Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, whether public conveniences are eligible for retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief in 2025-26.

The Retail Hospitality and Leisure Rate Relief Scheme 2025/26 does not expressly provide relief for public conveniences. Public toilets may indirectly benefit from RHL relief where they are not separately-assessed and instead form part of a larger property, such as a shop or café, which itself is eligible for the relief. Nevertheless, the Non-Domestic Rating (Public Toilets) Act 2021 provides a statutory 100% business rates relief for separately-assessed public toilets in England and Wales, including those operated by both local authorities and private sector operators.

Communities and Local Government, whether building regulations apply to the construction of embassies.

The Building Regulations 2010 apply to all buildings in England, with specific exemptions given in Schedule 2. Embassies are expected to respect local laws, including the Building Regulations. Building Regulations may apply when somebody is putting up a new building, making material changes to a building, extending an existing building or altering building services.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Natural England on the effectiveness of its guidance entitled Bats: advice for making planning decisions, last updated on 7 April 2025.

In April 2025, Natural England (NE) published updated standing advice on protected species, including bats. This update is aligned with the Government’s radical action plan to cut red tape and kickstart growth. The revised advice provides Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) with clearer, more accessible guidance. NE simplified the content by removing unnecessary links to lengthy documents that LPAs do not need to review when making planning decisions. The guidance now also recommends that LPAs consult qualified ecologists for specific queries related to surveys and assessments, cutting time and cost for developers. NE will assess the need for further updates as part of their ongoing commitment to make guidance more proportionate and streamlined for stakeholders as part of its planning and regulatory reforms.

If she will commission research on the potential impact of (a) first and (b) second cousin marriage on local communities.

We are aware that all aspects of weddings law, including first cousin marriage, are important. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Department responsible for community cohesion, including policy on faith, belief, and diasporic communities, and regularly undertakes work to understand and support local communities.At the Ministry of Justice, we are taking the time to properly consider weddings law, before publicly setting out our position.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 45 of Annex 10 of the Impact Assessment for the Planning and Infrastucture Bill, published on 6 May 2025, whether the 374k net additions per year from 2027 will apply from the beginning of the (a) 2026-27 financial year, (b) 2027-28 financial year or (c) calendar year 2027.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 55284 on 10 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that the creation of a definition of Islamophobia does not prevent discussion and scrutiny of the religious and ethnic dimensions of grooming gangs.

We are clear vile child sexual abuse must be pursued wherever it is found, and we must guard against misplaced cultural or political sensitivities.As stated in the Terms of Reference for the Working Group to define Islamophobia/Anti-Muslim Hatred, any proposed definition must be compatible with the unchanging right of British citizens to exercise freedom of speech and expression - which includes the right to criticise, scrutinise, express dislike of, or insult religions and/or the beliefs and practices of adherents.Should government accept the recommendations of the Working Group, the definition used will be non-statutory. It will enable government and other relevant bodies to have a greater understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities – with anti-Muslim hate crime having reached record levels.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 57273 on Road Signs and Marking, what is the mechanism by which her Department is monitoring the implementation of section 81; and whether this includes regular submissions to Ministers.

The operation of section 81 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 is monitored in the same way as any other policy matter, with officials observing any problematic use of the legislation and engaging with the sector and public if they raise any concerns with the department. To date we have not seen, or been approached about, any significant problem with the use of the legislation.

Communities and Local Government, whether the planning decision on the called-in Chinese Embassy planning application will be delegated to a specific Planning Minister or made personally by the Secretary of State.

As is longstanding practice with all decisions of this nature, the identity of the decision-making Minister will be published as part of the formal decision letter.

Communities and Local Government, what the monetary amount was of financial guarantees for housing provided by her Department from 2019-20 to 2024-25.

Between 2019-20 and 2024-25 MHCLG provided £3.254 billion of financial guarantees for housing.

If she will commission research into the potential impact of housing asylum seekers in private rented sector accommodation on (a) integration and (b) community cohesion.

The Home Office considers a range of factors when assessing the suitability of a local area for asylum accommodation and works with local partners including local authorities and the police.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 54295 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Taxis, how much of the £41,439 was spent on Ministerial travel.

Of the total figure of £69,021.26 spent on taxis in the period specified, £24,981.98 of the £69,021.26 related to Ministerial travel

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 55289 on Police: Employment Contributions, whether the methodology used to calculate the National Insurance mitigation for police officers is the same as that used to calculate the funding for firefighters.

Government funding for fire and rescue services is provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) in the form of revenue support grant (RSG) and retained business rates. In recognition of the decision to increase employer National Insurance Contributions, the Government will provide £515 million to English local councils, including mayoral combined authorities and fire and rescue authorities, allocated based on an assessment of each council’s share of relevant net service expenditure. The 2025/26 LGFS was published on 3 February and sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue. Standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities will see an increase in core spending power of £69.1m in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant, this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.

Communities and Local Government, what representations she has received on council tax (a) revaluation and (b) rebanding since 5 July 2024.

The government recognises interest from a number of groups in reforming council tax. However, it does not collect statistics on the issued raised in correspondence it receives. The government currently has no plans to reform council tax.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 53573 on Oxford Growth Commission: Public Appointments, if she will publish the Chair's declaration of interests.

As set out in the answer to Question UIN 53573 on 28 May 2025, direct ministerial appointments such as the Chair of the OGC are not regulated public appointments and do not fall within the remit of the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Interests are considered as part of due diligence checks before appointments are made, and the Department is satisfied the usual public law principles applicable to all ministerial decision-making are met by this appointment.

Communities and Local Government, if she will list each official diary event and meeting she undertook on 10 April 2025.

The Government publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to Table 5.17 in the Spending Review 2025, CP1336, published on 11 June 2025, whether local government core spending power includes revenue from (a) GLA council tax including police, (b) the Police and Crime Commissioner precept, (c) the fire precept for combined police and fire commissioners and (d) combined authority mayoral precepts with policing powers; and what revenue streams are included in the police core spending power included in Table 5.8 in that document.

Local government core spending power includes revenue from the Greater London Authority (GLA) council tax, including the policing element. It also includes the fire precept flexibility for standalone fire authorities, and combined police and fire commissioners. However, it does not include revenue from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) precept or precepts set by combined authority mayors with policing powers. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59321 on 17 June 2025.

If she will make an assessment of the reasons for the trend in the level of council spending on school transport in the last decade.

The department knows that the cost of delivering home to school travel has increased steeply over recent years. In particular, challenges within the wider special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system have created significant pressure on home to school travel. The SEND system we inherited has been failing to meet the needs of children and families for far too long, with a lack of early intervention and support in mainstream schools.The government has committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. The Spending Review announcement on 11 June confirmed significant new funding to support SEND reform and a White Paper setting out further details on our plans will be published in the autumn.

What assessment has been made of trends in the level of cost of providing school transport for SEND children in the last five years.

The department knows that the cost of delivering home to school travel has increased steeply over recent years. In particular, challenges within the wider special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system have created significant pressure on home to school travel. The SEND system we inherited has been failing to meet the needs of children and families for far too long, with a lack of early intervention and support in mainstream schools.The government has committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. The Spending Review announcement on 11 June confirmed significant new funding to support SEND reform and a White Paper setting out further details on our plans will be published in the autumn.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Islamophobia Working Group is taking to consult with stakeholders in (a) private and (b) public.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 61355 on 24 June 2025.

Whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to give (a) police and (b) councils powers to issue (i) nuisance begging directions, (ii) nuisance begging prevention notices, (iii) nuisance begging prevention orders, (iv) nuisance rough sleeping directions, (v) nuisance rough sleeping prevention notices and (vi) nuisance rough sleeping prevention orders.

On 10th June, the Government announced its intention to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. We have introduced targeted replacement measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain, and an offence of trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, both of which were previously provided for under the 1824 Act.We know police forces make effective use of existing powers to tackle anti-social behaviour that occurs in this context, and we will update statutory guidance on the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to provide more certainty on how existing powers can be applied to anti-social behaviour where it occurs in these scenarios.