Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Home Office oral statement on 20 January 2026, on the Chinese Embassy, whether the unredacted plans for the Embassy were subject to scrutiny by the planning inspector.

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 conditions are addressed at paragraphs 107-110 and are listed at Annex B of the decision letter. Application drawings are addressed at paragraphs 89-99. As part of his careful consideration of the applications, the Secretary of State referred back to parties on a number of matters, including the redacted drawings, on 6 August 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 5 August 2024, to Question HL394, on Legal Systems: Islam, what research has his department conducted on the operation of (a) shariah courts and (b) Muslim Arbitration Tribunals.

We have not conducted research on the operation of sharia courts and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals.In line with previous governments, the government’s position remains that individuals are free to practise their religion, including seeking religious guidance or arbitration, provided this does not conflict with UK law. Where religious practices or decisions conflict with UK law, UK law – as enacted by parliament and applied by courts – prevails.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2026 to Question 103895 on Local Government: Working Hours, whether he plans to take Best Value intervention action against local authorities implementing four day weeks.

The letter of 19 December 2025 is clear that the provision in the current Best Value Guidance in relation to the four-day week remains in force. Ministers take a range of factors into account when considering whether to exercise statutory powers in relation to a local authority and will only act where necessary to secure compliance with the Best Value duty.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to principal local authorities on providing financial support to town and parish councils for their contribution towards local council tax support; and what estimate has been made of the number of principal local authorities which do so.

Successive government have been clear that it is the responsibility of principal authorities to work with parish and town councils on council tax matters, including support schemes and to agree appropriate funding arrangements so that large increases in parish precepts can be avoided

For what reason the Valuation Office Agency's business rates estimator tool was taken down.

The estimator tool for England has been removed ahead of business rates bills being issued by local councils.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has has discussions with West Yorkshire Combined Authority on contract reference 20250627172243-103257, awarded to Lexington Communications; and whether his Department has received communications from Lexington.

Local authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds information on business rate receipts from (a) Business Rate Improvement Districts levies and (b) the GLA Business Rate Supplement across (i) England and (ii) individual local authorities.

Information on receipts from the GLA Business Rate Supplement is collected and published on Revenue Outturn RS Line 793. The latest local authority and England level data from 2024 to 2025 can be found here.The Department does not hold data on Business Improvement District (BID) levy receipts.The cost of administering BID ballots are recorded on Revenue Outturn RO6 Line 428 also published here.

Communities and Local Government, whether election pilots will be held in the local authorities which had local elections cancelled, but which are being reinstated.

The Government committed in its manifesto to encourage greater participation in democracy. To support this, the Government is exploring ways to make voting in person more efficient, more convenient, and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors. Orders designating the pilots for May 2026 have been signed and shared with participating local authorities and the Electoral Commission. I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made yesterday, which details participating local authorities and nature of each pilot. No flexible voting pilots are due to be held in local authority areas where elections due to run in May 2026 were previously postponed.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Tougher rules on political interference to keep UK elections secure, published on 12 February 2026, in which local authorities election pilots will take place in May 2026; and what type of pilot will take place in each.

The Government committed in its manifesto to encourage greater participation in democracy. To support this, the Government is exploring ways to make voting in person more efficient, more convenient, and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors. Orders designating the pilots for May 2026 have been signed and shared with participating local authorities and the Electoral Commission. I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made yesterday, which details participating local authorities and nature of each pilot. No flexible voting pilots are due to be held in local authority areas where elections due to run in May 2026 were previously postponed.

Communities and Local Government, how many (a) legal challenges and (b) judicial reviews his Department has (i) lost in court and (ii) conceded prior to the court hearing since July 2024.

The Department deals with a large variety of legal cases including judicial reviews, statutory challenges in planning cases, Information Tribunal cases and private law litigation. The number and outcome of legal challenges and judicial reviews since July 2024 is not held centrally in the format requested.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether guidance has been given to (a) developers and (b) local planning authorities on development exclusion zones around former foot and mouth burial pits.

Defra does not issue guidance on development on, or near land, previously used as a FMD pit.

What estimate her Department has made of the aggregate monetary level of Dedicated Schools Grant High Need deficits that will not be written off by central Government.

The department has set out plans to address these deficits up to the end of 2025/26, providing grants to cover 90% of each council’s deficit once they have produced and received approval for a strong plan to drive sustained action in accordance with our new system set out today in the Schools White Paper. This will help to improve outcomes for children and bring costs under control through effective early intervention, stopping needs from escalating. Asking authorities to contribute the remaining 10% reflects the shared responsibility we all have in delivering a system that provides value for money and supports better outcomes for children and young people.For deficits that arise in 2026/27 and 2027/28, local authorities can expect that we will continue to take an appropriate and proportionate approach though it will not be unlimited. Future support will take into account local authorities' successful delivery of their approved Local SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) reform plan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to restrict or ban the use of wood-burning stoves in homes.

We have launched a public consultation on a package of measures to reduce emissions from domestic burning, including proposals to tighten emission limits for new stoves, improve labelling and strengthen enforcement. We will consider all evidence before final decisions.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025, on Question 89461, on Greenpeace, what topics were discussed, on each date; and how many meetings have been held in total.

The Ministerial meeting returns found on GOV.UK note these occasions and the topics.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2026, to Question 106138, on Local Government Finance, whether his department holds data on the proportion of the £4.3 billion that was subject to the flexible use of capital receipts provisions; and which individual local authorities utilised the flexible use.

The Flexible Use of Capital Receipts general direction was introduced in 2016 by the previous government and remains substantively unchanged. This government has not changed the rules on use of capital receipts; not all capital receipts are eligible for use under the general flexibility. For example, under the direction, eligible capital receipts must be genuine disposals outside of the local authorities’ group structure. Nor does the flexibility override any statutory restrictions that may exist on certain types of assets. The government does not collect specific data on eligible capital receipts held by local authorities.Use of the flexibility is at the discretion of local authorities but must be compliant with the conditions of the general flexibility and their wider statutory duties. The government is clear that its use should represent value for money and be in the best interests of local residents. Use of the flexibility is reported annually. The data for 2024/25 can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the trends in the level of antisemitism in the City of Bristol.

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms, wherever it manifests. We work closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities throughout the UK. This includes working together with the Jewish community to monitor levels of religiously motivated hatred. We continue to closely observe rates of antisemitism across the country and will make the necessary interventions to combat antisemitism in all corners of our society.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104771 on MHCLG: Remote Working, if he will publish the recorded workplace attendance data for the last quarter, for each of the individual offices outside London.

MHCLG publishes quarterly HQ Occupancy Statistics for its headquarters at 2 Marsham Street, London (not proportional attendance). We do not intend to publish regional information or numeric staff attendances.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an estimate of the time taken for businesses to amend computer billing systems to implement the new pub relief.

As is usual the government has worked closely with local authorities and their software providers to ensure that billing systems can be updated to take into account the Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief business rates relief ahead of issuing bills for the 2026/27 financial year. The government will undertake a new burdens assessment and fund the associated new burdens including the administrative and software costs of implementation.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of EU non-regression agreements on the ability of the Government to implement planning reform for nuclear power infrastructure, including the implications of dynamic alignment with the EU single electricity market and ETS.

Regarding the Nuclear Regulatory Review, we will present a full implementation plan shortly, taking account of our international obligations, national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes.

Communities and Local Government, whether guidance has been provided to local authorities on entitlement to council tax reduction for people who receive Universal Credit.

I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer provided on 4 February 2026 to UIN 109028.