Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68123 on Business Premises: Rents, if he will place a copy of the research in the Library.

The government published a full Impact Assessment upon First Reading of the Bill on 10 July. The Impact Assessment provides a summary of the economic analysis and research the government relied upon to reach the decision.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has provided guidance on the potential use of public funds by local authorities to (a) campaign on and (b) seek to influence Government decisions on unitary local government restructuring; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of this practice.

In coming to any decision on communications, local authorities are required by legislation to consider the Recommended Code of Practice on Local Authority Publicity. Decisions should observe the principles of objectivity and cost effectiveness, as well as being even-handed and appropriate.Local authorities have been carrying out engagement to help develop local government reorganisation proposals and they are required to give due regard to the Code when doing so.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Council Tax second homes premium on trends in levels of people changing their property status to business rate holiday lets; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his polices of trends in levels of people seeking to meet the 140 day rule to be eligible for business rates.

It is for individual councils to decide whether to make use of the premium, taking into account all relevant local factors.There are clear criteria that a dwelling must meet before it can be assessed as a holiday let for business rates purposes. The dwelling must have been available to let for at least 140 days in the past year and actually let for at least 70 days in the past year. The government will continue to keep these criteria under review.

Communities and Local Government, which trade unions in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies receive (i) facility time and (ii) diversity network time.

The Department recognises 3 Unions: PCS, Prospect & FDA. Our agencies each have their own recognised Trade Unions. Facility time is granted in line with Cabinet Office guidance. Requesting time for staff network activities is a separate provision to the facility time granted to recognised Unions. Requests for Diversity Network time are considered in accordance with Departmental policy.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 52871 on Community Development: English Language, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing English language support to people in the UK in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial years.

The below answer refers to funding made by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government only. The provisions described are in addition to what other departments may offer. Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils can use this funding flexibly which could include supporting guests to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. Homes for Ukraine funding allocations are published on gov.uk here. The department provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for up to 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. The department has also allocated £3 million in grant funding to Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) in England to strengthen the capacity of ESOL teachers and expand community-based English language support for eligible Afghans, Ukrainians, and Hong Kong BN(O)s until March 2026. This builds on the £1 million SMP ESOL capacity grant delivered in 2023–24, which trained over 350 teachers and supported more than 2,500 resettled learners The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme, which is in its fifth year of funding, provides demand led funding to councils in England which can be accessed to cover the costs of English language courses. In 2024-25, the department allocated £4.5 million to councils. Continued funding is available in 2025-26.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 21 November 2024 entitled Leasehold and Commonhold reform, HCWS244, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of such reforms on the cost of lease extensions for leases which (a) are for 80 years or more and (b) have a low ground rent.

An Impact Assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 was published in December 2023. It can be found on gov.uk here. An addendum to the Impact Assessment, providing the government’s latest assessment of the impact of the Act’s reforms to leasehold enfranchisement, was published in April 2025. It can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, which international conferences were attended by Homes England in the 2024-25 financial year; and what the cost was of attending each conference.

Homes England attended two international conferences in the 2024-25 financial year, MIPIM and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The total cost to attend MIPIM was £25,213.91 which included flights, hotels and tickets for all attendees. The total cost to attend ULI was £319.20 which included flights and hotel.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the document entitled Licensing of houses in multiple occupation and selective licensing of other residential accommodation (England) General Approval 2024, published on 16 December 2024 on landlords.

The General Approval 2024 grants local authorities the ability to introduce selective licensing schemes of any size in their area, without requiring Secretary of State approval. No changes have been made to the legislative requirements for introducing and managing a selective licensing scheme. Local authorities must continue to meet the requirements under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004. We trust local authorities to assess local housing conditions and introduce a selective licensing scheme where there is a need to address local issues. No recent assessment has been undertaken on the impact of the selective licensing General Approval 2024.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 83 of his Department's policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, whether the code of conduct will include Islamophobia.

The Government is clear that all forms of harassment, intimidation and abuse are unacceptable and have no place in our democracy. As set out in the Restoring Trust in our Democracy strategy, we will work with the Speaker’s Conference and the Electoral Commission to develop a code of conduct for campaigning which is fit for purpose. This code will aim to reduce harassment and intimidation of all forms, improve the tone of campaigning, and promote a safer and more inclusive democratic environment.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 104 of his Department's annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, on Loans measured at FVTPL, what programme the £26,981,000 payment relates to.

The payment within Homes England’s Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25 recorded under Loans measured at FVTPL relates to the Home Building Fund.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 69674 on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group, if he will amend the terms of reference of the working group such that representations submitted by organisations which (a) are subject to the Government’s policy of non-engagement and (b) condone criminal activity should not be considered by the working group.

As per their Terms of Reference, the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group should work within HMG’s published engagement standards and will inform the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in writing of all external engagement prior to it taking place. The Working Group has engaged extensively to inform their independent advice to Ministers on a definition and have not met with any organisations subject to the Government’s policy of non-engagement. The Working Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive engagement they’ve already undertaken. The Call for Evidence closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68060 on Islamophobia, whether the Working Group has had a meeting with MCB; and whether they have received evidence from the MCB.

The Working Group is an independent, non-statutory body which will provide advice to ministers on a definition of anti-Muslim hatred/islamophobia. Ministers will consider the advice that the independent working group provides. The Working Group have engaged with a range of stakeholders and proposed definition by the independent Working Group should reflect a wide range of perspectives from different communities. The terms of reference set out that the Working Group should work within HMG’s published engagement standards. The Government has a non-engagement policy with the MCB and that position has not changed. The Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive engagement they’ve already undertaken. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.

Communities and Local Government, whether the British Muslim Trust will be contractually obliged to use the Government's new definition of Islamophobia when recording anti-Muslim hatred under Combating Hate Against Muslims fund; and if he will publish a copy of the contract.

The British Muslim Trust and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have signed a Grant Funding Agreement, rather than a contract. It is not a stipulation of the Grant Funding Agreement that any specific definition is used by the British Muslim Trust. The prospectus set out that to apply for funding an organisation must ‘be willing to record and monitor instances of anti-Muslim hate crime in such a way that is consistent with the government’s working definition of anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia, should the government choose to adopt a definition in future’.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the document entitled Secretary of State opinion on Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest (IROPI) to Portsmouth City Council, published on 14 August 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of that opinion on (a) economic development and (b) housebuilding in Portsmouth.

The Secretary of State ‘opinion’ on Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest (IROPI) to Portsmouth City Council can be found on gov.uk here. It sets out the Secretary of State’s consideration of IROPI together with full reasons in respect of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. Having issued this decision, it would not be appropriate to comment further.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question 69064 on Councillors' Interests, whether the requirement to declare sponsorship towards election expenses includes raising funds for expenses which will be incurred in forthcoming local government elections.

The response to Question UIN 69064 was clear that the guidance and law require councillors to be transparent in disclosing their pecuniary interests such as sponsorships, which includes financial benefits received towards their election expenses.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 10 of her Department's publication entitled MHCLG annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July 2025, what metrics are monitored by the Ministerial Delivery Dashboard.

MHCLG uses a wide range of metrics and data to monitor and track delivery progress on key departmental priorities as well as support policy development and decision-making. Metrics are drawn from sources such as national statistics from the ONS and government datasets on GOV.UK. Examples include figures on new housing starts and ONS data on permanent dwellings started; government statistics on homelessness and rough sleeping figures; expectational financial support (EFS) allocations issued to local authorities; and results from both the ‘Community Life’ and ‘Trust in Government’ surveys.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of dwellings there are with extant planning permission that have not been started.

My Department does not collect data on the number of dwellings with extant planning permission that have not yet started construction.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 95 of the MHCLG annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, what the historic issue was to which additional budget cover was sought.

The department had identified a group of assets listed as ‘assets under construction’ where the descriptions and associated capitalisation dates indicated they may already have been in use in prior years. This meant the department may have needed to make a correction in its accounts for this missing historic depreciation. This would lead to an additional depreciation charge in the accounts. To be cautious, we agreed additional budget cover with HMT based on the highest possible cost this might involve. However, after further work was carried out, the actual impact was much smaller than expected. As a result, we did not need to use all the extra budget that had been approved.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2025 to Question 44234 on Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners, what her planned timetable is for incorporating the policing powers of the Police and Crime Commissioners in (a) Suffolk and (b) Norfolk into the powers of the new combined authority mayor; and how this process will interact with the passage of (i) the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and (ii) associated secondary legislation.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will provide a route to allow a single Mayor to be the Police and Crime Commissioner for two or more Police areas, provided that there are coterminous boundaries between the Strategic Authority and the Police areas when taken together. All future transfers of Police and Crime Commissioner functions will take place via powers in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and will be subject to a confirmatory Statutory Instrument which will set out the date of transfer. In Suffolk and Norfolk, we expect the Strategic Authority to be set up and inaugural Mayoral elections to be held in 2026 with the transfer of Police and Crime Commissioner functions for the start of the financial year in 2027.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 10 of the MHCLG annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1062, July 2025, which (a) private and (b) public bodies received funding from the Community Recovery Fund; what information her Department holds on how the funds were spent; and whether her Department spent any funding directly.

The Community Recovery Fund (CRF) was provided to 20 local authorities affected by the violent disorder that took place between July and August 2024, to rebuild and repair fractured communities and bring people back together. More details on recipients can be found here: Community Recovery Fund: Guidance - GOV.UK. The Department has not spent any funds directly. Funding from the Community Recovery Fund (CRF) has been used for a range of activities, including community cohesion work such as strategy development, engagement events and community campaigns. It has also been used to support youth and vulnerable groups through activities such as mentoring and resilience-building programmes, and the development of orientation and inclusion toolkits.