Written questions by Simmonds.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025, to Question 78294 on Admiralty House: Council Tax, what council tax (a) discounts, (b) premiums, (c) exemptions and (d) disregards, were claimed for and applied to each of the three Admiralty House dwellings (i) between July 2024 to March 2025 and (ii) since 1 April 2025.

Council tax discount, exemption, disregard and premiums billing for Admiralty House are determined by the Local Authority. In this instance, this would be Westminster City Council.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75606 on Community Development: English Language, what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department for providing English language support to people in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

The Home Office has invested in programmes to facilitate refugees’ access to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.The ESOL Childcare Fund provided support for individuals resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance policy, to enable participation in ESOL classes. In 2024-25, we allocated £1.8 million to this fund. This programme closed at the end of the 2024-25 financial year.The ESOL Coordinator function provides a co-ordinated approach to English language across Strategic Migration Partnership (SMP) regions. We provide a grant of £30,000 to 12 SMP regions to fund this role. For 2024-25 and 2025-26, £360,000 was granted per year under this programme.The Home Office developed the STEP Ahead programme, which ran from October 2024 – March 2025, to test an innovative intensive digital approach to delivering English language training and employment support to refugees. We allocated £700,000 to this programme in the 2024-25 financial year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Communities to seize control over high streets and restore pride, by what mechanism will his Department block (a) vapes stores and (b) fake barbers.

The Government’s Pride in Place strategy sets out how we are giving communities the tools to drive improvements on their high streets. These include powers to auction leases of long-term vacant properties, which will provide opportunities for councils to cultivate a more diverse high street offering, as well as streamlined compulsory purchase order powers, and a new community right to buy valued local assets. Enforcement against rogue traders, such as fake barbers, is being strengthened through enhanced checks by Companies House and coordinated national enforcement. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban the advertising and sponsorship of vaping and nicotine products and provide powers for ministers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products.

If she will publish all the written evidence submitted by the Government to the court on the Epping Forest Bell Hotel hearings.

No, the Secretary of State will not publish written evidence submitted by the Government in the hearing relating to the Bell Inn Hotel, Epping. The Secretary of State’s evidence was presented to the court during the trial. After the trial, non-parties may apply to the court for permission to obtain copies of the witness evidence.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 78206 on Housing: Asylum, over what period of time the £500 million is allocated; and whether the basic alternative accommodation will involve the utilisation of existing (a) social and (b) private rented housing.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 78206 on 23 October 2025 and the answer to Question UIN 78187 on 20 October 2025. We continue to engage with local government on options for design of the fund and the best way to deliver this accommodation in different areas. We will confirm further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56831 on Planning Permission, and to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question HL8773, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if he will (a) list and (b) publish each of the post-inquiry representations that have been made since the ending of the Planning Inspectorate’s public inquiry.

Post-inquiry representations are routinely listed at the end of the final decision letter and are available on request once the decision letter has issued.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the (a) civil and (b) criminal penalties for avoidance of paying the second homes council tax premium.

Councils have a range of powers available to them to recover any type of unpaid council tax, including council tax premiums. The government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax which seeks views on how council tax is collected and enforced. The government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether Local Government Boundary Commission boundary reviews have been (a) paused and (b) terminated because of potential unitary local government restructuring.

The Government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament. On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities and their neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local government. Final proposals from councils must specify the area for any new unitary council(s). If a boundary change is part of any final proposal, then it should be clear on the boundary proposed. Boundary changes are possible, but existing district areas should be considered the building blocks for proposals. More complex boundary changes will only be considered where there is a strong justification. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has paused all electoral reviews in areas that have been invited to submit proposals for local government reorganisation. My Department is liaising closely with the Commission so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements across the area of any new unitary local authority.

Whether Minister who occupy Ministerial residences as second homes and have council tax paid (a) have restrictions on the number of days that they can occupy the property each week.

There are no such restrictions imposed.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025to Question 69855 on Radicalism, how much was allocated from the Preventing Radicalisation Fund in 2024-25 (a) in total and (b) to each local authority which received funding.

It is vital that Prevent is well-equipped to counter the threats that we face and the ideologies that underpin them.Prevent provides funding for all local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland to address radicalisation risks through targeted projectsThe Home Office provided £790,376.85 of funding from the Preventing Radicalisation Fund in the financial year 2024-25 to the following local authority areas.BarnsleyBlackburn with Darwen - LancashireCambridgeshireCoventryCroydonDorsetDudleyDyfed PowysEssexGreater ManchesterHaveringHullHumbersideIsle of WightKingstonLambethLiverpoolMerseysideNottinghamshireRichmondRotherhamSolihullSouthamptonThurrockWakefieldWalesWandsworthWest LondonWiltshireWolverhampton

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69855 on Radicalism, if she will list the 28 highest threat areas in England and Wales; and how much Prevent funding was provided to each local authority for those areas in 2024-25.

In 2024/25, the Home Office allocated dedicated Prevent funds to the 30 highest threat local authorities. These are listed below, along with the amount of Prevent funding that was provided to each local authority during this time. The number of local authorities that received dedicated Prevent funding was reduced to 28 in 2025/26.All Local Authorities in England, Scotland and Wales receive dedicated support from the Home Office to deliver the Prevent duty effectively and in proportion to the risk and threat. This support includes expertise from a network of region-based Home Office Prevent Advisers who work closely with partners to raise Prevent delivery standards.In addition, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales can now bid for Prevent project funding from the Preventing Radicalisation Fund (PRF). Priority Areas FY24/25 (Alphabetical order)Allocated Funds including project delivery1Birmingham£634,0932Blackburn with Darwen (Lancashire)£276,620.353Bradford£360,250.204Brent£306,0705Bristol£131,3176Calderdale£194,711.177Cardiff£354,9638Croydon£148,653.65 9Derby£311,22610Ealing£146,121.3811Enfield£252,70112Hackney£149,75513Haringey£242,438.9814Kent£247,041.4015Kirklees£232,622.9316Lambeth£159,89317Leeds£464,190.9218Leicester£373,404.7519Liverpool£317,524.0320Luton£360,664.8721Manchester£541,89522Newcastle upon Tyne£127,428.6023Newham£270,654.9624Nottingham£137,867.5325Redbridge£320,40126Sandwell£150,40027Sheffield£228,82528Tower Hamlets£390,468.6029Waltham Forest£148,277.7630Westminster£327,227.54

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 74185 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, whether the Government Property Agency intends to claim back the over-paid second homes council tax premium.

No overpayment has been made. Westminster City Council has determined that a premium is due regardless of the change in occupancy.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77304 on Multiple Occupation: Migrants, how many asylum seekers have been moved from hotels to houses of multiple occupation in the last year.

The Home Office does not publish data on moves within the asylum accommodation estate.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. Immigration system statistics data tables - www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2025 to Question 71464 on Asylum: Housing, if she will publish the amount allocated to each individual local authority from (a) Grant 7 and (b) Grant 6 programmes for asylum in the 2024-25 financial year.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 71464.

With reference to the letter from the Minister for Border Security & Asylum to the Home Affairs Select Committee, if she will publish a copy of the accommodation strategy that is now in the delivery phase.

This Government have committed to exit hotels as soon as possible and by the end of this Parliament. We are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so we can reduce the impact on communities.We are further investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. The fund will support local authorities to make available basic alternative accommodation that can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers. In the longer term, the ambition is that the investment leaves a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduces pressure on local housing markets.

With reference to the letter from the Minister for Border Security & Asylum to the Home Affairs Select Committee of 8 October 2025, if she will publish each Service User Demand Plan.

The Service User Demand Plans are not published. The Home Office publishes information about asylum seekers across the UK quarterly here Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78583, on Immigration: English Language, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of making it a requirement of anyone being granted asylum to subsequently learn English to continue (a) residing and (b) receiving benefits.

Successfully integrating refugees is a Government priority. The ability to speak and understand English is a key factor in successful integration, allowing refugees to become active contributors to the communities in which they live.The Immigration White Paper set out plans to increase language requirements for most routes to B2 level at settlement stage, as well as the intention to consult on wider settlement reform later this year. These changes will impact the requirements for people who wish to reside in the UK and have access to public funds through settlement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77304 on Multiple Occupation: Migrants, whether her Department (a) collates data on which individual houses of multiple occupation are used to house asylum seekers and (b) holds data on the number of those HMOs, broken down by local authority.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 77304.

What the cost to the public purse was of payments to Stay Belvedere Hotels for asylum accommodation in the last 12 months.

Stay Belvedere Homes Limited (SBHL) was not contracted directly by the Home Office to provide asylum accommodation. They were a subcontractor to Clearsprings Ready Homes until the Home Office asked that SBHL be removed from the supply chain.

Pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2025, to Question 71461, on Asylum: Housing, what steps do (a) her Department and (b) its contractors follow if a local authority objects to specific asylum accommodation; and if he will set out the (i) circumstances and (ii) criteria that (A) her Department and (B) its contractors may disregard such an objection.

Our contracted providers consult with local authorities on every Dispersal Accommodation bedspace before it is procured with the relevant local authority. If the local authority and provider do not agree, the Home Office reviews it and considers the evidence that the local authority has put forward. This is to ensure procurement is undertaken in a proportionate manner that allows us to consider the impact on local areas.