Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has been made of whether the Government is on track to deliver the 302,000 net completions target in 2026 set out in Table A2, page 70, of the Final stage impact assessment: Future Homes Standard published on 24 March 2026.

The housing supply estimates published in the Future Homes Standard Impact Assessment are for the purposes of appraisal only and do not represent an official forecast of housing supply.

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 his Department has made an estimate of the number of dwellings that will be (a) started and (b) completed in new towns during this Parliament; and in which of the new towns of the seven proposals will building starts be initiated.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the New Towns Draft Programme consultation launched on 23 March which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 November 2025, HCWS1062, on Next phase of planning reform, what the status and timetable is for the (a) new Consultation Direction and a change to legislation and (b) revised call-in and recovery policy.

A new Consultation Direction was published on 31 March 2026, following the legislative change made by the Town and Country (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/595). The Direction can be found on gov.uk here.A revised call-in and recovery policy will follow in due course. Until then, I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 26 October 2012, which continues to apply and can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to local authorities on (a) public and (b) statutory petitions for triggering governance referendums, including what how petition signatures may be accepted and verified.

Provision relating to the validity of petitions seeking to trigger a governance referendum is set out in Part 2 of the Local Authorities (Referendums)(Petitions)(England) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/ 2914).

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK Statistics Authority letter, Letter from Penny Young to Cllr Simon Hogg – Council Tax increases, of 23 March 2026, what steps his Department is taking to address misleading local government publicity on changes to the social care precept on council tax.

The government does not comment on individual cases or the work of the UK statistics authority. Councils are responsible for administering council tax in line with the legislation. It is the government’s expectation that the information councils provide is clear and accurate for taxpayers.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given by (a) his Department and (b) LEASE relating to leasehold enfranchisement for (i) residential dwellings, (ii) non-residential hereditaments and (iii) hybrid properties, and what plans there are to update the guidance in light of legislative changes.

My Department publishes guidance on gov.uk for residential and commercial leaseholders, including a ‘How to Lease’ guide for residential leaseholders.The government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) provides extensive guidance and free initial legal advice for leaseholders on residential leasehold enfranchisement, including through its website here.The government is committed to implementing measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to make enfranchisement cheaper and easier.The Act sets the method for calculating the price of a statutory lease extension or freehold acquisition, known as the valuation process. It removes the requirement for marriage value to be paid, caps the treatment of ground rents in the valuation calculation at 0.1% of the freehold value, and allows government to prescribe the rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium.Valuation rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium will be set by the Secretary of State in secondary legislation. We will consult on valuation rates and commence the relevant provisions as soon as possible.As per my Written Ministerial Statement of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), primary legislation will be required to rectify a small number of specific flaws in the 2024 Act before the Act’s enfranchisement provisions are commenced.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116474 on Combined Authority: Elections, what his Department's policy rationale is for aligning the Cheshire and Warrington and Cumbria combined authority mayoral elections with the May 2027 council elections, but not aligning for the other Devolution Priority Programme combined authority mayoral elections and new unitary elections.

Following requests by the local authority leaders of Cheshire & Warrington and Cumbria, we agreed the inaugural mayoral elections for those two areas will take place in May 2027. The areas have issued public statements to explain their requests, highlighting that it would bring alignment with most local elections scheduled for 2027 – leading to significant savings and support higher turnout.The inaugural Mayoral elections for the remaining Devolution Priority Programme areas will be held in May 2028, so that they can complete the local government reorganisation process before Mayors take office. This will ensure that these institutions are built on firm foundations and that their Mayors are able to deliver for their regions and local communities from day one. Mayoral elections in Cheshire & Warrington and Cumbria will go ahead as planned in May 2027 as these areas are not currently undergoing local government reorganisation.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to local authorities on the operation of (a) executive and (b) scrutiny arrangements under the Local Government Act 2000, other than the statutory guidance issued in April 2024.

No additional guidance has been issued.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Rycroft Review: Letter to parliamentary party representatives, of 25 March 2026, for what reason the legislation will be introduced on a retrospective basis.

Following the publication of the independent Rycroft Review on 25 March 2026, the government announced its intention to act upon two key recommendations from that Review, to introduce a cap on donations from overseas electors and a moratorium on donations via cryptoassets.We are applying these rule changes retrospectively, to ensure malign actors aren’t able to funnel illegitimate money into UK politics in advance of the change in law.The government will be introducing these measures by amendment to the Representation of the People Bill where there will be sufficient opportunity to scrutinise and debate the proposals.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2026 to Question 117657 on Constituencies, whether his Department has assessed the potential asymmetric effect on parliamentary boundary reviews of rolling out automatic registration in different geographical areas to different timetables.

The sole aim of moving towards automated registration, as set out in the Representation of the People Bill, is to increase the completeness and accuracy of electoral registers. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will test automated registration in a range of different locations and settings, with different characteristics and challenges. We will be guided throughout by principles of fairness and open engagement.The Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, are independent of Government. The timings of Parliamentary Boundary Reviews are set by legislation, which the Government has no plans to change.

Communities and Local Government, further to his oral statement of 23 February 2026, Official Report, Col.80, on Local Government Reorganisation, if he will place in the Library a copy of the bundle of evidence that would have been released to the claimant under the duty of candour had the judicial review hearing gone ahead.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 113744 on 26 February 2026.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2026, to Question 111680, on Small Businesses: Business Rates, if he will make it his policy to publish a Plain English guide to claiming and calculating business rate relief, modelled on the document entitled Paying the right level of Council Tax: a plain English guide to Council Tax, originally published in May 2019.

Information on the range, type and value of reliefs available to ratepayers in England is already published on gov.uk and can be found here. The gov.uk pages are prepared to be accessible to all ratepayers and businesses.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2026, to Question 120060, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, why the Section 106 agreement published on the Tower Hamlets website, INQ34, Royal Mint Court Completed S106, 1 May 2025, has not been updated with the amendments to the Section 106 agreement made in the Secretary of State’s decision notice on the called-in planning application.

The Secretary of State’s conclusions in respect of the S106 Agreement are at Paragraphs 111-121 of the published decision letter, which can be found on gov.uk here.Implementation of the said Agreement, in line with the Secretary of State's decision, is a matter for the parties to it.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the New Towns Draft Programme of 23 March 2026, whether all the seven proposed locations for new towns are currently supported by their local planning authority.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the New Towns Draft Programme consultation launched on 23 March which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025, to Question 90712, on Elections: Proof of Identity, whether bank cards which only have a first name initial, such as “S.Dixon”, will be accepted as identification in polling stations; and whether the card must have a honorific to indicate the sex of the card holder.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Representation of the People Bill 2026, which provides that bank cards must show either the elector’s first and last name or first initial and last name to be accepted as Voter ID. Bank cards will not be required to display an honorific to be accepted as Voter ID.

Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to consult on the technical implementation on the ban of the sale of new leasehold houses.

Through our Moving to commonhold: banning leasehold for new flats consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, the government is seeking views from industry and consumers on questions relating to scope, exemptions, timings, transitional arrangements, and the wider commonhold legal framework.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's factsheet entitled Political Donations Overview: existing rules and what is changing, published on 2 March 2026, whether the new provisions on (a) crypto-currency, (b) overseas, (c) company and (d) due diligence donations will apply to donations to hon. Members.

Existing controls on political donations apply to Members of Parliament. The reforms we are making to political donation rules through the Representation of the People Bill will also apply to Members of Parliament.

Communities and Local Government, what will happen to the borough status of the district councils in Surrey following the establishment of the two unitary councils.

Where local government reorganisation takes place, arrangements are made to preserve civic identity and city or borough status when a council is abolished. We are working with local councils in Surrey on these issues.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to local authorities on (a) the criteria for an overview and scrutiny committee call-in and (b) the number of councillor questions permitted at meetings of Full Council.

Sections 9F(2)(a) and 9F(4) of the Local Government Act 2000 set out how local authorities should make sure their respective scrutiny committees have the power to review and scrutinise decisions made by the executive, commonly referred to as ‘call-in’ procedures. Guidance on ‘call-in’ procedures was published in 2000 alongside the Act. More recent guidance funded by central government was published in 2023 by the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.The number of councillor questions permitted at Full Council is not prescribed by statute or central government guidance and is instead determined locally through each authority’s constitutional procedure rules.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the New Towns Draft Programme of 23 March 2026, whether councils with new towns will have their (a) local housing need and (b) local housing targets uprated as a result of the new town designation.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the New Towns Draft Programme consultation launched on 23 March which can be found on gov.uk here.