Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, how many special advisers he plans to hire.

The government publishes an annual statement to Parliament setting out the numbers, names and pay bands of special advisers, the appointing minister and the overall paybill.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the new homes target his Department expects to be (a) flats and (b) family homes; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of incentivising the construction of dwellings with (i) multiple bedrooms and (ii) gardens.

The government has not made an estimate of the proportion of new homes to be delivered in this Parliament which will be flats and houses.The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, and reflect this in their Local Plans. This includes considering the need for family homes, in addition to need for other forms of housing such as student housing and older persons housing.The government believes that these matters are best determined locally, and so it is for local authorities to consider if there is a need for particular types of housing in their area.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the estimated value of the 2026-2036 Affordable Homes Programme after discounting for (a) the GDP deflator using OBR’s estimates and (b) the Treasury’s Social Time Preference Rate.

At the Spending Review, the government announced £39 billion for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The Spending Review document sets out that spend on the SAHP will reach £4 billion per year in 2029-30 and rise in line with inflation subsequently. The programme follows the financial appraisal as set out in the HM Treasury Green Book guidance and uses HMT’s GDP deflator which can be found on gov.uk here. My Department will continue to publish capital spend figures in its Annual Report and Accounts.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question HL8844 on Affordable Housing: Finance, what measure of inflation was used to provide the statistical basis for the valuation of the programme.

At the Spending Review, the government announced £39 billion for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The Spending Review document sets out that spend on the SAHP will reach £4 billion per year in 2029-30 and rise in line with inflation subsequently. The programme follows the financial appraisal as set out in the HM Treasury Green Book guidance and uses HMT’s GDP deflator which can be found on gov.uk here. My Department will continue to publish capital spend figures in its Annual Report and Accounts.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's document entitled Planning applications in England: April to June 2025 - statistical release, published on 18 September 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the declines of (a) 5 per cent for planning permission applications compared to the same quarter last year, (b) 5 per cent in granted decisions compared to the year ending June 2024, and (c) 9 per cent in granted residential applications compared to the year ending June 2024.

The individual factors affecting changes in quarterly planning statistics are complex and difficult to disentangle. My Department’s initial assessment is that a combination of structural, economic, and operational factors best explain the Q2 2025 results. These include a rise in financing costs, which particularly impacts SME developers, and capacity constraints within local planning authorities which affect decision-making timescales. It should be noted that the planning statistics in question do not separately identify outline planning applications. It is also the case that other data sources indicate a more positive position. For example, TerraQuest figures on residential planning applications outside of London suggest a 68% increase in the number of new homes included in residential applications in Q3 this calendar year. The government expect that the changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December 2024, alongside other reforms to the planning system enacted since, will feed through into a higher level of planning applications and decisions. In its March 2025 outlook, the OBR estimated that the revised NPPF alone would increase net additions by 170,000 over the forecast period 2024/25 to 2029/30, or 120,000 in the Parliament – delivering the highest level of UK housebuilding in 40 years. Once it receives Royal Assent, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will further streamline planning processes, improve certainty for applicants, and unlock and accelerate more housing and infrastructure delivery. Through our capacity and capability programme, we are giving local planning authorities the resources needed to provide a more efficient and responsive planning service, including in respect of making timelier decisions.

Communities and Local Government, if he will list the expert advisers who are not civil servants or special advisers that provide advice the Minister for Housing and Planning.

MHCLG ministers are advised by civil servants employed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Details of all meetings with external stakeholders are published on a quarterly basis on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the level of council tax charged by local authorities.

It is for individual local authorities to set their level of council tax, taking into account all relevant local factors. The government maintains a referendum threshold, and authorities who choose to increase their council tax above this must obtain the approval of voters. The government will set out its position on referendum principles for the next financial year at the local government finance settlement in the usual way.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68123 on Business premises: Rent, if he will list the external organisations that he consulted before the decision to ban upwards only rent review.

The government conducted considerable research and engagement before deciding to ban upwards only rent reviews. This included extensive engagement with industry experts, including representatives of the retail, hospitality, and property sectors.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) correspondence and (b) discussions his Department has had with local authorities on the (i) erection and (ii) removal of (a) UK national and (b) foreign flags on street furniture in summer 2025.

The Prime Minister has made clear that he is proud of our flag, which represents our history, our heritage, and our values; it is a great symbol of our nation and should not be devalued and belittled. My Department engages with local authorities on a regular basis across numerous meetings. Where the subject has been raised we have been clear that everyone can make their own decisions, including local councils, on flying flags and that guidance exists to support them.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has received representations from mayoral authorities on powers to introduce local taxes on hotels.

The Government has received representations from Mayors to consider the introduction of a visitor levy. The Government currently has no plans to introduce a levy in England. Manchester and Liverpool have already introduced a levy on overnight stays through Accommodation Business Improvement Districts.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with the social housing regulator on the financial viability of East End Homes.

MHCLG ministers have not had discussions with the independent Regulator of Social Housing (The Regulator) about East End Homes. All registered social housing providers are required to deliver the standards set by the Regulator. Those standards seek to ensure a financially viable and well-governed sector, which can continue to increase the provision of social housing. In May 2023, the Regulator determined that East End Homes was non-compliant with its Governance Standard. It continues to engage with the provider and monitors its progress in addressing the issues previously identified.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation of property agents.

The government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. Property agents must already belong to a government-approved redress scheme. This legislative requirement is currently enforced by local authorities and by the National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents. The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group chaired by Lord Best to advise them how to do it, yet it failed to respond to their findings from 2019.Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future, and so we are looking again at Lord Best’s 2019 report on regulating the property agent sector, particularly in light of the recommendations in the final Grenfell Inquiry report. On 4 July 2025, we launched a wide-ranging consultation on proposals to hold landlords and managing agents to account for the services they provide and the charges and fees they levy. This included a number of proposals recommended by Lord Best, including the introduction of mandatory qualifications for managing agents and estate managers on freehold estates. We are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents and we will continue to reflect on the various other recommendations made in the 2019 report. We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.

What discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) public bodies on the planned implementation of the definition of Islamophobia into the work of (i) government and (ii) public bodies.

Should government accept the recommendations of the Islamophobia Definition Working Group, the definition used will be non-statutory. It will enable government and other relevant bodies to have a greater understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities. We will consider the advice of the Working Group, including discussing across government, before confirming next steps in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support home extensions through mansard roof development.

The government recognises the valued role mansard roof development can play in supporting urban intensification. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that national policy supports all types of upwards extensions, including mansard roof development, and encourages their approval in areas or building types where this is appropriate and meets adopted or emerging local policies and design codes that require development to be well designed.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 22 July 2025 to Question HL9253 on Planning Permission: Public Consultation, if he will make it his policy to bring the Street Vote provisions from the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 into effect.

Although UIN HL9253 set out that the government does not currently intend to implement the street votes provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, I can clarify that no final decision has been taken.We are currently considering how we might support urban densification through a new suite of national policies for decision making that we intend to consult on later this year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's publication entitled MHCLG areas of research interest, published on 5 March 2025, whether research has been commissioned since 4 July 2024 in relation to reform, revaluation or replacement of council tax.

The Government has not commissioned research in relation to council tax reform. The Government remains committed to keeping all taxes and elements of the local government finance system under review. The Government has recently set out its intention to modernise the administration of council tax to ensure it remains fair and efficient for both taxpayers and local authorities.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the section on Fruitless payments on p.104 of the MHCLG annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1062, published on 22 July 2025, p.104, whether Homes England is now making use of those software licenses.

Homes England entered into an agreement to acquire software licences for use on an investment project in early development during 2024/25. Due to delays in progressing the project, the Agency was unable to utilise the licences within that financial year, resulting in an unavoidable payment. The circumstances and financial implications are detailed in Homes England’s Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has received representations from the (a) Mayor of London and (b) combined authority mayors on rent controls since July 2024.

The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures. We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford. The government has not received direct representations from the Mayor of London or Mayors of other Strategic Authorities in respect of rent controls, and we have not discussed their introduction at a local level.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62978 on MHCLG: Travel, if he will provide the (a) date, (b) cost and (c) approximate location of each Ministerial journey.

This information is not held centrally and can only be collated at a disproportionate cost to the department.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of higher levels of regulation in the private rented sector on the number of people who are unable to rent privately and in need of local authority temporary accommodation.

An Impact Assessment (IA) for the Renters’ Rights Bill was published in November 2024. It can be found on gov.uk here. The IA makes clear that the reduction in forced evictions could result in a reduced number of households at risk of becoming homeless, with section 21 evictions currently the second leading cause of homelessness. This will in turn reduce the costs to the public purse and wider society of temporary accommodation.