Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 it her policy to enhance councils' enforcement powers and penalties to stop unauthorised traveller development taking place on (a) weekends and (b) bank holiday weekends.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to tackling all types of unauthorised development and recently strengthened policy on intentional unauthorised development to ensure that decision makers give this significant weight when considering applications for retrospective applications and enforcement appeals.
Local planning authorities already have strong enforcement tools to enforce against breaches of planning control. These include the issuing of temporary stop notices requiring development to cease while the local planning authority considers whether further enforcement action is required; the issuing of enforcement notices to require breaches of planning control to be remedied; and the issuing of stop notices to require that the development ceases immediately.
The penalty for non-compliance with any of these enforcement actions is an unlimited fine on conviction.
Local planning authorities can also apply for planning injunctions against actual or apprehended breaches of planning control. Failure to comply with an injunction is contempt of court.
We continue to keep the matter of unauthorised development under review and are considering further action in this area.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 September 2026, to Question 28983, on Council Tax: City of Westminster and Wandsworth, whether the then Prime Minister was consulted over the decision to disapply the council tax referendum thresholds in the six councils.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Government Finance Settlement is subject to collective agreement. We will consult on referendum principles for 2027-28 in the usual way as part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 September 2026, to Question 19147, on Council tax: Valuation, and further to page 85 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024, whether the HMRC Valuation Office is forecasting a future appeal rate for the council tax surcharge in England (a) higher, (b) lower or (c) the same, as the average 3.15% rate, (min 2%, max 5%) assumed by the Valuation Office Agency and Valuation Tribunal for Wales for the council tax revaluation in Wales.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Wales Council Tax Revaluation and the introduction of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge are not directly comparable for the purposes of estimating appeal rates. The valuation to identify properties worth more than £2m will be done in a targeted way, without specific reference to existing council tax bands. The Welsh revaluation applies across all Council Tax bands in Wales.
Government recently consulted on the HVCTS challenge and appeal process and will publish its response shortly.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether new town and parish councils created following unitary local government restructuring will be subject to council tax referendum principles.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
To date, town and parish councils’ precepts have not been subject to referendum principles. This position applies to town and parish councils generally, including those established following local government restructuring. The Government determines referendum principles on an annual basis, considering relevant prevailing factors. No decisions have been taken in respect of future years.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 Oral Statement of 7 September 2026 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report, columns 667-669, what is her policy on imposing strategic authorities if local councils in the locality do not support a strategic authority.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Statement, “Rewiring the State”, set out the Government’s ambition is to ensure every area in England has, or is in the process of establishing, a strategic authority by the end of 2027, with strategic authorities in place everywhere by the end of 2028.
The statutory process for the establishment of new strategic authorities requires the consent of all upper-tier Local Authorities within the footprint of the proposed Authority. It is for local areas to propose a devolution geography that can support strong partnership working, and the Government is committed to working with all areas to establish the right partnerships and to empower leaders across the country to deliver good growth in every postcode.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 plans to establish a Mayor for Hertfordshire.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our ambition is to ensure that every area in England has, or is in the process of establishing, a Strategic Authority by the end of 2027, with Strategic Authorities in place everywhere by the end of 2028. We are continuing to engage with local leaders, including in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, to understand their ambition and how it aligns with the development of the next stage of devolution.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to respond to the consultation on Strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 109581 on 3 February 2026.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure local planning authorities enforce Construction Environmental Management Plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Construction environmental management plans are usually required by conditions imposed on the grant of planning permission.
Local planning authorities already have a wide range of powers to deal with breaches of planning condition. It is for authorities themselves to decide when and how they use those powers.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 2025 to Question 97317 on Local Government: Reorganisation, whether he expects the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners and the re-organisation of local government structures to have any impact on Department spending.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to cutting the cost of politics by reducing unnecessary layers of governance and bureaucracy.
Both the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners, alongside local government reorganisation is intended to deliver savings for the taxpayer over time, with efficiencies reinvested in frontline services.
Exact savings from local government reorganisation will vary depending on the area and the final decisions on which proposals, if any, are implemented.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 21 November 2024 to Question 90424 on New Towns, in which sections of the New Towns Taskforce: Report to government and the Initial government response - September 2025 are references made to consultations with neighbouring local authorities before new towns are built.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The independent New Towns Taskforce final report and the government’s initial response to it stress the importance of community engagement and working with local partners in delivering the New Towns programme.
The government will publish draft proposals and a final Strategic Environmental Assessment for consultation early next year, before confirming the locations that will be progressed as new towns later in the Spring.
At that point, we will publish a full response to the New Towns Taskforce’s report including details of what relevant consultations will take place in respect of each new town location.