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 is taking to ensure that local authorities are able to use Council Tax data effectively for the enforcement of (a) the empty home Council Tax surcharge, (b) Empty Dwelling Management Orders and (c) other enforcement measures.

Local authorities have powers to tackle empty homes through the council tax empty homes premium and Empty Dwelling Management Orders. Local authorities can already use data collected for the purposes of council tax administration to assist with making effective use of these powers.