Written questions by Evans.

Communities and Local Government, how many allotment sites have been sold by local authorities with permission from her Department since July 2024.

Provision of allotments is managed by Local Government. The Department does not currently hold data on the total number of allotments within England or by local authority. Since 4 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government has issued 10 approvals for the disposal of allotments under the Allotments Act 1925.Regarding the allotment disposal application for Ravenscroft Allotments, this information is not in the public domain at present so will not be shared at this time. The consent granted by the Secretary of State for the disposal of the allotment is available and in the public domain, I have arranged for a copy of this to be placed in the Library of the House.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Allotment Act 1925 for protecting allotments from being sold by local authorities.

Under the Small Holdings and Allotment Act 1908, local authorities have a duty to provide allotments if there is sufficient demand. The responsibility for the running, management, and organisation of these allotments also falls on the local authority. A local authority, when faced with sufficient demand, must acquire suitable land, freehold or leasehold by agreement or, if necessary, by compulsion. At present, we have made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Act to ensure demand is met by district and parish councils.We are content with effectiveness of the clearly defined legal process to protect allotments as outlined under the Allotments Act 1925. The National Allotment Society stated that the eight approvals quoted in parliament from July 2024 to July 2025 represented a slight decrease in allotment disposals in recent years, and that it had not challenged any of the applications as they had all met the legal threshold with either low take-up of plots or alternative allotment space provided elsewhere.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on the potential impact of Business Improvement Districts on levels of local business investment.

The Government recognises the important role Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) can play in improving the local trading environment and attracting investment to their area. We frequently engage with local authorities and BID membership bodies such as, British BIDs and Association of Town & City Management, to keep informed about the performance of BIDs, including the investment they attract external to the levy. We are keen for BIDs to continue to be leaders in the regeneration of their area and we encourage BIDs to work in partnership with their local authority to deliver growth in their local area.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to fund support services for local neighbourhood plan development.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59114 on 19 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to ensure that neighbourhood plans continue to (a) determine and (b) deliver local housing needs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59114 on 19 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47799 on Social Services: Complaints, when she plans to publish his response to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s recommendations.

We are considering the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Triennial Review and will respond in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the contribution of statutory planning consultees in protecting the role of playing fields for sports and exercise.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).

Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of the £233 million funding for homelessness services is expected to be spent on covering increased employer National Insurance contributions.

The £233 million uplift in homelessness funding has been provided to get back on track to ending homelessness. This brings total for funding for homelessness services to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.The Government has also announced £502 million in funding to protect local government from changes to employer National Insurance contributions. Allocations have been published here Updated explanatory note on the Employer National Insurance Contribution Grant 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on (a) homelessness charities and (b) homelessness service provision contracted from councils.

Due to the difficult economic inheritance from the previous government, we had to take a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability. The Government has considered the implications of this policy change, and the impacts were published in the usual way as part of the Autumn Budget process. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year, making a total spend of almost £1 billion in 2025/26.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 22692, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Midlands Engine on business investment in the East and West Midlands.

Midlands Engine have undertaken a range of valuable work and have supported collaboration on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level.At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it would consult on its minded to decision not to extend funding for the six pan-regional partnerships beyond the agreed allocations to the end of the 2024-25 financial year. We are currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to ensure the long-term maintenance of the Local Authority Data Explorer following the closure of the Office for Local Government.

It is right for government, the sector, and for the general public that there is transparency on the delivery of the Government’s key missions, objectives and outcomes. My department will measure and publish data related to these priorities. This will incorporate the benefits of the Office for Local Government’s measurement work to date. As this work develops, the Data Explorer will stay live and continue to be updated.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Midlands Engine Strategy on economic growth in the Midlands.

Pan regional partnerships have made a valuable contribution, supporting collaboration and taking forward a breadth of work on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level, and working with existing regional organisations such as Sub-National Transport bodies.At the Autumn Budget, the government confirmed that it would consult on its minded to decision to cease funding for pan-regional partnerships at the end of this financial year. The consultation sought to gather views from all interested parties on the impacts of this decision, should it be taken forward, and closed on 16 December. The Department is currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the role of pan-regional partnerships in encouraging regional economic growth in (a) the Midlands and (b) across the UK.

Pan regional partnerships have made a valuable contribution, supporting collaboration and taking forward a breadth of work on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level, and working with existing regional organisations such as Sub-National Transport bodies.At the Autumn Budget, the government confirmed that it would consult on its minded to decision to cease funding for pan-regional partnerships at the end of this financial year. The consultation sought to gather views from all interested parties on the impacts of this decision, should it be taken forward, and closed on 16 December. The Department is currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.

Communities and Local Government, If she will make a comparative assessment of the effect of the (a) proposals in Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committee on the applicability of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 and (b) protections afforded to the (i) habitats and (ii) species listed in Section 41 of that Act.

The government’s planning reform working paper on planning committees invites views on a number of proposals designed to support better decision making in the planning system. The working paper does not propose any changes which would affect the application of the biodiversity duties and protections under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has plans to help increase the building of accessible housing for people with accessibility needs.

Housing is one of this Governments top priorities. Everyone deserves to live in a decent home in which they feel safe. We will set out our policies on accessible new build housing shortly.