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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the reasons for which some people put flags on lampposts in the summer.

At this time, no assessment has been made. My department is co-ordinating cross-Government efforts to develop a longer-term, more strategic approach to social cohesion - working in partnership with local government, communities and local stakeholders to rebuild, renew and address the deep-seated issues.

Where the subject has been raised, we have been clear that everyone can make their own decisions, including local councils, on flying flags and that guidance exists to support them, such as ‘Flying flags: a plain English guide” - as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007 (as amended in 2012 and 2021) – which outlines the regulations related to the flying of flags in England.