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 his Statement of 9 March 2026, Official Report, Column 80, on Social Cohesion Action Plan, whether organisations deemed extremist or subject to the Government’s policy of non-engagement were permitted to submit evidence to Islamophobia working group met.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Anti-Muslim Hatred/ Islamophobia Working Group launched a Call for Evidence which closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.
The Department does not engage with MEND, CAGE, the Muslim Association of Britain or the Muslim Council of Britain and the Working Group did not meet with any of these organisations.
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 24 December 2024, to Question 20228, on Civil Society: Islam, whether the policy of non-engagement with (a) CAGE and (b) MEND applies across government, or whether it is a policy adopted by individual departments on a case by case basis.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Anti-Muslim Hatred/ Islamophobia Working Group launched a Call for Evidence which closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.
The Department does not engage with MEND, CAGE, the Muslim Association of Britain or the Muslim Council of Britain and the Working Group did not meet with any of these organisations.
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 February 2025, to Question 27162, on Civil Society: Islam, whether the Islamophobia Working Group took evidence from (a) MEND, (b) CAGE, (c) the Muslim Association of Britain and (d) the Muslim Council of Britain.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Anti-Muslim Hatred/ Islamophobia Working Group launched a Call for Evidence which closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.
The Department does not engage with MEND, CAGE, the Muslim Association of Britain or the Muslim Council of Britain and the Working Group did not meet with any of these organisations.
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 place in the Library a copy of the formal third-party representations submitted in response to the Special Development Order planning application for Universal Studios.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 81310 on 28 October 2025 and UIN 87785 on 17 November 2025.
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 17 March 2026, to Question HL14714, on MHCLG: Public Consultation, what the policy approach of his Department is on this matter.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As the Department with responsibility for Counter Extremism policy since 2024, Home Office oversees the engagement principles for government and will advise and share information to help inform the decisions of other departments, including MHCLG. The responsibility for decisions around who departments engage with sits with respective departments and the appropriate policy areas.
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 flowchart entitled Political Donations Overview: existing rules and what is changing, published on 2 March 2026, if he will amend the thresholds so they are in line with the Electoral Commission guidance entitled Political party donations and loans in Great Britain, published on 21 November 2023.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government’s position on political donation thresholds and donor permissibility is set out in legislation and in the Representation of the People Bill. The Electoral Commission will reflect any necessary changes in their guidance.
In terms of unlimited companies, where statements are not available on Companies House the company must provide revenue statements to political parties in order to make a donation.
The new rules will not exclude companies less than three years old. The reference in the factsheet to a three‑year period is intended as a window of time for assessing whether a company can demonstrate sufficient revenue. It does not operate as an age‑based restriction. Companies will be able to make political donations, provided they are able to demonstrate sufficient revenue and meet the other eligibility criteria set out in legislation.
Where a company is majority‑owned or controlled by another company, the donating company must meet the eligibility criteria in its own right. A company that does not meet those criteria would be impermissible, regardless of whether the owning company itself is permissible.
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 2 March 2026 to Question 113631 on West Yorkshire Combined Authority: Lexington Communications, whether she will make an assessment of the compliance of the contract between West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Lexington Communications with the Recommended code of practice for local authority publicity published by his Department on 31 March 2011.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are required to have regard to the Recommended Code of Practice on Local Authority Publicity when making decisions about publicity. Responsibility for compliance with the Code rests with individual authorities. Where the Secretary of State considers that an authority is not complying with the Code, he has powers under section 4 of the Local Government Act 1986 to issue a direction requiring the authority to comply. Any concerns regarding compliance should in the first instance be directed to the authority concerned. Following this, if the Rt Hon. Member still has concerns about West Yorkshire Combined Authority, he may wish to write to the Department setting out the relevant 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, with reference to the Written Statement of 25 March 2026 on Local Government Reorganisation, HCWS1455, whether the Local Government Boundary Commission was consulted on the boundaries of the new local authorities, including the division of existing councils and the reallocation of parishes.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department is liaising closely with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (the Commission). The Secretary of State invited the Commission to respond as a named consultee on all proposals received that involved boundary change requests splitting districts between new unitary councils.
With regard to electoral boundaries within new councils, these will be reflected in the Structural Changes Order that establishes them, once Ministers have decided which proposals to implement. For the first elections, anticipated in May 2027, we ask councils to provide us with their suggested interim warding arrangements for inclusion in the structural changes order, based on existing wards, divisions or, where appropriate, parishes.
The Commission can offer advice and guidance to councils as they draw up these boundaries. The Commission intend to undertake a full electoral review of all new councils after their first election and before their second.
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 Written Statement of 25 March 2026 on Local Government Reorganisation, HCWS1455, what discussions he had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Secretary of State for Education on the proposed new unitary sizes and composition.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The 500,000 population figure has always been a guiding principle, not a fixed threshold. There may need to be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including to support devolution, and that decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. The population size of proposed new unitary councils therefore varies between areas.
Where any new council is below 500,000, the Secretary of State is satisfied that it is appropriate on the basis it produces the most coherent and effective outcome for that area.
As standard, the Secretary of State had discussions on new unitary councils with relevant colleagues in Government and decisions were collectively agreed through the normal and well-established processes.
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 factsheet, Political Donations Overview: existing rules and what is changing, of 2 March 2026, and to the statement the company or LLP donating will need to have demonstrated making sufficient revenue in the three years prior to the year in which the donation is received to justify its donation, whether companies which are less than three years old will be permitted to make political donations.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government’s position on political donation thresholds and donor permissibility is set out in legislation and in the Representation of the People Bill. The Electoral Commission will reflect any necessary changes in their guidance.
In terms of unlimited companies, where statements are not available on Companies House the company must provide revenue statements to political parties in order to make a donation.
The new rules will not exclude companies less than three years old. The reference in the factsheet to a three‑year period is intended as a window of time for assessing whether a company can demonstrate sufficient revenue. It does not operate as an age‑based restriction. Companies will be able to make political donations, provided they are able to demonstrate sufficient revenue and meet the other eligibility criteria set out in legislation.
Where a company is majority‑owned or controlled by another company, the donating company must meet the eligibility criteria in its own right. A company that does not meet those criteria would be impermissible, regardless of whether the owning company itself is permissible.