Lord Jamieson

We recognise the value of the UK associating to EU programmes, and the PEACE+ programme continues to operate in Northern Ireland and Ireland. Each EU programme is different and association to these programmes are made on a case by case basis, in line with the national interest.

The former Deputy Prime Minister confirmed to her department (MHCLG) that she would occupy the official residence in Admiralty House on a second home basis, and this information was passed onto the Cabinet Office before the council tax second homes premium came into force on 1 April 2025. As such, the former Deputy Prime Minister had properly discharged her duties at this point, which was to confirm the status of her occupation of the flat.

The Government Property Agency (GPA), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, is responsible for the administration and payment of any tax liabilities for Admiralty House.The Government Property Agency wrote to Westminster City Council in June to confirm that the former Deputy Prime Minister was residing in Admiralty House on a second home basis. Westminster City Council issued a bill applying the second home premium in July, which was paid in full the same day. The bill was paid for the full year of 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026.

The United Kingdom comprises four nations. Each of these has their own distinct identities, which are valued as part of our collective and diverse cultural landscape.

The Government is committed to delivering for people across the UK and is working with all levels of government to do so. That is why the Prime Minister established the Council of the Nations and Regions, which will be meeting again imminently.

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to her quasi-judicial role.

Cabinet Office officials speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.

In October 2024 the government published impact assessments on the trade union-related measures within the Employment Rights Bill and these are available here: Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK

The impact assessments covering the Bill’s repeal of the Trade Union Act 2016 and the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 included an assessment of the expected impact on industrial action.

The Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation included proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C by 2030. In the consultation, government set out proposals on maximum spend required from landlords and the exemptions regime to manage the cost burden placed on landlords and the impact on the rental market, whilst still achieving our ambition to deliver significant bill savings for tenants and lift households out of fuel poverty. No final decisions have been made and a government response to the consultation with be published in due course.

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure.

The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 introduced a robust security framework, requiring public telecoms providers to identify, reduce and prepare for the risks of security compromise. Public telecoms providers are responsible for the cyber-security of their own networks, in line with their obligations under this framework. Ofcom, as the telecoms regulator, is responsible for monitoring and enforcing their compliance with those obligations.

DSIT is responsible for developing policies, including legislation, to help ensure the security of the UK’s public telecoms networks and services. DSIT works with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), as the UK’s lead technical authority for cyber security. The NCSC provides advice to government and industry on cyber-security threats and vulnerabilities.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not received any representations on this matter from the Government of China or its representatives. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the lead department on planning matters, and the final decision rests with its Secretary of State.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), part of Jisc, is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education sector. The information is shared with the department and includes data on student accommodation through the HESA student record.

The publication date for the 2025/26 HESA student record has not yet been confirmed. However, based on previous publication cycles, it is expected to be published around January 2027.

On 9 April, the government published its progress update on tackling child sexual abuse. This included a commitment to the creation of a Child Protection Authority in England. This will help make the child protection system clearer and more unified and ensure there is ongoing improvement through effective support for practitioners based on evidence.

The department will consult this year on a roadmap towards a Child Protection Authority. This consultation will set out in more detail the proposed roles, responsibilities and powers of the authority.

The department is clear, however, that rather than taking inspection into the Child Protection Authority, we will work to deliver the improvements to inspection, as recommended by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, by working with Ofsted, the Care and Quality Commission, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Services, and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. We think it is important for local areas to have a relationship with the Child Protection Authority that supports effective learning, and ensure areas are transparent about failings, to enable the Child Protection Authority to provide expert advice on how to improve and change. Giving the same body inspection powers could impede the effectiveness of this approach.

The government anticipates that the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of the proposed VAT changes affecting private schools represent a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector. Independent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that it will represent an increase of less than 1%. HM Treasury will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note at the Budget on 30 October, which will set out its assessment. These small pressures will be considered as part of business as usual capital allocations.

Ensuring schools have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

The department has allocated £1.8 billion in capital funding to improve the condition of school buildings for the 2024/25 financial year. This funding, which includes school condition allocations and the budget for the condition improvement fund programme, was based on a methodology that takes account of data on condition, location and pupil numbers weighted by phase of education. Pupil number data was taken from the spring 2023 census and the 2022/23 Individualised Learner Record. Details of the methodology are published on GOV.UK.

The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data from the annual school capacity survey. Over £700 million of allocations have been confirmed to support local authorities to create school places needed in September 2025 and September 2026.

£850 million has also been allocated to local authorities for 2024/25 to support them to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities, or who require alternative provision. This funding was allocated using data from the school census, the Special Educational Needs survey (SEN2) and the school capacity survey (SCAP23).

School revenue funding for the 2024/25 financial year has already been allocated using pupil numbers recorded in the October census 2023. The department is also providing almost £1.1 billion through the new core schools budget grant (CSBG) to support schools with their overall costs. CSBG allocations for the 2024/25 financial year (September 2024 to March 2025) have also been calculated by reference to the October census 2023.

The department’s expenditure limits for 2025/26 will be agreed at the Budget on 30 October. This will also confirm budgets for 2024/25. This includes the 2025/26 core schools’ budget and school capital budgets.

Other than a site visit to the Swanscombe Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest, hosted by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) in July 2025 and attended by officials from Defra, Natural England, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, EDC has made no communication to the Department since 4 July 2024.

No.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the Government will review the Airports National Policy Statement in line with the requirements of the Planning Act 2008.

When the ANPS has been reviewed, and depending on the outcome of the review, it will be for scheme promoters to decide when to submit a Development Consent Order application for a third runway scheme.

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.

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. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge is a new charge on owners of residential property in England worth £2 million or more, ensuring those who own the most valuable properties pay their fair share.

If a ratepayer disagrees with their property’s rateable value, they can challenge it using the Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) service. Once a ratepayer receives the outcome of their Check case, which ensures all facts about the property are correct, they may submit a Challenge.

The Valuation Office will publish the number of Challenges made on 2026 RVs in August this year. Appeals on these decisions are the responsibility of the Valuation Tribunal Service and the Valuation Tribunal for Wales.

First time buyers benefit from paying no Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) up to £300,000 and pay a reduced rate on purchases up to £500,000. This includes those buying flats and larger properties under the threshold. 155,400 transactions benefited from First-Time Buyers’ Relief (FTBR) in the financial year 2024 to 2025. The Government is not aware of any evidence to suggest that the reduced first-time buyer stamp duty threshold causes first-time buyers not to buy flats or to delay purchasing property.

HMRC published an updated set of its Council Tax stock of properties at the end of May. This includes the number of properties broken down by their group and type across England and Wales, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-stock-of-properties-2025

There are no current plans to publish properties categorised by their Value Significant Code.

As set out in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, business rates receipts in England were £32.1 billion in 2024/25 and are forecast to be £33.7 billion, £37.1 billion, £37.9 billion and £38.8 billion in 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 respectively.

National security is the first duty of any Government, and that is why the intelligence and security agencies have been absolutely integral in determining the necessary mitigations for any risks associated with the new site for the Chinese Embassy.

While it would not be appropriate for the Government to provide detail of those mitigations, the Director of GCHQ and Director General of MI5 publicly wrote to the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary on 20 January making clear that “the package of mitigations deals acceptably with a wide range of sensitive national security issues, including cabling.

In May 2024 the High Court ruled that the twelve month no-return period in Part 5 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in relation to unauthorised encampments was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, due to the limited availability of authorised transit sites.

A government amendment has been tabled to the Crime and Policing Bill to reduce the period during which an individual who has been directed to leave an unauthorised encampment must not return, from twelve months to three months. This applies to sections 60C, 61, 62, 62B and 62C of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. This will rectify the incompatibility with Convention rights.

The Home Office has not provided advice to public bodies on whether they may exercise these legal powers in light of the High Court ruling. Police forces are operationally independent of government and any enforcement action against encampments is an operational matter for the police.

Statutory guidance issued by the Home Secretary under section 62F of the 1994 Act is published here: Statutory Guidance for Police on Unauthorised Encampments

The guidance will be updated when the Crime and Policing Bill receives Royal Assent.

Although The Home Office does not comment on specific groups or individual cases, I would like to reassure you that we are committed to addressing the full range of threats that we currently face as a country and tackling anyone who spreads views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities. The Home Office is continually building our knowledge of potential threats, including information exchange and cooperation with partners on shared issues of concern. Each department must consider their own due diligence when choosing to engage with any organisation or individual and, if asked, we will advise and share information to help inform their decisions.

The Government has been clear: harassment and intimidation of elected representatives is never acceptable. Such behaviour undermines our democracy and discourages public engagement.

As Chair of the Defending Democracy Taskforce, the Security Minister is clear – as set out in the Defending Democracy Policing Protocol - that protesting at the homes of elected representatives is unacceptable and should be treated as harassment by the police. The Security Minister has also written to Chief Constables recently, encouraging them to use all powers available to them to tackle the harassment and intimidation of elected representatives.

Under the Taskforce’s renewed mandate, we are reviewing how to strengthen protections and close any legislative gaps, including in the context of protecting public office holders in their private homes. Measures such as the new aggravating factor proposed in the recently published Elections Strategy will provide clearer consequences for behaviour that crosses the line into abuse. The Government also welcomes the important work of the Speaker’s Conference and looks forward to its final recommendations.

A public inquiry was held on this case between 11 and 28 February, at which interested parties were able to put forward evidence and make representations. On 10 June 2025, the Planning Inspector passed their report to MHCLG for consideration.

Given the independence of this quasi-judicial process, it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on aspects of the planning process, but I can assure the Noble Lord that we have considered the breadth of national security issues in relation to the proposed new Embassy.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to question UIN HL2868 .

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is independent of Government and accountable to Parliament. It reviews electoral and boundary arrangements for councils in England, including councillor numbers and the size and distribution of wards. The Commission can only conduct an electoral review once an authority exists in law. Where new councils are established, interim electoral arrangements will be included in the structural changes order. The Government will have regard to the Commission's published guidance on electoral reviews.

I refer the Noble Lord to the Secretary of State's oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is independent of Government and accountable to Parliament. It reviews electoral and boundary arrangements for councils in England, including councillor numbers and the size and distribution of wards. The Commission can only conduct an electoral review once an authority exists in law. Where new councils are established, interim electoral arrangements will be included in the structural changes order. The Government will have regard to the Commission's published guidance on electoral reviews.

I refer the Noble Lord to the Secretary of State's oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.

The Department assesses compliance with the Best Value Duty against the Best Value statutory guidance and intervention framework. Consultation is currently underway on this Government’s revised Best Value statutory guidance. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is subject to statutory Best Value intervention in response to a number of issues, including in the council’s partnerships, governance and use of resources. The Ministerial Envoys regularly report to Ministers on progress in improvement, which inform the Department’s ongoing assessment of the council’s compliance with its Best Value Duty.

The government has commissioned an evaluation of Help to Buy which is due to be published this year.