Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2026 to Question 111141 on Local Government Finance, how much funding the six areas will receive in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28 prior to the rescheduled elections.

The six areas on the Devolution Priority Programme will receive both the Mayoral Capacity Fund and the Investment Fund, which is based on population, from MHCLG in 2026/27 and 2027/28, subject to the strategic authority being established where this has not already happened. Details of the allocations methodology for Mayoral Capacity Fund can be found in the Local Government Finance Settlement. Combined, these amounts rounded to the first decimal place are as follows: Devolution Priority Programme area26/27 (£m)27/28 (£m)Cheshire and Warrington13.624.4Cumbria8.413.8Greater Essex18.119.5Hampshire and the Solent19.320.7Norfolk and Suffolk16.517.8Sussex and Brighton16.718.0

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 109632 on Council tax: Valuation, what (a) geographical tools and (b) datasets are accessible within the new Valuation Office Agency Valuation Operating System.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN UIN109632 on 5 February 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether the (a) Ministerial Envoys, (b) his Department and (c) Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking steps to help ensure the integrity of the ballot in the councillor and mayoral election in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in May 2026.

Security of our democratic processes is paramount, and this Government has robust systems in place to ensure the integrity of its elections. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit (JESP) is leading cross-government efforts in preparation for the 2026 elections, which are taking place across the UK. JESP will stand up an election cell over the election period to monitor election security risk and be ready to stand up a response if required. JESP has issued updated security advice and guidance to candidates and ROs in England and Wales, which brings together expertise from across the security community, including the Police, the National Protective Security Authority, National Cyber Security Centre, and others, to help candidates and ROs implement security measures and ensure the integrity of the polls. A statutory intervention is in place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to secure the Council’s compliance with its Best Value Duty. This is centred on a team of Ministerial Envoys who provide support and advice to the Council’s leadership team and oversee the Authority’s improvement work.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2026 to Question 108644 on Council tax: billing, what his planned timetable is for responding to that consultation; and whether the change on billing would require primary legislation.

The Government will respond to the consultation in due course. It would not require primary legislation to move to 12-month billing by default, this could be done by secondary legislation.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 9 February 2026 on Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29, what estimate his Department has made of the total increase in Band D council tax for each of the six local authorities on which the estimated increase in council tax revenue was based in (a) 2027-28 and (b) 2028-29.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer provided on 2 March to Question UIN 113733.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 109135 on Affordable Housing: Construction, how many acquisitions of existing properties will be permitted under the new Affordable Housing Programme.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the policy statement published by my Department on 7 November 2025 which can be found on gov.uk here.Bidding for the Social and Affordable Homes (SAHP) Programme opened on 24 February 2026. Further information about the programme can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enacting the recommendations from the Law Commission on the right to manage.

I refer the Rt Hon. member to the answer given to Question UIN 90259 on 21 November 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2026, para 5.9, if he will publish the representations from the councils.

The Government has no plans to publish the representations received.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 109259 on Local Government: Elections, which local authorities submitted applications for an election pilot in May 2026 and subsequently made a request to postpone their May 2026 elections.

In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England, with a deadline of 22 September 2025. In December 2025, council leaders in local government reorganisation areas were invited to make representations on the potential postponement of local elections and whether this would release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation, with a deadline of 15 January 2026. Three local authorities that had submitted applications to pilot flexible voting methods for the May 2026 elections subsequently requested that their May 2026 polls be postponed. These authorities were Tamworth Borough Council, Stevenage Borough Council, and Redditch Borough Council. These three authorities are not taking part in the pilot scheme in May 2026.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, further to the research published by Democracy Volunteers, what discussions he has had with Manchester City Council on compliance with the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 in the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election; and if the Commission will make it their policy to undertake an assessment of the Electoral Registration Officer's compliance with Performance Standard Outcome 1 on the delivery of well-run elections.

The Electoral Commission was in close contact with the Returning Officer (RO) to quickly and carefully review the concerns that have been raised and the information available in relation to the by-election.The Commission considers the performance of ROs in their delivery of elections through the performance standards framework. The Commission will make any assessment in relation to this by-election in due course.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued to Electoral Registration Officers on enforcing the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.

The right to vote in secret is set out in UK electoral law. The Electoral Commission’s position, outlined in guidance to electoral administrators, has always been that anyone attempting to inappropriately influence how another person votes, or to steal someone else’s vote, is committing an offence.The Electoral Commission’s guidance is clear that no other person is allowed to accompany a voter to a polling booth, unless a voter who is disabled or unable to read has requested assistance to vote. The Commission’s polling station handbook, which is available in every polling station, sets out that if polling station staff observe anyone else attempting to accompany a voter in the voting booth, they must approach them and tell them not to. If anyone does not comply with this instruction, the Presiding Officer has the power to order their removal from the polling station, either by the police or other authorised person. In all cases, a record should also be made in the polling station log.This guidance was updated to reflect the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 and as part of our regular programme of reviewing and improving guidance for polling station staff.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to allow bank cards issued without a credit check to be used as a form of voter identification.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Representation of the People Bill 2026, which sets out which bank cards will be accepted at the polling station – this includes credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and cash withdrawal cards.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2026, to Question 111132, on Planning Permission: Disclosure of Information, if he will list the full title, data, local authority and reference number of the two planning applications that were subject to Section 321 directions.

Section 321 Directions were issued in respect of applications at: The Pavilions, Sandy Lane, Runcorn, WA7 4EX, Halton Borough Council (Reference: 17/00468/FUL) made on 26 February 2017 and withdrawn on 17 January 2022. Heath Business and Technical Park, Heath Road South, Runcorn, WA7 4QX, Halton Borough Council (Reference: 22/00569/OUT) made on 23 March 2024, called in for Ministerial determination on 19 September 2024, and decision issued on 9 March 2026. Both Directions were issued at the request of the Health and Safety Executive.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2026, to Question 111143, on Public Houses: Business Rates, whether this requires that the Crossrail levy on pubs in London must be reduced by 15 per cent in 2026-27 compared to the 2026 initial liability following the revaluation and adjusted threshold for the Business Rate Supplement.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 111143 on 12 February 2026.It is for the 33 London billing authorities and the Greater London Authority to ensure that the required determinations and resulting adjustments are made to ratepayer bills in respect of BRS liabilities.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of planning enforcement in relation to traveller sites.

My Department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of planning enforcement in relation to traveller sites.

Communities and Local Government, whether guidance has been provided to (a) local authorities and (b) councillors on predetermination in planning in relation to (i) Local Plans and (ii) planning applications.

Section 25 of the Localism Act 2011 deals with the matter of predetermination of decisions by councillors.The Local Government Association has provided guidance for councillors as to how this applies to decisions on planning applications and local plan policy. This guidance can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing overseas electors to download postal ballot papers and send back their completed ballot.

The Government has no plans to allow electors to download and print their own ballot papers. All ballot papers must be uniformly printed and contain security markings in order to ensure the secrecy of the ballot and to prevent against fraud. It would not be possible to replicate this consistently if ballot papers were printed on home printers.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to Electoral Registration Officers on (a) secrecy of the ballot and (b) other aspects of enforcement of the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.

Returning Officers are responsible for the conduct of elections and the Electoral Commission provides them with extensive guidance on the administration of elections. It includes guidance on polling station voting and the secrecy requirements of the poll. The Electoral Commission is also responsible for setting standards and monitoring the performance of Returning Officers. The Commission’s performance standards specifically include ensuring polling stations are set up and staff are trained to support voters to vote independently and in secret

Communities and Local Government, what sources of data he expects the automated electoral registration system to use.

The government is committed to introducing more automated approaches to electoral registration over the coming years. Our ambition is to transform our electoral registration system, harnessing existing data from across government to move towards an automated system so voters can easily register to vote and keep their registration details updated. As set out in our policy paper ‘Restoring Trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secured elections’, we are working with a number of government departments to identify data-enabled opportunities to support the overall objective of improving registration. Any changes must be tested to ensure they have a positive outcome in an already complex system, which will take time to assess.

Communities and Local Government, what recent representations his Department has received from political parties on access to postal vote expiry data.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97526 on 15 December 2025