Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2026 to Question 111693 on Business Rates: Valuation, on how many occasions estimates were provided by the Valuation Office Agency to Ministers between 1 April 2024 and the publication of the draft Rating List.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA provided five data drops from 1 April 2024 to the publication of the draft rating list.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 38 of the policy paper entitled Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, published on 9 March 2026, how she plans to update the 2024 engagement principles; and whether there will be a public consultation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government takes extremism very seriously and we have the necessary tools and powers needed to address this issue. We are embedding the 2024 definition of extremism across Government to ensure a consistent understanding of extremism.
We are reviewing the existing engagement principles to ensure they are still valid and in line with current legislation and guidance and cover the full range of threats that exist. We are consulting with other government departments and key partners to achieve this.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of including fruit and nut bars under the restrictions for high fat, sugar and salt products on economic growth.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis to ease the strain on our National Health Service and create the healthiest generation of children ever.
Restrictions on the promotion by location of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products in stores and their equivalent places online have been in place since 2022. These restrictions apply to categories of products that impact most on childhood obesity, which were chosen following public consultation. Only fruit and nut bars that are high in saturated fat, salt, or sugar are in scope of the restrictions. The products that are in and out of scope of the restrictions are set out in the Schedule to the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 and we have published guidance to support industry on complying with the restrictions.
We published a detailed impact assessment on the costs to industry and the benefits of this policy on the GOV.UK website. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the restrictions and will publish a Post Implementation Review within five years of the restrictions taking legal effect.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential health impacts for consumers since fruit and nut bars were included in the location restrictions for high fat, sugar and salt products from October 2022.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis to ease the strain on our National Health Service and create the healthiest generation of children ever.
Restrictions on the promotion by location of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products in stores and their equivalent places online have been in place since 2022. These restrictions apply to categories of products that impact most on childhood obesity, which were chosen following public consultation. Only fruit and nut bars that are high in saturated fat, salt, or sugar are in scope of the restrictions. The products that are in and out of scope of the restrictions are set out in the Schedule to the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 and we have published guidance to support industry on complying with the restrictions.
We published a detailed impact assessment on the costs to industry and the benefits of this policy on the GOV.UK website. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the restrictions and will publish a Post Implementation Review within five years of the restrictions taking legal effect.
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 11 March 2026, to Question 117748, on council tax, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the £150 + 5% council tax increases in each of the two years in those six local authorities, on the cost of living and financial sustainability of local taxpayers who are not eligible for local council tax support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Council tax levels are decided by local authorities, and as such the Department has not made a specific assessment on the impact of council tax levels on the cost of living for households who are not eligible for council tax support. The actual level of council tax remains a local decision for individual councils, who should take into consideration a range of local factors including the impact on taxpayers.
The government encourages taxpayers experiencing difficulty with their council tax bill to discuss their circumstances with their council.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the status is of her Department’s review of the definitions of irreplaceable habitats.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included a proposal for an updated definition of irreplaceable habitat.
MHCLG is currently analysing the feedback received and will publish a response in due course.
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 his Department has made of the effectiveness of local authority planning enforcement in relation to unauthorised traveller (a) development and (b) encampments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 116473 on 9 March 2026.
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 publish the Evaluation of the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund from 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 104772 on 19 January 2026.
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 information the Land Registry holds on the average house price in each (a) local authority and (b) constituency in England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry publishes open data on prices paid for properties sold in England and Wales.
For customers who want aggregated price data for statistical analysis, the Standard Report Tool available here provides average prices and volume of sales.
This allows anyone to configure a report for various geographical areas in England and Wales, from the country level down to postcode sectors, and then download the data in a form suitable for use in a spreadsheet or other data analysis tool.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many pubs with special category code (a) 226 and (b) 227 were on the Rating List (a) in July 2024 and (b) the most recent period for which figures are held, in each local authority area.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency publishes data relating to your request annually, in the NDR stock of properties which can be found here.