Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 18960 on Council of the Nations and Regions: National Identity, what definition of (a) regions and (b) nations her Department uses within the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024.

The United Kingdom comprises four constituent nations. The English Devolution White paper sets out how powers will be devolved within England, to regions whose boundaries are to be agreed with local stakeholders.

Communities and Local Government, how many times the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has made a representation to her Department on the call-in of a planning application in the last ten years.

Officials do not monitor or track the number of representations made by particular organisations or parties over time. As such, the department does not hold such statistics.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 16 December 2024 on English Devolution, HCWS316, if she will place in the Library a copy of each substantive response by local authorities to the invitation sent to places without devolution in July 2024.

As has been the case under successive administrations, we do not generally publish private letters of correspondence sent to Government Ministers.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Devolution White Paper, CP 1218, if she will make an estimate of the average change in Band D council tax in England from proposed changes to mayoral precepts.

Mayoral precepts are a matter for mayors, who are accountable to local taxpayers. Successive governments have not put in place measures to limit mayoral precepts. The measures in the English Devolution White Paper seek to provide consistent powers between Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled Development and Nature Recovery, published on 15 December 2024, whether she plans to (a) amend and (b) repeal the assimilated EU Habitat Regulation Assessment regulations.

The government does not consider it necessary to repeal environmental legislation to take forward the approach set out in the Development and Nature Planning Reform Working Paper to accelerate housing and infrastructure development whilst going beyond offsetting harm to drive forward nature recovery, although targeted changes may be required. As set out in the King’s Speech, we will only act in legislation where we can confirm to Parliament that the steps we are taking will deliver positive environmental outcomes.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 64 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what assessment she has made of the impact of the (a) abolition of district councils with existing Local Plans, (b) requirement of new unitaries to develop new Local Plans and (c) development of Spatial Development Strategies on the viability of the delivery of the 1.5 million homes target in this Parliament.

Where an area is going through local government reorganisation, it is essential that individual local authorities continue to deliver services and statutory duties as these remain unchanged up until such time as the re-organisation process is complete.The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) requires all local planning authorities to identify strategic priorities for the development and use of land in the authority’s area and set out policies to address these in their development plan.New unitary authorities agree to take on this responsibility when they reorganise, and the government expects to see them playing their part in delivering universal coverage of local development plans as soon as possible.The production of Spatial Development Strategies will improve housing delivery by facilitating effective cross-boundary cooperation and enabling the most beneficial use to be made of sustainable development sites with the appropriate infrastructure either present or planned.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2024, to Question 18953, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, whether 10 Downing Street asked the Deputy Prime Minister to call in the planning application, further to the Prime Minister’s conversation with President Xi on the matter.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 17009 on 6 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 16 December 2024 on English Devolution, HCWS316, how many areas will be in the first wave of local government restructuring.

On 16th December, I wrote to all councils in two-tier areas and to neighbouring small unitaries alongside the White Paper, to set out our plans. I intend to write soon to formally invite unitary proposals from all these councils. As set out in the White Paper we will deliver an ambitious first wave of reorganisation in this Parliament.

Communities and Local Government, what requests she has received from local authorities to set a council tax referendum threshold for 2025-26 above the draft Local Government Finance Settlement.

I refer the hon Member to the written ministerial made by the Secretary of State (HCWS413) on 3 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to para 4.2.3 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, how the (a) debts and (b) surpluses of individual councils will be divided up in areas with local government restructuring; and whether debt liability will be transferred to all the taxpayers in the new unitary.

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. Local government re-organisation does not change this. Previous Secretaries of State used statutory powers to intervene in a small number of councils failing their Best Value Duty partly associated with high levels of unsustainable debt.We will work with local leaders to explore how best to support local government reorganisation where there has been failure. We will continue to work with Best Value Commissioners in these councils to support the councils’ financial recovery.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 18952 on Local Government Pension Scheme, what assessment she has made of the potential risk (a) to investment returns from the proposed changes to the nature and types of investments and (b) of political interference in investment decisions.

The Government remains committed to fiduciary duty remaining with local pension funds, who are responsible for ensuring that assets are invested in the best interests of employers and scheme members. Fiduciary duty is key to limiting political interference in investment decisions. Under the Government’s proposals Local Government Pension Scheme administering authorities will retain the responsibility for setting an investment strategy for their fund, including high-level objectives on the required levels of risk and return, which is the key driver of investment returns.The Government published analysis in the Pension fund investment and the UK economy research paper, which illustrated that greater scale is able to generate greater economies and efficiencies, and to reduce investment risks.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to Written Statement of 18 December 2024 on the Local Government Finance Settlement, HCWS342, what the real terms increase in core spending power is for each local authority.

The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government. This is a 6.8% cash terms increase or 4.3% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 18957 on Devolution: East of England, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to devolve decision-making powers to (a) parents in relation to local education policy and (b) local taxpayers in relation to the delivery of public services.

We committed in the English Devolution White Paper to look at the case for strengthening communities with greater rights to be involved in their local issues and there will be further announcements relating to communities later this year. It is for local leaders to decide to decide how best to engage with residents in their delivery of services.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 19702 on Housing: Construction, if the 1.5 million target will be backloaded in this Parliament.

As set out in our Plan for Change, lead times in planning, infrastructure and construction mean we are already constrained by the impact of decisions taken by the previous government, but we expect the number of new homes to start rising significantly in the third year of the Parliament once our reforms take effect.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled Development and Nature Recovery, published on 15 December 2024, what steps is she taking to ensure new housebuilding is prioritised over the protection of newts.

When it comes to development and the environment, we know we can do better than the status quo, which too often sees both sustainable housebuilding and nature recovery stall. Instead of environmental protections being seen as a barrier to growth, we want to unlock a win-win for the economy and for nature.Proposals for a Nature Restoration Fund are under development for inclusion in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Further information will be set out when the Bill is introduced.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 December 2024 on English Devolution, HCWS316, whether local authorities will be able to impose selective licensing requirements on all private rented properties.

On 23 December 2024, a new General Approval for selective licensing came into force. This enables local authorities to introduce selective licensing schemes of any size without seeking approval from the Secretary of State. Under the previous 2015 General Approval, approval was required for schemes covering more than 20% of a local authority’s Private Rented Sector stock or geographical area.No changes have been made to the legislative requirements for introducing and managing a selective licensing scheme. Local authorities will still need to meet the requirements under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 and comply with the condition in the General Approval to consult for at least 10 weeks on any new schemes.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending the New Homes Bonus on the funding of district councils.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19760 on 20 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled Development and Nature Recovery, published on 15 December 2024, whether Delivery Plans will be part of Local Plans.

Delivery Plans as proposed in the Development and Nature Planning Reform Working Paper would be prepared for protected habitats or species and would not necessarily be at the scale of local plans.Proposals for a Nature Restoration Fund are under development for inclusion in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Further information will be set out when the Bill is introduced.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.2.2 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what formula her Department will use to distribute funding to strategic authorities.

Paragraph 4.2.2 relates to the recovery grant and wider plans to reform funding to local authorities, not Strategic Authorities.Strategic Authorities receive their funding from a variety of sources and different government departments, reflecting their different responsibilities. Allocation methodologies for these funds vary depending on the aims of the funding.To enable greater flexibility and local control, the most mature Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MCAs) are eligible to receive much of their devolved funding through a single Integrated Settlement. The integrated settlements represent a change to the process in which funding from central government is allocated to MCAs, rather than a change to the quantum that the MCAs receive.The formulae are applied to relevant departmental budgets to provide Authorities with a share of funds in scope and seek to deliver the principle that MCAs are not worse off than had the Integrated Settlements not been in place.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 23337 on Local Government: Debts, what discussions she has had with local authorities on the allocation of council debt following local government reorganisation.

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. Local government re-organisation does not change this.Previous Secretaries of State used statutory powers to intervene in a small number of councils failing their Best Value Duty partly associated with high levels of unsustainable debt.We will work with local leaders to explore how best to support local government reorganisation where there has been failure. We will continue to work with Best Value Commissioners in these councils to support the councils’ financial recovery.