Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between revenue forgone by billing authorities as a result of mandatory business‑rate reliefs and the amount reimbursed to those authorities through Section 31 grant payments; and if she will publish the latest quantified assessment.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Annually the Department collects from local authorities an estimate at the start of the year and actual at the end year of their business rates data. The data includes the amount of revenue forgone by billing authorities as a result of mandatory business rate reliefs and the amount reimbursed to those authorities through Section 31 grant payments under the business rates retention system and is available here, including the most recent data collected for 2026-27.
Local authorities are compensated for those mandatory reliefs they award locally, given these reliefs reduce the business rates a local authority would otherwise have retained.
Since 2026-27, local authorities are compensated for all mandatory reliefs foregone fully via section 31. Before 2026-27 mandatory reliefs that were in existence when the business rates retention system was set up were funded via an adjustment to top-up and tariff funding allocations for each local authority and as new or amended mandatory reliefs were introduced they were compensated for via s.31 grant.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between the (a) council‑tax revenue forgone by Cumberland Council as a result of properties operating as furnished holiday lets and receiving Small Business Rate Relief and (b) Section 31 grant funding provided to that authority to compensate for that relief; and if she will publish the most recent quantified assessment.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not routinely assess the council tax bands that would apply if properties assessed for business rates were instead assessed for council tax and therefore does not have the assessment as requested.
The cost to local authorities of providing small business rate relief is compensated for in full via grant through the business rates retention system, so that authorities do not lose out as a result of provision of this relief.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between the (a) council‑tax revenue forgone by billing authorities as a result of properties operating as furnished holiday lets and receiving Small Business Rate Relief and (b) Section 31 grant funding provided to compensate for that relief; and if she will publish the most recent quantified assessment.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not routinely assess the council tax bands that would apply if properties assessed for business rates were instead assessed for council tax and therefore does not have the assessment as requested.
The cost to local authorities of providing small business rate relief is compensated for in full via grant through the business rates retention system, so that authorities do not lose out as a result of provision of this relief.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between the (a) council‑tax revenue forgone by Westmorland and Furness Council as a result of properties operating as furnished holiday lets and receiving Small Business Rate Relief and (b) Section 31 grant funding provided to that authority to compensate for that relief; and if she will publish the most recent quantified assessment.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not routinely assess the council tax bands that would apply if properties assessed for business rates were instead assessed for council tax and therefore does not have the assessment as requested.
The cost to local authorities of providing small business rate relief is compensated for in full via grant through the business rates retention system, so that authorities do not lose out as a result of provision of this relief.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what timetable has been set for the implementation of the revised Private Parking Code of Practice and associated compliance framework.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to lay the Private Parking Code of Practice and its associated compliance framework in Parliament in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to publish the revised statutory Private Parking Code of Practice under the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to lay the Private Parking Code of Practice and its associated compliance framework in Parliament in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the revised statutory Private Parking Code of Practice will include guidance on the fair use of ANPR technology.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Code will set out the minimum standards that private parking operators must adhere to. The government intends to lay the Private Parking Code of Practice in Parliament in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he will publish the number of second homes, and any other relevant statistical assumptions, that the Department has used for each of the next three financial years (2026/27 to 2028/29) in calculating the council tax base for (a) Westmorland and Furness Council and (b) Cumberland Council as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not identify the number of second homes in forecasts of council tax base, or calculations of the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Council tax base figures are used in the calculation of local authorities’ Fair Funding Allocations within the Local Government Finance Settlement, and the calculation of Core Spending Power.
Fair Funding Allocations use council tax base data from 2024, prior to the introduction of the second homes premium, meaning they are unaffected by local decisions to implement the premium. The tax base for each authority is published on gov.uk here.
The methodology note for calculating Core Spending Power, which is the government’s longstanding presentational measure of the resources available to local authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement, is available on gov.uk here. The published statistical tables are available on GOV.UK: 2021-22 Council Tax Levels Statistics Table 9; Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2025 to 2026 (revised). The government believes it is right to continue to calculate Core Spending Power in line with the approach used at previous Settlements.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether additional funding is being considered for fire and rescue authorities facing heightened wildfire risk.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
On 9 February 2026, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue.
(a) In 2026/27, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £32.71 million, an increase of 3.8% compared to 2025/26.
(b) The Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, we will have provided a 12.75% increase in core spending power compared to 2025/26.
Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions, including wildfire risk, are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.
Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has been made of the capacity of fire and rescue services to respond to increased wildfire risk in the upland areas of Cumbria.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
Each fire and rescue authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), and having regard to the views of other key local responders. This includes a local assessment of response capacity.
Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.