Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has held discussions with Peterborough City Council on the options for local government reorganisation in Cambridgeshire.

My officials have held discussions with all the councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, including Peterborough City Council, as they have developed proposals in response to their invitation. Those proposals are due to be submitted on 28 November.

Communities and Local Government, which Minister would be responsible for the planning decision regarding the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre following the passage of the Holocaust Memorial Bill.

Arrangements for handling of the planning application for the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre are publicly available on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment has he made of the level of (a) positive and (b) negative public reaction in Huntingdonshire to the proposed options for Local Government Reform in Cambridgeshire.

Councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are due to submit their final proposals for unitary local councils by 28 November. We understand the importance of communities having their say and have been clear on the importance of councils engaging with local residents and organisations as they develop their proposals.The Government will launch a statutory consultation before deciding which proposal, if any, to implement. I anticipate this will be launched in the New Year. It would be inappropriate for Ministers to comment at this stage or give a view on specific unitary proposals, or to pre-empt future decisions under the statutory process.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits and disadvantages of Local Government Reform Option D on Huntingdonshire.

Councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are due to submit their final proposals for unitary local councils by 28 November. We understand the importance of communities having their say and have been clear on the importance of councils engaging with local residents and organisations as they develop their proposals.The Government will launch a statutory consultation before deciding which proposal, if any, to implement. I anticipate this will be launched in the New Year. It would be inappropriate for Ministers to comment at this stage or give a view on specific unitary proposals, or to pre-empt future decisions under the statutory process.

Communities and Local Government, by when he plans to have made a decision on which Local Government Reform option to choose for Cambridgeshire.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 60179 on 19 June 2025 and to Question UIN 62328 on 30 June 2025. Councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are due to submit their final proposals for local government reorganisation by 28 November. The government will then launch a statutory consultation before deciding which, if any, to implement. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the criteria in the statutory guidance, the consultation responses received and all other relevant information. The exact timings will depend on the proposals received and the decision taken on which proposal, if any, to implement. It is anticipated that a consultation could be launched in the New Year with decisions on which proposal to implement potentially announced before the summer recess to allow the legislation to be made which, subject to Parliamentary approval, would allow for elections to the new unitary authorities on 6 May 2027 with the new authorities going live on 1 April 2028.

Communities and Local Government, what the timeline is for the implementation of local government reform in Cambridgeshire.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 60179 on 19 June 2025 and to Question UIN 62328 on 30 June 2025. Councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are due to submit their final proposals for local government reorganisation by 28 November. The government will then launch a statutory consultation before deciding which, if any, to implement. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the criteria in the statutory guidance, the consultation responses received and all other relevant information. The exact timings will depend on the proposals received and the decision taken on which proposal, if any, to implement. It is anticipated that a consultation could be launched in the New Year with decisions on which proposal to implement potentially announced before the summer recess to allow the legislation to be made which, subject to Parliamentary approval, would allow for elections to the new unitary authorities on 6 May 2027 with the new authorities going live on 1 April 2028.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) criteria and (b) evidence he plans to use to make his final decision on the Local Government Reform option for Cambridgeshire.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 60179 on 19 June 2025 and to Question UIN 62328 on 30 June 2025. Councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are due to submit their final proposals for local government reorganisation by 28 November. The government will then launch a statutory consultation before deciding which, if any, to implement. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the criteria in the statutory guidance, the consultation responses received and all other relevant information. The exact timings will depend on the proposals received and the decision taken on which proposal, if any, to implement. It is anticipated that a consultation could be launched in the New Year with decisions on which proposal to implement potentially announced before the summer recess to allow the legislation to be made which, subject to Parliamentary approval, would allow for elections to the new unitary authorities on 6 May 2027 with the new authorities going live on 1 April 2028.

Communities and Local Government, when returning officers will be informed of whether Huntingdonshire District Council elections will go ahead in 2026.

Our starting point is for all elections scheduled for May 2026 to go ahead unless there is strong justification otherwise.Returning Officers are not directly informed by the Government about whether local elections will proceed. They act independently, complying with legislation and following guidance provided by the Electoral Commission.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 54 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, when he plans to issue updated procedures to enable the use of the (a) Crown Development and (b) Urgent Crown Development routes.

The Crown Development planning regulations in England came into force on 1 May 2025. The government has no current plans to change those regulations. The reference to updated procedures in the Defence Industrial Strategy relates to how the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Defence will work together when the latter identifies potential applications for Crown development routes. Further details will be published in due course.

Communities and Local Government, how many new house builds have been (a) started and (b) completed since 5 July 2024.

The government publishes quarterly data on planning applications and housing starts and completions. The latest data on planning application statistics can be found on gov.uk here. Data on housing starts and completions can be found on gov.uk here. The main measure of housing supply is net additional dwellings, the latest data on which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what the projected house building completion targets are in (a) 2025, (b) 2026, (c) 2027, (d) 2028 and (e) 2029 in the context of the Government’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Council Tax harmonisation on households following local government reorganisation.

Council tax is managed by local authorities, who decide what level of council tax they wish to set. There is an established system for the locally-led harmonisation of council tax levels across the area of a restructured local authority area. The government will continue to set referendum principles each year and any authority which sets a council tax increase above the principles must have it approved by voters. Councils are required to put in place local council tax support schemes to support low-income households. Pension-age council tax support is centrally prescribed and provides reductions of up to 100% for those on the lowest incomes,. Support for working age households is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities.

Communities and Local Government, how many planning permissions for nationally significant infrastructure projects have been expedited through the (a) Crown Development and (b) Urgent Crown Development routes in Huntingdon constituency since 1 May 2025.

There have been no applications for planning permission through either the Crown Development or Urgent Crown Development routes for nationally important projects in the Huntingdon constituency.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential financial impact of Council Tax equalisation following local government reorganisation on low-income households.

Council tax is managed by local authorities, who decide what level of council tax they wish to set. There is an established system for the locally-led harmonisation of council tax levels across the area of a restructured local authority area. The government will continue to set referendum principles each year and any authority which sets a council tax increase above the principles must have it approved by voters. Councils are required to put in place local council tax support schemes to support low-income households. Pension-age council tax support is centrally prescribed and provides reductions of up to 100% for those on the lowest incomes,. Support for working age households is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities.

Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on the Local Land Charges Programme.

HM Land Registry’s (HMLR’s) new national Local Land Charges search service went live for customers in 2018, the programme is making good progress in digitising this critical information on land and property, transforming how it is stored, searched and delivered. Since the launch of the programme, at the time of writing HMLR has transferred 8 million charges from 137 Local Authorities to the new service, and another 133 Local Authorities’ data is currently in the process of being digitised, ready for it to be transferred. So far, the new service has delivered over 1.9 million searches, which saves the average customer over £10 per search and approximately 12 days in waiting time. As a result, customer sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with 74% of them rating the service as good to excellent.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has issued guidance on the length of time over which Council Tax equalisation can take place.

The government set out the process for council tax equalisation in The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/3022). These regulations set out equalisation must be completed no later than the beginning of the eighth financial year after restructuring. Councils are responsible for setting their own level of council tax, including how quickly council tax levels are equalised within this timeframe. While the government does not currently issue guidance on this, we will continue to review the FAQs published on the Local Government Association website regarding devolution and local government reorganisation.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated from the Brownfield Infrastructure and Land fund to (a) Huntingdonshire District Council and (b) Cambridgeshire since the establishment of that programme.

No funding has been allocated to Huntingdonshire District Council from the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) programme. In Cambridgeshire, one BIL project is now in contract, for a £23.35m grant (alongside funding from the Cambridge City Deal) to support the relocation of the Waterbeach Village railway station which is a condition of the planning for the 4,500 home Waterbeach East New Town.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people granted asylum who now reside in social housing since 5 July 2024.

My Department does not hold data on the number of people granted asylum who now reside in social housing since 5 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, if he will set out the transitional arrangements prior to equalisation of differences in Council Tax rates across merging local authorities.

Council tax is managed by local authorities, who decide what level of council tax they wish to set. The Government sets referendum principles each year and any authority which sets a council tax increase above the principles must have it approved by voters. There is an established system for the harmonisation of council tax levels across the area of a restructured local authority area, whereby the difference between the Band D level of the highest and lowest charging predecessor areas must narrow each year, until a single uniform Band D is reached across the new authority. There is no minimum or maximum requirement on the extent to which the gap must close each year, provided harmonisation is completed by the start of year 8 at the latest. This is set out in The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/3022).

Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated from the Affordable Homes Programme to (a) Huntingdonshire District Council and (b) Cambridgeshire since the establishment of that programme.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771).