Every parliamentary written question tabled by Kevin Hollinrake this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 2,181–2,200 of 2,926 · this parliament
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, whether local authorities will be (a) encouraged and (b) required to update neighbourhood plans following changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.
There is no requirement to update a neighbourhood plan. However, we recognise some communities may wish to update their plans in response to changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.Groups continue to receive the financial and technical support they have been awarded for both the production and updating of neighbourhood plans.We will make announcements in due course regarding the new support contract for 2025-26 and beyond, but intend to open for new applications from Summer 2025.
What methodology her Department used to calculate the allowance for public sector bodies for changes to employer National Insurance contributions.
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contributions costs.The amount of public sector support was based on an estimate of the proportion of employer NICs receipts paid by public sector organisations, using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary. The Treasury routinely uses the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary, for example in relation to public sector spending, public sector borrowing and public sector debt.This is in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.This funding will be allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way.The Government plans to publish the allocations for departments alongside departmental budgets for 2025/26 as part of Main estimates.
Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the amount Birmingham City Council (a) raised in council tax in 2024-25 and (b) paid out in employer contributions to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
The government will publish data on the amount of council tax collected by billing authorities through the financial year in June, in the usual way. The Department collects limited information on employers’ retirement benefit costs for a sample of authorities in order to estimate the subjective analysis return statistics, published as part of the local authority revenue expenditure and financing England statistics. This sample includes Birmingham council and data for 2024-25 will be collected later in 2025.
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.
What the total cost to the public purse is of providing accommodation to asylum seekers and refugees in (a) England and (b) the Untried Kingdom; and if she will list each contractor which is funded to provide such services.
The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office annual report and accounts: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will list the enforcement cases in relation to foreign donors channelling funds through UK-registered corporate bodies on which the Electoral Commission has made a ruling in the last ten years.
Information on all concluded investigations dating back to April 2020 is listed on the Commission's website. Information on investigations which concluded prior to April 2020 can be found using the National Archives website.The Commission's guidance sets out which donors are permissible. If a company is registered at Companies House, incorporated in the UK, and 'carrying on business' in the UK, it can donate to a UK political party or campaigner.However, it is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false declaration about the true origin of a donation. If a donor was to mislead a political party as to the true source of the donation to evade permissibility requirements then they could be committing an offence. Any investigation would fall within the remit of the police, not the Electoral Commission.Companies do not currently need to show that they have made enough money in the UK to fund their donations. Since 2013, the Commission has recommended changes to ensure parties cannot accept money from companies that have not made enough in the UK to fund their donation or loan.
Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the status is of the Electoral Commission's investigation into the donation from the Foundation for European Progressive Studies to the Fabian Society; and what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued on the permissibility of donations through the European Parliament's programme for European political parties and European political foundations for UK (a) political parties, (b) regulated donees and (c) member associations.
The Electoral Commission is currently considering the matter in line with its regulatory remit. It does not have an investigation open.The Commission has not published specific guidance on the permissibility of the programme mentioned. The Commission's guidance for political parties and regulated donees, including members associations, provides a list of permissible sources for donations.Its guidance states that donations towards members association's political activities within their party can only come from permissible sources. These activities include promoting or developing policies with a view to their adoption by the party.
Pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 27600 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, what steps her Department has taken to introduce a unified consent regime for all street charging point (a) consents and (b) permits since 5 July 2024.
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. Several changes have been made over time to simplify and accelerate the installation of public chargepoints, such as local authorities being able to appoint operators to install chargepoints on-street without applying for planning permission. In December, the Government announced that it will legislate to allow chargepoint operators access to street works permits and Street Manager, which is the DfT’s online service for planning and managing works in use by every authority and utility company in England. This will remove the need for them to obtain costly and time-consuming licences. The Government also confirmed further changes to permitted development rights, cutting costs and required permissions for chargepoint installation. These changes will speed up public and private EV chargepoint deployment in England, ensuring a rapidly expanding and available network.
Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many times the Parliamentary Parties Panel has met since February 2024.
The Westminster Parliamentary Parties Panel meets four times a year, but it can meet more or less often if it needs to. It met in February, September and December 2024, and again in February 2025.The scheduled June 2024 meeting was cancelled due to the UK parliamentary general election.The minutes from previous meetings are available to view on the Committee's website.
Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 24499 on Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission: Social Media, whether the Electoral Commission plans to issue guidance to (a) political parties and (b) non-party campaigners on this matter.
The Commission does not currently have plans to publish specific guidance on the manipulation of social media algorithms.Its guidance on donations and on non-party campaigning may be applicable to situations where a party or candidate is intentionally favoured by a social media platform's algorithm. The Commission is currently doing more work in this area to identify any key considerations for how the law is applied in practice.
Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission had discussions with Leicestershire Police on (a) electoral fraud and (b) the issuing of unauthorised and anonymous literature during the 2024 General Election.
As part of its work to support the police, the Commission has provided advice to Leicestershire Police in relation to its enquiries into complaints about campaign literature distributed without an imprint at the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election.The police are responsible for enforcing imprints laws on candidate literature.
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.
Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28045 on Local Government Boundary Commission for England, whether additional resources will be provided to the Local Boundary Commission for England in the context of the Government’s plans for local government restructuring in England.
The Speaker’s Committee has a statutory role to review the annual estimates of resources of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE). It also considers the organisation’s five-year plan at the start of a Parliament.As part of the process, the LGBCE submits a draft estimate and five-year plan to the Committee for consideration. In turn the Committee consults the Treasury on these and has regard to any advice the Treasury gives.Ahead of the new financial year, the Committee is holding a public session with the LGBCE to consider its position. The Committee will then decide whether it is satisfied that the estimated level of income and expenditure requested is consistent with the economical, efficient and effective discharge by the Commission of its functions. If the Committee were not so satisfied, it would make modifications to the estimate as it considers appropriate for the purpose of achieving such consistency.As part of this year’s review the Committee will need to assess whether the LGBCE has the appropriate level of provision to ensure it has the capacity and expertise to respond to requests for assistance in the context of the Government’s plans for local government restructuring in England.The Committee is planning to meet the LGBCE next on 19 March 2025 and it will then take a decision on whether to lay the main estimate for financial year 2025/26 before the House of Commons for approval.
Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on the application of critical race theory by local public bodies.
No such guidance has been issued by the department since 5 July 2024.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2025 to Question 28148, on Civil Society: Islam, what steps her Department takes to ensure there is consistency across individual teams on policy engagement; and whether policy teams share lists of organisations they have met with.
Policy teams routinely confer when making decisions on engagement. We do not maintain and share lists of organisations policy teams have met.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 December to Question 20228 on Civil Society: Islam, for what reason her Department has not engaged with (a) MEND, (b) CAGE, (c) the Muslim Association of Britain and (d) the Muslim Council of Britain.
The Government will only engage with organisations when it is in the public interest.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to her oral statement on 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, Column 766, what the upfront costs are of local government reorganisation in each of the next three years.
The upfront costs of local government reorganisation will be a matter for local councils to consider as they develop their proposals for reorganisation. As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, a PWC 2020 report estimated that reorganisation of the then 25 two-tier areas to a single unitary would have a one-off cost of £400 million, with the potential to realise £2.9 billion over five years, with an annual post-implementation net recurring saving of £700 million.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. We are working with areas to understand the costs of taking forward proposals and implementation of new unitary structures.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to streamline (a) planning policy and (b) planning guidance.
The government published a revised National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024.Last week, the government published revising Planning Practice Guidance to support local planning authorities in their plan making. Further details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 27 February (HCWS480).The government intends to take further steps to streamline the delivery of homes and infrastructure through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which will be introduced in the coming months.We also intend to produce a set of national policies for decision making this year that will make national policy more accessible and understandable. We will consult on these in the Spring and further details will be set out in due course.
Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on the potential impact of regulatory requirements (a) in the London Plan and (b) nationally on levels of housebuilding in London.
The Secretary of State meets with the Mayor of London regularly to discuss a range of matters, including regulatory requirements and housing delivery.The Mayor of London has commenced work on the next London Plan which will be submitted to the Secretary of State in due course.