Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, what her policy is on facilitating the use of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre by Parliament during its Restoration and Renewal Programme.

There is no policy or agreement in place with the Houses of Parliament on using the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre during the Restoration and Renewal Programme. However, the Government continues to work with Parliament on the Restoration and Renewal Programme ahead of proposals coming to the House in 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been provided to local authorities from Right to Buy receipts to fund new housing in each year since 2009-10.

Since 2012, councils have been able to retain a portion of the capital receipts generated from Right to Buy sales to use towards new affordable housing.Prior to 2012, around 75% of receipts were returned to the Treasury and the remaining 25% was retained by the council for any capital purpose.Since 2012, councils have retained on average £446.8 million per year for replacement social housing.Between 2012-13 and 2021-22 councils were required to return a portion of the capital receipt to HMT representing approximately £183 million per annum.As announced at Budget, the government is allowing councils to retain the share of the receipts that was previously returned to HMT so support the delivery of replacement homes.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Minister for Homelessness and Democracy is no longer responsible for the Grenfell brief.

Trusted relationships between ministers and the Grenfell community are essential for this Department. Before I became a Minister, I called for the French delegation of the Franco-British Colloque to cut ties with Saint Gobain. But I understand that perception matters and I therefore concluded that the building safety portfolio would be best transferred to another minister.Updated ministerial responsibilities were published in October.Our goals of making buildings safe and preventing another tragedy continue to be very important issues for me, and the Deputy Prime Minister and the rest of the ministerial team have my full support in delivering on this work.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7823 on Local Government: Productivity, if she will publish that letter.

As noted in my answer to Question 7823 on 16 October 2024, I wrote to all councils to acknowledge the productivity plans submitted after the election, and to thank them for developing innovative efficiency solutions. I was clear that I will not micromanage councils going forward and I am committed to working together to explore how we can make better use of existing resources.The department does not routinely publish letters issued to local authorities and we will not be publishing the letter in this instance.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the early release of prisoners on levels of homelessness.

Prisons, probation and local authorities worked closely together to mitigate the risk of homelessness during the standard determinate sentence (SDS40) release scheme. MHCLG is working closely with the MoJ to build on lessons learned through SDS40.The MoJ is currently collating data relating to the September and October SDS release dates and this will be published.

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's practice is on ministerial attendance at (a) meetings and (b) conferences (i) sponsored and (ii) connected to firms associated with the Grenfell Tower fire.

The government has written to firms associated with the failing identified by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, as the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts. While this process continues, Ministers within my department will avoid meetings and events associated with firms identified as contributing to these horrific failings through their systematic dishonesty and manipulative practices.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2024 to Question 8190 on Social Services: Finance, for what reason a decision on council tax (a) referendums and (b) associated thresholds will not be taken until the spending review, in the context of earlier timetabling requirements for the 2025-26 local government finance settlement.

The government has published the local government finance policy statement setting out referendum thresholds for 2025-26. This is available here.

Communities and Local Government, by what dates her Department is required to (a) publish and (b) ratify the local government finance settlement for 2025-26; and what the deadlines are for local authorities to publish their (i) budget and (ii) council tax requirements for 2025-26.

Precepting authorities must set their council tax by 1 March each year and billing authorities must set their council tax by 11 March. Within 21 days of setting their council tax, billing authorities are required to publish details of the total council tax charges in their area. There are no set dates by which the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) must be published.To allow councils to set their budgets in good time, ahead of the 1 March deadline for setting council tax bills, the Department should publish and put before Parliament the final Local Government Finance Settlement 2025/26 before the end of February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if she will set council tax referendum thresholds for 2025-26.

The government has published the local government finance policy statement setting out referendum thresholds for 2025-26. This is available here.

Communities and Local Government, which consultations launched in her Department by the previous Government have closed but have not yet received a substantive Government response, in the context of the Cabinet Office's publication entitled Consultation principles: guidance, last updated in March 2018.

This government is committed to using consultations and other forms of public engagement to support effective decision-making and delivery. We will respond to all consultations in a timely manner, in line with agreed deadlines.Within MHCLG, responsibility for managing consultations primarily sits with the relevant individual policy team. No staff are therefore specifically employed to work on consultations.Information relating to consultations under the previous administration cannot be provided, as it is not held centrally and collating it would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question HL1722 on Housing: Regeneration, whether the 1.5 million new homes target will count residential dwellings resulting from a change of use from non-residential hereditaments.

As confirmed in my recent evidence to the select committee, net additional dwellings will be the main measure of the commitment to deliver 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.This statistic includes residential dwellings resulting from a change of use from non-residential hereditaments.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to commission further rounds of the (a) Build to Rent fund and (b) Private Rented Sector Guarantee scheme.

The government provides development finance for Build to Rent schemes alongside institutional investors through our Levelling Up Home Building Fund, delivered by Homes England.Building on the announcement in the last Budget, we will be reopening the Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme (PRSGS) for another three years to new applicants, and just under £2 billion of guarantee capacity will be available to Build-to-Rent developers to support housebuilding.We have also modernised the scheme rules to reflect the current state of the market, meaning that more housebuilders will be able to access lending.

Communities and Local Government, if she will provide details of (a) gifts, (b) donations, (c) donations in kind and (d) hospitality that Ministers in her Department have accepted that have since been paid back to the original donor by the relevant Minister; and under which declaration regime each of those were originally declared.

All gifts and donations are declared in line with the Ministerial Code and published on gov.uk in the usual way. No gifts or donations have been paid back by the department.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 October 2024 on Social and Affordable Housing: Next Steps, HCWS169, what the tenure mix will be for the 5,000 new social and affordable homes.

At the Budget on 30 October, the Chancellor announced a one year top up of £500 million to the Affordable Homes Programme. This is expected to deliver up to 5,000 additional homes under the programme. The delivery of the additional homes will follow the targets and parameters of the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 30 July 2024 (HCWS48), which announced flexibilities for affordable housing delivery in London including allowing some homes to complete by March 2030.The deadline for housing starts on site for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme is March 2026. The deadlines for completions can vary. For homes outside London, completion dates are set out in Homes England’s guidance for applicants here.The tenure mix will depend on the bids from local authorities and housing associations, to be assessed by Homes England and the Greater London Authority, and I have asked those organisations to prioritise Social Rent homes with this extra funding.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 October 2024 on Social and Affordable Housing: Next Steps, HCWS169, if she will make an estimate of the (a) number of Right to Buy sales and (b) associated funding for replacement dwellings in each of the next four years.

The Review of the Increased Right to Buy Discounts introduced in 2012 includes figures on the impact of the new reduced maximum discounts.We estimate that an average of 1,700 sales will take place annually which will generate, on average, approximately £250 million of net receipts every year.Annex A of the Review outlines the assumptions about future sales and receipts on which the Right to Buy reforms are based.As confirmed at Budget, the government is allowing councils to retain the full capital receipt generated by a Right to Buy sale to support the delivery of replacement dwellings.

Whether his Department plans to classify new measures in the Employment Rights Bill as a burden via the New burdens doctrine.

Our Impact Assessments provide an initial, indicative assessment of the impacts that could result from primary legislation. This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts given the current stage of policy development. We intend to refine our analysis and conduct further assessment as the Bill progresses, in line with Better Regulation requirements. The New Burdens Doctrine does not apply to policies which apply the same rules to local authorities and to private sector bodies, such as employment legislation that applies to all organisations, unless these have a disproportionate effect on local government.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 October 2024 on Social and Affordable Housing: Next Steps, HCWS169, what the target date is for the 5,000 new homes to be (a) started and (b) completed.

At the Budget on 30 October, the Chancellor announced a one year top up of £500 million to the Affordable Homes Programme. This is expected to deliver up to 5,000 additional homes under the programme. The delivery of the additional homes will follow the targets and parameters of the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 30 July 2024 (HCWS48), which announced flexibilities for affordable housing delivery in London including allowing some homes to complete by March 2030.The deadline for housing starts on site for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme is March 2026. The deadlines for completions can vary. For homes outside London, completion dates are set out in Homes England’s guidance for applicants here.The tenure mix will depend on the bids from local authorities and housing associations, to be assessed by Homes England and the Greater London Authority, and I have asked those organisations to prioritise Social Rent homes with this extra funding.

Communities and Local Government, what the affordable housing grant funding rates are per unit in London under the Accelerated Funding Route by type of affordable housing tenure.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government delegates delivery of the government’s Affordable Homes Programme to Homes England (outside London) and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London.The government agrees budgets and targets with both agencies to deliver the programme’s overall targets for additional homes and specific types of tenure.In awarding contracts under the programme Homes England and the GLA assess the need for grant on a site-by-site basis.In agreeing how much grant a project requires they will take into account the costs for building out the site with how much grant is needed to make that project viable, and the overall value for money for the programme.

Communities and Local Government, what is the average grant awarded per unit for (a) London Living Rent and (b) London affordable rent under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government delegates delivery of the government’s Affordable Homes Programme to Homes England (outside London) and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London.The government agrees budgets and targets with both agencies to deliver the programme’s overall targets for additional homes and specific types of tenure.In awarding contracts under the programme Homes England and the GLA assess the need for grant on a site-by-site basis.In agreeing how much grant a project requires they will take into account the costs for building out the site with how much grant is needed to make that project viable, and the overall value for money for the programme.

Communities and Local Government, what information (a) her Department and (b) Homes England hold on the average grant awarded per unit for new affordable dwellings for homeownership in (A) England, (B) London and (C) England outside London under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 to date.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government delegates delivery of the government’s Affordable Homes Programme to Homes England (outside London) and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London.The government agrees budgets and targets with both agencies to deliver the programme’s overall targets for additional homes and specific types of tenure.In awarding contracts under the programme Homes England and the GLA assess the need for grant on a site-by-site basis.In agreeing how much grant a project requires they will take into account the costs for building out the site with how much grant is needed to make that project viable, and the overall value for money for the programme.