Written questions by Simmonds.

Communities and Local Government, what the status of the best value intervention is in relation to South Cambridgeshire District Council on its plans for a four day week.

The Best Value Notice remains in place until such a time that ministers decide otherwise. Announcements will be made in the usual way.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3109 on Health, whether she plans to use the planning system to regulate the (a) sale of hot food and (b) type of food offered by food outlets.

As part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, the Government sought views on how the planning system could better support local authorities in promoting healthy communities, and specifically, in tackling childhood obesity. This included considering whether a more consistent approach to controlling hot food takeaways near schools though planning policies would be effective.The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 1 August 2024 to Question 1525 on Building Regulations, whether she plans to make deregulatory changes in any policy areas to help increase housebuilding rates.

When reviewing any regulatory changes to the built environment we will always consider safety and proportionality. We work closely with the Building Safety Regulator to ensure that the Building Regulations are under constant review and are delivering new buildings which are safe, high quality and sustainable whilst also enabling the construction sector to innovate and deliver the additional homes that we need.

Communities and Local Government, how many dwellings claim the council tax exemption for probate in each local billing authority in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the estimated cost is of the exemption each year.

As of the most recent available data for September 2023, there were 135,698 dwellings exempt from council tax due to the dwelling being empty following the passing of the occupant (exemption class F). The Government does not collect data on the council tax foregone in providing this exemption.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3252 on Housing: Construction, whether the 1.5 million new homes target is a net or gross figure, in the context of (a) demolitions, (b) change of use, (c) conversions and (d) other changes to net housing supply other than new build.

The Government’s target of delivering 1.5 million new homes in this parliament applies to England only as housing is a devolved matter. We will update Parliament on our progress in the usual manner.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3408 on National Security, what her Department's timetable is for developing proposals on (a) strengthening democracy and (b) upholding the integrity of elections.

As set out in our manifesto, the Government is committed to strengthening our democracy, upholding the integrity of elections and widening participation in the democratic process.My department is currently working with key stakeholders to develop proposals which give effect to this commitment and will introduce legislative measures when parliamentary time allows.

Communities and Local Government, what representations her Department has received on the potential impact of (a) 50% new town and (b) 40% Green Belt affordable quotas on the viability of building 1.5 million homes in this Parliament.

The Government has launched an independent New Towns Taskforce to identify and recommend locations for large-scale new communities containing at least 10,000 homes each. The Taskforce’s terms of reference include advising on a ‘New Towns Prospectus’ – standards that developers must meet in these new settlements, including targeting rates of 40% affordable housing with a focus on genuinely affordable social rented homes. The Taskforce will seek a wide range of evidence to inform its recommendations.As part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, the Government is seeking views on implementing golden rules to ensure development in the Green Belt is in the public interest. These rules include a target of 50% affordable housing on land released from the Green Belt for residential development. The consultation closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses.

Communities and Local Government, how many total Right to Buy sales there were in each local housing authority in each year since 2010-11; and what the average value of the discount was in each such authority in the most recent year for which figures are available.

The number of Right to Buy sales by local authority can be found in Live Table 691b_L. The associated discounts can be found in column b2ac of the Local Authority Housing Statistics open data published on GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2024, to Question 3008, on New Towns: Disclosure of Information, for what reason she has not provided the information requested.

The House was not sitting on 31 July when the New Towns Taskforce was announced. The Government published a written ministerial statement on new towns on 8 October (HCWS112). It can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to raise awareness of the new building regulations coming into effect from October 2024.

Legislation was laid in Parliament in May 2024 to update the Building Regulations 2010 by setting out toilet requirements in new non-domestic buildings in England. Statutory guidance supporting these changes was also published (Approved Document T). These changes came into force on 1 October 2024.At the time legislation was laid, circular letters were sent on behalf of the Secretary of State informing local authorities, heads of building control and approved inspectors of the upcoming changes to the Building Regulations. These can found on GOV.UK. A formal response to the consultation was also published on GOV.UK alongside impact assessments.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding a consultation on the potential merits of removing the council tax exemption for homes in probate in the context of the Welsh Government’s consultation on that matter.

Council tax is a devolved policy issue, the devolved governments therefore take decisions on council tax policy independent of central government. The Government does not currently have any plans to reform council tax in England.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2024 to Question 2451 on Housing: Construction, what recent estimate she has made of the number of new homes that will be needed each year to meet housing demand from levels of net migration.

Immigration is one of a number of factors that impacts on housing demand and future housing supply. We will continue to monitor both and update Parliament on our commitment to build 1.5 million homes over five years.

Communities and Local Government, whether it remains her Department's policy that the mayoral elections for (a) Hull & East Yorkshire and (b) Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Combined Authorities will take place in May 2025; and when she plans to bring forward secondary legislation in relation to these elections.

On 19 September we announced that the government would proceed with the devolution agreements for Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire. Legislation to implement these agreements will be laid before the House as Parliamentary time allows.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the oral answer of 2 September 2024 from the Minister for Democracy and Local Growth, Official Report, Column 24, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to add Veterans ID cards as a form of recognised identification at polling stations; and whether such proposals will include Northern Ireland.

We will bring forward legislative proposals when parliamentary time allows.Electoral policy for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and a separate regime for voter identification exists there.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2024 to Question 2313 on Members: Age, whether she plans to lower the candidacy age to 16 for (a) Members of Parliament, (b) elected Mayors, (c) councillors and (d) Police and Crime Commissioners, in the context of lowering the voting age to 16.

As per the manifesto, the Government is committed to act during this Parliament to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections, strengthening our democracy, empowering young people to participate and building an informed and empowered electorate.Regarding the candidacy age for members of the House of Commons, elected Mayors, councillors and Police and Crime Commissioners the Government currently has no plans to change the eligibility criteria.Lowering the voting age will be a major change to the electoral franchise, with implications for the wider electoral sector. Successful design and implementation of the change will require careful planning and engagement with stakeholders in the electoral sector, devolved and local government, education and civil society and, importantly, young people themselves.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3001 on MHCLG: Public Consultation, if she will list the consultations issued by her Department before 24 May 2024 that are (a) closed and (b) have not yet received a formal response.

This information relating to the previous administration cannot be provided as it is not held centrally and collating it would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on building new homes on land designated for strategic industrial locations.

Strategic Industrial Land is land designated in the London Plan as vital for industrial and related capacity.On 18 March 2024, the last Government directed the Mayor of London to complete a partial review of the London Plan including in relation to the use of industrial land.This Government believes that a review of industrial land policies is better undertaken as part of the wider London Plan review given that it cannot be meaningfully reviewed in isolation. As a result, we withdrew the direction, given under section 340(2) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, on 30 September 2024.Withdrawing the direction will allow the government and the Greater London Authority to take a new partnership approach on our shared aim to deliver the homes London needs.

Communities and Local Government, what the value of the council tax single person discount on a Band D home is in each local billing authority in England in 2024-25; how many households claim that discount in each local billing authority in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what estimate she has made of the annual aggregate cost of the discount.

The annual aggregate cost of the single person discount is dependent on decisions taken by individual local authorities who set their council tax level having taken account of their tax base. Data on the number of households receiving the single person discount is collected by the Department as part of the annual Council Taxbase snapshot. The 2023 snapshot can be found at the following link.

Communities and Local Government, what information (a) her Department and (b) the Planning Inspectorate holds on which local authorities have (i) slowed and (ii) stopped house building due to nutrient neutrality requirements.

At present, advice on the need to achieve nutrient neutrality applies to areas of land within approximately sixty local planning authorities. However, the provision of such advice does not mean that housebuilding in these areas is necessarily being stopped or slowed down as it depends whether the nutrient impact of development can be mitigated.While there is a developing pipeline of mitigation available, including schemes supported by government funding, we are exploring solutions to support the building of homes affected by nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3260 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Remote Working, if she will list (a) the individual offices which cannot accommodate a 60% level of attendance and (b) the proportion of time that staff assigned to each of those offices are expected to attend work in the office.

MHCLG offices in Hemel Hempstead, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Wolverhampton do not currently have enough space for people to meet 60% attendance. Instead, people in these offices are expected to attend for 40% of their working time over a 3-month period.