Every parliamentary written question tabled by Kevin Hollinrake this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,721–1,740 of 2,926 · this parliament
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 33043 on Home Office, what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistency of approach in its engagement policy.
Decisions on engagement are always best made on a case-by-case basis, after consulting the relevant evidence and priorities.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38055 on Public Space Protection Orders: Fixed Penalties, whether (a) local authorities and (b) outsourced contracts can generate a profit from the issuing of fixed penalty notices.
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour (ASB), including the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately flexible in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances of each individual case.The Home Office does currently not hold data on the number of PSPOs in force but is taking action to address that through the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 February 2025. This Bill will introduce a new power for the Home Secretary to make regulations requiring key local agencies, such as local authorities, to report information about ASB to the Government. Breach of a PSPO is a criminal offence. Depending on the behaviour in question, the enforcing officer could decide a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) would be the most appropriate sanction. As set out in legislation, FPNs have a fixed upper limit of £100. Provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill will increase the upper limit for breach of a PSPO to £500. This is a penalty for failing to comply with a requirement of the PSPO. We will be issuing accompanying statutory guidance which will emphasise the importance of the new limits being used proportionately. The guidance will also recommend that local authorities include wording on proportionate use of FPNs in any service level agreements with contractors.
Whether her Department holds data on the Public Space Protection Orders in force by local authority.
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour (ASB), including the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately flexible in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances of each individual case.The Home Office does currently not hold data on the number of PSPOs in force but is taking action to address that through the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 February 2025. This Bill will introduce a new power for the Home Secretary to make regulations requiring key local agencies, such as local authorities, to report information about ASB to the Government. Breach of a PSPO is a criminal offence. Depending on the behaviour in question, the enforcing officer could decide a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) would be the most appropriate sanction. As set out in legislation, FPNs have a fixed upper limit of £100. Provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill will increase the upper limit for breach of a PSPO to £500. This is a penalty for failing to comply with a requirement of the PSPO. We will be issuing accompanying statutory guidance which will emphasise the importance of the new limits being used proportionately. The guidance will also recommend that local authorities include wording on proportionate use of FPNs in any service level agreements with contractors.
Whether the £500,000 rateable value threshold will be uprated in April 2026 in line with the average percentage uplift in aggregate rateable values from the 2026 business rates revaluation.
The Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Autumn Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.
Pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37570 on Housing, whether the Valuation Office Agency collects data on the (a) total plot size of the curtilage of a dwelling and its surrounds including any garden and (b) the area size of the dwelling itself excluding any surrounds and garden.
The Valuation Office Agency only requires data on a dwelling’s total plot size when it is non-standard for a typical property of that type. Plot size is recorded in these instances because an unusually large or small plot could influence the property’s assessment for Council Tax. The area size of the dwelling itself is recorded for all properties.
What estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of proximity to an electricity pylon on the average capital value of an average house.
The Government does not assess the impact of new transmission network infrastructure on house prices. Landowners, businesses and homeowners that have electrical equipment, such as pylons or towers, sited on their land have the right to compensation for the value of their land, as well as for any losses or expenses incurred. Acquiring authorities can also put in place discretionary schemes offering additional compensation. We have published guidance on community funds for electricity transmission infrastructure which outlines government’s recommendations on how to communities living near clean energy infrastructure can benefit. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-transmission-network-infrastructure-community-funds/community-funds-for-transmission-infrastructure-accessible-webpage
How many refuges are in each local authority area in England and Wales according to hereditament data held by the Valuation Office Agency to the closest associated Special Category Code.
The Valuation Office Agency does not record data on refuges by Special Category Code.
Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 35700 on Tower of London, whether the Government has had discussions with UNESCO on the potential impact of the planning application for a new Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint on the Tower of London World Heritage site.
On 28 February 2025, DCMS submitted a ‘paragraph 172 notification’ letter to the World Heritage Centre that included updated information on a range of developments relating to the Tower of London World Heritage Site. The letter included an update on the planning process for the redevelopment of the Royal Mint Court, noting that Historic England does not disagree with the conclusions of the Heritage Impact Assessment that any impacts on the Tower of London World Heritage Site from the proposed development would be minimal. As the Heritage Impact Assessment has been submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and since the Public Inquiry has closed, DCMS as State Party has not requested further specific advice from ICOMOS (the advisors to UNESCO).
Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 37580 on Electoral Commission: Companies House, what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with Companies House on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
The Electoral Commission has not had discussions with Companies House on the legislation referred to by the Hon. Gentleman.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 38041 on Roads: Repairs and Maintenance, whether the complete resurfacing of an existing road is classed as capital or revenue expenditure.
It is up to local highway authorities’ Section 151 officers to determine what types of highway maintenance expenditure can legitimately be classed as capital and what as revenue expenditure, following the advice provided by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and others. There are some grey areas, but the complete resurfacing of an existing highway by a local highway authority will almost always be classed as capital expenditure. This is because it would count as improving a council-owned asset and making it last longer.
Communities and Local Government, whether environmental delivery plans will apply to all protected species within the designated area.
The scale and coverage of an Environmental Delivery Plan (EDPs) will reflect the nature of the specific environmental impact being addressed. EDPs will only be put in place where Natural England and the Secretary of State are confident that conservation measures will be sufficient to outweigh the negative effects of development. Where this is not the case, existing environmental obligations, including those arising under the Habitats Regulations, will remain in place. Where a protected species is not suitable for this more strategic approach, Natural England will not propose an EDP.
Whether every regulated public (a) appointment and (b) re-appointment is published on the Announcement section of the website entitled Apply for a public appointment; and how long each announcement page remains on that website.
All regulated appointment and reappointment announcements should be published on the Apply for a public appointment digital service, unless the appointing department determines that the appointment is of a sensitive nature. All announcements remain on the service indefinitely and are archived within the National Archives catalogue.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain on (a) housebuilding costs and (b) levels of development.
Mandatory biodiversity net gain establishes a consistent set of requirements which give developers clarity on how they can meet their net gain obligations and deliver developments which leave biodiversity in a better state. The biodiversity net gain regulatory impact assessment determined that the additional costs of the policy would have a low impact on development viability. As is the case with any new policy, we are collecting information and evidence about the implementation of mandatory biodiversity net gain. Government is committed to working closely with the housebuilding sector to make biodiversity net gain work effectively and implement solutions to unlock new homes without weakening environmental protections.
What information his Department holds on the total planned cost of the repairs to doors in Flat 1 of Admiralty House; and whether any other works are planned for that property.
We are not able to comment on specific repairs to Admiralty House on security grounds. Admiralty House is a Grade I listed government freehold property and any necessary repairs undertaken have to be compliant with those regulations.
Whether she has considered raising the Aarhus Convention cost limits on judicial reviews of development and infrastructure.
The Government remains committed to protecting access to justice in environmental cases, while supporting the timely delivery of infrastructure projects under the Government’s Growth Mission. The issue of cost caps relating to Judicial Review in the planning context was considered by Lord Banner in his independent review published in October 2024. He did not recommend any change to the default cost caps in Aarhus cases. Judges already have the power to vary costs caps upwards or downwards according to the particular circumstances in a case.In addition, between September and December 2024, the Government ran a Call for Evidence on access to justice in relation to the Aarhus Convention. This Call for Evidence considers the recommendations of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) regarding whether changes are required to the Environmental Costs Protection Regime (ECPR).The Government intends to publish a response to the Call for Evidence in the coming months.
How much local highway authorities in England received from the (a) pothole fund, (b) highways maintenance block needs, (b) highways maintenance block incentive, (d) integrated transport block, (e) Maintenance funding uplift from HS2 Euston savings, (f) Network North highways maintenance funding and (g) other repurposed HS2 funding for potholes and road maintenance in the 2024-25 financial year.
In 2024/25, the Department provided a total of £1,067 million to local highway authorities in England under the pothole fund and highways maintenance block (needs and incentive elements). Nominally, this broke down into approximately £407 million from the potholes fund, £407 million from the highway maintenance block “needs” element, £102 million from the highway maintenance block “incentive” element and £150 million from the Network North plan. In practice, these funding streams now serve the same purpose and are used interchangeably by local highway authorities: the Department will formally consolidate them into a single payment from 2025/26 onwards. The £150 million funding uplift from the previous Government’s Network North plan was divided up among all CRSTS recipients and local highway authorities in England. Individual authority by authority allocations are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations. The Department also paid a total of £170 million of Integrated Transport Block (ITB) funding to local highway authorities in 2024/25, with the details available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations/highways-maintenance-and-itb-funding-formula-allocations-2022-to-2025 . None of the above figures include the £208 million or so of highway maintenance funding per annum, or the £90 million or so of ITB funding per annum, that has been consolidated into the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) that are paid to some Mayoral Combined Authority areas.
Pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 36099 on Housing: Parking, whether local authorities may recover costs of dropping a kerb greater than the actual cost of the (a) works and (b) administration.
Section 184 of the Highways Act 1980 provides that local authorities may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by them in carrying out works to create a dropped kerb.Local authorities are responsible for managing and maintaining the roads in their area and must themselves make any decision on dropped kerbs.
Food and Rural Affair, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, published 17 March 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing environmental compliance guidance to Local Planning Authorities on bats.
As announced by the Chancellor, Defra is fast-tracking the recommendation from the Corry review (published on 2 April) to rapidly review the existing catalogue of environmental compliance guidance, including on protecting bats. This will look to identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity or inconsistency. Natural England has already agreed to review and update their advice to Local Planning Authorities on bats to ensure there is clear, proportionate and accessible advice available.
Communities and Local Government, whether the nature restoration fund levy will be subject to economic viability assessments; and whether other development levies will take in account the cost of the nature restoration fund levy in their own viability assessments.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 41863 on 4 April 2025.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to (a) pavement licences and (b) take-away pints on regulatory costs for businesses.
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 27 Feb on the lapse of the easement on takeaway pints.A new impact assessment relating to the lapse of the easement was not required as no new policy or legislation has been introduced.The pavement licensing regime, owned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, is separate to the regime regulating the sale and supply of alcohol. The pavement licensing regime has not been impacted by the lapse of the aforementioned easement.