Written questions by Cleverly.

With reference to page 38 of the policy paper entitled Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, published on 9 March 2026, how she plans to update the 2024 engagement principles; and whether there will be a public consultation.

This Government takes extremism very seriously and we have the necessary tools and powers needed to address this issue. We are embedding the 2024 definition of extremism across Government to ensure a consistent understanding of extremism.We are reviewing the existing engagement principles to ensure they are still valid and in line with current legislation and guidance and cover the full range of threats that exist. We are consulting with other government departments and key partners to achieve this.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the Evaluation of the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund from 2025.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 104772 on 19 January 2026.

How many pubs with special category code (a) 226 and (b) 227 were on the Rating List (a) in July 2024 and (b) the most recent period for which figures are held, in each local authority area.

The Valuation Office Agency publishes data relating to your request annually, in the NDR stock of properties which can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of local authority planning enforcement in relation to unauthorised traveller (a) development and (b) encampments.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 116473 on 9 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what information the Land Registry holds on the average house price in each (a) local authority and (b) constituency in England.

HM Land Registry publishes open data on prices paid for properties sold in England and Wales. For customers who want aggregated price data for statistical analysis, the Standard Report Tool available here provides average prices and volume of sales. This allows anyone to configure a report for various geographical areas in England and Wales, from the country level down to postcode sectors, and then download the data in a form suitable for use in a spreadsheet or other data analysis tool.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his statement of 9 March 2026, Official Report, Column 80, on Social Cohesion Action Plan, if he will publish the full report from the independent working group.

As stated in their terms of reference, the advice submitted by the anti-Muslim hatred/ Islamophobia definition Working Group was private advice for Ministers' internal consideration.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that the new Chinese Embassy (a) follows planning permission and conditions and (b) complies with building regulations.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the paragraphs 103-105 of the Secretary of State’s decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2026 to Question 111693 on Business Rates: Valuation, on how many occasions estimates were provided by the Valuation Office Agency to Ministers between 1 April 2024 and the publication of the draft Rating List.

The VOA provided five data drops from 1 April 2024 to the publication of the draft rating list.

With reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 32, which diverse communities the Race Equality Unit will engage with.

The government wants the widest range of lived experiences perspectives to inform its work on public service reform. The government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving public services for everyone. That is why the Race Equality Unit’s engagement will be representative of the challenges and opportunities of different groups when accessing public services.

Whether the Electoral Commission will ensure that all polling stations in the May 2026 local elections display visible posters on the secrecy of the ballot and the associated offences under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 121725.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has undertaken an Impact Assessment analysis of its own proposal that a company’s profit should be used as the measure of its UK earnings, rather than revenue; and whether the Electoral Commission has assessed whether specific political parties would be adversely affected by such a change to political finance law.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 121726.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of council tax increases since July 2024 on the cost of living.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 110405 on 11 February 2026.

With reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 38, what mechanism will connect local and national networks.

Our Disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, will be expanded with additional resource to disrupt extremist networks at a national and local level. We will be refreshing our reporting mechanisms that will allow local partners to refer their concerns directly to us.The Government’s focus is to use existing mechanisms to analyse, prevent and disrupt the spread of high-harm extremist ideologies that can lead to community division and to radicalisation into terrorism, particularly those that radicalise others but deliberately operate below CT thresholds.There are a wide range of offences and powers that can be used to counter the threat from extremism and we are working to maximise their use. These include powers to regulate charities; broadcasting and education; immigration powers; and offences such as encouragement of terrorism and public order offences.The Home Office works with a range of national and local partners to deliver this work, ensuring timely sharing of information so where there is evidence of purposeful actions that are potentially radicalising others into terrorism or violence, proportionate disruptive action can be considered.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the declared interests of each member of the Government's Working Group on Islamophobia.

As per their Terms of Reference, the members of the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group were required to disclose any conflicts of interests before they were appointed, and these were considered by the Department as part of the appointments process. Members were required to abide by the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies and follow the Seven Principles of Public Life. The principles include that holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2026, to Question 116488, on Absent Voting: British Nationals Abroad, what consideration has the Electoral Commission made of this issue.

The Electoral Commission operates independently of Government and addressed the experience of Overseas Electors in its report on the 2024 General Election.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the election pilots prospectus that has been sent to councils.

The government has no plans to publish the prospectus regarding flexible voting pilots, which was previously shared with local authorities. The government has published full details of the flexible voting pilots in the form of the orders, and factsheet.

With reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 40, in what manner will the new guidance on External Speakers differ to that published by the (a) Charity Commission and (b) Office for Students.

The department will publish new guidance in the spring to support higher education (HE) providers in understanding their responsibilities under the Prevent Duty. This will include advice on assessing whether external speech may be unlawful or linked to terrorism, and on carrying out due diligence for invited speakers.The Prevent Duty does not apply to all charities, and not all HE providers have charity status. The planned guidance will therefore offer more detailed, sector-specific advice on managing risks associated with external speakers in HE settings than guidance intended for the wider charity sector.The planned guidance will work alongside guidance issued by the Office for Students which supports providers in meeting duties under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.

Communities and Local Government, whether a local billing authority will be centrally reimbursed by his department if they apply the 15% business rate pub relief to a pub’s Business Improvement District business rate levy, where the pub hereditament is liable for such a locally-led levy.

Business Improvement District (BID) levies are established under separate legislation from the business rates system and are payable in addition to non-domestic rates.Business rates reliefs granted under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, such as the Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief, apply only to a ratepayer’s liability for non-domestic rates and do not apply to BID levies. These reliefs therefore reduce a ratepayer’s liability to non-domestic rates only. Individual BIDs may allow for a reduction in a levy in line with their own schemes but this is a matter for individual BIDs to determine.Where a billing authority grants discretionary business rates reliefs (including reliefs under section 47 of the 1988 Act), the authority is compensated for the resulting loss of non-domestic rates income via grant paid under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. This compensation relates solely to reductions in non-domestic rates liability and does not extend to BID levies. Accordingly, there is no provision for central reimbursement in respect of BID levy amounts.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to introduce statutory guidance to Returning Officers so there is an explicit obligation to enforce the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 in polling stations and intervene to stop the practice of so-called family voting.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 119522 on 18 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what criteria the Electoral Commission uses to accredit election observers.

The Electoral Commission operates independently of government. I would recommend that the Rt Hon. Member contacts them directly to discuss their approach to accrediting election observers.