Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 99503 on Councillors: Conduct, whether he plans to consult on the content of the mandatory code of conduct; and whether it will include a requirement to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.

The government response to the local government standards framework consultation published on 11 November 2025 confirmed our intention to legislate to prescribe a mandatory code of conduct. We are continuing to engage with the sector as we develop final detailed policies for implementation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 99491 on Local Government: Public Relations, whether his Department monitors local authority adherence to the Publicity Code provisions on hiring lobbyists to influence the local government restructuring process.

My letter of 19 November reminded councils in reorganisation areas that they must have regard to the Code when producing publicity relating to local government reorganisation. Concerns about specific cases should be raised with the relevant council’s Monitoring Officer.

With reference to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, if she will publish the review.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary’s inspection report on West Midlands Police’s match assessment for the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match has been published on GOV.UK.The report has also been deposited in both House libraries and shared with the Home Affairs Select Committee.

What Rateable Value thresholds, (i) inside and (ii) outside London, apply to (a) transitional relief and (b) supporting small business relief, from 2026-27, based on each small, medium and large bucket, in each of the next three years.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including grassroots music venues, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The support package includes a redesigned transitional relief scheme which caps bill increases. The Transitional Relief caps will be as follows for properties with a rateable value of: - Up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London): in 2026-27 – 5%, in 2027-28 – 10% (plus inflation), in 2028-29 – 25% (plus inflation).- £20,001 (£28,001 in London) to £100,000: in 2026-27 – 15%, in 2027-28 – 25% (plus inflation), in 2028-29 – 40% (plus inflation).- Over £100,000: in 2026-27 – 30%, in 2027-28 – 25% (plus inflation), in 2028-29 – 25% (plus inflation). The Government is also proceeding with a supporting small business scheme (SSB) capping bill increases for the smallest businesses losing some or all of their small business rates relief or rural rate relief. For any business whose value has increased so that they are no longer eligible for small business rates relief – which provides up to 100% relief from business rates for small businesses – we are capping their increase at the higher of £800 or the relevant Transitional Relief percentage cap for a property of their value, before changes in other reliefs and local supplements. SSB eligibility and thresholds can be found at: Business rates relief: Small business rate relief - GOV.UK. Transitional Relief eligibility and thresholds can be found at: Business rates relief: Transitional relief - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 66201 on Council Tax, whether the non-police element of the (a) GLA precept and (b) combined authority mayoral precepts are included in the £2,000 assessments.

The updated distribution proposed in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 includes a resource adjustment to take account of a local authority's ability to raise income locally when allocating funding as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. As set out in the response to Question UIN 66201, the notional council tax used in this adjustment is set at the average Band D level of Council Tax in England. This includes the social care precept and the fire precept but does not include police or parish precepts. Mayoral precepts are not included, except for the fire element.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 97132 on Housing: Greater Manchester, if he will itemise the data provided to his Department by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority under Schedule 3 of the agreement since July 2024.

Further to the answers provided to Questions UIN 84646 and 97132 on 4 November 2025 and 15 December 2025 respectively, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) provides my Department with the data set out under Schedule 3 of the Facility Agreement. Whilst that Agreement has been released, the financial data sent by GMCA to my Department is exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as disclosure would be likely to harm the commercial interests of the GMCA.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 74329 on Housing: Construction, whether the Old Oak Common housing target of 9,000 new homes will be met.

The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation’s Local Development Plan (2018-2038) identified that the Opportunity Area has the capacity to deliver an indicative 25,500 new homes. The development corporation still expects to deliver up to 9,000 homes on public sector land across the site.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Chief Planner letter of 24 November 2025, whether councils are required to report (a) interest accrued from unspent funds, (b) interest collected from late payment charges and (c) how interest accrued is spent for Infrastructure Funding Statements.

Schedule 2 of the CIL Regulations 2010 (as amended) requires authorities to report on the total amount of developer contributions received, spent, allocated and retained through CIL and section 106 at the end of the reported year. CIL receipts collected, which includes any late payment interest and surcharges paid by a developer, must be used for the purposes which are set out in section 216 of the Planning Act 2008 and Part 7 of the CIL Regulations. Further to the answers provided to Questions UIN 84954 and 54059 on 4 November 2025 and 6 June 2025 respectively, the Planning Advisory Service has recently published additional resources on its website to support local planning authorities in their infrastructure planning and delivery.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89460 on Housing: Greater Manchester, if he will publish that independent evaluation.

The independent evaluation in question was commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and a decision on whether to publish it is therefore for the GMCA not my Department.

Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking steps to prevent above-inflation increases to town and parish council precepts as a consequence of local government restructuring.

Parish councils decide the level of their council tax precept. This will reflect the service needs of each area having taken account of their other sources of income. To date no referendum principles have been set for these types of authority but the government expects them to consider carefully the pressure they place on taxpayers. The government keep this position under review, taking into account the increases set by the sector.

Whether the Valuation Office Agency holds data on the number of dwellings in (a) England and (b) Wales with an electric vehicle chargepoint.

The Valuation Office Agency does not hold this data.

Communities and Local Government, which local authorities levy (1) Business Improvement District Levies and (2) Business Rate Supplements in (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27; and what guidance he has issued on revising those supplements following the 2026 rates revaluation.

The Government does not hold a central list of BIDs. However, the organisation British BIDs has developed a BID Index which lists current and developing BIDs in the UK. This can be accessed at: https://britishbids.info/services/bid-index. You can also contact the local authority to find out further information about BIDs in a given area. The Business Rates Supplement Act 2009 permits certain authorities to levy up to 2p per pound of rateable value above a set threshold. In 2025-26, the Greater London Authority was the only authority to levy a Business Rates Supplement which it used to fund the Elizabeth Line. The government has not issued any guidance on revising supplements. Decisions for future years are for the relevant authority and must follow the requirements set out in the Act and the policies set out in their final prospectus.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on second homes council tax premiums on empty dwellings which are (a) furnished, (b) not occupied by any resident and (c) not long-term empty.

The Government has published guidance on the application of council tax premiums. This is available here. Councils have the discretionary power to charge a council tax premium on second homes (dwellings which are substantially furnished but no one’s main residence) and long-term empty homes (dwellings which have been substantially unfurnished and unoccupied for one or more years).

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the (a) higher empty homes council tax premium from April 2025 and (b) abolition of the New Homes Bonus on the number of empty homes.

The Government does not make assessments of the housing market based on council tax premiums. It is for individual councils to decide whether to make use of council tax premiums based on their own local circumstances. In regard to the New Homes Bonus, I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 73762 on 9 September 2025.

What estimate the Valuation Office Agency has made of the proportion of dwelling stock in England to be assessed for liability for the council tax surcharge.

The Valuation Office Agency estimates fewer than 1% of properties in England are expected to be liable for the High Value Council Tax surcharge.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to Table 1 of the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s annual report 2024-25, published in December 2025, for what reason his Department took an average of 267 days to make a public appointment.

The Department is committed to continuing to uphold the highest standards of transparency and propriety in public appointments, in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. As the Commissioner’s 2024-25 annual report explains, the timeliness of public appointments campaigns were impacted by the 2024 General Election and panel member availability.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 99156 on Retail Trade: Business Rates, how many large distribution warehouse hereditaments are liable for the higher value surcharge in 2025-26.

Statistics detailing the number of properties with a Rateable Value over £500,000 in the draft 2026 Rating List can be found on GOV.UK. They can be sorted by specific property types, such as large distribution warehouses. Information relating to your request can be found here.

Whether (a) HMRC and (b) the Valuation Office Agency plan to hire more staff to levy the council tax surcharge.

The Valuation Office Agency is developing its approach to administering the High Value Council Tax Surcharge and will set out more details in due course, alongside the government’s consultation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 69673 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Remote Working, what type of workplace attendance information is collated and held by his Department for its offices outside London.

The Department records workplace attendance data for staff based outside London and reviews this information on a quarterly basis.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, November 2025, of 31 December 2025, what the topic and terms of reference were for the Employment Rights Bill Research by Verian Group UK Limited with reference 5105606902; and what the timetable is for the publication of that research.

The government’s Plan to Make Work Pay will improve living standards, support economic growth, and provide more security for people in work. The research, developed with Department for Business and Trade (DBT), was a survey of precariously employed people, such as those on zero hours contracts. The survey aimed to understand the hidden, out-of-pocket costs faced by those with uncertain working hours, such as paying for last minute childcare or travel changes. The work has been shared with DBT to support the government’s ongoing work and will be published in line with Government Social Research protocols.