Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026 to Question 107021 on Affordable Housing: Asylum, what types of accommodation, including (a) change of use, (b) HMOs, (c) hotels or communal accommodation and (d) new build will the new fund for local authorities support.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107021 on 20 January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral statement of 22 January 2026, Official Report, Column 486, on Local Government Reorganisation, whether he will reimburse councils for the administrative costs of preparing for May 2026 elections now being cancelled.

I refer the Rt.Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February HCWS1349, updating the House on 2026 local elections.

Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on (a) further delaying or (b) cancelling under scheduled council elections in 2027 in areas with local government restructuring.

I refer the Rt.Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February HCWS1349, updating the House on 2026 local elections.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the British High Commission Islamabad news story of 17 April 2025, which individuals and external organisations Lord Khan met during his visit to the (a) Overseas Pakistanis Convention, (b) Faisal Mosque and (c) St Joseph’s Cathedral whilst on his official Ministerial visit to Pakistan.

A summary of the former Minister’s schedule will be placed in the Library of the House.

Communities and Local Government, whether core spending power figures published in the Local Government Finance assumes (a) that each principal local authority sets the maximum level of council tax that does not trigger a council tax referendum or (b) a different level of council tax.

Over the multi-year Settlement, Core Spending Power is calculated by assuming that authorities increase their Band D council tax in line with the maximum allowable level set out by the council tax referendum principles; and each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the average annual growth in their council tax base between 2021-22 and 2025-26. This type of approach has been standard practice under successive governments. Explanations on how council tax and associated referendum principles are calculated as part of core spending power is set out here - Explanatory note on Core Spending Power: final local government finance settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29 - GOV.UK. Local authorities are responsible for setting their own council tax levels. The way council tax in Core Spending Power is estimated is unchanged from previous Local Government Finance Settlements. In line with usual practice and in recognition of the views raised in response to this consultation, the government will continue to keep its methodology for calculating the Core Spending Power of local government under review in future years.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled The implementation of the council tax premiums on long-term empty homes and second homes, published on 1 November 2024, what plans he has to review the guidance given to local authorities in relation to the practices of council tax premiums being introduced by local authorities.

211 local authorities began charging a second home premium from April 2025. The guidance was published in November 2024 to support councils in their decision making on the premium and assist taxpayers in understanding when a premium may apply. As ever, the government continues to keep all guidance under review.

Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on establishing (a) shadow unitary councils and (b) preparing councils when undertaking local government restructuring.

My officials are in regular contact with councils to support them to undertake preparatory work to ensure readiness for any transition to new authorities.Once a decision is taken on which proposals, if any, to implement, the Structural Changes Order will specify the governance arrangements for the new unitary councils in the transition period. Representations will be sought from the councils on the detailed content of the Structural Changes Order including on whether a shadow unitary council or preparing council is appropriate.For all areas except Surrey, we anticipate elections to new authorities will take place in 2027, with those authorities going live in 2028.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to consult the public on formal new names for new unitary councils.

A statutory consultation has already been undertaken, or is currently underway, on the proposals for new unitary councils, many of which included suggested names.There are no plans to further consult the public on formal new names for new councils.Where proposals did not include names for the new councils, or where different views have been expressed, then the Secretary of State may seek further representations from the councils and other interested parties before reaching a decision on what the formal new names of the councils should be.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102765, on Planning: Publications, whether he intends to update any of the other Plain English guides published on gov.uk by his Department.

The government will continue to keep all guidance under review to update as necessary. Any new or updated guidance will be published in the usual way on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 May 2024, to Question 53574, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, and with reference to page 26 of the Section 106 agreement, for what reason the agreement references Articles 13 and 141 of the EU Treaty Articles.

Full reasons for the decision in question are set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.The letter and associated Inspector’s Report must be read in their entirety. The EU Treaty Articles are addressed at footnote 47 of the decision letter.

Communities and Local Government, what are the internal areas within the proposed Chinese Embassy that would be exempt from UK inspection and verification.

Full reasons for the decision in question are set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.The letter and associated Inspector’s Report must be read in their entirety. Planning enforcement is addressed at paragraphs 103-105 of the decision letter.

For what reason the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge will be levied on the property owner of the dwelling.

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge is intended to address aspects of unfairness in the current Council Tax system. Owners of properties worth £10 million should not be paying less tax than those renting an ordinary family home.

Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has undertaken into the reasons for sites with planning permission being (a) stalled and (b) not built out.

In May 2025, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built. It can be found on gov.uk here. The working paper drew on a range of independent research and market studies, including the Letwin Review and the Competition and Markets Authority’s October 2024 market study into housebuilding, exploring stalled sites and build out rates. Alongside the working paper, we launched a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve the transparency of build rates from new residential developments, which includes proposals to implement provisions in Section 113 of the LURA on the power to decline to determine applications. That consultation can be found on gov.uk here. We are now analysing the responses to both consultations, and we will set out our next steps in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to introduce planning reforms through primary legislation.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill , which contains provisions relating to housing and strategic planning, continues its passage through the other place. Parliament will continue to be updated in the usual way in respect of the government’s planning reform agenda, including any future measures which may require primary legislation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104897 on Strategic Migration Partnership: Finance, and with reference to the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work, paragraph 233, if he will provide an aggregate figure for the most recent year’s funding to the partnerships contained with the Government Grants Data and Statistics database.

The Home Office does not currently publish funding levels to Strategic Migration Partnerships, previous years funding can be found here Government Grants Data and Statistics Government grants data and statistics - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication ENTITLED MHCLG register of board members’ interests 2025 to 2026, updated 21 January 2026, whether any of the individuals have declared political activity.

In line with the definition of political activity in the Governance Code on Public Appointments, none of the individuals listed in the MHCLG register of board members’ interests 2025 to 2026 has declared any political activity.

Communities and Local Government, how many headcount staff in his Department work compressed hours on full pay.

At 31 January 2026 there were 760 active payroll staff who worked full‑time hours over a compressed period, meaning they received full pay. This figure includes a range of different compressed full‑time working arrangements.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the full meeting, visit and event schedule for Lord Khan's visit to Pakistan from 13 to 17 April 2025.

A summary of the former Minister’s schedule will be placed in the Library of the House.

Communities and Local Government, whether any staff in his Department work a four day week.

In response to the question of whether any staff in the Department work a four‑day week, we have interpreted this as referring to staff whose contractual hours are worked over four days per week. On this basis, 241 headcount staff work part‑time hours (less than 1.0 FTE) arranged over four days. Additionally there are 339 staff who work a five‑day week (1.0 FTE) over four extended days. These are staff on compressed hours arrangements on full pay. These figures are provided on a headcount basis for active payroll staff at 31/01/2026. Type of Worker31st Jan 2025 31st Jan 2026Full time (compressed 4 days) (1FTE)214339Part time over 4 days (less than 1FTE)285241Total499 (12.4%)580 (15.8%) Flexible working, including part‑time and compressed hours arrangements, is a positive and valuable element of the MHCLG employee offer when managed effectively and in line with business need. The Department supports flexible working where it enables delivery of business objectives while providing benefits to both the organisation and employees. Such arrangements can be particularly beneficial for staff with caring responsibilities, as well as those with health conditions. Supporting flexible working helps the Department to attract and retain a diverse and skilled workforce while enabling staff to achieve a better work‑life balance.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Delegation of the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Fair Funding Review on planning fees in local authorities which have lost funding in real terms.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act provides the Secretary of State with the power to delegate the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities. The Fair Funding Review considers how resources are distributed across local government based on relative need and demand for services. It does not determine planning fee levels, which remain cost-recovery charges rather than general funding streams. The government is supporting local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by introducing changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income through transitional arrangements, including locally retained business rates growth.