Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce planning restrictions on the opening of (a) betting shops, (b) vaping shops and (c) Turkish barbers.

My Department currently has no plans to introduce such restrictions. An application for planning permission will always be required for an additional betting office. In the Pride in Place Strategy, we committed to introduce Cumulative Impact Assessments in gambling licensing, which will allow councils to take data-driven decisions on premises licences, particularly in areas that have been identified as being vulnerable to gambling-related harm. Furthermore, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will provide powers for ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the collection entitled Crown Development and Urgent Crown Development applications and decisions, published on 10 September 2025, what criteria are used to assess whether a development is of national importance.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 13 February 2025 (HCWS454).

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 75449 on MHCLG: Standards, if he will list each metric presented on the Ministerial Delivery Dashboard.

MHCLG uses a range of metrics and data to monitor and track delivery progress on key departmental priorities, as well as support policy development and decision-making. The table below shows a list of the publicly available metrics included in the dashboard. PriorityMetricBuild 1.5m new homesNet additional homesBuild 1.5m new homesHousing startsBuild 1.5m new homesHomes granted planning permissionBuild 1.5m new homesNew affordable housing by type of tenureBuild 1.5m new homesNew affordable housing supply (gross) by regionBuild 1.5m new homesPermanent dwellings completed by providers (LA / Housing associations)Build 1.5m new homesPermanent dwellings started by providers (LA / Housing associations)Build 1.5m new homesRolling annual number of first-time buyers with a mortgageBuild 1.5m new homesHouse price to workplace-based earnings ratioBuild 1.5m new homesAnnual rental inflation - all rentsBuild 1.5m new homesNew lets (Zoopla)Building remediationCompletions as a percentage of buildings estimated to need worksBuilding remediationStarts on site as a percentage of buildings estimated to need worksBuilding remediationThe number of buildings identified as a percentage of buildings estimated to need worksHomelessness & rough sleepingNumber of families in temporary accommodationHomelessness & rough sleepingNumber of families in B&B accommodationHomelessness & rough sleepingTotal number of people sleeping rough (according to autumn snapshot)Homelessness & rough sleepingNumber of people who are sleeping rough over the course of the monthDevolutionDevolution depth and coverageLocal government financial stabilityPercentage of upper tier local authorities in 'high' and above risk categoriesLocal government financial stabilityNumber of local authorities receiving financial supportCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people agreeing that they can personally affect local decisionsCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people satisfied with their local area as a place to liveCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people agreeing that people in their immediate neighbourhood can be trustedCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people with each level of trust in general

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 72484 on Inheritance Tax: Valuation, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the free home care threshold on trends in the number of unoccupied homes.

My Department does not hold records on the impact of care costs on the number of vacant homes.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) Home England's and (b) his Department’s definition is of a housing start.

When referring to housing starts, my Department uses the definition for “new build dwelling start” in housing supply statistics and “start on site” in its affordable housing statistics. Homes England also uses the term “start on site” to refer to housing starts. Both terms are defined in the Housing Statistics and English Housing Survey glossary which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's statistics entitled Housing supply: indicators of new supply, England: April to June 2025, published on 19 September 2025, what data Glenigan collects for his Department; and whether Glenigan provides figures on unbuilt-out planning permissions.

My Department obtains a range of planning-related data from Glenigan Ltd through a contract. Its estimates of the numbers of residential planning permissions granted are routinely published in its quarterly statistical releases. The data provided by Glenigan Ltd includes information on developments that have been granted permission but do not constitute robust estimates of the number of planning permissions that have not been built out.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has undertaken research on the potential impact of rent controls on the housing market.

My Department regularly reviews external research and evidence related to various aspects of the private rented sector. 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.

Communities and Local Government, how much (a) capital and (b) revenue funding was allocated to the Affordable Housing Programme in each year since 2019-20.

My Department published an update on targets in respect of the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme on 30 July 2024. It can be found on gov.uk here. Delivery for the GLA on affordable housing can be found on their website here and Homes England set out their annual report and accounts for delivery outside of London here. My Department publishes our annual reports and accounts here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2025, to Question 72839, on Planning Permission, whether the increased digitalisation of the planning system review will examine removing the requirement for statutory notices to be placed in local newspapers.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 75991 on 26 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68789 on Permitted Development Rights, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Article 4 directions on the volume of new dwellings from conversions.

No assessment of the impact in question has been made by my Department.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 74339 on Planning: Environment Protection, when he expects the Environmental Outcomes Reports framework to replace the environmental assessment systems.

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. The government will consult on draft regulations in due course following policy development and engagement with key stakeholders. Until a new system is implemented, current legislation on environmental assessment and its supporting guidance continues to apply.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason there is a four year limit on Section 183 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 stop notices for cases involving the use of (a) hotels and (b) houses in multiple occupation.

Stop notices are intended for use where the impact of a breach of planning control is such that it needs to be stopped quickly and before the related enforcement notice takes effect. The four-year time limit for their use was first introduced by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 on the basis that, if a breach has already been in existence for more than four years it is less likely that it would need to be stopped quickly.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of new build homes that were sold in the last 12 months.

My Department does not hold the requested data.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the answer of 5 August 2025 to Question HL9889 on Asylum: Housing, what the £500 million will be spent on; over what time period that funding is for; and whether it will involve a bidding process.

As allocated as part of the Spending Review, the government is investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities.The model supported by this funding will be delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with the Home Office and local authorities.Its aim is to deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers by supporting local authorities to make available basic alternative accommodation that can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. In the longer term, our intention is to ensure that the accommodation made available benefits local communities and reduces pressure on local housing markets.We continue to engage with local government on the design of the model and will confirm the process for distributing funding in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what the average difference is in Band D council tax rates between parished and non-parished areas in 2025-26.

The Department does not hold data on the average Band D council tax for parished and non-parished areas.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68122 on Business Premises: Rents, if he will publish that research.

The government published a full Impact Assessment upon First Reading of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on 10 July. All sources for our analysis are included within it.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73599 on Personal Pensions: Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the treatment of self-invested personal pensions in relation to local council tax support.

The Department has not issued guidance on the treatment of self-invested personal pensions in relation to local council tax support schemes. Support for working age households is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Pension-age council tax support is centrally prescribed in the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012. The regulations set out how income and capital are to be treated when determining the level of support, including various types of retirement pension income.

Communities and Local Government, what information his department holds on the (a) amount of green belt that has been de-designated and (b) number of developments that have been built on green belt land since the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024.

As part of our annual Green Belt release, my Department published the extent of England’s Green Belt as at 31 March 2025. It can be found on gov.uk here. These statistics give the area of land designated as Green Belt by local authority in England, and also provide details on each local authority who made changes to their Green Belt between 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Data is collected by financial year. Figures for 2025-26 will be published in our next release at the end of 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether the provision of (a) short-term and (b) long-term accommodation for asylum seekers is included within the target of 1.5 million new homes.

The government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in England in this Parliament.Progress against this commitment is being measured through net additional dwellings. The types of accommodation included are defined on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question 69050 on Local Government Finance, what the aggregate value was of the capitalised costs in 2024-25.

Since 2016, under a general direction initially put in place by the previous government, local authorities have the flexibility to use eligible capital receipts to fund the costs of projects that produce ongoing savings or efficiencies.Local authorities are required to provide annual returns to Government, including data on revenue expenditure. The latest return was published on 18th September 2025: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2024 to 2025 – first release - GOV.UK. The data includes reported revenue spend funded by capital receipts under the general direction.These values may be subject to revision as authorities provide further or updated information.