Written questions by Simmonds.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to give local authorities in London a joint decision-making role in integrated settlements for the Greater London Authority.

At Autumn Budget 2024 the Government committed to exploring how the Integrated Settlement policy could be applied for the Greater London Authority from the 2026-27 financial year onwards, taking into account the capital’s unique devolution arrangements. This work is currently taking place and the Government plans to announce further details following the conclusion of Phase 2 of the Spending Review 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on the role of councils in London in integrated settlements for the Greater London Authority.

At Autumn Budget 2024 the Government committed to exploring how the Integrated Settlement policy could be applied for the Greater London Authority from the 2026-27 financial year onwards, taking into account the capital’s unique devolution arrangements. This work is currently taking place and the Government plans to announce further details following the conclusion of Phase 2 of the Spending Review 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with (a) London Councils and (b) individual councils in London on a joint decision-making role in integrated settlements for the Greater London Authority.

At Autumn Budget 2024 the Government committed to exploring how the Integrated Settlement policy could be applied for the Greater London Authority from the 2026-27 financial year onwards, taking into account the capital’s unique devolution arrangements. This work is currently taking place and the Government plans to announce further details following the conclusion of Phase 2 of the Spending Review 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 22329 on Noise: Pollution Control, what guidance her Department has issued on noise complaints about established use, including long-standing (a) chiming clocks and (b) church bells.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22329 on 17 January 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 24220 on Local Government: Elections, whether she plans to bring forward other secondary legislation relating to local government restructuring before the local elections in May 2025.

As set out in my Statement on 5 February 2025 (HCWS418), I will make secondary legislation to postpone elections to nine local authorities from May 2025 to 2026. No further secondary legislation is planned before May 2025.Where elections have been postponed, all by-elections to county and district councils will take place as normal. Where a vacancy would have been filled at an election which is postponed, it will, instead, be filled at a by-election.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 19 December 2024 to Question 20231 and HL3240, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of involvement of the United Front Work Department in the planning process for the called-in Chinese Embassy planning application.

An appointed Inspector will hold a public inquiry which will hear a range of evidence for and against the proposals, after which a decision will be made by MHCLG ministers. As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be appropriate to comment further. Decisions on planning applications are based on material planning considerations.

Communities and Local Government, in what circumstances foreign nationals not eligible for social housing are eligible for Government funded (a) temporary and (b) permanent accommodation.

Eligibility for social housing and statutory homelessness assistance are both determined by immigration status. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they will not be eligible for statutory homelessness assistance, and therefore unable to obtain temporary or permanent accommodation.As the eligibility rules for social housing and homelessness assistance are the same, an applicant who is not eligible for social housing will almost always also not be eligible for homelessness assistance. A small number of EU nationals with pre-settled status (PSS) may be able to access statutory homelessness assistance in a very specific set of circumstances should a ‘not eligible’ decision lead to a breach of their right to dignity under Article 1 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights which has direct effect as a result of the Court of Appeal ruling in SSWP v AT.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.1.6 of his Department’s policy paper entitled Local authority funding reform: objectives and principles, published on 18 December 2024, whether the average council tax will be used as the assumed council tax metric.

No. Average council tax will not be the assumed council tax metric in the proposed funding reforms. Rather, the consultation proposes the government will take into account the tax base in each authority (i.e. the number of dwellings liable for council tax and in which band those dwellings are in) as part of the process of allocating grant, and not the council tax level set by a local authority. Following this consultation, we will develop, publish and consult on a detailed plan for local authority funding reform, including the assumed council tax level, ahead of the provisional Settlement for 2026-27.

Communities and Local Government, how many council tax payers pay over 12 months.

Council tax is usually paid in 10 instalments across the year. Households have a right to request to pay their council tax in 12 monthly instalments. The government has not collected data on how many households pay their council tax across 12 instalments to date.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 18376 on MHCLG: Birmingham, what other Government hubs operate in Birmingham; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of merging the departmental office with other Government buildings in Birmingham.

Apart from our current location at 23 Stephenson Street, the department does not hold information on other Government hubs operating in or planned by the Government Property Agency for Birmingham. We made the decision to close our Birmingham office to consolidate and further develop our presence in the West Midlands region at our existing second headquarters in Wolverhampton.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme 2021-24 is being allocated by bidding.

Bidding rounds for the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme ended in June 2022. Decisions on where to allocate funding were made by the previous government.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 19356 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, where the public hearings will take place for the public inquiry.

The venue for the public inquiry is Tower Hamlets Professional Development Centre, 229 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 6AB. These details are published at the following link.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2024 to Question 3829 on Islamophobia, whether she plans to undertake a formal consultation on the definition of Islamophobia.

The government engages regularly with faith communities to help foster strong working relationships. We are exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling racial and religious hatred, including Islamophobia, and further details will be set out in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if she will list the name of each organisation that responded to the National Planning Policy framework consultation excluding those who asked for their submission to be confidential.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20653 on 24 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18555 on Asylum: Hotels, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on the (a) first time buyer and (b) private rental market of housing asylum seekers in rented accommodation.

The government is determined to address the dire inheritance left by its predecessor and restore order to the asylum and immigration systems, delivering lower net migration.The Home Office has a set of Asylum Accommodation Plans which set out the approach to the procurement and occupancy of Dispersal Accommodation across the UK. They help ensure the Home Office continues to meet its statutory responsibilities to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, while also carefully considering the impact on local areas.The plans are underpinned by an indexing tool which provides a flexible, transparent evidence-base for the dispersal of the national asylum-seeking population to ensure equity remains at the core.The factors affecting supply and demand in the private rented sector are complex and difficult to disentangle. As well as demographic change, they include house prices, rent levels, taxation policy, interest rates, and the movement of tenants into homeownership and social rented housing. It is not possible to isolate the specific impact of each of these factors.The most sustainable long-term method to improve housing affordability and help people into homeownership is to increase the supply of housing. That is why we have committed to deliver 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament as part of our Plan for Change.The Renters’ Rights Bill will overhaul the experience of private renting in England, providing greater security and stability for tenants.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) Freedom of Information and (b) Environmental Information Regulation responses her Department has issued to consultations in the last 36 months.

It is not normal practice to release individual consultation responses because of data protection considerations. Requesters are pointed instead to the Department's published summary response when that becomes available.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2024 to Question 2635 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Expenditure, if she will provide a breakdown of the £5 million saving in legal fees.

The £5 million was a contingency in case an organisation or group named as “extremist” brought a successful defamation claim, obtaining damages and costs against the department. It was an overall figure so no further breakdown is available. As the department is no longer expecting to name any organisations or groups as “extremist”, this contingency is no longer needed.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 9072 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ministers' Private Offices, if she will provide a breakdown of the £33,790.50.

Since the dissolution of the last Parliament, MHCLG has spent £13,938.05 on furniture and fittings, and a further £3,297.56 on electrical improvements in the Ministerial offices in 2 Marsham Street, the Department’s London HQWe spent no money on refurbishments in Ministerial offices in Wolverhampton, the Department’s second HQ. We also spent £16,554.89 on furniture to make meeting rooms suitable for use by Ministers in the Department’s office in Piccadilly Gate, Manchester.A breakdown of items is in the table below.ItemCostDesk, Tables & Chairs£8,848.31Electrical Improvements£3,297.56Manchester Ministerial Office Creation£16,554.89Other furniture and improvements£5,089.74

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 19776 on Affordable Housing, in what circumstances foreign nationals who are not eligible for social housing are eligible for taxpayer-funded (a) temporary and (b) permanent accommodation.

Eligibility for social housing and statutory homelessness assistance are both determined by immigration status. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they will not be eligible for statutory homelessness assistance, and therefore unable to obtain temporary or permanent accommodation.As the eligibility rules for social housing and homelessness assistance are the same, an applicant who is not eligible for social housing will almost always also not be eligible for homelessness assistance. A small number of EU nationals with pre-settled status (PSS) may be able to access statutory homelessness assistance in a very specific set of circumstances should a ‘not eligible’ decision lead to a breach of their right to dignity under Article 1 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights which has direct effect as a result of the Court of Appeal ruling in SSWP v AT.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.1.6 of the consultation entitled Local authority funding reform: objectives and principles, published on 18 December 2024, whether councils which have set council tax levels above the assumed level of council tax will, all other factors being equal, receive a higher grant.

The government is inviting views on the objectives and principles of local authority funding reform, including on measuring differences in locally available resources such as council tax. Following this consultation, we will develop, publish and consult on a detailed plan for local authority funding reform ahead of the provisional Settlement for 2026-27.With reference to proposals set out in paragraph 4.1.6 of the consultation, councils which have set council tax levels above the assumed level of council tax, will not, all else equal, receive higher grant allocations.This is because by making a uniform assumption of the council tax level in our measure of locally available resources, any individual council’s council tax level is not directly associated with their grant allocation. A council’s grant allocation will instead be impacted by the number and banding of liable dwellings in the local authority (i.e. their ‘Tax Base’).Any council that sets council tax levels above the assumed level of council tax will receive more income in total than if it had not done so.As set out in the consultation on local authority funding reform, the government believes that making uniform assumptions on the council tax level charged by all authorities, and on factors which determine their ability to raise council tax, promotes simplicity, fairness, and accountability.