Written questions by Holmes.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18565 on Recruitment: Location, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department are on location-neutral employment terms.

None. Almost all members of staff are on a contract which specifies a particular office in which they are based. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 January 2025 to question 21618 which provided the number of staff assigned to work in each of our offices as at 31 December 2024. As at 31 December 2024, 31 members of staff were contractually based at their home; equivalent to less than 1% of the total number of staff in the department.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the responses to the consultation entitled Changes to various permitted development rights, which closed on on 9 April 2024.

The government is reviewing feedback from the consultation on changes to various permitted development rights and will publish a response in due course.

Communities and Local Government, how many times the Communities and Recovery Steering Group has met; on what dates; in which locations; and whether minutes are taken.

The Communities and Recovery Steering Group meets regularly and, as is standard practice, minutes are taken.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 20982 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, what the (a) job title, (b) unit or division and (c) grade is of each Civil Service job not advertised externally; and for what reason her Department is not advertising all jobs externally.

Further to Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 20982, see table below detailing (a) job title, (b) unit and (c) grade of jobs not advertised externally for the period 4th July to 31st December 2024. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is moving towards an external by default approach to recruitment. In the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles 2018 there are exemptions to this approach for roles which require a niche skills set or experience which can only be found in the Civil Service. In addition, there are exemptions for short term/temporary roles for projects or areas with tight timescales, whereby current Civil Servants can join the department quickly on loan or fixed term agreements with the correct clearances. Departmental groupGrade breakdownJob titleGradeCorporate Group3x Grade 6 5x Grade 7 6x SEOCareers and Development LeadGrade 7Physical Security LeadSEOWorkforce TeamGrade 6StatisticianGrade 7Ministerial Team Security AdvisersSEOHead of Programme DeliveryGrade 6Deputy Head of ProfessionGrade 7Product ManagerSEOAssistant Departmental Records OfficerSEOSenior Product ManagerGrade 7Private Secretary & Business ManagerSEOLive Services ManagerSEOSubject Matter ExpertGrade 7Local Government and Public Services1x HEOCommunications OfficerHEOLocal Growth, Communities and Devolution6x Grade 6 5x Grade 7 5x SEO 3x HEODelivery ManagerSEOHead of UnitGrade 6Head of UnitGrade 6Policy LeadGrade 7Head of PolicyGrade 7Business Support OfficerHEOHead of OfficeGrade 7Programme ManagerGrade 6Programme Management Office ManagerGrade 7Senior Policy AdvisorSEORisk and Issue ManagerSEOStrategy Policy AdvisorHEOPolicy leadGrade 6Fund EvaluatorSEOHead of Elections DataGrade 6Policy & Funding AnalysisGrade 6Policy AdvisorSEOSenior Strategy AdvisorGrade 7Policy AdvisorHEORegeneration, Housing and Planning4x Grade 6 7x Grade 7 4x SEO 1x HEOPolicy Team LeadGrade 7Head of StrategyGrade 6Senior Policy AdvisorGrade 7Senior Policy and Strategy AdvisorsGrade 7Head of Housing Insights & Strategic PolicyGrade 6Social Housing Directorate SEOsSEOProperty Technology Strategy AdvisorGrade 7Policy AdvisorSEOPolicy OfficerHEOPolicy AdvisorSEOSenior Policy AdvisorGrade 7Private SecretaryGrade 7Head of Programme Management OfficeGrade 6Project ManagerSEOHead of Evaluation & InsightGrade 7Head of Economic AnalysisGrade 6Senior Policy AdviserSEOSafer and Greener Buildings1x Grade 6 3x SEO 1x HEOConstruction Products Policy AdviserSEOCommunity Relationship ManagerSEOPolicy AdvisorHEOPolicy and Briefing AdvisorSEOLead Technical ArchitectGrade 6Strategy and Communications1x Grade 6 1x Grade 7 1x HEOHead of Data ScienceGrade 6VideographerHEOSenior Private Secretary/Head of OfficeGrade 7

If she will make it her policy to extend deemed reseller rules to cover UK-established sellers to help mitigate potential risks of unfair competition from overseas sellers.

Since 1 January 2021 overseas sellers, or online marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, are required to be registered and account for VAT for supplies of low value imports of £135 or less. Where an overseas seller sells goods located in the UK at the point of sale via an online marketplace, the online marketplace is liable for the VAT for goods of any value. The changes were introduced to ensure a level playing field for UK high street and online retailers, ensure the continued flow of goods at the border and improve compliance. Certified analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates the changes will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026-27. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14996 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if she will publish the planning representations made by the (a) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and (b) Head of Cyber-Physical and Digital Twins, Innovate UK.

We do not routinely publish planning representations seeking call in of applications.

What progress her Department is making on amending regulations to allow for recognition of non-UK Air Traffic Controller licences.

The government currently has no plans to amend regulations to allow for the recognition of non-UK Air Traffic Controller licences.

What progress her Department is making on amending regulations to allow for the conversion of military Air Traffic Controller licences to civil Air Traffic Controller licences.

The government has no plans to amend regulations to allow for the conversion of military Air Traffic Controller licences to civil Air Traffic Controller licences.

If she will make an estimate of the additional revenue generated following the reduction of business rate relief from 75% to 40% for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in the 2025-26 financial year.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief is a single year policy intervention. As such, the baseline scorecard assumption for 2025-26 was for RHL relief to not be extended. At Autumn Budget, the Government announced that from 2026-27, it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties, including those on the high street. To support this transition, the Government has prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and frozen the small business multiplier. This package is worth more than £1.6 billion in 2025-26.

With reference to her plans for a retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier in 2026-27 and the associated increase in the multiplier for hereditaments over £500,000, whether it is her policy that (a) the two policies will be revenue neutral and net off and (b) there will be a (i) positive or (ii) negative change in net receipts.

As set out at Budget, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high-street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties from 2026-27. However, this plan to support the high street must be sustainable. That is why we intend to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a Rateable Value of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but include the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. As set out at Budget, the Government intends for the lower multipliers to be funded by the new higher multiplier.

With reference to paragraph 1.7 of her Department's publication entitled Transforming Business Rates, published on 30 October 2024, what estimate she has made of the amount of tax relief in (a) monetary terms and (b) as a reduced multiplier.

In 2025-26, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief will provide RHL properties 40% relief up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and the small business multiplier will be frozen at 49.9p. This is a package worth over £1.6 billion, aimed at supporting the most vulnerable businesses. It will ensure that over 250,000 RHL properties receive the full 40% support, and in total, government support will protect over a million properties from inflationary increases. The rates for new multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the government can factor into its decision-making the next revaluation outcomes and the broader economic and fiscal context.

Communities and Local Government, on what criteria she called in the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in London.

The decision to call in these applications was made on the basis of the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. In line with the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2019, we do not give specific reasons for calling in planning applications.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.63 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what methodology her Department plans to use to allocate the £1.3 billion of grant funding for local government; and what steps her Department plans to take to assess the needs of rural areas.

We will be publishing a policy statement in late November, where we will set out our intentions for the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26, including the £1.3 billion of grant funding for local government announced at the Budget, in addition to future reform of the local government finance system.In 2025-26 we will take a deprivation-based approach with additional funding targeted to the places that need it most. Broader redistribution of funding will follow through a multi-year settlement from 2026-27.After years of delaying much needed fair funding reform, we will update and improve the approach to funding allocations within the Local Government Finance Settlement to ensure that it reflects an up-to-date assessment of need and local resources. We want to hear from a range of voices to ensure any conclusions the review reaches are both fair and justified.

Communities and Local Government, when she next plans to reset business rate retention system.

The government is committed to pursuing a comprehensive set of reforms to public services and the local government funding system while providing as much certainty as possible.The budget confirmed that we will update and improve the approach to funding allocations within the Local Government Finance Settlement, with further detail set out in a policy statement in November.

Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to set a council tax referendum threshold for combined authority mayoral precepts in the 2025-26 financial year.

Details of the proposed council tax referendum principles for 2025-26 will be set out in the local government finance policy statement in late November.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11925 on Council tax: Greater London, if she will publish a breakdown of the core spending power for 2024-25.

A breakdown of Core Spending Power of local authorities in England for the 2024-25 financial year, including for the Greater London Authority, can be found at the following link.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide additional funding via the Local Government Finance settlement to help local authorities with the cost of increases to employer national insurance contributions.

We have announced £1.3 billion of new grant funding in 2025/26 for local government to deliver core services, of which £600 million is for social care.The Government has committed to provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer NICs costs. This applies to those directly employed by the public sector, including local government.We will set out further details of how this support will be delivered in due course.

Communities and Local Government, how much and proportion of local government core spending power was compromised of locally-retained business rate receipts in the 2024-25 financial year; and what estimate her Department has made of the revenue from locally-retained business rate receipts in the 2025-26 financial year.

Locally retained business rates are £13.5 billion or 21% of LGFS CSP in 24/25.Information for 2025-26 will be included in the forthcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11925 on Council tax: Greater London, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) value and (b) proportionate increase of the (i) Transport for London and (ii) Greater London Authority precept in the 2025-26 financial year.

Decisions on council tax levels and additional precepts are for relevant individual local authorities, including the Greater London Authority. There is no separate council tax precept charged by Transport for London.

Communities and Local Government, what datasets her Department used to calculate the Local Government Finance Settlement for financial year 2024-25.

The Department uses a wide range of data to calculate the Local Government Finance Settlement. Each year, the government publishes an explanatory note alongside the settlement, which sets out the methodology used to calculate core spending power and what funding is included within it.For the financial year 2024-25 the note can be found here: Explanatory note on core spending power: final local government finance settlement 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK.