Written questions by Cleverly.

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, 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, 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.

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, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2026, to Question 120065, on Best Value: Surrey, and with reference to the Woking Borough Council: Commissioners’ sixth report, published 24 March 2026, para 11, what the most recent estimate is of the remaining amount of debt that Woking Borough Council holds; what amount is borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board; what amount of debt will be left after the capital receipts referred to in paragraph 11, and what amount of the total debt is deemed to be unrecoverable.

Local authorities provide the Government with data on their borrowing, including source of borrowing. The data can be found at Live tables on local government finance - GOV.UK. The Government recognises that Woking Council cannot manage the entirety of its debt locally and has made an unprecedented commitment to repay in-principle £500m of the Council’s debt in 2026-27. This is a first tranche of support, and we will continue to explore what further debt support is required at a later point. Further, we remain committed to providing interim financial support to the new unitary council until a final decision is made on further support. It is crucial that any debt support must take into account value for money for local and national taxpayers, and the Council’s continued commitment to reduce debt as far as possible within their local capacity including via an ongoing asset disposal programme.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026, to Question 107022, on Local Government: Reorganisation, whether the provisions in the Local Government Publicity Code on hiring lobbyists applies to the City of London.

Yes.

Communities and Local Government, further to the policy paper, Amplify: The Local Media Action Plan, published 17 March 2026, paragraph 115, what steps are being taken to stop councils hindering public scrutiny by journalists, and whether he will make it his policy to strengthen guidance in his area.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84641 on 29 October 2025.

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, pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2026, to Question 113641, on Parish and Town Councils: Council tax reduction schemes, what assessment has been made of (a) whether principal local authorities have reduced their financial support for parish councils, in relation to the application of local council tax support on parish precepts, in (a) 2025-26, and (b) 2026-27 budgets and (b) the associated effects on parish council precepts.

Local council tax support schemes are designed by local authorities in consultation with council taxpayers. It is the responsibility of principal authorities to work with parish and town councils on council tax matters, including support schemes and to agree appropriate funding arrangements to avoid large increases in parish precepts.

Communities and Local Government, what the Government’s working estimate is of the number of pub and live music hereditaments that will claim the pub and live music relief.

All 39,000 pubs and live music venues in England will benefit from the relief unless they are already receiving 100% business rates relief. This relief is awarded at the discretion of Local Authorities, who determine eligibility using guidance published by the Government and based on existing definitions. For the purposes of these figures the following Special Category (SCat) codes are assumed to be in scope: 014, 062, 070, 199, 226, 227, and 303. Hereditament counts by SCat are published in Table RVL_4_2 here: Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation (compiled list) - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, whether he intends to consult on the implementation of Automatic Voter Registration.

The Government has included powers in the Representation of the People Bill to enable the testing and introduction of new methods of registration. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will continue to consult with a range of relevant stakeholders to ensure that any changes to the registration process are based on robust evidence, user research and thorough testing. During the development of this work, the Government has worked closely with the Electoral Commission, the Association of Electoral Administrators, local authorities, devolved governments and civil society organisations. We will also continue to offer engagement with political parties.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his plans to commence Section 9 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009, what consideration has been made of whether the new Section 54A requirements can be fulfilled through electronic submissions and electronic consent.

The Government has committed to commencing section 54A of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, as inserted by section 9 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009, and intends to do so before the end of this Parliament. The Electoral Commission is responsible for producing guidance to support compliance with political finance rules. The Department does not intend to issue separate guidance. Matters relating to the practical operation of the declaration requirement, including whether declarations may be made electronically, are for the Electoral Commission to consider as part of its role in supporting compliance. There is presently no intention to commence sections 10 and 11 of the 2009 Act.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026, to Question HL15191, on Absent Voting, whether the Electoral Commission tracks or monitors the level of postal vote renewals, or the number and proportion of postal vote applications that were renewed or expired, over any period.

The Electoral Commission operates independently of government and addressed the volume of postal vote applications in its report on the 2024 General Election.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Outcomes Framework of 9 February 2026, what consideration was given to having metrics on the level of local government (a) taxation and (b) fees and charges.

Metrics on local taxation, fees and charges were not included in the Local outcomes Framework, as these do not relate to outcomes - which are the focus of the Framework. The Local Outcomes Framework enables outcomes-based performance measurement against key national priorities delivered locally and driven by councils as leaders of place. Metrics within the Framework were selected from publicly available data that meets clear quality standards, following engagement with local government and other interested parties.

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, pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2026, to Question 118887, on Voting Rights, and to Question 118889, on Political Parties: Finance, whether the same residency tests will apply to the owners/directors of companies wishing to make donations.

The Representation of the People Bill makes clear the new tests that will apply in respect of political donations made by companies. The company must be majority owned or controlled by registered UK electors, or UK citizens usually resident in the UK.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 10 of his Department's guidance entitled Business rates: Pubs and live music venues relief - local authority guidance, published on 18 February 2026, whether wine bars which operate by table service are eligible for the pub relief.

Local authorities are responsible for the administration of business rates, including decisions on the awarding of and eligibility for various reliefs. Guidance for local authorities on the administration of the pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027 was published on 18 February 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here. It is for local authorities to determine whether individual properties meet the definitions contained within the guidance to be eligible for the Pubs and Live Music Venues relief.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2026, to Question 111684, on Recreation Spaces: Planning Permission, what is the status and timetable for publishing the public consultation on the review in the legal framework of protections for public recreational space.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 111684 on 24 February 2026.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2026, to Question 117888, on Candidates, whether election agents who do not have a dedicated office address, will still be required to publish their home address, given the continuing policy on not allowing PO Box addresses.

Through the Representation of the People Bill, the Government will allow all agents, including candidates acting as their own agent, to provide an alternative correspondence address instead of their home address. Election agents may use a PO Box as a correspondence address. However, they are still required to provide an office address at which legal documents may be served. Under UK Civil Procedure Rules, this office address cannot be a PO Box. It is the responsibility of individual agents to ensure that they have a suitable office address.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Rycroft Review: Letter to parliamentary party representatives, of 25 March 2026, why political parties were not consulted on the two policies before they were announced.

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. The review and its recommendations were informed by engagement with a range of stakeholders, including political parties. 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.