Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 64190 on Unitary Councils: Cambridgeshire, whether the same timetable will apply to other proposed new unitary councils with (a) November and (b) September response deadlines.

The government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England and moving to a single tier of local government in all parts of the country as soon as practicable. This will create simpler structures for the public, strengthen disjointed services and help councils pursue efficiencies. We anticipate that for areas submitting final proposals at the end of September, a consultation could be launched in November, closing in the new year, and for areas submitting final proposals at the end of November a consultation could be launched in the new year closing after the local elections in May 2026.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings, January to March 2025, published on 26 June 2025, what the (a) cost and (b) name was of each of the hotels she used during her visit to Africa.

The Deputy Prime Minister did not use hotel accommodation during this visit.

Communities and Local Government, whether the new definition of Islamophobia will be adopted by the police for (a) the recording of non-hate crime incidents and (b) deciding whether to prosecute an individual for telecommunications or public order offences.

The Government established an independent Working Group to advise the Government on a definition of Islamophobia/Anti-Muslim hatred. Should the Government accept the recommendations of the Working Group, the definition used will be non-statutory. It will enable Government and other relevant bodies to have a greater understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities. Once the Government has had time to review this independent advice, it will consider its next steps.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of planning paperwork for new build (a) homes and (b) flats.

On 28 May 2025, the government published the Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds (which can be found on gov.uk here) which sought views on taking a gradated approach to the planning system, removing and streamlining disproportionate requirements on small and medium sites.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Future Homes Standard will permit (a) air conditioning and (b) air to air reversible heat pumps in (i) new build and (ii) refurbished dwellings.

Under the Future Homes Standard (FHS), which will apply to new builds only, new homes will be required to be built with low carbon heating. We do not mandate specific technologies in the Building Regulations and so we expect a range of different types of heat pumps or other low carbon technologies to be used.While the FHS will not be focused on overheating, Part O of the Building Regulations requires that new residential buildings are built to mitigate the risk of overheating. Mechanical cooling can be used, however, given the government’s net zero commitment, our preferred means of mitigating overheating is through passive means. Developers must demonstrate that all possible passive means of cooling a dwelling have been implemented before adopting mechanical cooling. As part of the Future Homes and Buildings Standard consultation, which closed in March 2024, we sought evidence on whether current overheating standards are appropriate or require amendment. The government will set out the evidence it received and its response to this in Autumn 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 62598 on Right to Buy Scheme, what estimate she has made of the number of Right to Buy sales per year following those further reforms to the Right to Buy.

Preliminary modelling of the effects of lowering percentage discounts and extending the qualifying tenancy period for the Right to Buy indicates that sales could fall to c.1,000 homes per year in the short run. This estimate is based on early analysis and should be treated as indicative, pending further refinement. We will provide a fuller assessment ahead of introducing the necessary legislation.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance she has provided to local authorities on (a) spending Community Infrastructure Levy receipts, (b) deriving related interest from unspent funds and (c) how such interest should be allocated in two-tier areas between districts and counties.

My Department has published guidance on CIL which includes how receipts should be spent. The guidance, which is available gov.uk here, makes clear that charging authorities should work closely with county councils in setting priorities for how CIL receipts will be spent.I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 56282 on 10 June 2025 and Question UIN 54059 on 6 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of QR code fraud in municipal car parks; and what guidance she has provided to (a) local authorities and (b) the public to help mitigate this.

QR Code Fraud is a crime. The Department for Business and Trade provide funding for general consumer education and information campaigns to Citizens Space. On behalf of the Consumer Protection Partnership, Citizens Advice run an annual scams awareness campaign. The October 2024 campaign was focused on financial scams and included Parking QR code scams. The campaign was actively promoted in print and social media at both national and local level.

Communities and Local Government, how many applications have been made to the Building Safety Regulator since 4 July 2024; and how many of those (a) were approved, (b) were rejected and (c) are awaiting Gateway (i) 2 and (ii) 3 approval.

The table below shows number of building control approval applications received by the BSR and how many of those where approved, rejected, and are awaiting approval, for both Gateway 2 and 3, since 4 July 2024. Decision MadeGateway 2Gateway 3Grand TotalApproval25429283Invalid422 422Rejection2471248Withdrawn107 107Awaiting Approval91780997Grand total19471102057 The BSR will be regularly publishing data demonstrating the volumes of applications received, outcomes and decision times for determination. The first tranche of this data for Gateway 2 applications was published 9 July 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what her policy is on the use of Special Development Orders for private sector development which does not engage matters of national security.

Special Development Orders are a long-established part of the planning system. Each case is considered on its individual merits. The government has no plans to change this approach.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has provided to local planning authorities on whether a reserved matters planning application can be rejected on the principle of development established in approved outline planning application.

The government have published no such guidance. Guidance relating to outline planning permission and approval of reserved matters is set out in Planning Practice Guidance on making an application which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to merge Homes England into her Department.

There are no plans to merge Homes England into MHCLG.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58732 on Members: Correspondence, for what reason a response to the correspondence has been delayed.

The former Deputy Prime Minister is no longer in post.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to amend nationally described space standards for flats.

The government has no plans to change the Nationally Described Space Standard at this time.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the second homes council tax premium on trends in the level of quick-sale property companies; and whether those property companies are regulated.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 34286 on 7 March. The government does not make housing market assessments based on the premium. Consumer protection laws apply to transactions made with quick sale sites.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the London Borough of Brent on Brent’s proposal to twin with the city of the city of Nablus in the West Bank.

I refer my hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 67392 on 21 July 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62262 on Special Educational Needs: Finance, whether her Department has provided guidance to local authorities on statutory override accounting for special educational needs and disabilities services deficits; and what estimate her Department has made of the aggregate level of such deficits in each local education authority in England.

As per the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62262 on Special Educational Needs: Finance, this government recognises the pressures local authorities are facing because of their Dedicated School Grant (DSG) deficits and that the extension to the DSG Statutory Override is part of a phased transition to a reformed Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. The DSG Statutory Override is an accounting treatment, first introduced in 2020, that allows local authorities to exclude DSG deficits from their main revenue budgets. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engages regularly with local authorities and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the impact of these deficits and the extent to which they are expected to grow. The government will provide more detail by the end of the year on the plan for supporting authorities with both historic and accruing deficits. We will set out more detail at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.

Communities and Local Government, how much (a) capital and (b) revenue funding her Department has allocated for the Social and Affordable Housing Programme in the 2026-27 financial year.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 60128 on 4 July 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 6 of the statutory guidance entitled Flexible use of capital receipts: direction, updated on 26 March 2025, which local authorities have informed her Department of using those flexibilities since July 2024; what the purpose of the expenditure capitalised was; and how much was capitalised.

As set out in the gov.uk general direction and guidance, local authorities intending to use the flexible use of capital receipt (FUCR) discretionary freedom are required to provide the government details planned use of the flexibility. This is to support transparency in local decision making; local authorities remain responsible in ensuring that they meet the requirements of the direction and appropriately follow the guidance. The government does not publish a list of authorities that have submitted plans or details that authorities have provided on the intended use of the flexibility – in some cases authorities may have chosen not to make this information public for reasons such as commercial sensitivity. However, the direction requires that the flexibility may only be used for costs incurred to generate ongoing revenue savings or reduce costs. For financial year 2024/25, 55 local authorities provided plans to government in accordance with the FUCR direction and guidance between 1 July 2024 and 31 March 2025; for 2025/26, a further 60 authorities have so far provided plans. The total value of capitalised costs under the direction for 2024/25 will be available in the annual Revenue Outturn data provided to government – this data is expected to be published in September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the nature mitigation mechanisms in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the use of bat tunnels in new developments.

The government is confident that the Nature Restoration Fund proposed in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill provides a mechanism to avoid the kind of expensive intervention epitomised by the Sheephouse Wood Bat Protection Structure and instead drive meaningful outcomes for nature at the right scale.