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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria will be used to select areas for the Community Power Pilots.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan

We will publish more information on Community Power Pilots, including the places we will be working with and the criteria that will be used, 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, what measures will be used to assess the effectiveness of the Community Right to Buy Fund in sustaining community assets at risk of closure; and whether the Department will publish regular data on the number and location of assets acquired through the Fund.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan

The newly announced Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund, backed by £61 million, will help communities buy and run the buildings and spaces they value most, including pubs, shops, community centres, sports facilities and cultural venues.

The Fund will be a targeted and strategic offer, designed to support the new Community Right to Buy and focusing on communities in the most deprived areas. The funding is part of the £301m earmarked to support our high streets and community spaces, and builds on our wider package of investment in communities including the £5.8 billion Pride in Place Programme.

The details of this Fund, including timelines, eligibility criteria and monitoring and evaluation will be set out 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, how the Community Right to Buy Fund will interact with the wider Pride in Place programme and associated high street funding streams.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan

The newly announced Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund, backed by £61 million, will help communities buy and run the buildings and spaces they value most, including pubs, shops, community centres, sports facilities and cultural venues.

The Fund will be a targeted and strategic offer, designed to support the new Community Right to Buy and focusing on communities in the most deprived areas. The funding is part of the £301m earmarked to support our high streets and community spaces, and builds on our wider package of investment in communities including the £5.8 billion Pride in Place Programme.

The details of this Fund, including timelines, eligibility criteria and monitoring and evaluation will be set out 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, what criteria will be used to identify areas with historically low levels of investment for the purposes of allocating Community Right to Buy Fund support.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan

The newly announced Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund, backed by £61 million, will help communities buy and run the buildings and spaces they value most, including pubs, shops, community centres, sports facilities and cultural venues.

The Fund will be a targeted and strategic offer, designed to support the new Community Right to Buy and focusing on communities in the most deprived areas. The funding is part of the £301m earmarked to support our high streets and community spaces, and builds on our wider package of investment in communities including the £5.8 billion Pride in Place Programme.

The details of this Fund, including timelines, eligibility criteria and monitoring and evaluation will be set out 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, when the Community Right to Buy Fund will open for applications; and what the timetable is for allocating the £61 million announced on 16 June 2026.

Answered by Nesil Caliskan

The newly announced Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund, backed by £61 million, will help communities buy and run the buildings and spaces they value most, including pubs, shops, community centres, sports facilities and cultural venues.

The Fund will be a targeted and strategic offer, designed to support the new Community Right to Buy and focusing on communities in the most deprived areas. The funding is part of the £301m earmarked to support our high streets and community spaces, and builds on our wider package of investment in communities including the £5.8 billion Pride in Place Programme.

The details of this Fund, including timelines, eligibility criteria and monitoring and evaluation will be set out in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Loan Charge cases remain open with HMRC for the latest date for which figures are available.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

As of March 2025, HM Revenue and Customs estimates that approximately 32,000 individuals and 5,000 employers have liabilities that have not been paid in full and are therefore considered to be in scope of the review. Some taxpayers will have more than one liability.

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The Government accepted all but one of the independent review’s recommendations and in some cases is going further. Around a third of people will have their liabilities written off entirely. Most will see reductions in their liabilities of at least 50%.

The legislation for the Loan Charge Settlement Scheme came into force on the 05 August 2026, HMRC is now writing to customers inviting them to settle under the new settlement scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of whether the receipts and expenditure method used to determine the rateable value of renewable energy generation assets, including hydroelectric schemes, supports the Government's clean power mission.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

At the Budget 2025, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

The Valuation Office's statutory role is to determine a Rateable Value (a rental value) of every non-domestic property in England and Wales. In assessing the value, the Valuation Office will take into account all the inherent qualities of the property and the existing legislation at the valuation date. The Valuation Office adopts a range of professionally recognised valuation methods to do this, including Receipts & Expenditure and market rental evidence.

The Government makes use of a range of levers to deliver on our ambitious plan to decarbonise our electricity system and support energy infrastructure. This includes the Contracts for Difference scheme, which some hydroelectric schemes are eligible for, where the Government delivered the most successful renewables auction in history last year by contracting a record-breaking 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind. The Government is committed to working with the private sector to radically increase investment in the clean energy sector to accelerate deployment of onshore wind, solar power, and offshore wind.

Memorial plaque for Ann Widdecombe

Found: Norman (Conservative; Hereford and South Herefordshire) Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat; North Devon) Michelle Scrogham

Found: Norman (Conservative; Hereford and South Herefordshire) Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat; North Devon) Michelle Scrogham

Found: Defence Committee members present: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair); Alex Baker; Michelle Scrogham.

Found: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair); Alex Baker; Lincoln Jopp; Emma Lewell; Mike Martin; Ian Roome; Michelle Scrogham

This inquiry will examine the UK’s resilience and preparedness for conflict, asking whether the UK government is meeting its obligations under NATO’s Article 3. The inquiry will also look at what powers the proposed Defence Readiness Bill might need to include to enable civil assistance to military authority in the event of a conflict.

Submit Evidence (by 4 Nov 2026)

This inquiry will consider the role of UK Defence in the Gulf region. It will examine the UK’s defence interests and objectives, force posture, and defence partnerships. It will cover the implications of recent crises, including the 2026 conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, for the UK’s future defence presence.