Written questions by Cleverly.

Whether all Arm’s Length Bodies, including public corporations and private companies owned by the Government, are required to follow the Cabinet Office local and Parliamentary by-election election purdah guidance.

It is for individual public bodies to apply pre-election guidance within their own organisations, but in doing so they should not go beyond the principles set out in central guidance. Sponsor departments must ensure that staff and board members of their ALBs are aware of the guidance and are applying the principles appropriately. Sponsor departments should be consulted by the ALB in cases of doubt.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025, to Question 90708, and 20 October 2025 to Question 85948, on Immigrant: English Language, what steps she plans to take to support the integration of asylum seekers, in the context of it not being a requirement to learn English.

Successfully integrating refugees remains a Government priority. Those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK have access to mainstream services to support them to build independent, fulfilling lives and contribute meaningfully to the UK economy.Asylum seekers whose claims have been outstanding for six months or more are eligible for the same skills funding as other residents in England.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 85176 on England: Anniversaries, and the Answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 99500 on National Identity, whether he will have discussions with the Mayor of London on erecting a permanent statue of King Athelstan on the fourth plinth of Trafalgar Square to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the foundation of England.

The Government publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis.

What analysis the Valuation Office Agency provided to government departments on the potential distributional consequences of the 2026 business rates revaluation before the Budget 2025, including the potential impact on the pub sector.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) provides valuation data and analysis on the property market to MHCLG and HMT.

Communities and Local Government, if he will set out how the uplift in rateable values in 2026 affects the calculation of funding of individual local authorities in the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-27; and whether council areas with an above-average increase in rateable values will receive additional net funding relative to the previous year from business rate revenue.

I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107993 on 28 January 2026.

Whether the 2026 business rates revaluation was subject to a Cabinet Committee write-round.

The Valuation Office Agency is responsible for maintaining an accurate rating list in England independently of central government.

What steps his Department is taking to help tackle sex-selective abortion and infanticide.

The Department continues to work with providers to ensure abortions are only performed in accordance with the legal grounds set out by the Abortion Act. Sex is not itself a lawful ground for termination of pregnancy in England and Wales and it is illegal for a practitioner to carry out an abortion for that reason alone.Under section 1 of the Infanticide Act 1938, it is infanticide rather than murder if a woman causes the death of her child under 12 months in age and at the time of the act the balance of her mind was disturbed by not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth. The infanticide offence is currently being considered by the Law Commission as part of their review of homicide offences and sentencing for murder.

Whether (a) her Department and (b) HMRC has undertaken research on the reasons for why savers withdraw money from Lifetime ISAs and incur withdrawal charges.

At Autumn Budget 25 the government announced that it will publish a consultation in early 2026 on the implementation of a new, simpler ISA product to support first time buyers to buy a home. Once available, this new product will be offered in place of the Lifetime ISA. The LISA was designed to help people save for both their first home and later life. A 2025 report by the Treasury Select Committee, however, concluded the dual purpose has made it unnecessarily complex and that ‘the Lifetime ISA may not be the most efficient use of taxpayers’ money to achieve those disparate objectives’. In addition, the provision of an upfront bonus requires a withdrawal charge for non-compliant withdrawals. HMRC have also conducted research into use of the Lifetime ISA which can be found here: Understanding the use of the Lifetime ISA: qualitative research - GOV.UK The new design will include the government bonus being paid at the point the individual makes a withdrawal for a house purchase. This removes the need for a withdrawal charge and means a saver can withdraw funds, should their circumstances change, without penalty. It will remain possible to open a Lifetime ISA until the new product becomes available and for account holders to continue to save into their Lifetime ISA in line with the existing rules indefinitely.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) higher value surcharge in 2025-26 on hereditaments valued at £500,000 and (b) withdrawal of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multiplier at £500,000 on the economy.

The OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook sets out the forecast for the economy over a five-year horizon. For more information, please visit https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_November_2025.pdf

With reference to the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, for what reason casinos and gambling clubs are eligible for the new business rate relief but betting shops are not.

In October 2024, the Government laid a statutory instrument defining the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that will be eligible for new, lower business rates multipliers from April 2026. Since they were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that scope of the RHL multipliers would broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. The previous Government made the decision to exclude betting shops from the relief. This Government considered the issue in the round, and decided to continue the treatment the previous Government chose to ensure the tax cut is appropriately targeted.

What estimate she has made of increase in business rate receipts in England from 2025-26 to 2026-27 as a consequence of the CPI inflation uprating.

Details on business rates receipts for 2025-26 and 2026-27 are set out in the OBR’s economic and fiscal outlook.The further support for pubs and live music venues will be scored at a fiscal event in the usual way.In the coming financial year, because of the government’s interventions, the business rate system is raising broadly the same amount of revenue as it was forecast to before the Budget in Spring 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for July to September 2025, published on 25 December 2025, for what reason ensuring that each Paper produced by a Crown body includes the most up-to-date Crown copyright statement issued by the Controller is a key performance indicator in the MHCLG Corporate Print Management Service contact with ALLIED PUBLICITY SERVICES (MANCHESTER) LIMITED.

This is included as one of several performance indicators, to ensure our supplier uses accurate, up-to-date Crown copyright statements across all government publications it produces for the department and MHCLG’s Arm’s Length Bodies, helping maintain legal compliance and public trust.

If she will commission a cross-government impact assessment for (a) higher National Insurance on employers, (b) higher business rates and (c) the overnight visitors levy on (i) the economic viability of the hotel sector, (ii) costs to consumers, (iii) domestic tourism and (iv) foreign visitor tourism.

The Government recognises the important contribution that the hotel and wider hospitality sectors make to the economy, to local communities and to the UK’s appeal as a destination for domestic and international tourists.The Government carefully considers the impact of tax measures on businesses, including in hospitality and tourism, within the context of the need to repair the public finances and to fund high‑quality public services. Relevant impact notes and assessments are published at fiscal events and otherwise as necessary in line with the Government’s usual practice.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87778 on Affordable Housing: Construction, what proportion of funding from the new Programme will be used to purchase homes that have (a) already been started and (b) built through different schemes.

The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme will permit a limited number of acquisitions.For further information, please see the policy statement published by the Department on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether the review into foreign interference will consider the practice of foreign governments hiring UK-based lobbyists.

It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The purpose of the Rycroft review is to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards and make recommendations. The terms of reference for the review can be found here: Independent review: countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics: Terms of Reference - GOV.UK. Given the review’s independence, we cannot pre-empt specifics of the ground it will cover, nor the recommendations it will make. It is right that the review is independent of Government and independent of any political party. However, we will be looking to mitigate the risk of foreign financial interference in UK politics from any actors and individuals who might wish to undermine our democracy.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 97134 on MHCLG: Departmental Responsibilities, whether the Minister for Housing and Planning discussed government business with Edaroth during his attendance at Housing Group events at the Labour Party Conference in September 2025.

I had no meetings with Edaroth at Labour Party Annual Conference 2025 and shared no platforms with representatives of the company.I participated in a number of advertised events at the conference, including a panel organised by Labour Housing Group, in which I set out the government’s overall approach to housing and planning. I did not discuss other Departmental business at any of these events.

Communities and Local Government, what is the estimated revenue from business rates in England in (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) 2026-27.

Estimated net business rates yield in England for can be found in Table 1 of the ‘National non-domestic rates collected by councils in England’ statistical releases.Data for 2024-25 based on out-turn (actual) data can be found on gov.uk here.Forecast data for 2025-26 can be found on gov.uk here.Data for 2026-27 will be published in mid-February 2026.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88671 on Valuation Office Agency: Training, what the titles are of internal training and e-learning videos held by the Valuation Office Agency in relation to council tax and business rates.

The Valuation Office Agency offers in excess of 400 internal training opportunities in relation to council tax and non-domestic rating.

What the estimated annual revenue is from the hotel sector in relation to (a) business rates, (b) VAT, (c) National Insurance on employers and (d) corporation tax, according to records held by (i) HM Treasury and (ii) HMRC, in the most recent year for which figures are available.

HM Revenue and Customs does not hold aggregated data on the revenue contribution of the hotel sector in relation to VAT, National insurance on employers or corporation tax. Sectoral breakdowns for individual taxes can be found on GOV.UK. HMRC does not administer business rates.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 102744 on Educational Institutions: Council tax, how many retail, hospital an leisure hereditaments have a rateable value above £500,000 broken down by Special Category Code for which the latest data is available.

This information was included in the Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation publication: Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation (draft list) - GOV.UK