Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of combined authority models of mayoral governance with council-led scrutiny on the Greater London Authority.

The Government remains committed to engaging local authorities, including London Borough Councils, and the wider local government sector on the detail of our reforms set out in the English Devolution White Paper. As part of this process, it will be important to consider London’s unique devolution settlement, including drawing on existing ways of working between the Greater London Authority and London Boroughs.

What estimate she has made of employer National Insurance contributions paid by public sector organisations in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

HM Revenue and Customs receipts figures are not separated into public and private sector employers. The requested figures are therefore not readily available.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 41460 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Equality, how many (a) staff and (b) Ministers are members of the Inclusion Allies network.

MHCLG’s Inclusion Allies network is comprised of 73 (a) staff members and zero (b) ministers. All expenditure by core MHCLG with this supplier since July 2024, and the purpose of that expenditure, is set out in the answer to Question UIN 45669 on 29 April 2025. No ALB sponsored by the MHCLG has made any payments to this supplier since July 2024, except for Homes England who made one payment for a 12-month corporate membership to support their EDI ambitions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 20950 on Employers' Contributions: Public Sector, what progress she has made on estimating the assumed unit cost per (a) headcount and (b) FTE employee of the increase in National Insurance contributions on employers in the public sector.

At the Autumn Budget the Chancellor set aside £4.7 billion of funding for departments in order to support them with the increased costs as a result of the rise in employer national insurance contributions. This funding has been allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way, which is in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy. Updated departmental budgets for 2025/26 including allocations were published at the Spring Statement. The Government also plans to publish individual departments’ allocations as part of Mains estimates.

Whether the Spending Review Phase 2 will include council tax.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given by Minister McMahon to PQ UIN 45028 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament on 22 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance the Government has provided to police forces on election purdah (a) rules and (b) restrictions on publicity during the pre-election period of local elections.

The government does not issue pre-election guidance to Police Forces.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to give London boroughs a greater role in pan-London governance.

The Government remains committed to engaging local authorities, including London Borough Councils, and the wider local government sector on the detail of our reforms set out in the English Devolution White Paper. As part of this process, it will be important to consider London’s unique devolution settlement, including drawing on existing ways of working between the Greater London Authority and London Boroughs.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the gross cost of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions for fire and rescue services.

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 £65.5m 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.

Innovation and Technology, whether the Information Commissioner has produced guidance on the inclusion of local Electoral Returning Officers within the definition of local authorities for the Re-use of Public Sector Information.

The Re-Use of Public Sector Information (RPSI) Regulations 2015 apply to public sector bodies in the UK, including local authorities. The ICO has produced guidance on the RPSI, which can be accessed on its website and includes details about the scope of the legislation. The National Archives also has detailed guidance available on its website.The ICO does not have specific plans to update this guidance.

What resources from her Department were used to organise her visit to the Cambridgeshire Police headquarters on 10 April 2025.

In line with the normal rules for the pre-election period, the event in question was arranged and staffed by the political teams in the Home Office and 10 Downing Street.

Whether the Valuation Office Agency can increase council tax bands outside the sale of a property where the property owner has not challenged the existing valuation.

Outside the sale of a property, there are very limited circumstances where a listing officer (LO) can alter a Council Tax band. If an LO is satisfied there is an error in the valuation list, they have a statutory duty to correct that error. If that error results in an increase to the band, the increase would be effective from the date the list is altered. A reduction of a property’s band as a result of an error would be backdated as necessary.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 38618 on Freeports, whether trade unions participants in freeports governance will be subject to the same responsibilities and duties as ordinary board members.

The specific responsibilities and duties of Freeport board members are stipulated by the relevant articles of association/terms of reference for the Freeport Board and are for individual Freeports to define, giving due regard to relevant government guidance.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish responses from local authorities to the Devolution Priority Programme consultation.

The consultations for the six areas on the Devolution Priority Programme closed on 13 April 2025. The Government is now carefully considering all responses received, before taking a decision on whether to proceed. This decision, and a report on the consultation, will be published in due course.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43101 on Tower of London, whether her Department has received correspondence from (a) ICOMOS and (b) UNESCO in relation to the potential impact of the proposals for a Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint on the Tower of London World Heritage Site; and if she will place a copy of the paragraph 172 notification letter sent by her Department on 25 February 2025 in the Library.

No, the Department has not received any correspondence from ICOMOS or UNESCO regarding the potential impact of the proposals on the Tower of London World Heritage Site.Yes, a copy of the paragraph 172 notification sent by the Department on 28 February 2025 will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Communities and Local Government, which organisation is paying for the provision of military aid to the civil authorities in Birmingham; and what the estimated cost is.

The government has been supporting Birmingham City Council in its efforts to address the backlog of waste that had been building up on the city’s streets, and significant progress has been made in the last fortnight. This support has included the three office-based military personnel with logistical expertise that were made available to the council to assist with planning. They have now returned to normal duties. We are grateful to our colleagues in the MoD for their support. We are working with the Council on options to address further costs arising from the industrial action

Communities and Local Government, with reference to p. 3 of the document entitled The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies: Guidance for Departments, last update 15 March 2018, whether she has had discussions with the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Team on the establishment of the Local Audit Office as a last resort.

The local audit system is broken, which is why we have a manifesto commitment to overhaul it. The strategy, including the establishment of the Local Audit Office, was based on considerable independent and parliamentary consideration of how to best tackle the issues. The specific proposal to establish a new body, the Local Audit Office, was first recommended in the independent 2018 Kingman Review and again two years later in the Redmond Review. Since those reviews, the problems in local audit have considerably worsened and the most recent Whole of Government Accounts have been disclaimed. My officials have been working with officials across Government including the Cabinet Office in recognition of the need for substantial reform. The Cabinet Office Public Bodies Team is aware of progress and will have final approval on the establishment and classification of the LAO, as required by the 2018 guidance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025, to Question 41312 on Empty Dwelling Management Orders, what information HM Courts and Tribunals Services holds on the issuing of Empty Dwelling Management Orders.

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Residential Property division compiles only aggregated statistics for receipts of interim Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMO) approved and final EDMO appeals.Over the last five years EDMO receipts were as follows:YearReceipts23/24022/23021/22320/21519/2010**The data recorded is unpublished management information and has not been subject to the same quality checks as Official Statistics, which are published by the Ministry of Justice.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press notice entitled Public land unlocked for the next generation of home owners, published on 27 March 2025, when she expects the housing developments at (a) Newcastle Forth Yards, (b) Manchester Mayfield, (c) Cambridge, (d) Nottingham, (e) Ripon, (f) Chilwell and (g) Wyton airfield in Cambridgeshire to (i) start and (ii) be completed.

The Secretary of State for Defence has identified the long-term opportunity to build over 100,000 homes on surplus defence land, improving opportunities for homeownership and creating jobs across the country. This includes a commitment to building and modernising family homes for the Armed Forces and Veterans, delivering on our commitments to British families and our Armed Forces. Work is underway with HM Treasury, the Ministry of Defence, and Homes England (HE) to establish opportunities to accelerate delivery with trailblazer sites at Ripon, Chilwell and Wyton. Deverell Barracks at Ripon has now transferred to HE with outline planning in place for 1,300 homes. Work will begin as soon as full planning approval has been received. We are not able to give start and finish dates for Chilwell and Wyton due to the preliminary stage of these projects. Network Rail has announced the establishment of a new property company to unlock up to 40,000 homes over the next decade, with the first homes set for development in Cambridge, Manchester, Nottingham and Newcastle: Manchester Mayfield: start on site expected in 2026 with completion of Phase 1 in 2030 and Phase 2 in 2034;Cambridge: start on site expected in summer 2026, with completion in spring 2029;Nottingham: start on site expected in summer 2027, with completion in 2029;Newcastle: it is not yet possible to provide clear start and finish dates, though Network Rail expect to release land for housing over the next 7 to 10 years.

Whether (a) public and (b) private sector employees can suspend (i) check off and (ii) facility time for trade unions during industrial action.

It is for individual employers and trade unions to agree on appropriate approaches during industrial action. The government encourages employers to work constructively with workers and representatives to resolve disputes.Public and private sector employers may be able to suspend check-off and facility time while employees take industrial action, depending on the legal status of those arrangements – particularly whether they are contractually guaranteed.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the amount of funding allocated to each local authority in the 2025-26 financial year to mitigate increases in employer National Insurance Contributions.

This information has been published in the Core Spending Power tables for the 2025/26 Final Local Government Finance Settlement, which can be found on gov.uk here: Core Spending Power table: final local government finance settlement 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK.