Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for trends in the number of long-term empty homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are numerous reasons that homes are left empty, including probate and homes falling into disrepair.
The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country.
Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years. They can also access funding through the Affordable Homes Programme and Local Authority Housing Fund.
Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
The government outlined its intent to strengthen local authorities’ ability to take over the management of vacant residential premises in the English Devolution White Paper published in December 2024. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Authority Housing Fund: Round 4 prospectus and guidance, of 19 November 2025, for what reason the funding can be used for the flipping of forthcoming shared ownership completions into social rented housing; and what the estimated grant per unit is.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities delivering the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF R4) can shape its delivery according to local circumstances.
Converting unsold shared ownership completions into social rented housing is included in a list of possible delivery routes and may be appropriate where there is insufficient demand for shared ownership homes and greater need for social rented housing.
There is not a fixed grant intervention rate for converting use from shared ownership homes. The amount of funding which can be applied depends on how the shared ownership scheme was originally funded.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to build more social and affordable homes in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771) and the answer given to Question UIN 101017 on 6 January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through Skilled Worker visas in (1) the Cabinet Office, and (2) its Executive Agencies.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
39 Civil Servants are employed through Skilled Worker visas in (1) the Cabinet Office and 0 in its (2) Executive Agencies.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the calculation of the base liability for the transitional relief in the 2026 business rates revaluation (a) includes and (b) excludes the application of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure rate relief in 2025-26.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At the Budget the Chancellor announced a support package for ratepayers seeing significant bill increases as a result of the 2026 revaluation. This includes two key reliefs, Transitional Relief and Supporting Small Business Relief.
Transitional Relief is calculated from a base liability of the 2025/26 bill before all other reliefs.
The Supporting Small Business Relief provides support for ratepayers losing certain reliefs including the current 40% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure. The Supporting Small Businesses Relief is calculated from a base liability that takes into account the effect of eligible reliefs – Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, 2025/26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief, or 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief. The government published guidance for local authorities on the administration of the scheme on 15 December. This can be found on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-relief-2026-supporting-small-business-relief-local-authority-guidance).
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of The Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 on the ability of the public to protest the use of beagles in scientific research.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On Thursday 27 November 2025, the Home Office laid an affirmative Statutory Instrument in Parliament to amend Section 7 and Section 8 of the Public Order Act 2023. This will amend the list of key national infrastructure within Section 7 of the Act, to add the Life Sciences sector and define the Life Sciences sector in Section 8 of the Act.
Under Section 7 of the Act, a person commits an offence if:
The amendment is designed to address only certain behaviours impacting the Life Sciences sector. It does not ban protests. It specifically targets deliberate or reckless interference with infrastructure within the Life Sciences sector, that could undermine our sovereign capability to prepare for and respond to a pandemic.
Whether an activity, online or otherwise, meets the criminal threshold within Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023 will be fact specific and is an operational matter for the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts, who are all operationally independent from the government.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) full time equivalent police officers and (b) headcount police officers there were in Essex Police as at 31 March in each financial year since 2019-20; and how many police officers (i) joined and (ii) left Essex Police in each of those years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of police officers in post, and police officers joining and leaving the police service, on both a headcount and full-time equivalent basis, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Information on the number of police officers in post in Essex Police as at 31 March 2007 to 2025 can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687f314d8adf4250705c96fa/open-data-table-police-workforce-230725.ods.
Information on the number of police officers joining Essex Police between the years ending 31 March 2007 to 2025 can be found in the ‘Joiners Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a363b312ee8a5f0806b7b/open-data-table-police-workforce-joiners-230725.ods.
Information on the number of police officers leaving Essex Police between the years ending 31 March 2007 to 2025 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a364d312ee8a5f0806b7c/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-230725.ods.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential (a) implications for her policies of routine use of fungicides in the seed supply chain and (b) impact of their use on (i) integrated pest management, (ii) soil health restoration and (iii) pesticide use..
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Plant protection products (PPPs – also known as pesticides) may only be placed on the market in Great Britain (GB) if they have been authorised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), GB’s pesticide regulator. This only happens following a thorough scientific risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met. Pesticides that pose unacceptable risks are not authorised.
Our strict, science-based regulation is supplemented with policies to encourage safe and minimal use. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) lies at the heart of the government’s approach to minimise the environmental impact of PPPs, including fungicides. IPM practices can reduce the risks associated with pesticide use, helping to protect wildlife, and enhance soil and water quality.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether they have considered the potential merits of compulsory training for delivery company workers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has not considered this. The private sector is responsible for determining any specific training their employees require, although under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, employers have a duty to ensure their employees receive adequate information, instruction, and training to ensure the health and safety of their employees.
The Act and its relevant statutory provisions only apply to the self-employed where their work activity poses a risk to the health and safety of others. The requirement for delivery drivers to be licensed falls to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Police.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department records the nationality and immigration status of people arrested for public order related offences at protests.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests in England and Wales by offence group as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical series, available here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK
However, as part of this collection data is not collected centrally on the nationality or immigration status of people arrested, or whether the arrest occurred at a protest.
While not routinely collected as part of the statistical data collection, in instances where the police believe the individual arrested is a foreign national, they should contact Immigration Enforcement’s National Control and Command Unit (NCCU). The contact would lead to the recording of details which would include the individual’s nationality. The details provided by the individual allow NCCU to complete an immigration status check to establish the person’s status in the UK, this would also be recorded on HO systems once established. To clarify, such a recording would only take place following contact from the police.