Written questions by Cooper.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the prevalence of alleged aggressive council tax debt collection practices.

Councils are responsible for the collection and enforcement of council tax. The government’s clear expectation is that councils will be proportionate and sympathetic to those in hardship when determining the most appropriate action to collect tax. The government will publish a consultation in 2025 to consider options to improve council tax billing and wider council tax administration changes to support taxpayers.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28103 on Flats: Fire Prevention, whether she has held recent discussions with (a) mortgage lenders and (b) insurers on the form of alternative evidence they would accept in place of an EWS1 form issued by Adam Kiziak and Tri Fire.

As per the answer given to Question UIN 28103 on 11 February 2025, my officials continue to regularly engage with the mortgage lending and insurance industries.Where a mortgage lender who is a signatory to the statement on cladding is not accepting an EWS1 for a building which requires work to remediate building safety defects, then leaseholders should provide alternative evidence that their building is in the Cladding Safety Scheme, Building Safety Fund or covered by a developer that has signed the Developer Remediation Contract. This evidence could be, for example, a letter from MHCLG or the developer. Leaseholders can also complete a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate to evidence they qualify for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.For buildings which do not need remedial works, then lenders or insurers may accept Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) mortgage lenders and (b) insurers on their approach to (i) mortgages and (ii) building insurance policies relating to buildings that hold an EWS1 certificate issued by (A) Tri Fire and (B) Adam Kiziak.

EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement. They are a mortgage valuation tool and the use of EWS1s is a commercial decision by industry.The Department engages regularly with the mortgage lending and insurance industries. Officials are working closely with industry representatives to ensure they take a proportional approach to buildings with an EWS1 issued by Adam Kiziak and Tri Fire. Where a mortgage lender will not accept one of these EWS1s, we would expect them to consider alternative evidence.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23431 on Local Government: Employers' Contributions, whether she made a comparative assessment of the potential impact of this approach to calculating National Insurance Contribution funding on compensation for increased payroll costs for (a) district councils and (b) county councils and unitary authorities.

The government has announced an additional £515 million of support for local government in England specifically to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget.Final allocations to local authorities will be published alongside final positions on methodology as part of the final Local Government Finance Settlement in early February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of how many people with acquired brain injury are experiencing (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping.

According to the 2020 Rough Sleeping Questionnaire, 7% of respondents reported an acquired brain injury, with 82% reporting a mental health vulnerability and 83% of respondents reporting at least one physical health condition. More Rough Sleeping questionnaire information on the health and support needs of rough sleepers can be accessed here: Rough Sleeping Questionnaire: initial findings Chapter 3.5.MHCLG does not collect information about how many households with acquired brain injury are experiencing homelessness. There is information relating to support needs of households presenting as homeless available here: Tables on homelessness - GOV.UK Tab A3.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication entitled Explanatory note on the National Insurance Contribution compensation 2025 to 2026, published 18 December 2024, for what reason the allocation was not calculated using published local authority payroll data.

The government has announced an additional £515 million of support for local government, including Mayoral Combined Authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities, specifically to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget.Additional funding made available to compensate local government as a whole for the impact of changes to employer NICs has been determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff across the public sector.We propose to allocate the £515 million between local authorities in England based on their shares of total relevant net current expenditure. We have published a methodology note, explaining the data this funding is based upon, to assist councils with their financial planning.The government will confirm final positions on methodology and approach to allocations as soon as possible now that the consultation on the provisional settlement has closed. We are continuing to engage with local government on their queries regarding the allocation of this additional funding.

Communities and Local Government, when her Department will publish a breakdown of planned spending on homelessness (a) support and (b) prevention for 2025-26.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced funding allocations for homelessness and rough sleeping on gov.uk in December 2024.This includes funding for sector support to strengthen the capacity of the voluntary sector, the Homelessness Prevention Grant, the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme and the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, which consolidated the previous Rough Sleeping Initiative and Accommodation for Ex Offenders grants.

Communities and Local Government, whether the (a) Rough Sleeping Initiative, (b) Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme and (c) Night Shelter Transformation Fund will continue in 2025-26.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced funding allocations for homelessness and rough sleeping on gov.uk in December 2024.This includes funding for sector support to strengthen the capacity of the voluntary sector, the Homelessness Prevention Grant, the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme and the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, which consolidated the previous Rough Sleeping Initiative and Accommodation for Ex Offenders grants.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2024 to Question 4279 on Housing: Bricks, what steps she plans to take to increase rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 expects developments to provide net gains for biodiversity, including through incorporating features which support priority or threatened species such as swifts, bats and hedgehogs.The National Model Design Code and Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework set out how development can incorporate a range of nature friendly features including swift bricks.We will continue to consider what action may be appropriate to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including local online news publications in the definition of local newspapers for the advertisement of planning notices.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 15985 on 3 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department have had recent discussions with Hertfordshire County Council on the two-tier system of local government in that county.

There has been no specific discussion on this topic. The department is always open to hearing from councils about government in their local area.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide additional funding to local authorities for the cost of increases to employer National Insurance contributions.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 11851 on 8 November 2024.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her letter of 16 July 2024 to local council leaders, whether devolution settlements are available to district councils.

English devolution underpins this Government’s national mission to deliver economic growth for everyone, everywhere, raising living standards across the UK. While the previous government hoarded power in Whitehall, this Government will deliver the most ambitious programme of devolution this country has ever seen, pushing power into the hands of cities, towns, and villages across the country to unlock their true potential. Of course, we value the important role districts will play in this mission, and in due course the Government will publish a new devolution framework, which will set out in more detail the role district councils can play.