Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Rycroft Review: Letter to parliamentary party representatives, of 25 March 2026, whether the cryptocurrency ban will apply to crypto donations that are off-ramped (a) by the donor or (b) by the receiving political party or regulated donee.

The Government will introduce a moratorium on the acceptance of political donations made using cryptoassets to any regulated recipient, in order to safeguard the integrity of the UK’s political finance system.This moratorium will apply to cryptoasset donations of any value, including those valued under existing donation thresholds in law of £500 (or £50 for candidates).Further details on the operation of the moratorium will be set out in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2026, to Question 117738, on Planning Permission, whether his Department holds a working list of which councils have Article 4 directions in force, based on the copies that councils are required to send to and notify the department.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 117738 on 13 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2026, to Question 111143, on Public Houses: Business Rates, whether the current GLA Business Rate Supplement is subject to, and discounted by, the 2025-26 40% Retail Hospitality and Leisure Rate Relief; and whether other BID levies are subject to the RHL relief.

As explained in my answer on 12 February, where business rate reliefs are implemented under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, Business Rates Supplements are adjusted to reflect the percentage relief provided by those schemes in line with the requirements of section 13(7) of the Business Rates Supplement Act 2009. The 2025/26 40% Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief was such a relief implemented under section 47.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 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure 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.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of increasing the weighting given to deprivation figures to funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement on council incentives to reduce welfare dependency.

The cuts of the 2010s were felt across local government, but it was deprived local authorities with weaker tax bases and greatest reliance on government funding that were most affected. This eroded the link between funding, deprivation and need, but this Local Government Finance Settlement will turn this pattern around.We know deprivation is a factor that drives the level of spending on children’s social care services, as well as for many non-social care services. Therefore, including data on deprivation within the Foundation Formula and Children and Young People’s Services Formula enhances the effectiveness of how we assess local authorities’ relative demand for services.As a result of our reforms, by 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived. Local authorities have the flexibility to use funding in a way that responds to local needs, and can prioritise based on their own understanding of the needs of their local communities.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 25, which of the recommendations of the Colin Bloom’s Independent Faith Engagement Review have been (a) adopted and (b) not adopted by his department.

The Bloom Review on Faith Engagement is one of the many evidence bases that inform the work of my department, including in relation to supporting community cohesion. This includes our commitment set out in Protecting What Matters to boost Faith and Belief literacy (informed by Colin Bloom’s recommendation to do so), in addition to our ongoing commitment to regular and consistent engagement with Faith and Belief groups. The insights of Faith and Belief groups continue to play an important role in shaping policies that promote inclusivity, understanding, and respect across our society.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2026, to Question 119661, on Agriculture: Land, whether his department has received representations from (a) local authorities and (b) Hon Members, in relation to planning enforcement of unauthorised traveller encampments and development being frustrated by the subdivision of land into multiple small plots.

My Department has received no representations regarding enforcement against unauthorised development undertaken by travellers being frustrated by the subdivision of land into multiple small plots.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the economic and social impact of the diversion of funds from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Towns Fund to the Pride of Place programme, in relation to the ending of government funding for small towns and high streets that are not a designated constituency in the Pride of Place programme.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Towns Fund were time limited programmes with specific aims. No funding from these programmes has been diverted to the Pride in Place Programme. The Pride in Place Programme is helping to deliver this government’s ambition targeting support to the most in-need communities to have the biggest impact. Full details of the methodologies used for place selection have been published on gov.uk.

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 17 March 2026, to Question 119513, on Elections: Local Government, what consideration was given to consulting the Parliamentary Parties Panel on the local election pilots in May 2026.

The government is exploring ways to make voting in person more efficient, more convenient, and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors. These pilots are part of the government’s commitment to encourage greater participation in our democracy and to modernise the voting process, this commitment extends to town and parish council elections, such as those being held in North Hertfordshire in May.The government did not receive any requests or expressions of interest that were rejected. Several local authorities expressed interest but did not make a formal application.There have been no prospectus documents, calls for evidence, bidding documents, consultations or pilot invitations published in the last twelve months on matters other than the flexible voting pilots.The flexible voting pilots are being funded by the Department.Regarding the government’s engagement with stakeholders for the flexible voting pilots, I refer the Rt Hon. Member to Question UIN 87029 on 12 November 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2026, to Question 110416, on Government Departments: Publicity, whether there are any plans for HM Land Registry to remove the HM reference in its public branding.

The government has no plans to remove the HM reference in HM Land Registry’s public branding.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2026, to Question 117734, on Local Government: Elections, where there are any other (a) prospectus documents, (b) calls for evidence, (c) bidding documents, (d) consultations or (e) pilot invitations send to local authorities, on matters other than flexible voting pilots, that have not been published on gov.uk, in the last 12 months.

The government is exploring ways to make voting in person more efficient, more convenient, and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors. These pilots are part of the government’s commitment to encourage greater participation in our democracy and to modernise the voting process, this commitment extends to town and parish council elections, such as those being held in North Hertfordshire in May.The government did not receive any requests or expressions of interest that were rejected. Several local authorities expressed interest but did not make a formal application.There have been no prospectus documents, calls for evidence, bidding documents, consultations or pilot invitations published in the last twelve months on matters other than the flexible voting pilots.The flexible voting pilots are being funded by the Department.Regarding the government’s engagement with stakeholders for the flexible voting pilots, I refer the Rt Hon. Member to Question UIN 87029 on 12 November 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his correspondence entitled Rycroft Review: Letter to parliamentary party representatives, dated 25 March 2026, whether an impact assessment has been made on the two measures, including assymetric effects on political parties.

Following the publication of the independent Rycroft Review on 25 March 2026, the Government wrote to political party representatives to set out the immediate steps being taken to strengthen the UK’s political finance framework to address the risk of foreign financial interference. The Government announced its intention to introduce a cap on donations from overseas electors and a moratorium on donations via cryptoassets. Further policy detail will be set out as we bring forward these policies as amendments to the Representation of the People Bill.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has been made of whether the Government is on track to deliver the 302,000 net completions target in 2026 set out in Table A2, page 70, of the Final stage impact assessment: Future Homes Standard published on 24 March 2026.

The housing supply estimates published in the Future Homes Standard Impact Assessment are for the purposes of appraisal only and do not represent an official forecast of housing supply.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2026 to Question 113112 on MHCLG: Remote Working, whether his Department holds data on workplace attendance data and numeric staff attendances in each of its regional offices.

The department does hold data on workplace and staff attendance including in regional offices.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of deprivation weighting in the Index of Deprivation is linked to measures of welfare or benefit take-up.

Within the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) measure, three domains from seven incorporate measures of welfare or benefit take-up. The Income Deprivation Domain carries a weight of 22.5% and the Employment Deprivation Domain carries a weight of 22.5%. The Comparative Illness and Disability Ratio, which is drawn from similar sources, has a weighting of 0.294 in the overall Health Deprivation and Disability Domain, which contributes 13.5% to the IMD.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026, to Question 120064, on Electoral Register, whether the asymmetric introduction of automatic registration include implementation and rollout by type of data-matching data.

My officials are currently working on the design of the direct registration pilots, which includes consideration of different options for the use of national and local datasets to support direct registration. Further details will be available in due course, and as previously made clear, will also be set out in secondary legislation subject to the affirmative procedure.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's document entitled Political donations overview: existing rules and what is changing, published on 2 March 2026, whether guidance will be produced by (a) his Department and (b) the Electoral Commission on the new section 54A Declaration requirements.

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the MHCLG Chief Planner planning newsletter, of 5 March 2026, page 9-10, what steps are being taken to address the appeal delays for Forestry Commission appeals.

The Government inherited a backlog of appeals to restocking notices, some cases dating back to 2020. We are making progress to reduce the delays by a comprehensive action plan improving how appeals are progressed. This includes through enlarging the number of panel members who can hear appeals and increasing oversight including monthly ministerial meetings. We are also working to improve the awareness of the felling licence regime. This includes asking local authorities to work with developers to make it clear that unlawful tree felling can risk development being delayed.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2026, to Question 118195, on Public Houses: Business Rates, if he will place the full analysis used to create that statistic of business rates in the Library.

The full analysis used to create the business rates statistic referred to in Question UIN 118195 uses hereditament level data that is subject to a Data Usage Agreement preventing onward disclosure.

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.