Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the transparency data entitled Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: procurement pipeline, published on 3 December 2024, what Project Heart is.

Project Heart was an internal term previously used by officials to describe the anticipated works associated with the Grenfell Memorial. This term is no longer in use.The final design for a fitting and lasting memorial will be determined by the Grenfell community. The government is committed to supporting the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission in delivering a memorial to honour those who lost their lives and those whose lives were forever changed by the tragedy.The Commission launched the process, in July 2024, to appoint a Multi-Disciplinary Design Team to work with the community to design the memorial.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 31 July 2024 to Question HL46 on Faith Matters, what payments have been made to (a) Faith Matters and (b) Tell MAMA since 4 July 2024; and what the progress she has made on renewal of the grant funding agreement for 2025 onwards in relation to monitoring and supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred.

The Government works closely with police and community partners, including Tell MAMA, to monitor and support victims of Islamophobia. Tell MAMA has been funded by government since 2012 to deliver a reporting service and provide support for victims of Islamophobia. In 2024/25, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has made up to £1 million of funding available to Tell MAMA via Faith Matters to continue this work.All relationships with government-funded partners are kept under constant review and subject to regular monitoring and evaluation. The Government is actively considering its approach to tackling Islamophobia more broadly. We will provide further details on this soon.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government has taken to tackle (a) anti-semitism and (b) anti-Muslim hatred since 5 July 2024.

Rooting out these abhorrent forms of hatred is an absolute priority for this Government, and we have already taken a number of steps to achieve this.In July, the Prime Minister reappointed Lord John Mann as the Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism to continue providing advice on the most effective methods to tackle antisemitism.In response to public disorder in August which targeted Muslims and mosques, the Government introduced a rapid protective security response process for places of worship. We have provided security to more than 700 additional places of worship during this period. Protective security continues to be a priority, with up to £29.4 million per year being made available for protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools from 2024/25 to 2027/28. Further, we have committed £1 million this year to support Tell MAMA to continue their work of monitoring and tackling Islamophobia. We have also committed to reversing the previous government’s decision to downgrade the recording and monitoring of antisemitic and Islamophobic non-crime hate incidents – capturing this data will aid the prevention of more serious crimes.We are finalising our renewed, more strategic approach to tackling antisemitism and Islamophobia, working in partnership with communities, and will provide further updates shortly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 15805 on Mo Baines, for what reason Mo Baines’ declaration of political activity was not published when her appointment as Lead Non-Executive Director was announced on 23 October 2024.

Non-Executive Board Members’ relevant interests are updated and published bi-annually as part of an established process as set out on the following gov.uk page: Non-Executive Board Member declaration of interests process - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16197 on Prisoners’ Release: Homelessness, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Justice to monitor levels of homelessness of people released under the SDS40 early release scheme.

Data on the number of prisoners released under SDS40 who were released homeless is retained locally at each prison. Ministry of Justice is currently collating data relating to the September and October SDS40 release dates and this will be published in due course.MHCLG collects and regularly publishes management information from local authorities on rough sleeping. The most recent data, for September, was published here on 28 November. The management information includes the number of people seen sleeping rough following release from prison.MHCLG collect information on duties owed to those have been in custody through the homelessness case level collection (H-CLIC) on a quarterly basis and the figures for April to June are published here. This data will be used to monitor the impact of the SDS release scheme on homelessness levels, once received.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of permitting community owned facilities to use red diesel for the purposes of (a) heating and (b) electricity generation.

In 2020, the previous Government announced that the red diesel entitlement would be withdrawn from most sectors from April 2022. Following consultation in 2020-21, the previous Government confirmed that some sectors would retain the entitlement to use red diesel, including non-commercial heat and power generation, and domestic heating. A machine or appliance may use red diesel where 75% or more of the electricity or heat generated is for premises, or parts of premises, that are not used for commercial purposes. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of public finances.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to mandate local government restructuring as part of her plan for devolution.

The English Devolution White Paper announced that we will facilitate a programme of local government reorganisation for two-tier areas, and for unitary councils where there is evidence of failure or where their size or boundaries may be hindering their ability to deliver sustainable and high-quality public services. The White Paper was clear that reorganisation should not delay devolution and plans for both should be complementary, also that we will deliver this process as quickly as possible, including through legislation where it becomes necessary to ensure progress.All levels of local government have a part to play in bringing improved structures to their area through reorganisation, and we expect all councils in an area to work together to develop unitary proposals that are in the best interests of the whole area.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department issues on whether the erection of an electricity pylon close to a dwelling is a material consideration in relation to the current valuation and council tax dwelling of a property.

The erection of a new electricity pylon close to a dwelling (property) will give the owner or occupier the right to submit a proposal (formal challenge) to alter the Council Tax list. The proposal can be made if they believe there has been a “material reduction” in the value of the dwelling due to “any change in the physical state of the dwelling’s locality”. Material reduction is defined in section 87 part 10 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.Forms and guidance for making a proposal can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect of the APPG on British Muslims definition of Islamophobia on (a) free speech and (b) the ability to criticise criminal practices such as grooming gangs.

The Government has been clear that our approach to tackling religious hatred will never inhibit free speech or allow cultural or religious sensitivities to get in the way of delivering justice. We have been focused on a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling religious hatred. While we are carefully looking at the issue of a definition for Islamophobia as part of this approach, this would not be legislative and would be used as a guidance tool for institutions.

Communities and Local Government, whether private landlords will be required to pay an ongoing fee to register with the (a) Private Rented Sector database and (b) private rented sector landlord ombudsman in addition to licensing fees payable to local authorities with selective licensing requirements.

The Renters’ Rights Bill includes provisions for the Private Rented Sector Database to be funded through fees charged to private landlords when they register. The new service will bring substantial benefits to landlords – providing a single source of information about their legal responsibilities and helping them showcase their compliance. The fees charged will also support local councils to enforce against unscrupulous landlords who undercut the responsible majority.  Further details on fees will be set out in secondary legislation. We will take steps to make sure costs remain reasonable, proportionate, and sustainable. Landlords will be required to pay for membership of the PRS Landlord Ombudsman. This is in line with practice across other sectors where there are ombudsmen already established, including for social landlords who currently pay £8.03 per unit annually. The Ombudsman will set the fee on the basis of their running costs and service provision and the government will ensure that the fee is proportionate and good value. We will seek to maximise operational efficiency of the database service and ombudsman, including through sharing of data. The Private Rented Sector Database will operate alongside selective licensing to drive improvement in standards in the private rented sector, not as a replacement for these schemes. We will continue to review the use of selective licensing as we implement the Private Rented Sector Database. We are clear in guidance that local authorities should be mindful of any cost impacts to landlords, particularly those who are already fully compliant with their obligations.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department issues to local authorities about (a) planning, (b) licensing and (c) statutory nuisance aspects of noise complaints about (i) long-standing clocks and bells and (ii) other established uses.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should ensure that new development is appropriate for its location including the likely effects of pollution on health, living conditions and the natural environment, as well as the potential sensitivity of the site to the wider area. Where the operation of an existing business or community facility could have a significant adverse effect on new development in its vicinity, the Framework expects the applicant to provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed. Planning Policy Guidance on noise advises how planning can manage potential noise impacts in new developments. Further guidance on noise and statutory nuisance is published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office.

Communities and Local Government, whether site specific viability assessments should be undertaken to assess whether the affordable housing requirement on development in the Green Belt is viable and developer contributions should be adjusted as a result.

As set out in the Planning Practice Guidance on viability, where development takes place on land situated in, or released from, the Green Belt and is subject to the ‘Golden Rules’ set out in paragraph 156 of the National Planning Policy Framework, site specific viability assessment should not be undertaken or taken into account for the purpose of reducing developer contributions, including affordable housing. The government intends to review the guidance on viability and will be considering whether there are circumstances in which site-specific viability assessment may be taken into account, for example, on large sites and Previously Developed Land.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20555 on Elections: Kent, if she will publish the letter dated 16 December 2024.

The letter dated 16 December, which I sent to leaders of all two-tier councils and neighbouring unitary authorities, has now been published and can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 16498 on Affordable Housing: Construction, if she will publish the grant given to each (a) developer and (b) consortium under the last Affordable Housing Programme with the number of affordable homes due to be delivered broken down by type of affordable tenure.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) publish a quarterly update of all approvals for grant in their delegated approvals log which can be found on the GLA website here. Due to the nature of negotiations with partners on individual site delivery, the GLA does not publish grant levels for specific projects or tenures. Under the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-23, programme-level grants per unit levels were applied. Homes England has published data on the 2016-23 Affordable Homes Programme, with data reflecting grant allocations to the end of March 2021. It can be found on gov.uk here.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has issued guidance on whether a returning officer may levy a prescribed fee for the supply of an electronic copy of an (a) election return and (b) declaration under section 89 of the Representation of the People Act 1983.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance to support returning officers to deliver well-run elections that maintain public confidence, including on the inspection and supply of candidate spending returns and declaration.The Commission’s guidance states that the prescribed fee for the supply of copies of a return, declaration or accompanying document is 20p. This fee is intended to cover the administrative costs associated with providing these documents.

What assessment has been made of the cost of the Employment Rights reforms on local authorities, including the indirect cost through outsourced social care services.

On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments, providing a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis includes consideration of impacts on the public sector, particularly where proposed legislative reforms are expected to affect local authorities. We will engage closely with local authorities as policy develops.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Ministers set to unleash biggest building boom in half a century, published on 5 December 2024, what metrics will be used to measure the number of new homes delivered in the third year of the Parliament.

I refer the hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many and what proportion of local authority returning officers have sent to the Electoral Commission copies of Parliamentary candidates’ election expense returns from the 2024 general election under section 87A of the Representation of the People Act 1983.

The Electoral Commission has received candidate spending returns from returning officers for all 650 constituencies contested at the 2024 UK parliamentary general election. To support transparency, the Commission plans to publish headline spending and donations totals from the most recent general election in due course.The Commission has a legal remit to secure compliance with the rules on candidates’ spending and donations, but has no role or sanctioning powers in respect of breaches. Enforcing the Representation of the People Act 1983 is the responsibility of the police.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has provided on the use of single notional invoices in candidate returns made under the Representation of the People Act 1983 where multiple (a) elections are held concurrently and (b) candidates in different constituencies and council areas split their costs.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance to support candidates to understand the law and their reporting obligations.The guidance states that where candidates have split costs for an item of spending, each candidate must report the proportion of the costs that are attributable to their election campaign. Where multiple elections are held concurrently, candidates should make an honest assessment of the costs that are attributable to their campaign.If a candidate has paid over £20 for the item, the invoice is required. If a candidate has received the item for free, this is likely to be notional spending, and the law does not require an invoice.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has issued guidance on whether the loan of accommodation to a Parliamentary candidate in the short campaign would be a declarable (a) notional expense and (b) donation under the Representation of the People Act 1983.

The Electoral Commission’s guidance sets out the law, which states that the loan of accommodation to a Parliamentary candidate during the election campaign would typically be notional spending and a donation.However, if the accommodation provided is an individual’s main residence and it is made available free of charge, this is exempt and would not need to be reported as election spending.