Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, whether Surrey will have (a) mayoral combined authority and (b) unitary council elections in (i) 2026 and (ii) 2027.

Surrey will not have a mayoral election in 2026 as it has not been included in the Devolution Priority Programme; decisions on subsequent devolution have not yet been taken. The date of any unitary council elections will depend on the nature of proposals for local government reorganisation and progress on development of those proposals.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that proposed larger local authorities do not impact economies of scale.

The government’s long-term vision is for simpler structures which put the right powers at the right scale. On the 5 February, I formally invited proposals for local government reorganisation from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring unitary councils.The invitation letter sets out the criteria against which proposals will be assessed in coming to a decision on implementation. These include the criteria that new unitary structures must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks; reflect local identity considerations; and enable stronger community engagement and genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment. As set out in the published criteria for proposals, proposals should be for sensible economic areas, with an appropriate tax base which does not create an undue advantage or disadvantage for one part of the area.It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024, what powers directly elected Mayors will hold on the development of spatial planning strategies; and whether directly elected Mayors in Mayoral Combined Authorities will have the authority to rescind Local Plans within their boundary which have passed inspection stage by HM Planning Inspectorate.

As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, Mayors will have a duty to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy for their area. The required provisions will be set out in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We do not intend to give Mayors a power to rescind a local development plan.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) businesses and (b) hereditaments eligible for Retail Hospitality and Leisure business rate relief which are subject to the £110,000 cap.

The Government does not collect business-level data regarding recipients of business rate reliefs. All available hereditament-level data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils. This data does not contain specific estimates concerning hereditaments which are subject to the £110,000 cap on retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 26551 on Business Premises: Change of Use, how many additional dwellings were provided from the prior approval applications from October 2022 to September 2024.

The office to residential permitted development right (Class O) was subsumed into the commercial, business and service uses to residential permitted development right (Class MA) in August 2022.The Department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply.It includes estimates of new dwellings delivered from change of use through permitted development rights in England in each financial year, up to 2023-24, and can be found in Live Table 120 on gov.uk here.The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.

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 five of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the context of her consultation on local government restructuring.

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.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 26476 to Community Development: Radicalism, whether (a) individuals and (b) groups that condone criminal activity are able to submit responses to public consultations.

The government does not actively and knowingly consult with any individual or group that condones criminal activity.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 26476 to Community Development: Radicalism, whether (a) Standard 1 and (b) Standard 3 of the Government’s principles of engagement, published on 14 March 2024, remain her policy.

The engagement principles have not been further updated since July 2024. The existing principles remain valid.

Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse was of her recent visit to Ethiopia; and by which Department it was paid for.

Details of international Ministerial visits are published on a quarterly basis.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23872 on Councillors: Data protection, for what reason her Department’s plans to deliver the policy on councillor’s home addresses is best achieved by a full Act of Parliament.

Primary legislation is needed to amend the Localism Act 2011 which contains provisions that require councillors to disclose their home address and authorities to disclose them on the public register of interests.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 26612 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, for what reason the decision was taken to amend spend publication thresholds.

MHCLG has reviewed its publication of spend data and has brought this in line with Cabinet Office requirements.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the debate during the National Security Bill of 4 July 2024, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1125, whether she has had discussions with the Electoral Commission on increasing data sharing from public authorities to political parties.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Question UIN 23153 answered on 29 January 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how much has been spent by Homes England on diversity, equality and inclusion (a) training and (b) programmes since 5 July 2024.

In line with the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance - GOV.UK which came into effect in May 2024 Homes England has not commissioned any formal diversity, equality and inclusion training activity or training programmes.The Agency have recently invested £400 to attend the Whitehall & Industry Group (WIG) Diversity & Inclusion conference with a focus on ‘benchmarking and collaborating across all sectors to create inclusive and high-performance workplaces’. Learning from this event will be shared to maximise value and a return on investment.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department has provided to Homes England for the remediation of (a) contaminated and (b) brownfield land.

The Department is unable to provide the information requested as Homes England is not delegated a budget specifically for the remediation of land.The government’s Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Programme (National and London) is designed to unlock brownfield land. A proportion of funding from it is spent on land remediation.As set out in in the 2023/24 Homes England Annual Report and Accounts, the Agency spent £33 million on the BIL Programme in that year, the first year of the programme. The funding allocation to end of 28/29 for the BIL Programme is £1 billion.

Communities and Local Government, which Minister in her Department will be responsible for fire services.

As with all departmental business, the Secretary of State maintains overall responsibility for the work of the department, and I will support the Secretary of State on fire services.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 24230 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Appointments, whether her Department has had discussions with the office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments on the reasons for which the Departmental board was unable to meet.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments regulates public appointments and provides independent assurance in relation to these. We wrote to the Commissioner on 2 October 2024 to consult him on the appointment of an interim Lead Non-Executive Director to ensure non-executive representation at the departmental board. This is in line with central governance requirements for government departments. We report on the activities of the departmental board as part of our standard annual reporting processes, which include the Annual Report and Accounts.

Communities and Local Government, how her Department enforces breaches of flag flying regulations; and what guidance her Department has produced on enforcement of advertising regulations.

Responsibility for the enforcement of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007, which control the display of adverts including flags, rests with local planning authorities.It is for authorities to decide when and how they use their enforcement powers.The department publishes general guidance on the advertisement consent regime which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 February 2025 on Further support for social and affordable housebuilding and next steps on supported housing, HCWS447, what the estimated average grant subsidy per unit is for funding provided for local authority temporary accommodation.

The amount of grant provided under the third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund is calculated relative to local property prices. We provide a grant of 40% of the median house price in the local authority area, or 50% for larger homes.On the 12 February the government committed a further £50 million in new funding and around £30 million of reallocated funds taking the total funding available to £530 million. Based on the total expected commitment and outcomes, the average grant rate for each home delivered will be c. £196k.We do not provide different grant rates for tenures under the Local Authority Housing Fund, but we do require that all homes delivered under the fund are affordable.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 27566 on Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, if she will list each substantive policy measure in that Act that has not yet (a) commenced and (b) been implemented.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 27566 on 7 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what her policy is on the regeneration of estates.

The government is committed to supporting estate regeneration schemes to transform neighbourhoods by delivering high-quality, well-designed places, more homes, and opportunities for residents.Tenants are key partners in estate regeneration, and their engagement is essential in any successful scheme.Since 2023, the Affordable Homes Programme funding has been available to deliver estate regeneration schemes where there is a positive impact on overall housing supply.In London, government is delivering additional funding through the £50 million London Estate Regeneration Fund, working in partnership with the Greater London Authority.