Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) Home England's and (b) his Department’s definition is of a housing start.

When referring to housing starts, my Department uses the definition for “new build dwelling start” in housing supply statistics and “start on site” in its affordable housing statistics. Homes England also uses the term “start on site” to refer to housing starts. Both terms are defined in the Housing Statistics and English Housing Survey glossary which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has undertaken research on the potential impact of rent controls on the housing market.

My Department regularly reviews external research and evidence related to various aspects of the private rented sector. The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures. We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2025, to Question 72839, on Planning Permission, whether the increased digitalisation of the planning system review will examine removing the requirement for statutory notices to be placed in local newspapers.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 75991 on 26 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the answer of 5 August 2025 to Question HL9889 on Asylum: Housing, what the £500 million will be spent on; over what time period that funding is for; and whether it will involve a bidding process.

As allocated as part of the Spending Review, the government is investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities.The model supported by this funding will be delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with the Home Office and local authorities.Its aim is to deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers by supporting local authorities to make available basic alternative accommodation that can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. In the longer term, our intention is to ensure that the accommodation made available benefits local communities and reduces pressure on local housing markets.We continue to engage with local government on the design of the model and will confirm the process for distributing funding in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68122 on Business Premises: Rents, if he will publish that research.

The government published a full Impact Assessment upon First Reading of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on 10 July. All sources for our analysis are included within it.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to the Local Government Pension Scheme on hiring lobbyists; and whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

The Department has not issued guidance to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) on hiring lobbyists. Local authorities should have regard to the provisions of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.The Department is in regular contact with LGPS funds and asset pools, including the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, as part of work to implement LGPS reforms.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73599 on Personal Pensions: Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the treatment of self-invested personal pensions in relation to local council tax support.

The Department has not issued guidance on the treatment of self-invested personal pensions in relation to local council tax support schemes. Support for working age households is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Pension-age council tax support is centrally prescribed in the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012. The regulations set out how income and capital are to be treated when determining the level of support, including various types of retirement pension income.

Communities and Local Government, what information his department holds on the (a) amount of green belt that has been de-designated and (b) number of developments that have been built on green belt land since the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024.

As part of our annual Green Belt release, my Department published the extent of England’s Green Belt as at 31 March 2025. It can be found on gov.uk here. These statistics give the area of land designated as Green Belt by local authority in England, and also provide details on each local authority who made changes to their Green Belt between 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Data is collected by financial year. Figures for 2025-26 will be published in our next release at the end of 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether the provision of (a) short-term and (b) long-term accommodation for asylum seekers is included within the target of 1.5 million new homes.

The government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in England in this Parliament.Progress against this commitment is being measured through net additional dwellings. The types of accommodation included are defined on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason there is a four year limit on Section 183 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 stop notices for cases involving the use of (a) hotels and (b) houses in multiple occupation.

Stop notices are intended for use where the impact of a breach of planning control is such that it needs to be stopped quickly and before the related enforcement notice takes effect. The four-year time limit for their use was first introduced by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 on the basis that, if a breach has already been in existence for more than four years it is less likely that it would need to be stopped quickly.

Whether the provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will apply to (a) town and (b) parish councillors.

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill reforms abolish the common law offence of misconduct in public office and introduce two new offences: seriously improper acts and breach of duty to prevent death or serious injury. These new offences apply to elected officials, including town and parish councillors.

Communities and Local Government, whether strategic authority commissioners will be politically restricted.

The government will be setting out further details on Commissioners in statutory guidance using powers set out in Schedule 3 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. We will consider appropriate political restrictions to be included in this guidance.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written ministerial statement of 2 September 2025 on Local Regeneration, HCWS900, whether funding allocations previously given to local authorities from the Levelling Up Fund will be retained by those authorities.

Yes, as part of the Local Regeneration Fund, allocations provided to Local Authorities from the Levelling up Fund will be retained. The Local Regeneration Fund consolidates multiple funds into a single pot, with greater flexibility. It exemplifies this government’s commitment to pushing power to local authorities, reducing burdens and allowing them to get on with delivery.

Communities and Local Government, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding has been allocated to the Local Regeneration Fund in each year of the Spending Review period; and whether any of this funding has been repurposed from cancelled schemes.

The Local Regeneration Fund is a consolidation of existing local growth capital funds (Levelling Up Fund, Town Deals, and the Pathfinder Pilot). No schemes were cancelled. Local Authorities in receipt of Local Regeneration Fund were paid £1,330m Capital and £9.4m Revenue in September 2025 for financial year 2025/26. Departmental internal business planning processes for future years are still ongoing, therefore we cannot yet confirm specific allocations for the LRF at this time as allocations are provisional.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69680 on English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, with which mayors his Department has held discussions on the supplementary vote.

Before the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill was introduced on 10 July 2025, all Mayors were invited to a briefing on the Bill, which included discussions on the change back to the supplementary vote.

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the letter from the Rt hon. Member for Braintree of 13 August 2025.

The Rt Hon Member’s letter has been passed to the Department for Business and Trade for a response.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 75188 on MHCLG: University of Cambridge, for what reason the salary of the Chief Scientific Adviser is recharged through Cambridge University.

The MHCLG Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) is a Professor of Engineering at Cambridge University. MHCLG is recharged a proportionate amount to account for his role as CSA in the department.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question 69050 on Local Government Finance, what the aggregate value was of the capitalised costs in 2024-25.

Since 2016, under a general direction initially put in place by the previous government, local authorities have the flexibility to use eligible capital receipts to fund the costs of projects that produce ongoing savings or efficiencies.Local authorities are required to provide annual returns to Government, including data on revenue expenditure. The latest return was published on 18th September 2025: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2024 to 2025 – first release - GOV.UK. The data includes reported revenue spend funded by capital receipts under the general direction.These values may be subject to revision as authorities provide further or updated information.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68790 on MHCLG: Civil Servants, for what reason the London pay range is paid to civil servants in the Hemel Hempstead office.

The application of the MHCLG London pay scale to the Hemel Hempstead office relates to a historic decision and wider contractual pay agreement reached with Departmental Trade Unions.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce planning restrictions on the opening of (a) betting shops, (b) vaping shops and (c) Turkish barbers.

My Department currently has no plans to introduce such restrictions. An application for planning permission will always be required for an additional betting office. In the Pride in Place Strategy, we committed to introduce Cumulative Impact Assessments in gambling licensing, which will allow councils to take data-driven decisions on premises licences, particularly in areas that have been identified as being vulnerable to gambling-related harm. Furthermore, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will provide powers for ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products.