Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 9 February 2026 on Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29, what estimate his Department has made of the total increase in Band D council tax for each of the six local authorities on which the estimated increase in council tax revenue was based in (a) 2027-28 and (b) 2028-29.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer provided on 2 March to Question UIN 113733.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 109135 on Affordable Housing: Construction, how many acquisitions of existing properties will be permitted under the new Affordable Housing Programme.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the policy statement published by my Department on 7 November 2025 which can be found on gov.uk here.Bidding for the Social and Affordable Homes (SAHP) Programme opened on 24 February 2026. Further information about the programme can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enacting the recommendations from the Law Commission on the right to manage.

I refer the Rt Hon. member to the answer given to Question UIN 90259 on 21 November 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2026, para 5.9, if he will publish the representations from the councils.

The Government has no plans to publish the representations received.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to commission a review into the secrecy of the ballot in the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election.

I understand that allegations of a breach of the secret ballot have been reported to the Greater Manchester Police, and they are investigating the matter. The Electoral Commission and the Returning Officer are in contact with them and are providing assistance. While the vast majority of people vote lawfully, any instance of coercion into revealing the nature of somebody’s ballot is unacceptable and undermines confidence in our democratic process. We will continue to work with electoral administrators and the Electoral Commission to ensure that that our polls are run smoothly, fairly, and securely. We will also continue to work with the Commission and Crimestoppers on the annual ‘Your Vote is Yours Alone’ campaign, which raises awareness amongst the electorate of the risks of voter fraud, and how to recognise and tackle it.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 109259 on Local Government: Elections, which local authorities submitted applications for an election pilot in May 2026 and subsequently made a request to postpone their May 2026 elections.

In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England, with a deadline of 22 September 2025. In December 2025, council leaders in local government reorganisation areas were invited to make representations on the potential postponement of local elections and whether this would release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation, with a deadline of 15 January 2026. Three local authorities that had submitted applications to pilot flexible voting methods for the May 2026 elections subsequently requested that their May 2026 polls be postponed. These authorities were Tamworth Borough Council, Stevenage Borough Council, and Redditch Borough Council. These three authorities are not taking part in the pilot scheme in May 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to allow bank cards issued without a credit check to be used as a form of voter identification.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Representation of the People Bill 2026, which sets out which bank cards will be accepted at the polling station – this includes credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and cash withdrawal cards.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2026, to Question 111132, on Planning Permission: Disclosure of Information, if he will list the full title, data, local authority and reference number of the two planning applications that were subject to Section 321 directions.

Section 321 Directions were issued in respect of applications at: The Pavilions, Sandy Lane, Runcorn, WA7 4EX, Halton Borough Council (Reference: 17/00468/FUL) made on 26 February 2017 and withdrawn on 17 January 2022. Heath Business and Technical Park, Heath Road South, Runcorn, WA7 4QX, Halton Borough Council (Reference: 22/00569/OUT) made on 23 March 2024, called in for Ministerial determination on 19 September 2024, and decision issued on 9 March 2026. Both Directions were issued at the request of the Health and Safety Executive.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2026, to Question 111143, on Public Houses: Business Rates, whether this requires that the Crossrail levy on pubs in London must be reduced by 15 per cent in 2026-27 compared to the 2026 initial liability following the revaluation and adjusted threshold for the Business Rate Supplement.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 111143 on 12 February 2026.It is for the 33 London billing authorities and the Greater London Authority to ensure that the required determinations and resulting adjustments are made to ratepayer bills in respect of BRS liabilities.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of planning enforcement in relation to traveller sites.

My Department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of planning enforcement in relation to traveller sites.

Communities and Local Government, whether guidance has been provided to (a) local authorities and (b) councillors on predetermination in planning in relation to (i) Local Plans and (ii) planning applications.

Section 25 of the Localism Act 2011 deals with the matter of predetermination of decisions by councillors.The Local Government Association has provided guidance for councillors as to how this applies to decisions on planning applications and local plan policy. This guidance can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing overseas electors to download postal ballot papers and send back their completed ballot.

The Government has no plans to allow electors to download and print their own ballot papers. All ballot papers must be uniformly printed and contain security markings in order to ensure the secrecy of the ballot and to prevent against fraud. It would not be possible to replicate this consistently if ballot papers were printed on home printers.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to Electoral Registration Officers on (a) secrecy of the ballot and (b) other aspects of enforcement of the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.

Returning Officers are responsible for the conduct of elections and the Electoral Commission provides them with extensive guidance on the administration of elections. It includes guidance on polling station voting and the secrecy requirements of the poll. The Electoral Commission is also responsible for setting standards and monitoring the performance of Returning Officers. The Commission’s performance standards specifically include ensuring polling stations are set up and staff are trained to support voters to vote independently and in secret

Communities and Local Government, what sources of data he expects the automated electoral registration system to use.

The government is committed to introducing more automated approaches to electoral registration over the coming years. Our ambition is to transform our electoral registration system, harnessing existing data from across government to move towards an automated system so voters can easily register to vote and keep their registration details updated. As set out in our policy paper ‘Restoring Trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secured elections’, we are working with a number of government departments to identify data-enabled opportunities to support the overall objective of improving registration. Any changes must be tested to ensure they have a positive outcome in an already complex system, which will take time to assess.

Communities and Local Government, what recent representations his Department has received from political parties on access to postal vote expiry data.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97526 on 15 December 2025

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) legal action and (b) other expenditure arising from the decision to postpone local elections in England in May 2026.

As per the Secretary of State’s correspondence to the Rt. Hon. Member of 23 February, the Government has agreed to pay the claimant’s reasonable legal costs, with the final amount to be determined. Any further Government legal or administrative costs will be met in the usual way. All local elections scheduled for May 2026 will be going ahead as planned. Spend on administering local elections is a matter for local authorities.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to allow prepaid currency cards to be used as a form of voter identification.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Representation of the People Bill 2026, which sets out which bank cards will be accepted at the polling station – this includes credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and cash withdrawal cards.

Communities and Local Government, what the process for proposed know your donor checks will be for (a) hon. Members and (b) political parties; and what role House authorities will have in the process.

Know Your Donor rules will be implemented alongside clear, practical support for all recipients of donations. That is why the regime is underpinned by statutory guidance issued by the Electoral Commission, which will set out how recipients of donations should assess the relevant risk factors, the kinds of circumstances that may signal a heightened level of risk and the steps they can take to reduce that risk.To keep the system responsive to evolving threats and campaigning practices, the legislation also enables this guidance to be updated as needed.We will continue to work closely with the Commission and relevant stakeholders as the guidance is developed.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make reconsider the cancellation of the combined authority mayoral elections originally scheduled for May 2026.

Government intends to hold inaugural mayoral elections for the four Devolution Priority Programme places that are also undertaking local government reorganisation in May 2028, so that areas can complete the reorganisation process before Mayors take office. The inaugural elections will take place following the establishment of the Strategic Authorities by Secondary Legislation, which is subject to the areas consent. Devolution is strongest when it is built on firm foundations, and this extra time will allow these four areas to establish robust institutions ahead of their Mayors taking office in 2028. Cheshire and Warrington and Cumbria have previously requested a delay of their inaugural elections to May 2027, to align with the majority of planned local elections. Both Strategic Authorities have now been established.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 111142 on Housing: Asylum, how many local authorities submitted an expression of interest to the new model for asylum accommodation.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not invited, nor received, expressions of interest from local authorities in relation to a new model for asylum accommodation.