Written questions by Cleverly.

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.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the capacity of the Valuation Office Agency to deliver (a) a council tax revaluation in Wales, (b) appeals from that revaluation, (c) backlogs for business and council tax valuations and appeals in England and Wales, (d) the 2026 business rates revaluations in England and Wales, (e) appeals from those revaluations, (f) valuations for the new council tax surcharge in England and (g) appeals further to the council tax surcharge valuations.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) works closely with government partners to ensure it is adequately resourced and to develop delivery plans which align with planned consultation and legislative timelines. The VOA will receive additional funding and has resourcing plans in place to ensure it has capacity to deliver this work. The VOA is replacing IT systems with modern cloud-based platforms that will deliver efficiencies and make it easier for customers to self-serve. Work is also ongoing to upskill its workforce to ensure there is greater flexibility in managing a wide range of cases. The VOA will integrate into HMRC from 1 April 2026 which will provide further flexibility and support, including increased access to HMRC’s digital, data and technology expertise to deliver this work.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 98781 on Radicalism, what is her Department's policy on naming specific organisations which are (a) regarded as extremists and (b) subject to a policy of non-engagement.

Although The Home Office cannot comment on specific groups or individual cases, I would like to reassure you that we are committed to addressing the full range of threats that we currently face as a country and tackling anyone who spreads views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities.We have robust safeguards to tackle those who sow hatred and division in our communities and we make no apology for this.The government’s focus is to reduce and disrupt the influence of high-harm groups and individuals and the spread of extremist ideologies that can lead to community division and to radicalisation into terrorism. Where there is evidence of purposeful actions that are potentially radicalising others into terrorism or violence, proportionate legislative action will be considered.The Home Office is continually building our knowledge of potential threats, including information exchange and cooperation with partners on shared issues of concern. Each department must consider their own due diligence when choosing to engage with any organisation or individual and, if asked, we will advise and share information to help inform their decisions.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2025, to Question 97317, on Local Government: Reorganisation, and to the answer of 16 December 2025, to Question 95327, on councillors, if he will place a copy in the Library of the full calculations on which the £120 million statistic was based, including the assumptions of councillor allowances and election costs.

I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97317 on 12 December 2025.

Whether the business rates transitional relief cap in (a) 2027-28 and (b) 2028-29 financial years will be based on the maximum percentage change relative to the (i) 2025-26 actual bill and (ii) previous year’s actual bill.

Transitional relief limits the extent to which a business can see their bills increase in a given year. Details of transitional relief and the maximum change per year can be found at: Business rates relief: Transitional relief - GOV.UK This is part of the generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the written statement on 19 November 2025, HCWS1071, on Local Government Reorganisation, on what date will the shadow unitary authorities be elected; on what date would the new unitaries be vested; and whether it will vary by local authority.

On 5 February 2025, the Government issued invitations to councils in two-tier areas in England and neighbouring unitary councils to prepare proposals for local government reorganisation. The Government will work with these areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible. The exact timings and details will depend on the decisions taken on which proposal, if any, to implement. On the most ambitious timelines, elections to new unitary councils could take place in May 2027, ahead of "go live” date of 1 April 2028. Surrey is operating on an accelerated timeline and we anticipate elections to the new unitary authorities will take place on May 2026, ahead of a vesting date of 1 April 2027.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the draft National Planning Policy Framework of 16 December 2025, and the plans for the re-introduction of maximum parking standards, whether the Government intends to provide guidance on the specific maximum numeric levels of parking spaces allowed per new build unit.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.The consultation includes policies relating to sustainable transport and updated policy on parking standards. It proposes that maximum parking standards should be set where they will support efforts to encourage the use of sustainable transport modes, optimise the density of development in well-connected locations, or where they are necessary for managing the local road network.As is the case now, it will be for local planning authorities to determine appropriate parking standards for their area through the plan-making process.The consultation is open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87319, and to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 58975, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Remote Working, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the number of desks for civil servants working in Darlington on their ability to attend the office for 60 per cent of the working week.

The Darlington Economic Campus is an integrated shared facility between several Government Departments. Currently, due to the available capacity, MHCLG staff are expected to attend the office for 40% of their time.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 96074 on Kent County Council: Best Value, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a Best Value intervention in relation to the current Administration of Kent County Council.

My department monitors individual councils, including Kent, through a wide range of data and direct engagement. We continually review local authority governance, financial management, and sustainability, including through examining national data metrics, local authority documents, reports from auditors and inspectorates, and letters from residents. Where we become aware of early indications of best value failure, we consider a range of ways to closely monitor an authority’s progress. We will continue to monitor risk in individual councils, and we will act where necessary to ensure that councils meet their best value duty and are transparent and accountable to their residents.

Communities and Local Government, whether the calculation of the base liability for the transitional relief in the 2026 business rates revaluation (a) includes and (b) excludes the application of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure rate relief in 2025-26.

At the Budget the Chancellor announced a support package for ratepayers seeing significant bill increases as a result of the 2026 revaluation. This includes two key reliefs, Transitional Relief and Supporting Small Business Relief. Transitional Relief is calculated from a base liability of the 2025/26 bill before all other reliefs. The Supporting Small Business Relief provides support for ratepayers losing certain reliefs including the current 40% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure. The Supporting Small Businesses Relief is calculated from a base liability that takes into account the effect of eligible reliefs – Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, 2025/26 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief, or 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief. The government published guidance for local authorities on the administration of the scheme on 15 December. This can be found on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-relief-2026-supporting-small-business-relief-local-authority-guidance).

Communities and Local Government, further to the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 16 December 2025, what assessment has been made of the potential effect of the proposed changes on the number and size of residential gardens in suburban neighbourhoods.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes policies that will support development within residential curtilages, including gardens. The relevant policies make clear that new development within residential curtilages should not occupy more than twice the footprint of the existing building on the site and should retain at least half of the non-developed area within the building’s curtilage. These policies would safeguard residential gardens from being lost and prevent inappropriate development which would be out of scale with the existing dwelling(s) taking place, while also allowing gentle increases in density in suitable locations. Individual development decisions would be made by landowners/homeowners. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance has his department given to local authorities on political restrictions on local authority staff running as candidates for election in other local authorities.

The Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990 continues to set out the specific restrictions that apply to holders of politically restricted posts in Local Authorities. As independent employers, Local authorities are responsible for complying with legislation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2025, to Question 96897, on MHCLG: Public Appointments, when he plans to publish this data.

We will publish data on MHCLG’s Direct Ministerial Appointments in line with recent guidance in the coming months.

Whether the Government's new plans to change business rate liability for pubs will apply to hereditaments with a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 which are categorised by the Valuation Office Agency as (a) nightclubs, (b) restaurants, (c) hotels, (d) pubs with hotel rooms under VOA special category code 227, and (e) private members' clubs and working men’s clubs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 101363.

For what policy reason the transitional relief threshold for the 2026 revaluation cycle falls from 30% to 25% plus inflation for large firms, but rises from 5% to 25% plus inflation for small firms; and whether the inflation is the change in inflation that year, or the change in inflation since the base liability year.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. RVs are re-assessed every three years. The most recent revaluation took effect from 1 April 2023 and was based on values as of 1 April 2021. The next revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026 based on values of 1 April 2024.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, including those in the hospitality sector as they recover from the pandemic.To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for 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. This means 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 new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.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.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Electoral Commission statement entitled Electoral Commission responds to potential election postponements, published on 19 December 2025, what is the Government's evidence base that capacity constraints justify delaying scheduled elections.

This government takes democracy very seriously. In the spirit of devolution and trusting local leaders we have listened to councils telling us about the capacity constraints they are operating within and the work that reorganisation introduces on top of existing challenges. On 18 December I invited councils undergoing local government reorganisation with local elections in May 2026 to set out their views on the postponement of their local election and if they consider this could release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation and will consider all the representations we receive by the deadline of 15th January. The Secretary of State will consider the position of each council individually, weighing up the evidence received.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Councils offered flexibility to complete reorganisation, published on 18 December 2025, what evidence his Department used to determine that local elections could divert substantial time and resources away from delivering local government reorganisation, including those county councils without responsibility for administering elections.

This government takes democracy very seriously. In the spirit of devolution and trusting local leaders we have listened to councils telling us about the capacity constraints they are operating within and the work that reorganisation introduces on top of existing challenges. On 18 December I invited councils undergoing local government reorganisation with local elections in May 2026 to set out their views on the postponement of their local election and if they consider this could release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation and will consider all the representations we receive by the deadline of 15th January. The Secretary of State will consider the position of each council individually, weighing up the evidence received.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88720 on Second Homes: Council tax, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of council tax evasion from the second homes council tax premium by residents not telling their local billing authority that the dwelling is occupied as a second home.

The Department does not collect data on avoidance or evasion of the second homes premium. As noted in my response to Question 88720, it is for local authorities to manage and address any potential cases of fraud in the council tax system.

Communities and Local Government, further to the oral statement of 19 November 2025, Official Report, Column 614, on China Espionage: Government Security Response, whether political parties will be given information on individuals or companies which may be proxies for hostile state actors.

In October, the National Protective Security Agency launched specific guidance to help Members of Parliament, councillors, mayors, and their staff better understand and protect themselves from threats like espionage and foreign interference. This guidance provides simple, effective steps to safeguard individuals, their teams, and the integrity of democratic processes: Protecting our Democratic Institutions: Countering Espionage and Foreign Interference | Defending Democracy | NPSA. On 16 December 2025, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. The purpose of the Rycroft review is to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards that regulate political parties and political finance 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.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. Review findings will be delivered to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Security Minister by the end of March 2026.

Pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2025, to Question 92614, on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, and with reference to Section 16 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, for what reason Westminster City Council was not notified within 21 days that the March 2025 council tax bill was incorrect in not applying the second homes council tax premium for the dwelling.

The Cabinet Office accepts it was delayed in notifying Westminster City Council that the Admiralty House flat allocated to the former Deputy Prime Minister was being used on a second home basis. This was not the former Deputy Prime Minister’s error or responsibility. New legislation for the first time gave rise to the terms of a Minister’s occupation (as main or secondary residence) having a bearing on the council tax liability. With particular reference to the requirements of Regulation16 of the Council Tax Administration and Enforcement Regulations 1992, the Cabinet Office notified Westminster City Council within 21 days of first having reason to believe that the property was in fact subject to the second home premium. While Westminster City Council was provided with the correct information as soon as the Cabinet Office realised it was necessary, it is regrettable that this delay occurred. The Cabinet Office is taking steps to change its internal processes to ensure this does not happen again. This was not the former Deputy Prime Minister’s error or responsibility.