Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 August 2025 to Question HL9815 on Electoral Register, what her planned timetable is for the commissioning of user research.

The Government is actively exploring a range of approaches to improve the completeness and accuracy of the register. User research is undertaken throughout the policy and digital service development process.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 62596 on Greater Manchester Combined Authority: Property Development, what information (a) her Department and (b) Homes England holds on the monetary value of developments that have received funding from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund in each of the last ten years.

The Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loan Fund is operated by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). MHCLG and Homes England do not hold information in individual developments in this programme. GMCA is therefore best placed to respond to this question.

Communities and Local Government, what representations her Department has received from the Labour Infrastructure Forum.

My Department received a representation from the Labour Infrastructure Forum on 26 June regarding their recently published report on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. To date, there has been no engagement between the Department and the Labour Infrastructure Forum on this report.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on whether the conversion of a residential dwelling into a House in Multiple Occupation for asylum seekers requires (a) planning permission and (b) licensing.

My department has issued no such guidance. Further detail on HMO licensing is available on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 5 August 2025 to Question HL9813 on Combatting Hate against Muslims Fund, whether she plans to spend the remaining £350,000 of the fund in the 2025-26 financial year; and whether there will be a competitive process to allocate the funding.

The Government is committed to bridging divisions between communities and challenging hatred, and will announce other measures to support this in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to introduce a national find my councillor facility on gov.uk.

The ‘Find your local councillors’ function on GOV.UK allows users to find out who their local councillors are and how to contact them. In addition, many councils choose to publish details of their councillors on their own websites.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 41927 on Housing: Construction, what proportion of the 1.3 million homes forecast related to England alone.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 41927 on 1 April 2025 .

Communities and Local Government, how many applications were submitted for household extensions in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25.

The Department publishes a quarterly statistical release entitled ‘Planning applications in England’, which includes figures on ‘larger household extensions’ permitted development right decisions, as well as on ‘householder development’ decisions. Data for the periods 2023-24 to 2024-25 are available in the PS2 open data, here. The Department does not collect applications data for either of these, and the category ‘householder developments’ includes household extensions and other types of householder development.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered bringing forward legislative proposals on Empty Dwelling Management Orders.

The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country. Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years. They can also access funding through the Affordable Homes Programme and Local Authority Housing Fund. Through the New Homes Bonus, local authorities can also receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here. The government outlined its intent to strengthen local authorities’ ability to take over the management of vacant residential premises in the English Devolution White Paper published in December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 81 of her Department's annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, HC 1062, for what reason core departmental contingent labour spending increased from 2023-24 to 2024-25.

The increase in contingent labour spend between 2023–24 and 2024–25 (£6.808m to £7.674m) reflects targeted use of specialist contractors to support priority programmes, particularly in digital, technical, and transformation services. The department remains committed to reducing reliance on external suppliers and consultants, having already achieved a 50% reduction in consultancy use since 2023/24. As part of our ongoing invest-to-save initiative, we are actively replacing contractors and professional services with permanent civil servants. This approach has already delivered substantial savings and is expected to generate further annual efficiencies. By building in-house capability, the department is not only reducing costs but also enhancing the skills and sustainability of the civil service workforce, which in turn supports more effective and efficient delivery of our objectives.

Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for the introduction of National Development Management Policies; and whether she has made changes to the policy developed by the previous Administration.

We intend to consult on a set of national decision making policies later this year.

Communities and Local Government, further to her Department's press release of 17 June 2025 entitled Over 500,000 homes to be built through new National Housing Bank, what is her planned timetable for the financial guarantees be allocated; and over what period of time will the houses be constructed.

At the Spending Review, the government confirmed that it is establishing a new National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England which will be publicly owned and backed with £16 billion of financial capacity to accelerate housebuilding in England. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 18 June 2025 (HCWS712).My department is currently working with Homes England and HM Treasury to establish the Bank, including developing its investment strategy, and parameters for different debt interventions including financial guarantees. We we will announce further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department holds information on (a) the total number of allotments in England and (b) the number of allotments by local authority.

Provision of allotments is managed by Local Government. The Department does not currently hold data on the total number of allotments within England or by local authority. Since 4 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government has issued 10 approvals for the disposal of allotments under the Allotments Act 1925.Regarding the allotment disposal application for Ravenscroft Allotments, this information is not in the public domain at present so will not be shared at this time. The consent granted by the Secretary of State for the disposal of the allotment is available and in the public domain, I have arranged for a copy of this to be placed in the Library of the House.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66192 on Emergency Services: Employers' Contributions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of basing allocations on net current expenditure on the level of mitigation made to fire and rescue authorities.

We recognise the challenges that fire and rescue authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. In 2025-26 the Government provided £2 billion of additional grant funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement, including a total of £515 million to manage the impact of employer National Insurance Contribution changes for councils and combined authorities. The level of this funding was determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff, taking into account the impacts of the changes on different types of local authorities. The grant distribution methodology was published in an explanatory note on gov.uk here. This methodology was updated at the final 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, following feedback raised by stakeholders through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement consultation.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce (a) schemes and (b) fiscal incentives to help first-time buyers onto the housing ladder.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 60807 on 30 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to consult on the repeal of Strategic Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Assessments regime.

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 16 December 2024 (HCWS317), we will, in due course, replace the current EU derived systems of Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment with Environmental Outcomes Reports (EORs). These will be a more effective and outcome-focused tool for managing the effects of development on the natural environment. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 contains a number of duties to consult on the core elements of the new EOR system, including the setting of outcomes and repealing existing legislation. Until a new system is implemented, current legislation on environmental assessment and its supporting guidance continues to apply.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the abolition of fixed term tenancies on the security of tenure for rental properties for those who needed to be in an area for a fixed period.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will ensure that tenants enjoy greater security of tenure. The introduction of a new tenancy system based on periodic tenancies will ensure tenants have the flexibility to stay in a property for as long as they need to. Tenants will need to provide two months’ notice when leaving a tenancy. Landlords will only be able to evict a tenant in reasonable circumstances as set out in this legislation.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government is taking steps to monitor fraud under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure business rate relief scheme, in the context of businesses falsely claiming a discount when they would otherwise be subject to the £110,000 cap.

Business rates are administered by local government, and it is for local authorities to determine eligibility for reliefs, having regard to guidance issued by the government.The government will not tolerate any business falsifying their records or providing false evidence to gain relief, including claiming support above the cash cap. As set out in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief guidance (Business Rates Relief: 2025/26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme - GOV.UK) ratepayers cannot exceed the £110,000 cash cap across their properties. Any ratepayer who falsely applies for any relief, provides false information or makes false representation in order to gain relief may be guilty of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 and may be subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both.The government remains committed to taking the necessary action to tackle business rates avoidance and evasion over the course of this Parliament.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the (a) allotment disposal application and (b) allotment disposal consent by the Secretary of State for the Ravenscroft Allotments in Horsham.

Provision of allotments is managed by Local Government. The Department does not currently hold data on the total number of allotments within England or by local authority. Since 4 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government has issued 10 approvals for the disposal of allotments under the Allotments Act 1925.Regarding the allotment disposal application for Ravenscroft Allotments, this information is not in the public domain at present so will not be shared at this time. The consent granted by the Secretary of State for the disposal of the allotment is available and in the public domain, I have arranged for a copy of this to be placed in the Library of the House.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the total council tax receipts in England from 2024-25 and each subsequent year of the spending review.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 66939 on 22 July 2025.