Written questions by Hollinrake.

With reference to paragraph 94 of his Department's final stage impact assessment entitled Strengthening workers’ rights to trade union access, recognition and representation, published on 21 October 2024, whether he has made an estimate of the cost of the statutory right of facility time for trade union equality activities to (a) local government and (b) the civil service.

Equality representatives play a key role in raising awareness and promoting equal rights, as well as developing collective policies and practices that will enable organisations to realise the benefits of being an equal opportunities employer.As the impact assessment notes the cost of equality representatives taking facility time is not likely to be significant for individual employers and could benefit business performance and worker retention. The impact assessment also identified a £0.33m benefit to public sector employers from not having to provide information on facility time.

Whether her Department has had communications with the company Lowick on the proposed new Chinese Embassy.

A final decision on China’s planning application for a new embassy has yet to be made. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government in her independent, quasi-judicial role will make the final decision in due course.As such, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the case. The Home Secretary and I have and continue to respect the bounds of this robust quasi-judicial process.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 23866 on Communities and Recovery Steering Group, if she will place the minutes of each meeting in the Library.

In keeping with general practice, we do not currently intend to place these minutes in the Library.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her proposals for local government restructuring on (a) planning capacity and (b) the number of planners working in local authorities.

There has not yet been a direct assessment of the potential impact of proposals for local government restructuring on planning capacity or planning workforce numbers. This will be a matter for local councils to consider as they develop their proposals for reorganisation. As set out in the published criteria for proposals, unitary structures must prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to citizens; proposals should show how new structures will improve local government and service delivery and should avoid unnecessary fragmentation of services. Following submission, we will consider all proposals carefully before taking decisions on how to proceed. To support with capacity related to local government reorganisation, the government intends to provide some funding for preparing to take forward any proposal, and we will share further information later in the process. More widely, at the Budget, the government announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system to support capacity and capability in local planning authorities, including through the recruitment and training of 300 graduate and apprentice planners and the development of skills needed to implement reforms and unlock housing delivery.

Whether her Department has a list of organisations or groups that it does not engage with.

There are many organisations that the Home Office does not engage with, but there is no central list of the kind that the Hon Member describes.

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.

With reference to the Valuation Office Agency: Freedom of Information disclosure log, last updated on 26 October 2023, for what reason no information is available on this webpage.

The VOA’s Freedom of Information (FOI) releases log is due to be updated shortly with FOI releases that are of wider public interest. This follows a review (in line with section 19 of the FOI Act and ICO guidance) of the information previously published, and the removal, or movement, of information that was out of date, or best suited to be published alongside ad hoc or official statistics releases. The last FOI release was published on GOV.UK on 11 July 2024.

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 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, 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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24513 on Business Rates: Tax Allowance, what the net value is of the package when adjusted for changes to the (a) retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief and (b) standard multiplier in the 2025-26 financial year.

Autumn Budget 2024 announced the extension of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and the freezing of the small business multiplier for 2025-26. This is a package worth over £1.6 billion in 2025-26. For both business rates measures, the breakdown of costings over the scorecard period can be found on page 120 (lines 47-48) in ‘Chapter 5: Policy decisions’ of Autumn Budget 2024: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/672b9695fbd69e1861921c63/Autumn_Budget_2024_Accessible.pdf

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Oral Statement of 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, Column 766, what steps she is taking to monitor the potential savings to the public purse following her planned local government reorganisation.

It will be for the new councils to achieve the efficiencies identified in reorganisation proposals and subsequent detailed implementation and transformation plans while delivering high quality and sustainable public services to local residents and businesses. This has been the case in recent local government reorganisation processes.

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 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 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.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of changes to retail, hospitality and leisure rate relief between 2024-25 and 2025-26 on levels of business rates for municipal swimming pools.

Without any Government intervention, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government has decided to offer a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26 and frozen the small business multiplier. At Budget, the Government also announced that from 2026-27, it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on the most valuable properties, which includes the majority of large distribution warehouses, including warehouses used by online giants. The rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.

Pursuant to the Answers of 19 December 2024 to Questions 19709 and 19710s on Nurseries: Business Rates and Private Education: Business Rates, whether the inclusion of a nursery in an independent school increases the Rateable Value of that school.

Yes. Where part of the independent school setting includes nursery provision within the same occupation, that accommodation will be included within the valuation and therefore form part of the Rateable Value.

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.

What steps is her Department taking to help reopen Hammersmith Bridge to vehicular traffic; and what responsibilities (a) central government, (b) Transport for London and (c) the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham have to finance the repairs.

My Department is continuing to work productively with both the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) and Transport for London (TfL) to explore possible next steps for the Hammersmith Bridge restoration project. As the asset owner, LBHF is ultimately responsible for the repair and maintenance of Hammersmith Bridge. Given the challenging fiscal environment, the Department is clear that any further funding consideration is contingent upon an agreed engineering solution and cost sharing approach between partners.

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.