Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 22038 on Council Tax: Probate, what the minimum length of time is that a property has to be empty for, before which an empty homes council tax premium can be applied by a local authority, in cases where the dwelling is put on sale or let immediately on becoming empty.

Local authorities have the discretionary power to charge a council tax premium on homes which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The government has published guidance which sets out that certain classes of dwellings including those actively marketed for sale or let may be excepted from the premium. This exception will apply provided the dwelling has not been marketed for sale or let for more than one year. Where a property has been marketed for more than one year it would not be eligible for this exception.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 5.15 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025, published on 10 February 2025, whether new unitary authority elections will take place in May 2026 at the same time as the combined authority mayoral elections.

The date of elections to new unitary authorities will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The position remains that elections to authorities specified in the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025 will take place on the date to which they have been postponed, in May 2026.Any local authority dissolved as a result of local government restructuring will cease to exist on the date specified in the legislation providing for that restructuring; that date will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The arrangements for by-elections to councils whose elections have been postponed in May 2025 are as set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025:“Vacancies arising in the six-month period prior to the May 2025 elections would ordinarily have been filled at the May 2025 elections rather than by by-elections. The requirement for by-elections to fill such vacancies is reinstated by the postponement and this ensures there are no long-term vacancies on a council. For clarity, the instrument specifies that such by-elections must take place in the period between the coming into force of the instrument on 4 March 2025 and 1 May 2025.”That Explanatory Memorandum can be found here.Vacancies arising after 1 May 2025 will be filled at by-elections in the usual way, with any vacancies arising in the six month period before the May 2026 elections being filled at those elections.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's correspondence entitled Local government reorganisation: invitation to local authorities in two-tier areas, published on 6 February 2025, if she will launch a full public consultation.

The formal invitations to submit unitary proposals were sent to the leaders of all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. These letters have been published on gov.uk. The letters set out the criteria for the development of unitary proposals, as well as the process that will be followed. The letter asks areas to provide an interim plan to Government on or before 21 March 2025, and provides guidance as to what areas should include in their interim plans. The letters set out expectations that areas jointly develop and submit a single proposal however there will be some cases when it is not possible for all councils in an area to jointly develop and submit a proposal and Government will consider any suitable proposals submitted by the relevant local authorities. It is for councils to respond to the invitation letters, having developed robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. They should engage their Members of Parliament, and ensure there is wide engagement with local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses in working up their proposals. The letter sets out that once a proposal has been submitted, it will be for the Secretary of State to decide on taking a proposal forward and will consult on proposals, as required by statute.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 5.15 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025, published on 10 February 2025, how long will new unitary councils exist in shadow form before they are established as full councils.

My Department has no plans to publish the correspondence or substantive text of the petitions mentioned in paragraph 7.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025, or to publish the Government’s responses. The period a new unitary council exists in shadow form before assuming all council functions will depend on the nature of proposals for local government reorganisation and progress on development of those proposals. The typical period for the recent local government reorganisations has been around one year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's correspondence entitled Local government reorganisation: invitation to local authorities in two-tier areas, published on 6 February 2025, what specific content needs to be provided in the interim plans to be submitted by 21 March 2025.

The formal invitations to submit unitary proposals were sent to the leaders of all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. These letters have been published on gov.uk. The letters set out the criteria for the development of unitary proposals, as well as the process that will be followed. The letter asks areas to provide an interim plan to Government on or before 21 March 2025, and provides guidance as to what areas should include in their interim plans. The letters set out expectations that areas jointly develop and submit a single proposal however there will be some cases when it is not possible for all councils in an area to jointly develop and submit a proposal and Government will consider any suitable proposals submitted by the relevant local authorities. It is for councils to respond to the invitation letters, having developed robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. They should engage their Members of Parliament, and ensure there is wide engagement with local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses in working up their proposals. The letter sets out that once a proposal has been submitted, it will be for the Secretary of State to decide on taking a proposal forward and will consult on proposals, as required by statute.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025, whether elections for specified councils will happen if local government restructuring takes place in those areas.

The date of elections to new unitary authorities will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The position remains that elections to authorities specified in the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025 will take place on the date to which they have been postponed, in May 2026.Any local authority dissolved as a result of local government restructuring will cease to exist on the date specified in the legislation providing for that restructuring; that date will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The arrangements for by-elections to councils whose elections have been postponed in May 2025 are as set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025:“Vacancies arising in the six-month period prior to the May 2025 elections would ordinarily have been filled at the May 2025 elections rather than by by-elections. The requirement for by-elections to fill such vacancies is reinstated by the postponement and this ensures there are no long-term vacancies on a council. For clarity, the instrument specifies that such by-elections must take place in the period between the coming into force of the instrument on 4 March 2025 and 1 May 2025.”That Explanatory Memorandum can be found here.Vacancies arising after 1 May 2025 will be filled at by-elections in the usual way, with any vacancies arising in the six month period before the May 2026 elections being filled at those elections.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the (a) substantive petition text and (b) Government response to each campaign referred to in paragraph 7.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025.

My Department has no plans to publish the correspondence or substantive text of the petitions mentioned in paragraph 7.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025, or to publish the Government’s responses. The period a new unitary council exists in shadow form before assuming all council functions will depend on the nature of proposals for local government reorganisation and progress on development of those proposals. The typical period for the recent local government reorganisations has been around one year.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the correspondence referred to in paragraph 7.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025.

My Department has no plans to publish the correspondence or substantive text of the petitions mentioned in paragraph 7.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025, or to publish the Government’s responses. The period a new unitary council exists in shadow form before assuming all council functions will depend on the nature of proposals for local government reorganisation and progress on development of those proposals. The typical period for the recent local government reorganisations has been around one year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 December 2024 on Local Government Finance Settlement, HCWS342, for what reason her Department plans to change the default option for council tax to paying over 12 months.

The government has announced it will consult on moving to default 12-month billing to support taxpayers to manage their household finances and further spread the cost of their bills. No decisions on the policy have yet been taken.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to her oral statement of 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, Column 766, whether she plans to follow article four of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the context of her proposals to transfer powers from local authorities to strategic authorities.

In December 2024, the government published its English Devolution White Paper, which set an ambitious new framework for English devolution, moving power out of Westminster and into the hands of those who know their area best. This devolution programme will continue to fully comply with all our obligations under the Charter. We want to see all of England access devolution by establishing Strategic Authorities – organisations made up of a number of councils working together over areas that people recognise and work in - that can make the key decisions to drive economic growth. Ultimately, our goal is mayoral devolution. This government believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved where there is a mayor in place, to provide strong local leadership and accountability. We want to achieve this goal in partnership with local areas wherever possible.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's correspondence entitled Local government reorganisation: invitation to local authorities in two-tier areas, published on 6 February 2025, whether there are requirements for district and county councils in a two-tier area to agree on a single proposal before submitting it to her Department.

The formal invitations to submit unitary proposals were sent to the leaders of all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. These letters have been published on gov.uk. The letters set out the criteria for the development of unitary proposals, as well as the process that will be followed. The letter asks areas to provide an interim plan to Government on or before 21 March 2025, and provides guidance as to what areas should include in their interim plans. The letters set out expectations that areas jointly develop and submit a single proposal however there will be some cases when it is not possible for all councils in an area to jointly develop and submit a proposal and Government will consider any suitable proposals submitted by the relevant local authorities. It is for councils to respond to the invitation letters, having developed robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. They should engage their Members of Parliament, and ensure there is wide engagement with local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses in working up their proposals. The letter sets out that once a proposal has been submitted, it will be for the Secretary of State to decide on taking a proposal forward and will consult on proposals, as required by statute.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025, to Question 21621 on Unitary Councils, what the average (a) population size, (b) number of electoral wards, (c) total number of councillors and (d) residents per councillor were for each unitary council on 21 February 2025.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England collects electorate data from local authorities on an annual basis, and the latest data collection exercise was carried out in 2024. Where an authority has been subject to a completed electoral review which has not been implemented yet, the incoming council size and ward data has been used rather than existing.From this data, for existing unitary authorities (including the Isles of Scilly), the total average is as follows:Average total number of wards/divisions: 31Average total number of councillors: 58Population data is collected and published by the ONS. The latest data available is from 2023, and indicates that the average population in existing unitary authorities is 265,028. Based on this population, the average population per councillor in existing unitary authorities can be calculated to be approximately 4,600 people per councillor.

Communities and Local Government, on what date councils with cancelled elections in May 2025 will cease to exist as legal entities.

The date of elections to new unitary authorities will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The position remains that elections to authorities specified in the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025 will take place on the date to which they have been postponed, in May 2026.Any local authority dissolved as a result of local government restructuring will cease to exist on the date specified in the legislation providing for that restructuring; that date will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The arrangements for by-elections to councils whose elections have been postponed in May 2025 are as set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025:“Vacancies arising in the six-month period prior to the May 2025 elections would ordinarily have been filled at the May 2025 elections rather than by by-elections. The requirement for by-elections to fill such vacancies is reinstated by the postponement and this ensures there are no long-term vacancies on a council. For clarity, the instrument specifies that such by-elections must take place in the period between the coming into force of the instrument on 4 March 2025 and 1 May 2025.”That Explanatory Memorandum can be found here.Vacancies arising after 1 May 2025 will be filled at by-elections in the usual way, with any vacancies arising in the six month period before the May 2026 elections being filled at those elections.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has commissioned research into local government restructuring in the last two years.

My department has not commissioned research into local government restructuring in the last two years, of which over a year of that period was covered by the previous government.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23871 on Unitary Councils, whether she plans to (a) instruct the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to undertake a structural review of local authorities and (b) seek the advice of that Commission on an ad-hoc basis.

As set out in my answer to Question UIN 23871, the 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 authorities.The Secretary of State will seek the advice of the LGBCE as appropriate and as set out in statue in relation to local government reorganisation.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the correspondence entitled Local government reorganisation: invitation to local authorities in two-tier areas, published on 6 February 2025, whether members of the public can respond to the invitation letters; and what weight will be given to representations from organisations other than the (a) principal authorities and (b) town and parish councils.

The formal invitations to submit unitary proposals were sent to the leaders of all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. These letters have been published on gov.uk. The letters set out the criteria for the development of unitary proposals, as well as the process that will be followed. The letter asks areas to provide an interim plan to Government on or before 21 March 2025, and provides guidance as to what areas should include in their interim plans. The letters set out expectations that areas jointly develop and submit a single proposal however there will be some cases when it is not possible for all councils in an area to jointly develop and submit a proposal and Government will consider any suitable proposals submitted by the relevant local authorities. It is for councils to respond to the invitation letters, having developed robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. They should engage their Members of Parliament, and ensure there is wide engagement with local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses in working up their proposals. The letter sets out that once a proposal has been submitted, it will be for the Secretary of State to decide on taking a proposal forward and will consult on proposals, as required by statute.

Communities and Local Government, what the final date is for by-elections for councils with cancelled elections in May 2025.

The date of elections to new unitary authorities will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The position remains that elections to authorities specified in the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025 will take place on the date to which they have been postponed, in May 2026.Any local authority dissolved as a result of local government restructuring will cease to exist on the date specified in the legislation providing for that restructuring; that date will depend on the nature of proposals and progress on development of those proposals.The arrangements for by-elections to councils whose elections have been postponed in May 2025 are as set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025:“Vacancies arising in the six-month period prior to the May 2025 elections would ordinarily have been filled at the May 2025 elections rather than by by-elections. The requirement for by-elections to fill such vacancies is reinstated by the postponement and this ensures there are no long-term vacancies on a council. For clarity, the instrument specifies that such by-elections must take place in the period between the coming into force of the instrument on 4 March 2025 and 1 May 2025.”That Explanatory Memorandum can be found here.Vacancies arising after 1 May 2025 will be filled at by-elections in the usual way, with any vacancies arising in the six month period before the May 2026 elections being filled at those elections.

Communities and Local Government, how many homes for (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent and (c) low-cost ownership she expects to be built under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026.

My department published an update on targets in respect of the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme on 30 July 2024. It can be found on gov.uk here.In October 2024, the government announced £500 million in new in-year funding for the Affordable Homes Programme. As a result of significant demand from housing providers across the country, that additional funding is already oversubscribed.In February 2025, the government announced a further allocation of £300 million to the Affordable Homes Programme. This will support the near-term delivery of more social and affordable housing, delivering up to 2,800 new homes with more than half being Social Rent homes.At the multi-year Spending Review later this year, the government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 26838 on Local Government: Debts, whether councils which are (a) in two-tier areas and (b) have high levels of unsustainable debt will have those debts ringfenced during local government restructuring to the council area which originally generated the debt.

It is the responsibility of councils to manage their budgets, and it is standard for councils to borrow and to hold debt, which they will do in the normal course of business. In general, as with previous restructures including those very recently, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation. For areas where there are exceptional circumstances where there has been failure linked to capital practices, proposals should reflect the extent to which the implications of this can be managed locally, including as part of efficiencies possible through reorganisation. We will work in partnership with local areas to work through the implications of this.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to her oral statement of 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, Column 766, whether she plans to follow article six of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the context of her proposals to change two-tier councils to unitary structures.

The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, sets out the process we will follow in undertaking local government reorganisation. The undertakings in the Act are consistent with the UK’s commitments under the European Charter of Local Self Government and we will continue to fully comply with all our obligations under the Charter. In formulating proposals for local government reorganisation we expect local leaders to ensure there is wide engagement with their Members of Parliament, local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses in working up their proposals. Once a proposal has been submitted it will be for the Government to decide on taking a proposal forward and to consult as required by statute. Once established, the new unitarities will determine the structure of their own administrative services and terms of employment.