Written questions by Maynard.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that decisions relating to local government reorganisation meet public sector equality duties.

The Government received final proposals for the invitation area of Oxfordshire on 28 November and will launch a statutory consultation before deciding which, if any, proposal to implement. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area, including Oxfordshire, will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.All public bodies, including the Government and local authorities, are required to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010. This duty applies to the local government reorganisation process.

Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to assess local government reorganisation proposals; and whether those proposals will be assessed against the guidance set out in the letter sent by the former Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution to the leaders of two-tier councils in Oxfordshire on 5 February 2025.

The Government received final proposals for the invitation area of Oxfordshire on 28 November and will launch a statutory consultation before deciding which, if any, proposal to implement. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area, including Oxfordshire, will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.All public bodies, including the Government and local authorities, are required to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010. This duty applies to the local government reorganisation process.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the current level of resources for local trading standards services based within local authorities in Great Britain.

Local authorities are independent of central government and are responsible for managing their own services and financial positions.The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The majority of the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, including for local trading standards services.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce homelessness in Oxfordshire.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across the key government departments with the greatest impact on homelessness to develop a long-term strategy, and an Expert Group bringing together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector. We continue to engage with DEFRA on measures as part of the development of our long-term housing strategy. We are also delivering a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Further information on the allocations of homelessness grant funding in the 2025/26 financial year can be found in the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-allocations-2025-to-2026 The Government is also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including the delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament. And the Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.