Written questions by Wilkinson.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the pace of the regeneration of empty buildings on high streets.

There are no plans to make such an assessment. However, MHCLG has commissioned a formal evaluation of the Future High Streets Fund as part of the wider Towns Fund evaluation. Emerging findings published in July 2025 include case studies on regeneration projects in Northallerton, Loftus and Yeovil, highlighting early process and impact insights on pride in place, well-being and economic growth. Final results are expected in Spring 2026. The Government is committed to bringing empty buildings back into use, and is championing the use of High Street Rental Auctions by local authorities, a key tool to help reduce vacancy and make high streets more accessible.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to local authorities of developers successfully contesting (a) section 106 agreements and (b) a Community Infrastructure Levy.

The Planning Inspectorate publish quarterly data on planning appeals, including data on appeals received, decided, and allowed. This can be found on gov.uk here at table 2.8. The government has not undertaken a centralised assessment of costs to local planning authorities. It is right and fair that developers are able to access appropriate appeals processes. A person who considers a Community Infrastructure Levy charge to have been incorrectly calculated can seek a formal review of the calculation by the levy charging authority and may also seek an independent assessment of the calculation through an appeal to the Valuation Office Agency if deemed necessary following review by the authority. Applicants do not have to agree to a proposed planning obligation (section 106 agreement). However, this may lead to a refusal of planning permission or non-determination of the application. An appeal may be made against the non-determination or refusal of planning permission. In certain circumstances, an appeal may also be made to the Planning Inspectorate against a refusal to change a planning obligation. The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether at any stage of the local government reorganisation process she will bar the formation of new (a) town and (b) parish councils.

The formation of new town and parish councils is devolved to principal local authorities through the Community Governance Review process. The government believes that these should remain local decisions.Areas considering the establishment of new town and parish councils should think carefully about how these might be funded to avoid putting further pressure on local authority finances and/or new burdens on the taxpayer.We encourage local authorities to consider local neighbourhood working arrangements in their own structures to empower local residents and frontline councillors to work together for positive change in their area.

Communities and Local Government, what postcodes in Cheltenham her Department has identified as falling in the eligible Income Deciles 1-2 of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the most recent iteration of the English Indices of Deprivation in September 2019. All data tables and resources are available on gov.uk here. Our Open Data Communities platform provides postcode level and decile data for each Local Authority across all Indices domains as at time of release.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help support Cheltenham Borough Council to run high street rental auctions.

This government has introduced High Street Rental Auctions, powers available to local authorities in England to require landlords, regardless of their country of residence, to rent out vacant commercial premises. As a deterrent it is a criminal offence for a landlord not to engage in the auction process and where they do not comply local authorities are empowered to progress with the measures in their absence. We want to ensure that councils across the country, such as Cheltenham Borough Council, have the support they need to implement the powers. To that end, a fund of £1 million is available to support delivery this financial year and a new burdens payment can be drawn down to meet the administrative costs. Furthermore our local authority early adopters are also available to offer practical support to help facilitate implementation.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to require overseas landlords who own empty retail units to engage with local authorities.

This government has introduced High Street Rental Auctions, powers available to local authorities in England to require landlords, regardless of their country of residence, to rent out vacant commercial premises. As a deterrent it is a criminal offence for a landlord not to engage in the auction process and where they do not comply local authorities are empowered to progress with the measures in their absence. We want to ensure that councils across the country, such as Cheltenham Borough Council, have the support they need to implement the powers. To that end, a fund of £1 million is available to support delivery this financial year and a new burdens payment can be drawn down to meet the administrative costs. Furthermore our local authority early adopters are also available to offer practical support to help facilitate implementation.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing funding to newly formed combined authorities on public services.

Combined authorities have limited involvement in the day-to-day running of most public services but are able to use their convening powers to bring partners together to improve delivery across public services in their area. The majority of combined authority funds are devolved from central government, transferred from Police and Crime Commissioners or pooled from local authorities in the area, so do not change the amount of funding provided locally. Additional funding for newly formed combined authorities includes Investment Funds and Mayoral Capacity Funding. Full details of the funding allocated to each area can be found in their individual devolution agreements, published on gov.uk. For these reasons no assessment has been done on the impact of funding combined authorities on public services.

Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for unitarisation in areas where local elections were not postponed from May 2025.

The government will work with these areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation. The exact timings and detail will depend on the proposals received and the decision taken on which proposal, if any, to implement. We anticipate that, subject to many external factors, there could be elections to ‘shadow’ unitary councils in May 2027, ahead of “go live” of new councils on 1 April 2028.

Communities and Local Government, whether the potential for deep geothermal energy for new housing developments is being considered in her planning reforms.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should give significant weight to the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy and the contribution of the proposal in question to a net zero future. The Framework also states that plans should identify opportunities for development to draw its energy supply from decentralised, renewable or low carbon energy supply systems and for co-locating potential heat customers and suppliers, to help increase the use and supply of renewable and low carbon energy and heat.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of making building regulation M4(2) Category 2 accessible and adaptable standards mandatory for new homes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 12990 provided on 25 November 2024.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has a policy on the creation of new town and parish councils as part of the devolution process.

We strongly encourage all local authorities to involve their town and parish councils in their plans to ensure that their contribution to local public services is recognised in future arrangements. Town and parish councils can work with other tiers of local government to determine how they can best serve their communities in their area, including by making local agreements regarding the transfer and management of assets.The power to create and restructure town and parish councils is devolved to principal local authorities, which can review and make changes to local governance arrangements through Community Governance Reviews. In doing so, they are expected to take the views of local people into account. Plans to establish Town or Parish Councils in response to reorganisation should show how these will contribute to reorganisation’s overall goal of creating simpler structures that deliver high quality and sustainable public services to citizens.

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's policy is on the transfer of assets from upper tier authorities to town and parish councils as part of the devolution process.

We strongly encourage all local authorities to involve their town and parish councils in their plans to ensure that their contribution to local public services is recognised in future arrangements. Town and parish councils can work with other tiers of local government to determine how they can best serve their communities in their area, including by making local agreements regarding the transfer and management of assets.The power to create and restructure town and parish councils is devolved to principal local authorities, which can review and make changes to local governance arrangements through Community Governance Reviews. In doing so, they are expected to take the views of local people into account. Plans to establish Town or Parish Councils in response to reorganisation should show how these will contribute to reorganisation’s overall goal of creating simpler structures that deliver high quality and sustainable public services to citizens.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of local government reorganisation on the (a) delivery of and (b) funding for (i) leisure and sports services and (ii) culture and arts.

The funding of local cultural services and organisations is a matter for individual councils, but the Government strongly supports their doing so, not least because of the significant economic, social, and wellbeing benefits cultural organisations deliver. As set out in the Government’s guidance on proposals for local government reorganisation, areas should consider issues of local identity and cultural and historic importance in working up plans that are in the best interests of the whole area.The final Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government in England, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. This above-inflation increase demonstrates the Government’s commitment to supporting local authorities. The majority of this funding is not ring-fenced, so councils can consider how best to balance their local priorities.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent (a) residents in retirement properties from being over-charged and (b) charging relatives for a property once the resident has passed away.

Leaseholders living in retirement housing who pay variable service charges will benefit from measures contained in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.The measures in question will ensure all leaseholders receive minimum key financial and non-financial information on a regular basis, including introducing a standardised service charge demand form and an annual report, so that leaseholders can scrutinise and better challenge costs if they are considered unreasonable.The government is committed to acting quickly to implement the provisions of the Act. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on Thursday 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's timetable is for the implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Rights Act 2024; and when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals on leasehold and commonhold reform.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November (HCWS244) which sets out further detail on implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. It also clarifies government's plans to reform leasehold and commonhold.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to bring forward legislative proposals to allow local authorities to make (a) empty and (b) abandoned houses available to people on housing waiting lists.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 6686 on 14 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of the West Midlands Pension Fund on (a) delays in payments and (b) planned resolutions.

Members of the local government pension scheme should be able to expect that their pensions are paid in a timely manner. I am aware of some delays to the pension payments at the West Midlands Penson Fund, which is responsible for the administration of the scheme in the area. I have written to the Fund and met with them to ask for a thorough explanation, and to understand the steps are being taken to resolve the unacceptable delays. We will continue to engage with the Fund as they work to improve the service to Members.