Written questions by Simmonds.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to commission research to assess the consequences of the second homes council tax premium on the housing market in England.

It is for individual councils to decide whether to apply a premium in their area, taking into account local circumstances. The government does not currently make housing market assessments based on the use of premiums.

Communities and Local Government, which local billing authorities have set a second homes premium on council tax in 2025-26.

The Department will publish data on the number of second homes liable for a council tax premium in November as part of the annual council taxbase statistics.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with combined authority mayors on provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on restrictions on being Members of Parliament.

My department has engaged with Mayors and the local government sector ahead of publication of the English Devolution White Paper, where this policy was introduced.The post of mayor is a significant role at the forefront of delivering change and demands the full attention of any post holder. That is why the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will prohibit individuals from holding the office of Member of Parliament (or being a member of the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and mayor simultaneously. This is already the case for Mayors who hold Police and Crime Commissioner responsibilities.

Communities and Local Government, whether councils will receive compensatory payments for increases in employer National Insurance contributions in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

The government provided an additional £515 million for local government in 2025-26 to manage the impact of changes to employer National Insurance Contributions. The recent Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29.The government will bring forward its proposals for 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 40908 on New Towns: Planning Permission, whether she has received representations from Ebbsfleet Development Corporation on removing the Site of Special Scientific Interest designation to facilitate the redevelopment of Ebbsfleet Central West.

The Secretary of State has received no representations from the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation to remove the Site of Special Scientific Interest designation at Ebbsfleet.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding was allocated to English for Speakers of Other Languages in 2024-25; what is the budget for 2025-26; and what proportion in each case was allocated as grants to local authorities.

The below answer refers to funding made by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government only. The provisions described are in addition to what other departments may offer. Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils can use this funding flexibly which could include supporting guests to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. However the department does not collect the full breakdown of expenditure per council on ESOL provision. Homes for Ukraine funding allocations are published on gov.uk here. The department provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for up to 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. We are about to launch a follow-up ‘STEP’ programme of £4.2m (excl. VAT) for English language courses and employment support for Ukrainians and Hong Kong British Nationals. The aim is for the programme to reach 4,000 participants. In the summer of 2025, the department has also allocated £3 million in grant funding to Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) in England to strengthen the capacity of ESOL teachers and expand community-based English language support for eligible Afghans, Ukrainians, and Hong Kong BN(O)s until March 2026. This builds on the £1 million SMP ESOL capacity grant delivered in 2023–24, which trained over 350 teachers and supported more than 2,500 resettled learners The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme, which is in its fifth year of funding, provides demand led funding to councils in England which can be accessed to cover the costs of English language courses. In 2024-25, the department allocated £4.5m to councils. Continued funding is available in 2025-26.

Communities and Local Government, what progress the Social Cohesion Taskforce has made on its objectives in the last 12 months.

The Social Cohesion Taskforce is a civil service team considering how to tackle divisions in our society and build common ground. Ministers will update on progress of the Taskforce in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide funding to local authorities for additional planning officers in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Question UIN 67508 on 21 July 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what planning appeal decisions the Planning Inspectorate has made in relation to Grey Belt land since December 2024 by (a) reference number and (b) local authority.

The Planning Inspectorate does not hold the requested information in a readily searchable way, and planning appeals do not have a marker for Grey Belt. As such, it is not possible to identify planning appeal decisions relating to grey belt land since December 2024 in the time available.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the number of housing starts in London in Q2 2025 on her target to build 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.

Delivering historic levels of housebuilding in London is a critical part of the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes within this parliament. The government fully recognises the scale and breadth of the housing delivery challenge in London. We are committed to working in partnership with the Mayor of London, boroughs and wider partners to significantly increase housing delivery to meet these ambitions.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 62596 on Greater Manchester Combined Authority: Property Development, what information (a) her Department and (b) Homes England holds on the number of developments that have received funding from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund in each of the last ten years.

The Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loan Fund is operated by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). MHCLG and Homes England do not hold information in individual developments in this programme. GMCA is therefore best placed to respond to this question.

Communities and Local Government, what items from the Government Art Collection have been (a) installed and (b) deinstalled in (i) her office in Marsham Street, (ii) her office in Whitehall and (iii) Admiralty House by (A) title, (B) artist and (C) reference number since 4 July 2024.

This information is not held by MHCLG. The Government Art Collection is administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Communities and Local Government, whether strategic authorities will have responsibilities for social care provision.

Local Authorities will retain responsibility for social care provision. Strategic authorities will gain a new duty in relation to health improvement and inequalities through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, but this will not alter the duty for Local Authorities to deliver adult’s or children’s social care services.Strategic Authorities have a key role to play in taking action, particularly on the social determinants of health, through the exercise of their functions in areas such as transport, housing, and planning. By working with other local leaders, they can move away from traditional forms of service delivery to a holistic approach organised around service users.To support Strategic Authorities in being active leaders in this space and driving a “health in all policies” approach in line with our Mission government approach, the government is introducing a new bespoke duty in relation to health improvement and health inequalities. Additionally, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill sets out a new standardised Devolution Framework, which positions Strategic Authorities as convenors on public service reform. They will work in partnership with Local Authorities to bring partners together to drive forward public service reform and prevention.Our programme of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) will unitarise the remaining 21 two-tier areas; LGR will bring upper and lower tier councils together so all social care services are delivered in one place. On 25 July, the Department published clarifying information for areas developing Local Government Reorganisation proposals, including reference to social care: Local government reorganisation: Considerations for partnership working in social care for new unitary authorities. This reiterated the point that ‘new unitary councils will take over statutory responsibility for service delivery, including social care responsibilities which will continue to sit with the Director of Children’s Services (DCS) and Director of Adult Social Services (DASS).’

Communities and Local Government, whether local government restructuring will split up district councils when creating new unitaries.

Government has set an ambitious timetable for local government reorganisation, with three deadlines for submitting proposals for unitary local government set out in the invitation letters.Surrey: Proposals received on 9 May 202569677 a. Expect elections to new authorities in May 2026, with new authorities going live in April 2027.Areas that are part of the Devolution Priority Programme: proposals are due by 26 September. Expect elections to new authorities in May 2027, going live in April 2028.All other areas: Proposals are due by 28 November. The fastest possible timetable has elections to new authorities in May 2027 and new authorities going live in April 2028.The invitation letter sets out that boundary changes are possible, but that existing district areas should be considered the building blocks for proposals. Any proposals that involve boundary changes or affect wider public services such as fire and rescue authorities will require a strong public services and financial sustainability related justification.

Communities and Local Government, whether unitary local government restructuring changes will take place at the same time.

Government has set an ambitious timetable for local government reorganisation, with three deadlines for submitting proposals for unitary local government set out in the invitation letters.Surrey: Proposals received on 9 May 202569677 a. Expect elections to new authorities in May 2026, with new authorities going live in April 2027.Areas that are part of the Devolution Priority Programme: proposals are due by 26 September. Expect elections to new authorities in May 2027, going live in April 2028.All other areas: Proposals are due by 28 November. The fastest possible timetable has elections to new authorities in May 2027 and new authorities going live in April 2028.The invitation letter sets out that boundary changes are possible, but that existing district areas should be considered the building blocks for proposals. Any proposals that involve boundary changes or affect wider public services such as fire and rescue authorities will require a strong public services and financial sustainability related justification.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the electronic submission of governance petitions.

My Department has not issued guidance to local authorities on the electronic submission of governance petitions.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister during the oral question on council tax of 9 July 2025, Official Report, Column 939, what the evidential basis for the level of council tax in this Parliament is.

The government is not responsible for council tax levels, which are decided by local authorities, taking account of their local circumstances. The government does set referendum principles on these increases. Referendum principles strike a balance between giving councils the flexibility to generate income for local services and giving taxpayers the final say over excessive increases.At this year’s Spending Review the government confirmed, in line with the previous government’s policy and OBR forecasts, that it intends to maintain the 3% threshold with an additional 2% for the adult social care precept. Final principles will be confirmed at the local government finance settlement and be subject to approval by the House of Commons in the usual way.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department had with relevant stakeholders on the inclusion of measures on supplementary vote in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has engaged with a wide range of local government stakeholders during the development of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. On the measure regarding the supplementary vote, we have discussed this measure with both Mayors and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, given this measure will revert the voting system back to the supplementary vote system for both Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). We will continue to engage with Mayors and PCCs on this measure, and all other measures in the Bill, during the passage of the Bill through Parliament.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) private and (b) social homes started in London between 1 January and 31 March 2025.

My Department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build starts and completions, by tenure of developer, in London. Statistics to the quarter ending March 2025 can be found in Table 217 on gov.uk here. This dataset covers new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply.My Department also publishes an annual release entitled ‘Affordable Housing supply, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of affordable housing supply. This includes estimates of new social homes started in London, in each financial year, to 2023-24 and can be found in Table 1006-1008 on gov.uk here. Data for 2024-25 will be published in November/December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 64085 on Oxford Growth Commission: Public Appointments, if she will publish the letter.

The Department does not routinely publish information on the remuneration of direct ministerial appointments as they are not regulated public appointments. The Chair of the Oxford Growth Commission wrote to the previous shadow Secretary of State sharing details of his remuneration on 16 July.