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 December 2024 to Question 15932 on Council of the Nations and Regions, for what reason council (a) leaders and (b) mayors were not invited.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The local government membership of the Council of the Nations and Regions is composed of the directly elected Mayors of combined authorities, combined county authorities, and the Mayor of London. New Mayors established through the English devolution process would also be eligible to sit on the Council of the Nations and Regions. The Government is committed to working productively with local government and has established the Leaders Council to bring together other local government leaders and Ministers to identify and tackle the strategic challenges facing local government.

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 19 December 2024 to Question 20555 on Elections: Kent, if she will publish the letter dated 16 December 2024.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The letter dated 16 December, which I sent to leaders of all two-tier councils and neighbouring unitary authorities, has now been published and can be found here.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the policy is of (a) her Department and (b) HM Courts and Tribunal Service on granting legal aid to travellers for enforcement cases against unauthorised (i) development and (ii) encampments.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Determinations about whether an individual qualifies for legal aid are made by the Director of Legal Aid Casework or Legal Aid Agency staff authorised by the Director to make determinations. The statutory role of Director of Legal Aid Casework was created under section 4 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). In making individual determinations, the Director must act independently of Ministers, applying the relevant statutory framework. The Lord Chancellor may not issue directions or guidance in relation to an individual case.

There is no specific policy relating to granting legal aid to travellers regarding any form of enforcement activity. All applications for legal aid are considered on a case-by-case basis against the statutory framework and any applicable general guidance issued by the Lord Chancellor. Legal aid will be granted in all cases where the appropriate eligibility criteria are met.

The relevant eligibility criteria will depend on the nature of the case and in particular if it is a civil or criminal case and whether it is in scope of civil services as described under Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 or outside of scope in which case it would be considered against the criteria for exceptional case funding (ECF). Although the specific criteria will differ depending on the type of applications, the individual will need to demonstrate that they are financially eligible for the legal aid services sought and that their case meets the applicable merits criteria. Additionally, for ECF the individual will need to demonstrate that failure to grant legal aid would breach, or risk breaching, the individual's Convention rights (within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998), or any rights of the individual to the provision of legal services that are assimilated enforceable rights. Full details of the eligibility criteria for legal aid including links to the relevant legislation can be accessed via the LAA’s website here for civil legal aid, criminal legal aid and ECF.

HM Courts and Tribunal Service does not have powers to grant legal aid save for in very narrow circumstances as set out in the Criminal Legal Aid (Determinations by a Court and Choice of Representatives) Regulations 2013, none of which apply to enforcement cases against unauthorised development and encampments.

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 99 of the English Devolution White Paper, CP 1218, whether councils will be able to ban smoking in public places under the new byelaw powers.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government will work with councils to determine how byelaws should be made and whether byelaw making powers should be extended to Strategic Authorities, as set out in the English Devolution White Paper.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will extend smoke-free designation to outdoor places including outside schools, children’s playgrounds and hospitals but not to outdoor hospitality settings or wider open spaces like beaches. The proposed reforms under the Bill will be subject to a full consultation, and we want to hear the views of people from across the country on this to ensure we get it right. As drafted, the Bill does not give any additional powers to local authorities.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish her response to the letter from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China of 4 December 2024 on the consultation process for the Chinese Embassy planning application.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department does not routinely publish ministerial responses to representations.

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 3 of the Renters’ Rights Bill Impact Assessment, published in November 2024, what discussions she has had with insurers on the conclusion that tenants wanting to own a pet will incur approximately £7 in discretionary costs annually per household.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government published its Impact Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Bill on 22 November 2024, following scrutiny from the Regulatory Policy Committee. The Impact Assessment received a ‘green’ rating, indicating it is ‘fit for purpose’.

Throughout the development of the Impact Assessment, we have used evidence from a range of sources. In relation to pets, we have drawn on information from the English Housing Survey, insurance comparison websites, a number of animal organisations and discussions with industry trade bodies. All evidence and assumption underpinning the costs and benefits are detailed in the Impact Assessment, which can be found on gov.uk here.

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 3 of the Renters’ Rights Bill Impact Assessment, published in November 2024, what her Department's evidential basis is that tenants wanting to own a pet will incur approximately £7 in discretionary costs annually per household.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government published its Impact Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Bill on 22 November 2024, following scrutiny from the Regulatory Policy Committee. The Impact Assessment received a ‘green’ rating, indicating it is ‘fit for purpose’.

Throughout the development of the Impact Assessment, we have used evidence from a range of sources. In relation to pets, we have drawn on information from the English Housing Survey, insurance comparison websites, a number of animal organisations and discussions with industry trade bodies. All evidence and assumption underpinning the costs and benefits are detailed in the Impact Assessment, which can be found on gov.uk here.

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 28 November 2024 on Local Government Finance, HCWS265, what estimate her Department has made of what business rate receipts will be in absolute terms in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial year on which the settlement is based.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

For 2024-25, English local authorities estimate business rates receipts will be £26.3 billion, of which £16.2 billion is retained locally. Local authorities have not yet submitted their estimates of business rates income for 2025-26. In addition, authorities receive income from Section 31 grant as part of the business rates retention system.

Core Spending Power, published alongside the settlement, includes Settlement Funding Assessment which is comprised of Revenue Support Grant and a component linked to business rates - Baseline Funding Levels. Baseline Funding Levels represent an authority’s need that is funded via business rates.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government plans to take to amend the rules on (a) donations to political parties and (b) the permissibility of donations from foreign business owners through UK-registered businesses.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN HL3289 on 20 December 2024.

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 December 2024 to Question 16197 on Prisoners’ Release: Homelessness, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Justice to monitor levels of homelessness of people released under the SDS40 early release scheme.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Data on the number of prisoners released under SDS40 who were released homeless is retained locally at each prison. Ministry of Justice is currently collating data relating to the September and October SDS40 release dates and this will be published in due course.

MHCLG collects and regularly publishes management information from local authorities on rough sleeping. The most recent data, for September, was published here on 28 November. The management information includes the number of people seen sleeping rough following release from prison.

MHCLG collect information on duties owed to those have been in custody through the homelessness case level collection (H-CLIC) on a quarterly basis and the figures for April to June are published here. This data will be used to monitor the impact of the SDS release scheme on homelessness levels, once received.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of permitting community owned facilities to use red diesel for the purposes of (a) heating and (b) electricity generation.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2020, the previous Government announced that the red diesel entitlement would be withdrawn from most sectors from April 2022. Following consultation in 2020-21, the previous Government confirmed that some sectors would retain the entitlement to use red diesel, including non-commercial heat and power generation, and domestic heating. A machine or appliance may use red diesel where 75% or more of the electricity or heat generated is for premises, or parts of premises, that are not used for commercial purposes.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of public finances.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20229 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, for what reason the readout does not include reference to discussions on the Chinese Embassy.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There is nothing further to add to my answer of 19 December, Official Report, PQ 20229

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department issues on whether the erection of an electricity pylon close to a dwelling is a material consideration in relation to the current valuation and council tax dwelling of a property.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The erection of a new electricity pylon close to a dwelling (property) will give the owner or occupier the right to submit a proposal (formal challenge) to alter the Council Tax list. The proposal can be made if they believe there has been a “material reduction” in the value of the dwelling due to “any change in the physical state of the dwelling’s locality”. Material reduction is defined in section 87 part 10 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Forms and guidance for making a proposal can be found on gov.uk here.

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 made an assessment of the potential effect of the APPG on British Muslims definition of Islamophobia on (a) free speech and (b) the ability to criticise criminal practices such as grooming gangs.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has been clear that our approach to tackling religious hatred will never inhibit free speech or allow cultural or religious sensitivities to get in the way of delivering justice. We have been focused on a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling religious hatred. While we are carefully looking at the issue of a definition for Islamophobia as part of this approach, this would not be legislative and would be used as a guidance tool for institutions.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government has taken to tackle (a) anti-semitism and (b) anti-Muslim hatred since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Rooting out these abhorrent forms of hatred is an absolute priority for this Government, and we have already taken a number of steps to achieve this.

In July, the Prime Minister reappointed Lord John Mann as the Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism to continue providing advice on the most effective methods to tackle antisemitism.

In response to public disorder in August which targeted Muslims and mosques, the Government introduced a rapid protective security response process for places of worship. We have provided security to more than 700 additional places of worship during this period. Protective security continues to be a priority, with up to £29.4 million per year being made available for protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools from 2024/25 to 2027/28. Further, we have committed £1 million this year to support Tell MAMA to continue their work of monitoring and tackling Islamophobia. We have also committed to reversing the previous government’s decision to downgrade the recording and monitoring of antisemitic and Islamophobic non-crime hate incidents – capturing this data will aid the prevention of more serious crimes.

We are finalising our renewed, more strategic approach to tackling antisemitism and Islamophobia, working in partnership with communities, and will provide further updates shortly.

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 Answer of 31 July 2024 to Question HL46 on Faith Matters, what payments have been made to (a) Faith Matters and (b) Tell MAMA since 4 July 2024; and what the progress she has made on renewal of the grant funding agreement for 2025 onwards in relation to monitoring and supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government works closely with police and community partners, including Tell MAMA, to monitor and support victims of Islamophobia. Tell MAMA has been funded by government since 2012 to deliver a reporting service and provide support for victims of Islamophobia. In 2024/25, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has made up to £1 million of funding available to Tell MAMA via Faith Matters to continue this work.

All relationships with government-funded partners are kept under constant review and subject to regular monitoring and evaluation. The Government is actively considering its approach to tackling Islamophobia more broadly. We will provide further details on this soon.

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 December 2024 to Question 15805 on Mo Baines, for what reason Mo Baines’ declaration of political activity was not published when her appointment as Lead Non-Executive Director was announced on 23 October 2024.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Non-Executive Board Members’ relevant interests are updated and published bi-annually as part of an established process as set out on the following gov.uk page: Non-Executive Board Member declaration of interests process - GOV.UK.

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 transparency data entitled Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: procurement pipeline, published on 3 December 2024, what Project Heart is.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Project Heart was an internal term previously used by officials to describe the anticipated works associated with the Grenfell Memorial. This term is no longer in use.

The final design for a fitting and lasting memorial will be determined by the Grenfell community. The government is committed to supporting the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission in delivering a memorial to honour those who lost their lives and those whose lives were forever changed by the tragedy.

The Commission launched the process, in July 2024, to appoint a Multi-Disciplinary Design Team to work with the community to design the memorial.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the compliance rate of public sector buildings with requirements to display energy certificates.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government does not routinely hold or collect data to identify public buildings that are frequently visited by the public. Therefore, we have not made an assessment of the current levels of non-compliance in relation to Display Energy Certificates (DECs).

We are currently consulting on the Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime which includes proposals to support compliance with the requirements of the regulations includes those for DECs.

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 December 2024 to Question 16198 on Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, if she will make it her policy to facilitate use of the QE2 Conference Centre for Parliament to assist any partial decant under the Restoration and Renewal programme.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

There is no formal agreement with the Houses of Parliament or the Restoration and Renewal Programme regarding the use of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. Therefore, there is no policy in place. Nevertheless, the Department continues to collaborate with the Houses of Parliament ahead of Restoration and Renewal proposals coming to the House in 2025.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's tender note entitled Procurement of a Contractor to build new British Embassy, Beijing, published on 2 October 2024, what the (a) timetable and (b) budget is for construction of the new Embassy; what consents are required from Chinese authorities, and what the status is of each consent.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to work on the details of the timetable and budget for the new British Embassy in Beijing. We have submitted our planning application for the new embassy and as with any project, this would be subject to due consideration by Chinese authorities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish any (a) electronic and (b) written communication from Downing Street to his Department on the Chinese Embassy before the decision was made to call in the planning application.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to her quasi-judicial role. Other Government departments have separately worked through considerations of the application. We have no plans to publish information relating to these conversations due to their sensitive nature.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics' Higher Real Household Disposable Income per head measure takes into account changes to (a) council tax bills and (b) indirect taxation.

Answered by Georgia Gould - 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 9 January is attached.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to mandate local government restructuring as part of her plan for devolution.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The English Devolution White Paper announced that we will facilitate a programme of local government reorganisation for two-tier areas, and for unitary councils where there is evidence of failure or where their size or boundaries may be hindering their ability to deliver sustainable and high-quality public services. The White Paper was clear that reorganisation should not delay devolution and plans for both should be complementary, also that we will deliver this process as quickly as possible, including through legislation where it becomes necessary to ensure progress.

All levels of local government have a part to play in bringing improved structures to their area through reorganisation, and we expect all councils in an area to work together to develop unitary proposals that are in the best interests of the whole area.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has issued guidance on foreign donors from which donations including via (a) third parties and (b) corporate companies may be accepted by political parties.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government does not issue guidance on political finance matters. The Electoral Commission, as the independent body responsible for regulating political finance, has a statutory duty to provide guidance on donations.

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 an affordable housing target for this Parliament.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government has not set an affordable housing target to date, but we are committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

With regard to grant funded affordable housing, the government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.

In addition, the provision of affordable homes will be supported by our ‘Golden Rules’ for Green Belt development. Prior to development plan policies for affordable housing being updated in accordance with the revised NPPF, the affordable housing contribution required to satisfy the ‘Golden Rules’ is 15 percentage points above the highest existing affordable housing requirement that would otherwise apply to the development, subject to a cap of 50%. We estimate that under this model, the median Green Belt local planning authority affordable housing requirement will be 50%.

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 had discussions with the President of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) on the Renters Rights Bill.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Officials in my department hold regular discussions with colleagues at HM Court Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Ministry of Justice, as well as members of the judiciary, in respect of ongoing work to ensure that the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) is prepared for the introduction of the measures in the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2024 to Question 16945 on Business Rates, if she will make an estimate of business rates receipts for (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 for England only.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) publish non-domestic ratings receipts data and forecasts for the financial year ahead in England. As such, projections for non-domestic rates income for 2025-26 will be published in due course by MHCLG.

For 2024-25, local authorities estimate the non-domestic rating income to be £26.3 billion: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-2024-to-2025/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-for-2024-to-2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential cumulative impact of the (a) increase in National Insurance contributions, (b) changes to the level of retail, hospitality and leisure rate business relief from 2025-26 and (c) changes to the business rate surcharge on properties above £500,000 Rateable Value from 2026-27.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to support public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.

The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year.

A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November 2024.

Without any government intervention, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government has decided to offer a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26 and frozen the small business multiplier.

From 2026-27 we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties on 2026-27 - those with rateable values of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but capturing the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.

The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025.

Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

The Non-Domestic Ratings Bill sets out the parameters within which the government proposes the multipliers would be set by Treasury regulations.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any private sector companies contracted to her Department will receive increased payments for the increase in employer National Insurance contributions.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Reviewing contractual payment provisions is dependent on the applicable terms and conditions of individual agreements. Supplier requests for such pricing reviews would be considered as part of standard contract management practice.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether free schools will be affected by changes to charitable business rate relief for schools.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is legislating to remove the eligibility of private schools in England to business rates charitable rate relief.

The Government has defined a “private school” as a school at which full time education is provided for pupils of compulsory school age, where fees or other consideration are payable for that provision of full-time education.

Legally, free schools are academies so do not charge fees for education. Therefore, they will not be impacted by the removal of charitable rate relief from private schools.

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 27 November 2024 to Question 16498 on Affordable Housing: Construction, if she will publish the grant given to each (a) developer and (b) consortium under the last Affordable Housing Programme with the number of affordable homes due to be delivered broken down by type of affordable tenure.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Greater London Authority (GLA) publish a quarterly update of all approvals for grant in their delegated approvals log which can be found on the GLA website here. Due to the nature of negotiations with partners on individual site delivery, the GLA does not publish grant levels for specific projects or tenures. Under the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-23, programme-level grants per unit levels were applied.

Homes England has published data on the 2016-23 Affordable Homes Programme, with data reflecting grant allocations to the end of March 2021. It can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether private landlords will be required to pay an ongoing fee to register with the (a) Private Rented Sector database and (b) private rented sector landlord ombudsman in addition to licensing fees payable to local authorities with selective licensing requirements.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Renters’ Rights Bill includes provisions for the Private Rented Sector Database to be funded through fees charged to private landlords when they register. The new service will bring substantial benefits to landlords – providing a single source of information about their legal responsibilities and helping them showcase their compliance. The fees charged will also support local councils to enforce against unscrupulous landlords who undercut the responsible majority.  Further details on fees will be set out in secondary legislation. We will take steps to make sure costs remain reasonable, proportionate, and sustainable.

Landlords will be required to pay for membership of the PRS Landlord Ombudsman. This is in line with practice across other sectors where there are ombudsmen already established, including for social landlords who currently pay £8.03 per unit annually. The Ombudsman will set the fee on the basis of their running costs and service provision and the government will ensure that the fee is proportionate and good value. We will seek to maximise operational efficiency of the database service and ombudsman, including through sharing of data.

The Private Rented Sector Database will operate alongside selective licensing to drive improvement in standards in the private rented sector, not as a replacement for these schemes. We will continue to review the use of selective licensing as we implement the Private Rented Sector Database. We are clear in guidance that local authorities should be mindful of any cost impacts to landlords, particularly those who are already fully compliant with their obligations.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether site specific viability assessments should be undertaken to assess whether the affordable housing requirement on development in the Green Belt is viable and developer contributions should be adjusted as a result.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As set out in the Planning Practice Guidance on viability, where development takes place on land situated in, or released from, the Green Belt and is subject to the ‘Golden Rules’ set out in paragraph 156 of the National Planning Policy Framework, site specific viability assessment should not be undertaken or taken into account for the purpose of reducing developer contributions, including affordable housing.

The government intends to review the guidance on viability and will be considering whether there are circumstances in which site-specific viability assessment may be taken into account, for example, on large sites and Previously Developed Land.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2024 to Question 20225 on Prisons: Construction, if she will list the four locations affected by the nutrient neutrality rules; on what dates mitigation measures were resolved on the three sites referenced; and whether each of those three sites have full planning permission.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The below table shows the four Rapid Deployment Cell Programme locations that have been affected by nutrient neutrality:

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2024 to Question 20225 on Prisons: Construction, what the status of the planning permission is for each site; and how many additional prison places are proposed in each location.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The below table shows the four Rapid Deployment Cell Programme locations that have been affected by nutrient neutrality:

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 16 December 2024 to Question 18378 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Appointments, what assessment she made of the potential impact of changing the non-executive board members on the effectiveness of that board.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

It is standard practice across government for non-executive board membership to be periodically reviewed, to ensure that the expertise and advice provided is a suitable fit for performance and delivery priorities. We have full confidence in our ongoing governance arrangements and will be announcing the remaining appointments to the Board in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which religions and faiths her Department formally recognises; and which faith days for those religions or faiths her Department formally marks.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The United Kingdom is strengthened by individuals of different faiths and of no faith, and the valuable contribution they make to our communities. The Faith Minister meets regularly with leaders and representatives of major faiths and beliefs.

A large number of religious festivals take place each year and we understand the importance of these festivals to our communities. Many of the major religious festivals are marked through receptions, ministerial attendance at events or through social media channels.

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 November 2024 to Question 20295 on Counter-terrorism, whether the principles of the written ministerial statement of 14 March 2024 on New Extremism Definition and Community Engagement Principles, HCWS342, remain her policy.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Written Ministerial Statement of 14 March 2024 made by the previous Secretary of State reflects the position of the previous government at that time.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department issues to local authorities about (a) planning, (b) licensing and (c) statutory nuisance aspects of noise complaints about (i) long-standing clocks and bells and (ii) other established uses.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should ensure that new development is appropriate for its location including the likely effects of pollution on health, living conditions and the natural environment, as well as the potential sensitivity of the site to the wider area.

Where the operation of an existing business or community facility could have a significant adverse effect on new development in its vicinity, the Framework expects the applicant to provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed.

Planning Policy Guidance on noise advises how planning can manage potential noise impacts in new developments.

Further guidance on noise and statutory nuisance is published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her policy is on the provision of pensions funded from the public purse for (a) councillors, (b) council mayors and (c) combined authority mayors.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Currently, mayors and councillors in England are not eligible for membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), after access was removed in 2014. As the Responsible Authority for the LGPS, MHCLG keeps access to the scheme under regular review.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of boycotts of Israeli participation in (a) sporting and (b) cultural events on levels of community cohesion in the UK.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Sports, arts, and culture are powerful ways to bring communities together. As such, we do not support sports or cultural boycotts in principle, including in relation to Israel.

Any disruption or threat to community cohesion is of concern. DCMS therefore works closely with sport and cultural stakeholders to identify issues and to minimise any negative impact on community cohesion. The Secretary of State recently met with a delegation led by the Board of Deputies of British Jews to discuss their experiences of working in the arts and cultural sector at a time of increased tension in the Middle East. She was very concerned by the scale and extent of their experiences and made clear her own view, and that of the government, that antisemitism is as unacceptable in the arts as it is anywhere else in society.

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 provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, published on 18 December 2024, if she will make it her policy to ensure that the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead cannot increase council tax by 25% in 2025-26 without a council tax referendum of local residents.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is currently consulting on the provisional local government finance settlement for 2025-26 including the referendum principles that will be set. The ability for councils in exceptional financial circumstances to request council tax increases is not new. As with previous years the government will consider requests for bespoke referendum principles from councils seeking exceptional financial support, but this government will put taxpayers at the forefront of their consideration.

The government will consider requests on a case-by-case basis and expects that any additional increases would only be agreed in exceptional circumstances. The government has been clear it will look carefully at councils’ specific circumstances, for example their existing levels of council tax relative to the average and the strength of plans to protect vulnerable people.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to publicly advertise her Department's guidance entitled Paying the right level of Council Tax: a plain English guide to Council Tax, updated 26 April 2024.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government does not have any plans to launch a publicity campaign for this guide. The government’s plain English guide to council tax sets out how the council tax system operates and the support available in the system. This guide is freely available on gov.uk.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Mayor of London has requested a higher council tax referendum for 2025-26.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is currently consulting on the provisional local government finance settlement including the proposed council tax referendum principles for 2025-26. It has not received a request from the Mayor of London for additional flexibilities in the referendum principles.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to integrate the regulatory requirements for private landlords of (a) the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, (b) the Decent Homes Standard, (c) the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, (d) selective licensing and (e) landlord registration.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises the importance of safe, warm homes for the millions of tenants living in the private rented sector (PRS). Through the Renters’ Rights Bill we will apply a Decent Homes Standard to the PRS to give renters safer, better value homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes in local communities. The Bill will also apply ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the sector, which will set clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which PRS landlords must make homes safe where they contain serious hazards. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will consult shortly on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The government will consider opportunities for alignment and simplification as we implement these regulations and will support landlords with comprehensive guidance.

The Renters’ Rights Bill also includes provides to introduce a PRS Database. The new database service will bring substantial benefits to landlords – providing a single source of information about their legal responsibilities and helping them showcase their compliance. It will operate alongside selective licensing to drive improvement in standards in the private rented sector. We will seek to maximise operational efficiency of the database service and Local Authority Selective Licensing schemes, including through sharing data.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2024 to Question 2316 on Equality, whether the socio-economic duty will apply to local education authority decisions on (a) parents with children joining the state system from independent schools and (b) other school admissions.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is committed to commencing the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010. The duty will require specified public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to consider actively how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage. Public bodies specified by the duty include county and district councils, the Greater London Authority, and London Borough councils. We will support public bodies to ensure that they have clarity as to how to meet the duty in readiness for commencement.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions on (a) construction and (b) housebuilding.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government considered the cost pressures facing all employers as part of the Spending Review process.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Ensuring good waste collection services for households, published on 29 November 2024, and the consultation outcome on exemptions and statutory guidance for simpler recycling in England entitled Government response, published on 9 May 2024, for what reason that guidance does not specify minimum levels of service frequency for residual waste collections.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is simplifying the rules to make recycling easier for people in England, while stimulating growth and maximising environmental benefits.

Local authorities are already legally required to deliver waste collection services to all households in their area. Simpler Recycling in England will go further by mandating weekly food waste collections ensuring that the most unpleasant waste is dealt with quickly and reliably.

Local authorities are best placed to determine the effective delivery of local services. As is currently the case, authorities will continue to decide collection frequency of waste collections in a way that suits the needs of their local community. There has never been a statutory requirement regarding the frequency of bin collections for local authorities, under any Government.

We recognise that as recycling services are expanded and improved under Simpler Recycling in England, local authorities may choose to review residual waste services to ensure they are providing best value for money in line with local need. The government’s priority is ensuring that households’ needs are met, and we expect local authorities to continue to provide services to a reasonable standard, as they do now.

Defra recently published guidance to ensure that local authorities consider certain factors when they review services, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained. These include ensuring that there are no disamenity impacts, such as the build-up of odorous waste at the kerbside or an increase in fly-tipping of residual waste. We expect local authorities to monitor any changes to collection frequencies to ensure there are no unintended adverse consequences.

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 her Department's English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether the decision to suspend councillors will be taken by (a) the full council or (b) the local authority's standards committee; and what right of appeal will there be.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On 18 December the Government launched a consultation to seek views from local authorities, sector bodies, and the public on a range of proposals to strengthen the local government standards regime and ensure there is a stronger, more consistent, and more accountable framework for addressing member misconduct.

The results of this consultation will help to inform any policy and legislative change, including in relation to the possible introduction of the sanction of suspension and related safeguards, and the appropriate arrangements for an appeals process.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the (a) job title, (b) unit or division and (c) grade is of each job advertised on Civil Service Jobs but not to the public since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

For the period, 4 July to 31 December 2024, 179 vacancies (67.6%) were advertised externally. 58 job vacancies (32.4% of total advertised) were advertised as Across Government only campaigns.

This data set reflects campaigns that were advertised and appointments made within this period – it does not include expressions of interest.

Further detail of across government campaigns, job titles and grade:

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of job vacancies in her Department have been externally advertised since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

For the period, 4 July to 31 December 2024, 179 vacancies (67.6%) were advertised externally. 58 job vacancies (32.4% of total advertised) were advertised as Across Government only campaigns.

This data set reflects campaigns that were advertised and appointments made within this period – it does not include expressions of interest.

Further detail of across government campaigns, job titles and grade:

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 14 October 2024 to Question 6408 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Photography, whether her Department has recruited a photographer.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As is the case already in other government departments, official photographers help to share the work of the department and ministers with the public.

Photography and videography - for external use or on the department's corporate channels - can help to give the public and civil servants a greater sense of accessibility and transparency over the activities of government.

MHCLG has recruited a Chief Photographer.

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 6 December 2024 to Question 16480 on Community Cohesion, if she will publish the (a) membership and (b) terms of reference of the Communities and Recovery Steering Group.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Membership and Terms of Reference for the Community and Recovery Steering Group will be published in due course.

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 29 November 2024 to Question 15453 on Local Government: Accountability, if she will take steps to make the data published under the Transparency Code more (a) accessible and (b) shareable as open data.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We are keeping the Code under review in the context of work to fix the foundations of local government and ensuring that it continues to support local accountability. Our approach to reforming local government is set out in the English Devolution White Paper. This includes fundamentally reforming the local audit system, rebuilding the vital early warning system to recover a key part of our assurance mechanisms, restoring local government standards, and ensuring transparency.

We are supporting the Office for National Statistics to lead a refresh of the government’s subnational data strategy, including supporting “ONS Local to gather user needs and understand data gaps, provide data access, analytical support, and capability to local data leaders”.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) family-owned businesses and (b) changes to Business Property Relief on the economy of local communities.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government took a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to restore economic stability, fix the public finances, and support public services. These were tough decisions given the situation

we inherited from the previous administration, but the Government has done so in a way that makes the tax system fairer and more sustainable.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) increases to (i) capital gains tax and (ii) stamp duty, (b) fixed term tenancies and evictions in the Renters’ Rights Bill and (c) requiring landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties to a EPC C rating by 2030 on the private rented sector by the end of this Parliament.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

There were no changes made to Capital Gains tax residential property rates at Autumn Budget and Spending Round 2024.

The increase of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) by two percentage points does not affect existing landlords, only those looking to enter the market or expand their portfolio. Landlords can still benefit from the lower non-residential rates of SDLT when purchasing six or more properties in a single transaction, or mixed (commercial and residential) property.

The Department published the Renters’ Rights Bill Impact Assessment on 22 November 2024. It received a ‘Green’ rating from the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), indicating that it is ‘fit for purpose’. For landlords that already provide decent homes and a prompt repair service to their tenants, the costs of our reforms, including abolishing fixed terms and introducing reformed possession grounds, are estimated to be just £22 per rented property annually – only 0.2% of mean annual rents.

The government will consult shortly on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. The consultation will be accompanied by an assessment of the potential impacts of the proposals.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average grant subsidy per unit is to build an average affordable dwelling under the (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent and (c) affordable home ownership tenures for the current Affordable Housing Programme.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department delegates delivery of the Affordable Homes Programme to Homes England outside London and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London. The government agrees budgets and targets with both agencies to deliver the programme’s overall targets for additional homes and specific types of tenure, as well as types of home, including those built using of Modern Methods of Construction and Supported Housing.

In awarding contracts under the programme Homes England and the GLA assess the need for grant on a site-by-site basis. In agreeing how much grant a project requires they will take into account the costs for building out the site with how much grant is needed to make that project viable, and the overall value for money for the programme. The most recent publication, with data reflecting grant allocations to the end of March 2023, can be found here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average capital grant subsidy is per unit for a social rent dwelling.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department delegates delivery of the Affordable Homes Programme to Homes England outside London and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London. The government agrees budgets and targets with both agencies to deliver the programme’s overall targets for additional homes and specific types of tenure, as well as types of home, including those built using of Modern Methods of Construction and Supported Housing.

In awarding contracts under the programme Homes England and the GLA assess the need for grant on a site-by-site basis. In agreeing how much grant a project requires they will take into account the costs for building out the site with how much grant is needed to make that project viable, and the overall value for money for the programme. The most recent publication, with data reflecting grant allocations to the end of March 2023, can be found here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households were on social housing waiting lists in (a) England and (b) London in each year since 2009-10.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The number of households on social housing registers (waiting lists) in (a) England) and (b) London each year since 2009-10 is available in live table 600 here. The number of households on the housing register (waiting list) is not the same as the number of households waiting. Local authorities periodically review their registers to remove households who no longer require housing, so the total number of households on housing registers may overstate the number of households who still require social housing at any one time. The frequency of reviews varies between local authorities. Housing register size may also be affected by other factors. For example, there is the potential for some households to be on the housing register of more than one local authority.

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 3.35 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, how much and what proportion of the £46 million in funding allocated to her Department will be spent on (a) recruitment and training for graduates and apprentices, (b) accelerating large sites waiting for planning approval and (c) upskilling local planning authority capacity.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Details of precisely how the £46 million committed to support capacity and capability in local planning authorities will be allocated is subject to departmental planning, and negotiations are ongoing with delivery partners. Further detail will be provided in due course and the House will be updated in the usual way.

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 6 December 2024 to Question 17009 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, whether she had discussions with (a) the Prime Minister or (b) 10 Downing Street on the proposed Chinese Embassy prior to her decision to call-in the planning application.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 17009 on 6 December 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the target of 1.5 million new homes in the context of net migration.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 2451 on 5 September 2024.

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 her Department’s press release entitled Ministers set to unleash biggest building boom in half a century, published on 5 December 2024, what metrics will be used to measure the number of new homes delivered in the third year of the Parliament.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for the implementation of the proposals in the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The deadline for application to the Devolution Priority Programme was 10 January and we will confirm participants shortly after. The English Devolution Bill will be introduced in the first session, subject to parliamentary time. Integrated funding settlements will be provided to Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities at the start of the next financial year (25/26) and four more Mayoral Combined Authorities will follow in the 26/27 financial year. Further changes to funding and programmes will be delivered through the Spending Review process.

We intend to formally invite reorganisation proposals in January 2025 from all relevant councils. We expect to deliver new unitary authorities in April 2027 and 2028.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain on the sale of land previously used for agriculture.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain was introduced by the previous government through the Environment Act 2021. To support this, an impact assessment was undertaken in 2019 estimating the overall assessed cost of biodiversity net gain to developers and the effect on developable land prices. No subsequent assessment has been made under the current government.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain on the cost of housebuilding.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain was introduced by the previous government through the Environment Act 2021. To support this, an impact assessment was undertaken in 2019 estimating the overall assessed cost of biodiversity net gain to developers and the effect on developable land prices. No subsequent assessment has been made under the current government.

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 29 November 2024 to Question 15451 on Renters’ Rights Bill, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Impact Assessments (a) receive clearance from the Regulatory Policy Committee and (b) are published no later than the First Reading of a Bill.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department aims to publish Impact Assessments in a timely manner, in line with the ‘Better Regulation Framework’ guidance, which states that an Impact Assessment ‘should be published alongside relevant legislation when it is laid before Parliament.’

In exceptional circumstances this may not be possible, for example, where the legislation is urgent, further work is needed following concerns expressed by the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) or where the assessment is with RPC for review. In those circumstances, the Department works with the RPC to ensure the Bill Impact Assessment and RPC opinion is published as soon as possible.

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 English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what financial resources will be made available by her Department to support mayoral combined authorities in bringing forward spatial development plans.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We recognise that strategic authorities will require effective capacity so that they can deliver on the ambitions set out in the English Devolution White Paper, including in relation to proposed Spatial Development Strategies. Any decisions on funding will be a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce replacement legislation for the Vagrancy Act 1824.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government views the Vagrancy Act as antiquated and no longer fit for purpose. No one should be criminalised for simply sleeping rough on the streets.

We will carefully consider the Vagrancy Act and other relevant legislation in developing our new cross-government homelessness strategy.

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 her Department’s English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what the evidential basis is for the decision to set new unitary council sizes at 500,000 or more.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The overall case for local government reorganisation is set out the English Devolution White Paper. New unitary councils must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks. For most areas this will mean creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis.

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 29 November 2024 to Question 15441 on Local Government: Staff, how the Local Government Workforce Development Group members will be selected; and whether the membership will be politically balanced.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Membership of the Workforce Development Group is composed of officers from both national and local government organisations. The group is focussed on the common interest of tackling local government workforce issues and is not party political. The inaugural meeting was chaired by the Minister for Local Government, and future meetings will be chaired by a senior official from MHCLG.

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 December 2024 to Question 16200 on Local Government: Productivity, for what reason her Department does not routinely publish letters issued to local authorities. .

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

In line with the practice of successive previous governments, MHCLG does not regularly publish non-public correspondence between Ministers and local authorities. Local authorities are free to publish these letters if they believe it is beneficial to do so.

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 her Department's publication entitled English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, if she will make it her policy to ensure elections to principal and strategic authorities take place concurrently.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has no plans to change the timing of elections for principal and strategic authorities to ensure that they take place concurrently.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support small high street businesses reliant on Small Business Rate Relief.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of businesses in England (more than 700,000) pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.

The Government has no plans to withdraw SBRR, which is a permanent relief set down in legislation. As highlighted in the Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, the Government is interested in hearing stakeholders’ views on the extent to which the current system acts as a barrier to investment and specifically, whether the current eligibility criteria for SBRR impacts businesses' incentives to invest and expand into a second property.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 22035 on Candidates: Expenditure, what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to increase the transparency of (a) candidate spending and (b) donation returns in relation to the General Election 2024.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission does not have regulatory or enforcement powers with regard to candidate spending and donations. It does, however, publish candidate returns together in one place in order to provide voters with greater transparency and a fuller picture of the money spent and recieved by the candidates at the election. It will publish headline figures from candidate spending returns at the 2024 general election in due course.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 22037 on Candidates: expenditure, whether the 20 pence per page prescribed fee can be charged for electronic information provided by email.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The charge to be supplied of copies of the election expenses is 20p per copy page, as set out in regulation 10 (3) of the Representation of the People Regulations 2001. The legislation does not specify whether this is in paper or electronc form.

As the legislation does not specify format, and as the fee is intended to cover the administrative costs of providing these documents, it may be applied to electronic documentation provided by email.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her policy is on business rate relief in (a) freeports, (b) investment zones and (b) legacy enterprise zones; and how that relief will apply to the new business rate multiplier on hereditaments over £500,000 rateable value.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Freeports, Investment Zones and Enterprise Zones have access to a range of tax reliefs, including 100 per cent business rates relief. The eligibility criteria for business rates relief in Freeports and Enterprise Zones is available online: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief, as well as guidance for local authorities on granting Investment Zone business rate relief: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investment-zones-business-rates-relief-scheme-guidance-for-local-authorities/investment-zone-business-rates-relief-local-authority-guidance.

The Government has announced its intention to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a Rateable Value of £500,000 and above. When calculating business rates liabilities, the multiplier is applied first and then reliefs are applied after. This means that eligible businesses in these areas will receive 100 per cent business rates relief on their liability under the new multipliers.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the (a) full time equivalent and (b) headcount number of staff assigned to work in each of her Department’s offices is.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The location of every departmental office and the number of staff assigned to work in each of those offices as at 31 December 2024, in both (a) full time equivalent and (b) headcount, is set out below.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the number of people on the electoral roll in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Great Britain for each general election since 2010.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission publishes data and research on elections taking place in the UK, including electorate figures.

Figures on the number registered voters at each general election since 2010 are in the table below.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the Electoral Commission's timetable is for publishing details of spending by Labour Together for the 2024 general election.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission will publish returns recieved from registered non-party campaigners in two stages, with returns under £250,000 published shortly and those over £250,000 published in the coming months.

Non-party campaigners are required to register with the Electoral Commission if they intend to spend more than £10,000 on regulated campaigning ahead of a general election. However, they are only required to report their spending and donations to the Commission if they spend more than £20,000 in England, or £10,000 in any other part of the UK.

Labour Together registered with the Commission in March 2024. Following the election, they confirmed they did not exceed the reporting threshold. As a result, they are not required to submit a return.

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 6 December 2024 to Question 16892 on Regional Planning and Development: Finance, what her Department's policy is on the (a) continuation of the Thames Estuary Growth Board and (b) coordination of planning across the Thames Estuary area.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

At the Autumn Budget, the Government confirmed that it would consult on its minded to decision to cease funding for pan-regional partnerships at the end of this financial year. The consultation sought to gather views from all interested parties on the impacts of this decision, should it be taken forward, and closed on 16 December. The Department is currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.

The English Devolution White Paper, Power and Partnership: Foundations for Growth, published in December 2024, confirmed our commitment to strategic planning through the production of Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) covering all of England. Legislation to enable this will be introduced in 2025 through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has been made of the cost of the Employment Rights reforms on local authorities, including the indirect cost through outsourced social care services.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments, providing a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill.

This analysis includes consideration of impacts on the public sector, particularly where proposed legislative reforms are expected to affect local authorities. We will engage closely with local authorities as policy develops.

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 English Devolution White Paper, published on the 16 December 2024, what discussions she had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer before setting the population threshold to 500,000 or more for newly formed councils.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Ministers regularly have meetings with colleagues across government.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the financial impact of potential changes to Small Business Rate Relief after the introduction of new non-domestic rate multipliers on small businesses; and whether she plans to take steps to mitigate this impact.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of businesses in England (more than 700,000) pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.

The government is committed to retaining SBRR, which is a permanent relief set down in legislation. As highlighted in the Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, the Government is interested in hearing stakeholders’ views on whether the current eligibility criteria impact businesses' incentives to invest and expand into a second property.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will be able to continue to claim Small Business Rate Relief for the 2026-27 year.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of businesses in England (more than 700,000) pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.

The government is committed to retaining SBRR, which is a permanent relief set down in legislation. As highlighted in the Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, the Government is interested in hearing stakeholders’ views on whether the current eligibility criteria impact businesses' incentives to invest and expand into a second property.

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 29 November 2024 to Question 15203 on Council Tax: Probate, whether the 12 month period for marketing for sale and let is in addition to the 12 month period for first becoming an empty dwelling before being liable for a premium.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government’s guidance sets out that the one-year period of marketing for sale or let will begin to run from when the dwelling has first been marketed for sale or let. This period may therefore run concurrently to or immediately following the one-year period during which a dwelling has been empty before the empty homes premium applies.

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 Answers of 3 December 2024 to Question (a) 15923 and (b) 15934 on Mayors: Elections, for what reason Greater Lincolnshire is not listed as having a mayoral election in 2025.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Questions UIN 15923 and UIN 15934 concerned combined authorities. Greater Lincolnshire will be established as a combined county authority under legislation currently before Parliament. When that legislation is approved by Parliament, and made, the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election will be added to the published list of elections.

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 entitled Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime, published on 4 December 2024, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of these proposals on regulatory costs for private sector landlords.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The average cost of an energy performance certificate (EPC) is estimated to be £70 for domestic properties and £400 for non-domestic properties. The average costs for private sector landlords who need to make improvements to their domestic properties as a result of the consultation proposal are between £1,500 - £2,500, with estimated lifetime savings of £6,400. An Impact Assessment has been published alongside the consultation (impact assessment).

The EPC is an information tool designed to support people making decisions at the point of buying, renting and retrofitting their properties. The changes in the proposal are intended to help people manage their energy costs and reduce their carbon emissions. Adding new metrics for fabric performance, heating system type and smart readiness to the EPC will provide further information for people about how to reduce their costs and transition to low carbon heating. These new metrics will potentially highlight additional areas for improvements, even for those who have already achieved an EPC C rating under the current system.

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 entitled Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime, published on 4 December 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of these proposals on the rating of an average dwelling with an EPC rating of C.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The average cost of an energy performance certificate (EPC) is estimated to be £70 for domestic properties and £400 for non-domestic properties. The average costs for private sector landlords who need to make improvements to their domestic properties as a result of the consultation proposal are between £1,500 - £2,500, with estimated lifetime savings of £6,400. An Impact Assessment has been published alongside the consultation (impact assessment).

The EPC is an information tool designed to support people making decisions at the point of buying, renting and retrofitting their properties. The changes in the proposal are intended to help people manage their energy costs and reduce their carbon emissions. Adding new metrics for fabric performance, heating system type and smart readiness to the EPC will provide further information for people about how to reduce their costs and transition to low carbon heating. These new metrics will potentially highlight additional areas for improvements, even for those who have already achieved an EPC C rating under the current system.

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 December 2024 to Question 15443 on Government departments: trade unions, which recognised trade unions in her Department have their membership subscriptions collected via check-off; and how many staff members have their memberships so collected for each union.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

120 members of staff pay their trade union membership subscriptions via check off, all are members of PCS.

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 December 2024 to Question 15929 on Local Government: Standards, what her definition is of regional government; and what the statutory basis is of regional government in England.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The proposed reforms to the local government standards and conduct framework in England would apply to all relevant authorities as defined by Section 27(6) of the Localism Act 2011. This includes bodies such as combined authorities, combined county authorities, and the Greater London Authority.

We want to see all of England access this devolved power by establishing Strategic Authorities that can make the key decisions to drive economic growth. Outside of London, these Strategic Authorities should take the form of Combined or Combined County Authorities over areas of genuine strategic scale. The English Devolution Bill will establish in statute a standardised framework of powers for Strategic Authorities.

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 December 2024 to Question 15832 on Labour: Civil Servants, whether her Departments holds information on how many civil servants other than special advisers were permitted to attend last year’s Labour Party conference.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Guidance on Party Conferences is published on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-servants-and-party-conferences-guidance.

Information on the number of civil servants who attended last year's Labour party conference is not held by the department centrally, in line with the guidance. There is no record in MHCLG of any breach of the guidance.

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 December 2023 to Question 15517 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Consultants, if she will publish the savings made on consultancy fees in her Department since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

MHCLG publishes spend on consultancy as part of its annual report and accounts, at which point the savings achieved in financial year 2024/25 will be confirmed.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, through what mechanism small business rate relief is financed; and how local authorities are reimbursed for the cost.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The cost to local authorities of providing small business rate relief was taken into account when setting up the business rates retention system. The Government has also compensated local authorities through additional grants to reflect changes to the small business rates relief scheme since 2013.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time is between a complaint being (a) received and (b) logged at the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber – Residential Property).

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Administrative complaints uploaded into the HMCTS complaints handling system direct from the gov.uk online complaints portal are logged immediately automatically. These constitute the vast majority of administrative complaints received by the tribunal. Complaints received by other methods (e.g. phone, email, post) require manual entry and we do not hold timeliness information on the logging of these. The target for the first response to administrative complaints is ten working days.