Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Report on the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election and the May 2024 elections, published by the Electoral Commission in November 2024. what plans she has to increase participation by overseas electors in future general elections.

The Government is currently considering the recommendations of the Commission and will be providing a full response to both the Commission’s Report on Voter Identification, and its Full Report on the General election, in the coming months.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 November 2024 on Local Government Finance, HCWS265, whether her Department has carried out an equality impact assessment on repurposing the Rural Services Delivery Grant.

The Government took into consideration the Public Sector Equality Duty when making decisions regarding the Rural Services Delivery Grant.This Government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. No council will see a reduction – and new funding will be available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments.The Government will set out more detail on all measures set out at the provisional Settlement in December where we will consult on allocations for 2025-26, alongside launching a consultation on the objectives and principles of local government funding reform. The Settlement consultation will request views on the approach to changing how we deliver grant funding through the Settlement, and on equalities impacts. The Government welcomes views of rural councils in response to each of these consultations.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (England) Order 2024 on levels of home ownership.

The Government’s review of Right to Buy discounts was published alongside the Budget on 30th October, and new maximum cash discounts came into force via the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (England) Order 2024 on 21 November. As set out in the review, our modelling suggests a long-run average of c. 1,700 sales annually under the new maximum discounts.

Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of appeal hearings considered by the Planning Inspectorate were conducted virtually in 2024.

The Planning Inspectorate undertakes public hearings and inquiries across all its casework services. Most take place in person, but some are held wholly or partly virtually.Reliable data on the number and proportion of virtually held events is not available.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of Local Plans have been withdrawn by local authorities in 2024 following advice from the Planning Inspectorate; and what assessment she has made of the financial cost incurred on those local authorities to commence a second Regulation 19 hearing in accordance with the Town & Country (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

As of the end of November 2024, 2 (4.4%) of the 45 plans that have been examined by the Planning Inspectorate this year have been withdrawn following advice from the Planning Inspectorate. A third plan was recommended for withdrawal but the authority declined asking instead for a final report which found the plan unsound thus ending the examination.An assessment of the financial costs of withdrawal has not been made, the cost to a local authority bringing forward a new plan after withdrawal will depend on their individual circumstances.Local Plans must be fit for purpose as the primary basis for identifying what development is needed in an area. It is the responsibility of local authorities to prepare and submit a plan that is capable of being found sound at examination.

Communities and Local Government, how many local authority officers are seconded to her Department.

Fewer than or equal to five staff are currently engaged by this department in a secondment capacity from a local authority.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Enabling remote attendance and proxy voting at local authority meetings, published on 24 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness of in-person debate and (b) potential impact of in-person debate on decision making.

The attendance of elected members at local authority meetings is a core part of the democratic process at the local level, and is integral to members carrying out their functions effectively. At the same time, the Government recognises that there are circumstances in which it may not always be possible for members to attend meetings in person. We will consider all responses to the consultation before deciding on a course of action.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase scrutiny arrangements in mayoral combined authorities.

There is an existing system of accountability and scrutiny arrangements for Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) to ensure that public spending is achieving value for money with an array of monitoring and reporting processes for MCAs. The government is committed to strengthening the accountability and scrutiny arrangements that will enable central government, mayors, combined authorities and combined county authorities to shift gear into a new mode of genuine partnership. This will be set out in the upcoming English Devolution White Paper.

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's timetable is for responding to the National Planning Policy Framework consultation that ended on 24 September 2024.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 7852 on 14 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to publish the provisional local government finance settlement for financial year 2025-26.

The Government will publish the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in December where we will consult on allocations for 2025-26, alongside launching a consultation on the objectives and principles of local government funding reform.

Communities and Local Government, what formula her Department plans to use to determine (a) which local authorities will receive funding from the Recovery Grant and (b) the amount of such funding allocated to each local authority.

The Recovery Grant, worth £600 million, will be distributed using a formula that is based on deprivation and council tax base, using the most recently available public data. The grant will go to places where, weighted by population, deprivation outweighs council tax raising ability. The grant is intended to be highly targeted, meaning that not all authorities will receive an allocation.We will set out more detail on the formula and consult on allocations at the provisional Settlement in December.

With reference to paragraph 2.43 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, whether she has made an estimate of the average difference in the business rate bill of a hereditament eligible for retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief in the 2025-26 financial year, relative to the 2024-25 financial year.

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 has frozen the small business multiplier. By tapering RHL relief to 40%, rather than letting it end, the government has saved the average pub, with a rateable value (RV) of £16,800, over £3,300 in 2025-26. 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 properties with rateable values of £500,000 or more, 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.

Communities and Local Government, how many affordable homes were (a) started and (b) completed in England between 2010-11 and 2023-24.

The number of affordable housing starts and completions is available in live table 1000 here Live tables on affordable housing supply - GOV.UK.The number of completions is available since 1991-92. The department started publishing the number of starts in 2015-16. However, starts not reported via Homes England or the Greater London Authority only started being collected in 2016-17 and are collected on a voluntary basis. This means 2015-16 data does not include these data and subsequent years may still be under reporting it.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish guidance for local authorities on four day working weeks and annualised hours.

The government recognises that local authorities are independent employers who are responsible for decisions such as these around the management of their workforces, however, it is not government policy to support a four-day working week in local authorities.Local authorities are encouraged to consult their workforce and trade unions before considering changes to their local working arrangements.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact the planned increase in employer National Insurance contributions on external services commissioned by local government.

The Government has committed to provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer NICs costs. This applies to those directly employed by the public sector, including local government. We will set out further details at the provisional Settlement in December.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) take steps to allow local authorities to set unlimited fines for littering and fly-tipping offences and (b) make an assessment of the financial resources local authority refuse departments have available to collect fly-tipping.

The Government is currently not considering further increases to the maximum levels of fixed penalty notices that can be issued by local authorities. At present these stand at £500 for littering and £1000 for fly-tipping. Local authorities must spend this income on enforcement or clean up. Local authorities also have powers to prosecute anyone suspected of littering or fly-tipping. This can lead to potentially higher fines, criminal records or, for fly-tipping, a community sentence or even imprisonment The Government is not planning to make an assessment of local authority resources to collect fly-tipping. We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. The Government have listened to voices across the sector, and we prioritised local government at the Budget, where we announced over £4 billion in additional funding for local government services, including £1.3 billion which will go through the Settlement.

Communities and Local Government, how the planning application for the proposed Chinese Embassy near the Tower of London differs from the previous planning application for the Embassy turned down by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

The application in question is identical to the application submitted for the proposed scheme in June 2021. It was refused (against officer recommendation) in February 2023. The applicant chose not to appeal that decision.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department made an assessment of the potential impact of calling in the planning application for the proposed Chinese Embassy in Tower Hamlets on (a) diplomatic, (b) economic and (c) political relations with the People’s Republic of China.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 17140 on 18 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, (a) when and (b) how her Department became aware of the new planning application for the proposed new Chinese Embassy near the Tower of London.

Decisions on whether to call in a planning application routinely arise following a representation or notification from a third party. In this instance, the Department were notified of the new planning application by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials.

How much funding from the Spring Budget 2022 for the purchase of new electric vans via the plug-in vehicle grant remains available.

Over the last two financial years since Spring 2022, the Plug in Van Grant has supported the purchase over 30,000 zero emission vans. The Government continues to recognise the importance of grants, providing £120 million for next financial year to incentivise the uptake of zero emission vans and wheelchair accessible electric vehicles. All grants remain under review to ensure best value for money for the taxpayer.