Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question HL15625 on Islamophobia, if he will place a copy of the Equalities Impact Assessment on the definition of anti-Muslim hostility in the Library.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on consulting (a) HM Opposition and (b) minority opposition parties, in relation to departmental spending pledges that go beyond the Spending Review.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2026, to Question 118190, on Local Government Finance, what proportion of the £740 million of funding was comprised of unallocated MHCLG budgets for the Spending Review period; and what is the allocation over each year of SR2025.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, if he will provide a breakdown of the £63 million of funding to support local elections; which local authorities will receive it; what is the methodology; and whether the funding is being taken from any other programme at 2025-26 year end.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department will put forward proposals for increasing local government transparency under the next round of the UK National Action Plan for Open Government.

The Department keeps this issue under review. A wide range of mechanisms exist to ensure transparency and accountability of local authorities. The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 requires authorities to publish a range of information about their activities including spending, procurement and assets. Authorities are also required to produce annual accounts which are independently assured by an external auditor. The Ministry is working to improve transparency through reforms to the local audit system which will establish the Local Audit Office to oversee the system. The Local Outcomes Framework will provide outcomes based performance measurement against key national priorities delivered at the local level.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2026, to Question 104169, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Darlington, why the Darlington office has a 40% office attendance rate requirement rather than the Civil Service expectation of 60%.

The office attendance expectation for the Darlington office is set at 40% due to building capacity constraints. This has been determined by assessing the number of staff based at the site against the desks available, while ensuring compliance with health and safety requirements.

Communities and Local Government, further to his oral statement of 23 February 2026, Official Report, Col.80, on Local Government Reorganisation, on how many occasions since July 2024 have Ministers in his Department made a re-consideration of a Ministerial decision following legal advice or a legal challenge; and in how many cases was the decision made by a different Minister.

It is a longstanding principle that government does not comment on or publish legal advice.

Communities and Local Government, whether special advisers have met or corresponded with (a) Criterion Capital or (b) Asif Aziz since July 2024.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter sent by the Secretary of State to HM Opposition of 21 March 2026, on MHCLG spending commitments, if he will provide a breakdown of the £62 billion of spending commitments, and the profile across each year and each programme.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026, to Question 120055, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Flexible Working, whether time taken for lunch counts towards the 37 hour limit; and whether a full-time civil servant would be permitted to work from 9am to 6.15pm from Monday to Thursday under a compressed four day week.

Staff who work full-time, have the following conditioned hours per week:36 hours net – if their normal place of work is in London and if appointed before 1 June 201337 hours net – if their normal place of work is elsewhereIf they were appointed to the Civil Service within the department on or after 1 June 2013:37 hours net – in all locations (including London) Net hours do not include meal breaks. Staff working a compressed four-day week have the flexibility to agree their daily working pattern to reach the required conditioned hours per week. As provided, the example hours would not be suitable owing to the reasons given.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the guidance, A Definition of Anti-Muslim Hostility, section 6, of 9 March 2026, which body or authority will determine or interpret the public interest test.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2026 to Question 110793 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Flexible Working, what are the typical working hours that a full-time staff member on compressed hours is expected to work during their four day week; and how does this compare with the expected working hours of a full-time staff member during a five day working week.

Staff who work full-time, have the following conditioned hours per week:36 hours net – if their normal place of work is in London and if appointed before 1 June 201337 hours net – if their normal place of work is elsewhereIf they were appointed to the Civil Service within the department on or after 1 June 2013:37 hours net – in all locations (including London) Net hours do not include meal breaks. Staff working a compressed four-day week have the flexibility to agree their daily working pattern to reach the required conditioned hours per week.

Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities considering the Government’s letter on putting evidence to cancel local elections were (a) offering additional funding or (b) advised they may lose funding, by his Department, if the local authority (i) did or (ii) did not, make a request respectively.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2026, to Question 120664, on Travellers: Caravan sites, how the changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on traveller sites are a material consideration in the application for a possession order in relation to land that the travellers do not own but are residing on without the landowner’s permission.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals to incorporate policies relating to traveller sites, currently set out in Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, within relevant chapters of the draft NPPF. The consultation also included a proposed policy on retrospective planning applications and unauthorised development which sets out that if it is concluded, based on evidence, that the unauthorised development was intentional, that fact should be given substantial weight in considering whether to grant planning permission. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his department's press release of 22 March 2026 entitled Seven new towns proposed to kickstart housebuilding push, whether the (a) chair of the National Housing Bank and (b) four interim advisers are (i) civil servants, (ii) regulated public appointments, (iii) special advisers or (iv) direct ministerial appointments; what their remuneration is; and whether they have made declarations of political activity.

The role of National Housing Bank Chair is not a civil servant, regulated public appointment, special adviser, or a direct ministerial appointment.The Chair is a non-executive director on the Board of Homes England and was appointed by that Agency, with the approval of the Secretary of State through a regulated public appointment.The Chair’s remuneration is currently £60,000 per annum inclusive of their role on both the Board of Homes England and the National Housing Bank.A declaration of interest was made by the Chair during their appointment to the Homes England Board. No declarations of political activity have been made.The four interim advisers supporting the New Towns programme are independent advisers, engaged on a time limited basis through the Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) framework to provide specialist advice, challenge, and engagement support to the programme.The roles are not civil servants, regulated public appointments, special advisers, or direct ministerial appointments.The advisers are remunerated at a rate of £135 per hour and have been appointed for a fixed period of up to nine months.As these advisers are not regulated public appointees or special advisers, they are not required to make formal declarations of political activity, and therefore such declarations are not held by the Department.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his plans to revoke the Electoral Commission Strategy and Policy Statement, what assessment has been made of the consequences of repealing its provisions on (a) electoral fraud and (b) the secrecy of the ballot inside polling stations.

The government is taking decisive action to strengthen and protect UK democracy. We recognise how vital it is that the Electoral Commission is fearlessly independent, commands trust across the political spectrum and operates free from political influence. That is why we are bringing forward amendments to repeal the government’s powers to designate a Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission. This will put beyond doubt the foundational principle of the Commission’s independence and further strengthen its ability to oversee elections into the future without fear or favour. Electoral law already provides robust protections against personation, bribery, and other forms of electoral fraud, all of which are a matter for the police. For example, it is a criminal offence under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 to pressure someone to vote in a certain way in the polling station. The revocation of the Strategy and Policy Statement will not have any impact on the enforcement of electoral fraud.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2026, to Question 108220, on Affordable Housing: Greater London, whether affordable housing starts in London are tracked from start on site to competition, to ascertain that they are (a) actually delivered and (b) not stalled.

The Affordable Housing Supply statistical release that my Department publishes is produced using a number of different sources. These include data from local authorities, Homes England and the Greater London Authority (GLA).The GLA and Homes England provide information in respect of individual developments, but this is only at the point they start or complete. As such, the data my Department publishes does not distinguish between developments where construction has started and is ongoing and developments where construction has started but has stalled or been abandoned.The GLA expect all schemes will continue to proceed. In instances where that does not prove possible, they will ensure that all grant is recouped and reinvested in social and affordable housing.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2026, to Question 103288, and further to Deposited Paper DEP2026-0218, committed on 27 February 2026, for what reason the (a) Overseas Pakistanis Convention and (b) external meeting with UNHCR was not listed in the quarterly transparency return of the Minister of meetings with external organisations.

The Rt Hon Member, as a former Foreign Secretary, will know that it is the long-standing practice of successive governments not to comment on private diplomatic meetings. Paragraph 16 of the Guidance on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance), sets out the types of external engagement that would not automatically be classed as meetings, including events such as conventions and conferences. The former Minister has, however, requested that his transparency return has been updated to include the meeting with UNHCR.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, pages 35 and 40, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the definition of anti-Muslim hostility being adopted by (a) the police and (b) Crown Prosecution Service; and which body will be responsible for the practical guidance.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2026, to Question 113631, on West Yorkshire Combined Authority: Lexington Communications, and of 12 March 2026, to Question 117739, on Local Government: Lobbying, if the departmental Accounting Officer will undertake an assessment of whether departmental funding to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is being spent in a manner which is compliant with HM Treasury guidance of Managing Public Money by hiring a lobbying firm to lobby the government.

MHCLG is not aware of West Yorkshire Combined Authority breaching any grant conditions in relation to funds it provides. Mayoral Strategic Authorities are expected to follow the existing principles and processes described in the English Devolution Accountability Framework and Scrutiny Protocol, which sets out how Mayors will be held to account by central government, at local level and by the public. This includes a duty to ensure value for money.