Written questions by Cleverly.

Whether strategic authorities will have a role in the (a) provision and (b) allocation of asylum accommodation.

Yes.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has received communications from lobbying companies on local government reorganisation; and whether officials in his Department have had meetings with lobbying companies representing local authorities.

My Department is regularly contacted by organisations with an interest in local government reorganisation. My officials also conduct regular meetings with a wide range of stakeholders to hear their views and insights, as part of the Department’s public engagement on the issue.Officials must adhere to the Civil Service code at all times and abide by the Nolan Principles, which set out the standards expected of those in public life.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has given to mayoral combined authorities that cannot find a constituent member to consent to be nominated as a deputy mayor.

The Department has not issued any guidance to Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) to cover the circumstances where the Mayor cannot find a constituent member to act as their statutory deputy mayor. This situation has not arisen to date and no authority has requested advice.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2025 to Question 32991 on Levelling Up Fund: Culture, which cultural projects that were allocated funding under the Levelling Up Fund have had funding (a) cancelled, (b) postponed and (c) are subject to an ongoing review.

I refer the Rt. Hon member to the answer given to Question UIN 78670 on 21 October 2025. Worcester received £2.3m funding for only some of the activity within its original programme. This amendment was determined on the basis of representations received to the consultation. Prioritisation of funding considered a series of factors including: significant progress of work to date, imminent delivery, and/or the wider strategic impact of withdrawing funding on local regeneration efforts, as well as potential to boost economic growth. Coventry, Worcester and Newport have been approved, and V&A Dundee, Venue Cymru, Conwy and Shore Road Skills Centre, Belfast are being processed.

Communities and Local Government, whether single foundation authorities will have (a) access to full devolution and (b) an elected mayor.

Single foundation strategic authorities will be non-mayoral. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill makes provision for the Secretary of State to designate a unitary council or county council, which is not covered by an existing strategic authority, as a single foundation strategic authority, subject to the consent of the council involved. The deepest powers and functions will be available to strategic authorities led by a mayor, as set out in the English Devolution White Paper.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled PM backs true patriots to lead UK renewal with £5bn investment, whether the £3.5 billion of additional Pride in Place funding is funded from the abolition of the Levelling Up Fund.

On 25 September, the Government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities. The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March. This Government is delivering in contrast to the empty unfunded promises that were made by the previous administration. The Pride in Place funding is separate from programmes announced by the previous administration, including the Levelling Up Fund, and forms part of this Government’s new regeneration agenda to help build strong, resilient communities in areas facing the most entrenched social and economic challenges.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 44 of his Department's policy paper entitled Pride in Place Strategy, published on 25 September 2025, what the terms of reference are for the Common Ground Resilience Fund; and over which years that funding will be allocated.

The purpose of the Common Ground Resilience Fund is set out in the Pride in Place Strategy. A key strand of the Fund is the Common Ground Award details of which can be found on gov.uk here. The funding is for the 2025-26 Financial Year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 29 of his Department's publication entitled Pride in Place Strategy, published on 25 September 2025, whether the £5 billion of Pride in place funding includes the £1.5 billion of funding from the Long Term Plan for Towns outlined in the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40200, on Plan for Neighbourhoods.

On 25 September, the government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities. The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March. The Long-Term Plan for Towns programme was launched in September 2023 by the previous administration. This programme was an unfunded commitment for which the previous administration had no plan as to how that promise would be delivered. All 75 towns across the UK that were originally selected to receive Long-Term Plan for Towns funding will receive the funding under the Plan for Neighbourhoods package, which is now part of the Pride in Place Programme.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the amount that was received from (a) parish precepts, (b) mayoral precepts excluding police and (c) police precepts (i) in cash terms as receipts and (ii) on the average Band D bill in the latest period for which data is available.

We do not collect data on the amount of receipts collected broken down by precepting authorities or in relation to the precept that they have set. Data on the average Band D council tax and council tax requirement set by precepting authorities for 2025-26 can be found in Table 10 on gov.uk here.

Whether the provisions in chapter 2 of part 2 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will (a) apply to councillors and (b) be in addition to section 28 of the Localism Act 2011.

The Code of Ethics requirement will apply to those working for public authorities, and therefore will not apply to elected officials, including councillors. Elected officials have a different relationship with institutions and are accountable to the public, not employers.There are different arrangements for governing behaviour of elected officials. The Government recently consulted on a range of proposals to strengthen the current local government standards regime.The response to the consultation will be published shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 50850 on Local Government: Israel and with reference to the Cabinet Office document entitled Code of conduct for board members of public bodies, published in November 2019, what guidance his Department has issued on whether people who hold regulated public appointments may (a) campaign and (b) support (i) boycott, (ii) divestment and (iii) sanction campaigns outside of where formal legal (A) sanctions, (B) embargoes and (C) restrictions have been put in place by the Government.

Advice on political activity is contained within the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code of Conduct requires public appointees - in their public role - to generally be, and be seen to be, politically impartial and to abstain from all controversial political activity. It also advises that appointees, on matters directly related to the work of the body, should not make political statements or engage in any other political activity. However, subject to these guidelines, the Code does not preclude engagement in general political activity by appointees. They must first have informed the body and/or sponsor department and should remain conscious of their responsibilities and exercise proper discretion at all times.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77628 on South West: Investment, whether there are grant conditions on the use of the £281,250.

The Great South West 2025/26 grant was issued to the accountable body under a section 31 grant pursuant to the Local Government Act 2003. Alongside this, milestones were agreed between MHCLG and Great South West covering key activity around economic intelligence and insight, planning for long-term sustainability and funding options, acting as a regional business voice, and strategic collaboration for growth and inward investment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37801 on Conditions of Employment, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of allowing local authority employers that adopt a four day week to contact employees by (a) email, (b) text and (c) phone on their fallow working day in the proposed draft Statutory Code of Practice under the right to switch off on those employers.

The government believes in the importance of a good work life balance, which is why we are improving access to flexible working through the Employment Rights Bill.If employees have different working patterns, it is important to agree an approach that works to meet business needs and support employees.As we develop the right to switch off we will consult with local authorities, employers and trade unions to ensure it strikes the right balance, to support both businesses and the workforce.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of clawback practices by local authorities on the application of the Community Infrastructure Levy exemption on (a) self-build, (b) annexes and (c) extensions on householders making small administrative errors.

The government recognises that procedural requirements relating to exemptions for housebuilder applications under the 2010 CIL regulations have had financial consequences for some homeowners. We remain committed to finding a solution to this issue.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75619 on Trade Union Officials: Facilities Agreements, if he will publish his Department's policy on diversity network time.

MHCLG is working to adopt the Civil Service Staff Network Policy which launched in September 2025. We don’t have plans to publish our internal policy.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77689 on Local Government: Investment, if he will take steps to stop divestment decisions in local government pension schemes relating to (a) Trident renewal and (b) investment in the defence industry.

Investment strategies for Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds are set by local administering authorities, and include how social, environmental and corporate governance and responsible investment considerations are taken into account. Administering authorities must have regard to their fiduciary duty to scheme members and employers when setting their investment strategy and must follow relevant legislation and guidance.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 69456 on British Muslim Trust, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Akeela Ahmed serving as a member of the Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition on her role as CEO of the British Muslim Trust.

Akeela Ahmed brings a wealth of expertise and a strong commitment to improving outcomes for Muslim communities. These qualities are vital to her roles in both the British Muslim Trust and the independent Working Group. The British Muslim Trust’s work is focused on tracking anti-Muslim hate in the UK and is separate from work undertaken by the independent Working Group.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 50 of his Department's policy paper entitled Pride in Place Strategy, published on 25 September 2025, how much funding has been allocated to Belong; and whether that funding is new funding.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 75178 on 12 September 2025.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of pubs adding service charges for the sale of alcohol without table service on consumers.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCCA) Act 2024 requires traders, including pubs, to display prices inclusive of all taxes and unavoidable charges before payment is made. Prices must be accurate and not misleading. Failure to do this may be taken as an unfair trading practice and constitute an offence.  Pubs can offer consumers a tipping facility to use should they wish to support the local pub and staff.The department has no plans to assess the impact of any voluntary arrangements.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68786 on Right to Buy scheme, if he will publish the (a) total value of Right to Buy receipts generated and (b) value of Right to Buy receipts retained by (i) local authorities and (ii) the Government in each of the last five years.

Receipts from Right to Buy (or equivalent) sales of local authority stock for the financial year 2012-13 onwards, including for each of the last five years, are published on gov.uk here. The government does not publish the amount of Right to Buy receipts retained by local authorities in each financial year