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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Greater London Authority supplementary business rate arising from increases in Rateable Values from the 2026 business rates revaluation on the business rates of medium-size pubs in London in 2026-27.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Greater London Authority currently levies a Business Rates Supplement (BRS) to fund the costs of the Crossrail project (renamed Elizabeth line in 2016). The Mayor of London approved the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement policies for 2026-27 via a formal decision published on 16 January 2026, increasing the rateable value threshold above which the BRS applies from £75,000 to £92,000 from 1 April 2026 in line with average percentage increase in rateable values. In line with the requirements of the Crossrail BRS final prospectus published when the supplement was introduced in 2010-11, the Mayor is required to increase the threshold in line with the average change in rateable values in London at each revaluation. The intent of this threshold increase is to ensure that the total number of ratepayers liable to pay the BRS remains broadly unchanged each year.
On 27 January the government announced that for 2026/27 it was providing a further 15% business rates relief to pubs and live music venues on top of the support already announced at the Budget. Where business rate reliefs are implemented under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, such as the Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief Scheme, Business Rates Supplements are adjusted to reflect the percentage relief provided by those schemes in line with the requirements of section 13(7) of the Business Rates Supplement Act 2009. It is for the 33 London billing authorities and the Greater London Authority to ensure that the required determinations and resulting adjustments are made to ratepayer bills in respect of BRS liabilities.
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 his Department has had discussions with the Greater London Authority on extending the 2026 (a) pubs and live music relief and (b) revaluation transitional relief to include increases in business rates from the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Business rates transitional relief is applied to business rates bills before the effect of other local reliefs or supplements. It therefore has no effect on local business rates supplements, such as the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement.
As set out in section 13 of the Business Rates Supplements Act 2009, where business rate reliefs are implemented under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, any applicable Business Rates Supplements are adjusted to reflect the percentage relief provided by those schemes. For the coming financial year, this will include adjustments to relevant Business Rates Supplements such as the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement, for the effect of the Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme and Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief Scheme. It is for the 33 London billing authorities and the Greater London Authority to ensure that the required determinations and resulting adjustments are made to ratepayer bills in respect of BRS liabilities.
The Mayor of London approved the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement policies for 2026-27 via a formal decision published on 16 January 2026, increasing the rateable value threshold above which the BRS applies from £75,000 to £92,000 from 1 April 2026. Further information can be found on the Greater London Authority’s website here.
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, pursuant to the answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87778 on Affordable Housing: Construction, what proportion of funding from the new Programme will be used to purchase homes that have (a) already been started and (b) built through different schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme will permit a limited number of acquisitions.
For further information, please see the policy statement published by the Department on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.
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, how much funding was allocated to the Greater London Authority in each year of the 2026-36 affordable housing programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Greater London Authority has secured up to £11.7 billion to deliver the London portion of the government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which will run from 2026 to 2036.
The programme will support the delivery of thousands of new social and affordable homes across London, with the overall housing target for the programme to be confirmed after the initial bidding round.
Funding is available to deliver projects that can start on site by March 2036 and complete by March 2039.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a unit would be defined as a "start on site" under the Affordable Homes Programme were it located on part of a site where existing residents are living in buildings that would need to be demolished before development can begin.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The definition of start on site for the Affordable Homes Programme is set out in the Capital Funding Guides (attached) for Homes England and Greater London Authority. Start on site is achieved when:
Start on site can be recorded where demolition works, or other infrastructure work eligible under the published definition, have commenced.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a unit would be defined as a "start of site" if the building designs had not been updated to comply with fire-safety regulations.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The definition of start on site for the Affordable Homes Programme is set out in the Capital Funding Guides (attached) for Homes England and Greater London Authority. Start on site is achieved when:
Start on site can be recorded where demolition works, or other infrastructure work eligible under the published definition, have commenced.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether all units in a multi-phase development scheme under the Affordable Homes Programme would be defined as a "start on site" when only part of the scheme has commenced enabling works.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The definition of start on site for the Affordable Homes Programme is set out in the Capital Funding Guides (attached) for Homes England and Greater London Authority. Start on site is achieved when:
Start on site can be recorded where demolition works, or other infrastructure work eligible under the published definition, have commenced.
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, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Affordable housing supply in England: 2024 to 2025, published on 20 November 2025, whether the Greater London Authority’s affordable homes data includes affordable homes counted as started which were then un-designated.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Affordable Housing Supply statistical release published on 20 November 2025 reflected the most recent data published by the Greater London Authority.
There were no revisions of the Greater London Authority’s historical data for the November 2025 release. A summary of other revisions for that release can be found in section 7 of its technical notes, which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding he has allocated to support affordable housing delivery in a) Eastbourne and b) East Sussex.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58440 on 17 June, the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771), and the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.
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, with reference to the Affordable Homes Programme annual report 2024 to 2025, published on 7 January 2026, what was the average grant subsidy in London for the 871 homes completed to date, by (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent, (c) London living rent and (d) affordable home ownership.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Affordable Homes Programme is delivered in London by the Greater London Authority (GLA). The GLA do not publish the information requested on the basis it is commercially sensitive.