Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the spending to Livewire Consultancy Limited on Research Services was for.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59139 on 16 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55454 on Local Government: Surrey, whether the Local Government Boundary Commission will be formally commissioned to undertake a full boundary review for the new unitaries.

My department is liaising closely with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements across the area of any new unitary local authority.The LGBCE is responsible for electoral reviews for local government, reviewing wards, and setting the council size in terms of number of councillors. When a full electoral review of a newly established authority is carried out, the LGBCE will follow its guidance (which is available on its website). The LGBCE have recently published FAQ on their website to support councils going through Local Government Reorganisation and have set out as part of this that they expect to carry out an electoral review of all newly established local authorities after their first elections and before their subsequent elections.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on considering downstream carbon emissions in planning applications.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change should be considered in preparing and assessing planning applications.The government provides guidance on how carbon impacts can be taken into account in the planning process through its Planning Practice Guidance on Climate Change, the National Design Guide, and the National Model Design Code.While these do not deal with downstream emissions specifically, the government keeps guidance under review and intends to update the Climate Change guidance to provide additional advice on taking carbon emissions into account.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54882 on Elections: Fraud, if she will take steps to improve (a) transparency and (b) accountability in local government.

The government is taking steps to strengthen both. I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to Question UIN 54882 on 9 June 2025. Statutory guidance on overview and scrutiny was updated in April 2024. We are also working to strengthen standards, governance, financial management, and local audit to fix the foundations of local government to ensure that it is fit, legal and decent.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Plan for Neighbourhoods: Regeneration Plan guidance, published on 9 June 2025, what estimate she has made of the (a) quantity and (b) length of the total paperwork required for participants to receive Plan for Neighbourhoods funding.

On 9th June, the government published the Plan for Neighbourhoods Regeneration Plan Guidance which re-iterates our commitment for a light touch assessment process. The Plan for Neighbourhoods represents a break from the competitive bidding process and micromanaging of previous regeneration funds. Instead, this is a model whereby Neighbourhood Boards are provided with a list of pre-approved interventions and given the autonomy such that, if that activity can be evidenced as a clear priority of the community, it can be pursued without the need to provide a lengthy business case. The activities listed range from eye-catching new developments to the bread-and-butter issues raised by people on the doorstep. The Plan for Neighbourhoods will transform “left behind” areas to deliver meaningful change in the day-to-day lives of local people.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 50850 on Local Government: Israel, whether the (a) Local Government Ombudsman, (b) Local Auditor and (c) Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman has powers over breaches of procurement guidance by local authorities.

There are no specific legal powers invested in independent, external bodies to take action over breaches of procurement guidance.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the spending to LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS LLP entitled Consultancy was for.

This spend related to the Local Partnerships’ programme management of the Contract Management Pioneer Programme (CMPP). The CMPP was a capability-building initiative designed to strengthen contract management across local government. It aimed to equip councils with the skills, tools, and confidence needed to manage complex contracts more effectively, improve service outcomes, and deliver better value for money.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the document entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, if she will publish the full specification of the research commissioned from Verian Group UK Limited on (a) Private Rented Sector - Research work and (b) Leasehold Programme Evaluation Scoping.

The Private Rented Sector research carried out by Verian forms part of the Department’s wider monitoring and evaluation work in relation to the Renters’ Rights Bill (further details can be found in its Impact Assessment here). Specifically, my Department commissioned Verian to carry out a longitudinal survey of private renters, to help inform, baseline, and monitor the private rented sector reforms. The findings, which will set out the requirement for the work commissioned, will be published in due course, in line with the our research and analysis evaluation strategy which can be found on gov.uk here.My Department has also commissioned Verian to conduct an evaluation scoping project to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of the government’s leasehold and commonhold reforms. Again, we will publish the evaluation findings, which will set out the requirements of the work commissioned for the scoping study, in due course, in line with the above evaluation strategy.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the spending to CENTRE FOR HOMELESSNESS IMPACT on Research Services was for.

The Centre for Homelessness were commissioned to undertake a programme of ‘Test and Learn’ trials and a systems-wide evaluation of homelessness and rough sleeping.The principles guiding the government’s publication and release of social research can be found on gov.uk here. An interim report was published in February this year, available on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's publication entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the goods or services were commissioned from Livewire Consultancy Limited on revolution Priority Programme.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer to UIN 58018 on 12 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54896 on Civil Service: Recruitment, what the expected level of office attendance is in each of her Department’s offices outside London; and whether civil servants recruited under location-neutral positions have the same expectation of workplace attendance.

In line with this department’s policy, civil servants in offices outside London are generally expected to attend the office for 50% of their working time over a three-month period. Some exceptions apply where specific circumstances limit attendance to less than 50%. Senior Civil Servants are expected to attend an MHCLG office or external location for 60% of their time, regardless of their location. Colleagues who have home-working contracts account for less than 1% of the department’s workforce and do not have the same office attendance expectations. All other staff are contracted to fixed MHCLG locations where the same expectations on office attendance apply. MHCLG maintains an ambition to move to 60% attendance for all staff in future.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54904 on Tony Blair, whether she has held any discussions on government policy with Tony Blair.

As per Question UIN 54904 answered on 9 June 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister attended a Q&A event with Tony Blair. There have been no further official engagements between the Deputy Prime Minister and Tony Blair.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54889 on Homes England, if she will publish the new target operating model for Homes England.

Homes England publishes details of its organisational structure in its annual report and accounts and framework document.The Agency will also publish a new Strategic Plan in due course, setting out how it will work with partners across England to support delivery of the government’s housing ambitions.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on offering loans to property (a) companies and (b) developers.

It is for local authorities to determine their own capital strategies given they are best placed to understand local needs and are accountable to the local electorate.In doing so, local authorities have a duty to comply with the Prudential Framework and must have regard to statutory guidance to ensure plans are prudent, affordable, and sustainable. Guidance for local authorities on investments was published under the previous government. A copy can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025to Question 54202 on Historic Environment Records, which sections of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 her Department (a) intends, (b) does not intend and (c) is still reviewing whether to commence any remaining provisions that have not yet been commenced.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 17127 on 7 January 2025. We are giving consideration to how we implement those LURA provisions which support our growth objectives and will provide updates in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the spending to AtkinsRéalis UK Limited, reference Consultancy was for.

The contract with AtkinsRéalis UK Limited is for the audit of the government approved accreditation schemes who have the responsibility for maintaining the quality of energy performance certificates. This contract provides assurance that the requirements of section 22 of the Energy Performance of the Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 are being met.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55308 on Council Tax: Second Homes, what the reference numbers are for each of the Valuation Tribunal cases relating to (a) council tax liability, (b) the second homes council tax premium and (c) other issues relating to second homes.

The Valuation Tribunal Service offer an online search engine which the hon Member may use to search any appeals relating to council tax liability, the second homes premium or second homes more broadly. This is available on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton of 21 May 2025.

The department aims to respond to correspondence within 20 working days.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's publication entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, April 2025, published on 30 May 2025, if she will publish the research commissioned from the Centre for Homelessness.

The Centre for Homelessness were commissioned to undertake a programme of ‘Test and Learn’ trials and a systems-wide evaluation of homelessness and rough sleeping.The principles guiding the government’s publication and release of social research can be found on gov.uk here. An interim report was published in February this year, available on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what role the Government plays in the setting of municipal parking fines for (a) off-street and (b) on-street parking in England outside London.

Local authorities are empowered by law to decide on appropriate parking arrangements, within the legal framework provided by the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA). In England (excluding Greater London), penalty charges are set by enforcement authorities under the TMA. They must accord with guidelines set by the Secretary of State for Transport in schedule 3 of the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022. Guidelines on Levels of Charges set out in the 2022 Regulations provide two different penalty bands for Local Authorities to choose from, and requires Local Authorities under each band to issue penalties at different rates depending on the seriousness of the contravention. These are: Band 1 (£60 for higher contraventions and £40 for lower contraventions) and Band 2 (£70 for higher contraventions and £50 for lower contraventions).