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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to take steps to help incentivise the temporary use of vacant commercial spaces for (a) community-based and (b) start-up projects.

The Government is committed to bringing empty buildings back into use. That’s why we introduced High Street Rental Auctions giving local authorities the power to auction the lease of persistently vacant commercial properties and make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for any organisation including start-up businesses and community groups.

Through the Pride in Place strategy, we are going further by giving communities extra tools to improve their high street, alongside up to £5 billion funding over ten years to 244 neighbourhoods experiencing some of the highest levels of disadvantage.