025.
As referenced in the answer given to Question UIN 33045 on 10 March 2025, in keeping with general practice, we do not currently intend to place minutes in the Library.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK Politics, Governance and Rights Centre provides guidance or assistance to foreign countries in relation to the practices of holding elections, and the frequency at which local elections should be held.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 December 2024 to Question 19695.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions has the department had with the Venice Commission on elections since July 2024.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 December 2024 to Question 19695.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's blog entitled OFSI and partners clamp down on the abuse of cryptoassets, of 28 January 2026, whether the OFSI will examine crypto donations being made to political organisations.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since 2020, UK cryptoasset firms have been subject to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Regulations, requiring strict supervision, customer checks and suspicious activity reporting. Since 2023, these firms have also been required to collect, verify and share information about the sender and receiver of transfers.
The Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) works alongside other government agencies to tackle the threats posed to sanctions by illicit cryptoasset activity. While OFSI does not comment on individual cases, it is fully prepared to investigate any sanctions offences, including those that may involve donations to political organisations.
The rules for donations in cryptoassets apply in the same way as they do for any other political donations. The Government announced in December 2025 that the independent Rycroft Review will assess current financial rules and safeguards that regulate political finance and political parties. The Review will specifically consider safeguards against illicit funding streams, including difficult-to-trace assets such as cryptoassets.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of local government reorganisation on the (a) services provided by, (b) responsibilities of and (c) parish precepts for council tax in (i) new and (ii) existing town and parish councils.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Town and parish councils are not in scope for local government reorganisation and will continue to operate as they do now. The power to create and restructure town and parish councils is devolved to principal local authorities, which can review and make changes to local governance arrangements through Community Governance Reviews. In doing so, they are expected to take the views of local people into account.
The Government expects town and parish councils – including new councils – to carefully consider the burden placed on taxpayers when setting their precepts. Areas considering the establishment of new town and parish councils should also think carefully about how these might be funded to avoid putting further pressure on local authority finances and/or new burdens on the taxpayer.
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, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of unitary local government restructuring in Surrey on the (a) number of town and parish councils and (b) band D parish precept charged by those councils.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Town and parish councils are not in scope for local government reorganisation and will continue to operate as they do now. The power to create and restructure town and parish councils is devolved to principal local authorities, which can review and make changes to local governance arrangements through Community Governance Reviews. In doing so, they are expected to take the views of local people into account.
The Government expects town and parish councils – including new councils – to carefully consider the burden placed on taxpayers when setting their precepts. Areas considering the establishment of new town and parish councils should also think carefully about how these might be funded to avoid putting further pressure on local authority finances and/or new burdens on the taxpayer.