Written questions by Stephenson.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (b) the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and (c) mayoral authorities on the Government's commitments to the hospitality sector.

In April, the Government launched a joint government and industry taskforce to bring together representatives from the hospitality industry, police, local and central government to explore a more enabling approach to licensing with a greater focus on growth. This included officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and HM Treasury who have continued to work closely together to explore the recommendations made in the Taskforce report, which was published in July. We are committed to reducing the costs for hospitality businesses in the UK by restoring licensing to its founding ethos of flexibility and growth, while maintaining a focus on the licensing objectives, particularly the prevention of crime and disorder. It is in this spirit that we have just published a first iteration of a National Licensing Policy Framework setting out a strategic vision for a modern licensing system.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of low-complexity work in higher-risk buildings having to be submitted to the Building Safety Regulator for approval on the levels of application processing backlog.

We recognise there have been significant challenges faced by applicants in getting Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approval for low-complexity and lower-risk work. Category B work, generally including less-complex and lower-risk projects, carries fewer procedural requirements in an application to the BSR. The intention was that these category B applications should be simpler for the applicant to prepare and quicker for the BSR to assess. The department and BSR has been working at pace to address these challenges, and to ensure the new regime is fit for purpose and proportionate for all type of work. We will continue to engage with industry while policy review and development is under way. On average Category B applications have taken 11.5 hours to make a decision per application. In comparison, Category A applications have taken an average of 20 hours per application, and New HRB’s have taken an average of 88.2 hours per application. As of 14 November 2025, there are 12 Category B applications currently progressing through Gateway 2 Assessment. When measured against the total volume of Category B assessments received during this financial year, the average time allocated represents approximately 3.6% of overall working hours.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of planning applications which have been rejected in each of the past five years in London.

The proportions of planning applications that have been rejected in each of the past five years in England and in London can be derived from the data available in the PS2 time series section of the interactive planning application statistics dashboard, available here. They can also be derived from the detailed data held in PS2 open data file on gov.uk here. My Department does not hold the information on political control needed to provide the requested breakdown of figures by controlling political party in each of the last five years.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of houses that have been rejected for planning permission in Greater London since 4 July 2024.

The proportions of planning applications that have been rejected in each of the past five years in England and in London can be derived from the data available in the PS2 time series section of the interactive planning application statistics dashboard, available here. They can also be derived from the detailed data held in PS2 open data file on gov.uk here. My Department does not hold the information on political control needed to provide the requested breakdown of figures by controlling political party in each of the last five years.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of planning applications that have been rejected in each of the past five years in England.

The proportions of planning applications that have been rejected in each of the past five years in England and in London can be derived from the data available in the PS2 time series section of the interactive planning application statistics dashboard, available here. They can also be derived from the detailed data held in PS2 open data file on gov.uk here. My Department does not hold the information on political control needed to provide the requested breakdown of figures by controlling political party in each of the last five years.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the proportion of planning applications rejected by Councils in each of the last five years, broken down by controlling political party.

The proportions of planning applications that have been rejected in each of the past five years in England and in London can be derived from the data available in the PS2 time series section of the interactive planning application statistics dashboard, available here. They can also be derived from the detailed data held in PS2 open data file on gov.uk here. My Department does not hold the information on political control needed to provide the requested breakdown of figures by controlling political party in each of the last five years.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing statutory funding for tackling flooding to fire and rescue services in England.

Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood rescue and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this. MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has conducted research on the public’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different (a) local and (b) national government (i) authorities and (ii) office holders.

The department has not conducted research on the public’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different (a) local and (b) national government (i) authorities and (ii) office holders.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of residential development projects had a main developer which was classified as an SME in each of the last five years.

This information is not recorded by my Department.

Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the number of houses in urban areas which have been rejected for planning permission since 4 July 2024.

The proportions of planning applications that have been rejected in each of the past five years in England and in London can be derived from the data available in the PS2 time series section of the interactive planning application statistics dashboard, available here. They can also be derived from the detailed data held in PS2 open data file on gov.uk here. My Department does not hold the information on political control needed to provide the requested breakdown of figures by controlling political party in each of the last five years.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) consultations and (b) reviews conducted by his Department since 4 July 2024.

This Government is committed to using reviews, consultations and wider public engagement to inform effective decision-making and delivery. These activities are undertaken as part of the Department’s routine business, and costs are not separately recorded in a way that would enable us to provide the estimate requested.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses on brownfield land rejected for planning permission since 4 July 2024.

My Department publishes the number of planning applications for dwellings granted and refused per quarter by local authority in the PS2 open data file in our quarterly planning application statistics release. It can be found on gov.uk here. The number of applications on brownfield land is not collected.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of homes on brownfield land granted planning permission since 4 July 2024.

My Department publishes the number of planning applications for dwellings granted and refused per quarter by local authority in the PS2 open data file in our quarterly planning application statistics release. It can be found on gov.uk here. The number of applications on brownfield land is not collected.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the build-out guarantees that will be required to secure National Housing Bank funding.

On 17 June, the government announced that it would establish a new National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England which will be publicly owned and backed with £16 billion of financial capacity to accelerate housebuilding in England.My Department is currently working with Homes England and HM Treasury to establish the Bank, including developing its investment strategy and further details will be announced in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of staffing levels in local government on the financial sustainability of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

The Local Government Pension Scheme is well funded, with a funding level of 107% at the 2022 fund valuation. The 2025 valuation is currently underway, which will value the assets and liabilities of each fund, and set employer contributions locally to ensure the long term sustainability of each fund.The potential impacts of change in the number of active members and any redundancies will be taken into account as part of the valuation.Member pensions and benefits are protected as they are guaranteed in statute and are not affected by the performance of investments or by the structural changes.

Communities and Local Government, if he will ask the Office for National Statistics to produce deprivation statistics at output area level.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced recently that the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 will be published on Thursday 30th October 2025. This has been confirmed on GOV.UK As part of this, the Department is working to enhance and update its measures of deprivation in line with recommendations from its 2022 user consultation - Indices Futures: Updating the English Indices of Deprivation (IoD) - consultation - GOV.UK. This includes assessing the feasibility and provision of data at Output Area (OA) level.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the amount of Section 106 funding that was not drawn down and subsequently lost in each of the past ten years.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 54059 on 6 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61248 on Green Belt: Maps, if he will list the local authorities that have received funding.

The government has provided 133 local planning authorities with £70,000 of pump priming funding each to contribute towards the costs of carrying out Green Belt reviews in their areas. Eligible local authorities submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) form requesting a share of this funding. The EOIs were reviewed, and funding has been awarded. Further details, along with a list of successful local authorities, can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2025 to Question 44048 on Environmental Delivery Plans, whether measures that require permanent maintenance will be funded from the initial levy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44048 on 24 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many planning permissions were granted in each of the past five years.

My Department publishes the number of planning applications granted permission per quarter in our quarterly planning applications statistical release which can be found on gov.uk here. England level data can be found in live table 120 for all planning decisions, and for residential planning decisions in live table 120A.