Written questions by Holmes.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department made of the revenue that would be raised by the (a) small business multiplier and (b) standard multiplier in the 2024-25 financial year; and how much was raised from hereditaments with a rateable value over £500,000.

Local authority estimates on the revenue collected on each business rates multiplier in 2024-25 are published here: National non-domestic rates collected by councils in England: forecast 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK. Part 2 of the local authority data tables contains the relevant breakdown.Local authorities do not publish estimates on the revenue collected on hereditaments with a rateable value of over £500,000. The Valuation Office Agency publish data on the breakdown of rateable values here: Non-domestic rating: stock of properties, 2024 - GOV.UK.

Whether the Prime Minister has had discussions with the Chinese government on the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in London.

The Prime Minister raised a range of domestic and foreign issues in his meeting with President Xi at the G20 on 18 November. A read-out of this meeting is available on the GOV.UK website.

Communities and Local Government, for what reasons her Department plans to close its offices in (a) Birmingham, (b) Exeter, (c) Truro, (d) Sheffield, (e) Warrington and (f) Newcastle; what estimate her Department has made of the cost of closing each office; and what plans her Department has for the existing staff in each location.

The department has made the decision to close these six offices over the next two years, as existing leases end, in order to create a more coherent estate across the UK with strong office communities. The department will continue to have an office in every English region, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will also continue to have a wider office footprint than similarly staffed departments.The department plans to invest more in some locations and that work is ongoing, we expect to provide net benefits in the long term as a result of these changes. All staff in the six offices which will close will be able to continue in their roles and there will be no compulsory redundancies.

Communities and Local Government, If she will publish a list of (a) people and (b) organisations who made representations to her Department on the call-in of the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in London.

Requests to call in these applications were made by the Foreign Secretary and by the Cyber-Physical and Digital Twins, Innovate UK.

Whether the Prime Minister has had discussions with (a) the Premier League and (b) football clubs on (i) statutory football regulation and (ii) the taxation of football clubs.

Ministerial meetings with external organisations will be published in the usual way on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 9549 on Royal and VIP Executive Committee, who represents her on the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures.

The Home Secretary is responsible within Cabinet and accountable to Parliament for the protective security of members of the Royal Family and public figures at particular risk.The Home Secretary has delegated responsibility to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC).

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of additional homes that will be provided by the MADE Partnership.

It is estimated that the MADE Partnership will bring forward in excess of 5650 homes by acting as master developer to unlock large, complex residential sites that have stalled due to lack of market capability, coordination capacity, patient capital and resource.The Levelling Up Home Building Fund, from which the MADE partnership investment was made, operates based on continuous market engagement and therefore its investments are not subject to procurement.Homes England is always looking to invest with partners whose ambition and activities align. Homes England encourages interested groups to apply for funding and details of its investment offer and contact details can be found on their website.

Communities and Local Government, what public procurement process was followed by Homes England when establishing the MADE Partnership.

It is estimated that the MADE Partnership will bring forward in excess of 5650 homes by acting as master developer to unlock large, complex residential sites that have stalled due to lack of market capability, coordination capacity, patient capital and resource.The Levelling Up Home Building Fund, from which the MADE partnership investment was made, operates based on continuous market engagement and therefore its investments are not subject to procurement.Homes England is always looking to invest with partners whose ambition and activities align. Homes England encourages interested groups to apply for funding and details of its investment offer and contact details can be found on their website.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the amount that has been reimbursed to the Building Safety Fund from signatories to the Developer Remediation Contract.

The Developer Remediation Contract requires developers to take responsibility for fixing or paying to fix buildings which they developed. The Ministry will shortly begin issuing payment demands to developers - who are contractually required to pay back monies spent on their buildings by government funds - after which, we expect developers to begin repayments. The value of debt that we will pursue with developers is reported in our Trust Statement, for our latest reported accounts in 2022/23 this is £417 million.The Developer Remediation Contract is a contract between eligible developers and government. It does not apply to product manufacturers.Other industry actors will also be held to account for their role in constructing unsafe buildings. We are reviewing the Grenfell Inquiry report and have written to all organisations (including manufacturers) found by the Inquiry to have been part of the failings, as the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts. The Building Safety Act created avenues for parties to pursue a range of responsible parties for compensation. We will bring forward further reforms to the construction products regime in due course.

What estimate she has made of the revenue raised by the Residential Property Developer Tax.

The Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) is a 4% tax on the most profitable businesses undertaking UK residential property development to help pay for building safety remediation. The tax applies to developers' profits exceeding an annual allowance of £25 million for an accounting period. The tax forms part of the government’s broader programme of work on building safety, which also includes significant capital funding (around £5.1bn) to remediate unsafe cladding on high-risk buildings. According to HMRC’s latest Corporation Tax statistics, the tax raised £157 million in 2022-23 and £103 million in 2023-24.

Communities and Local Government, how much has been paid by (a) Kingspan and (b) all cladding manufacturers towards remediation of eligible buildings under the Developer Remediation Contract where their products have been used on eligible buildings.

The Developer Remediation Contract requires developers to take responsibility for fixing or paying to fix buildings which they developed. The Ministry will shortly begin issuing payment demands to developers - who are contractually required to pay back monies spent on their buildings by government funds - after which, we expect developers to begin repayments. The value of debt that we will pursue with developers is reported in our Trust Statement, for our latest reported accounts in 2022/23 this is £417 million.The Developer Remediation Contract is a contract between eligible developers and government. It does not apply to product manufacturers.Other industry actors will also be held to account for their role in constructing unsafe buildings. We are reviewing the Grenfell Inquiry report and have written to all organisations (including manufacturers) found by the Inquiry to have been part of the failings, as the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts. The Building Safety Act created avenues for parties to pursue a range of responsible parties for compensation. We will bring forward further reforms to the construction products regime in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether other lenders and housebuilders will be able to access equity investment from Homes England in similar arrangements to the MADE partnership.

It is estimated that the MADE Partnership will bring forward in excess of 5650 homes by acting as master developer to unlock large, complex residential sites that have stalled due to lack of market capability, coordination capacity, patient capital and resource.The Levelling Up Home Building Fund, from which the MADE partnership investment was made, operates based on continuous market engagement and therefore its investments are not subject to procurement.Homes England is always looking to invest with partners whose ambition and activities align. Homes England encourages interested groups to apply for funding and details of its investment offer and contact details can be found on their website.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the proportion of revenue spent which has been generated by the Residential Property Developer Tax.

The Residential Property Developer Tax has raised £157 million in 2022-23 and £103 million in 2023-24. Revenue raised from the tax goes into the UK Consolidated Fund, which contributes to the government’s ambitious Building Safety Package aiming to bring an end to unsafe cladding, provide reassurance to homeowners and support confidence in the housing market. Spend on interventions in 22/23 alone was £713 million [22/23 trust statement] with the accelerated pace of remediation being a key government priority.

Whether her Department has participated in discussions on the provision of escorted policing to private individuals who are not formally classified as protected individuals in its capacity as her representative on the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures since 5 July 2024.

The government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on protective security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.Decisions on security arrangements are independent operational decisions for the police.

With reference to the oral contribution of the Minister without Portfolio during the debate on Reporting Ministerial Gifts and Hospitality of 14 October 2024, Official Report, column 594, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including in the planned update to the Ministerial Code or proposed new guidance a financial (a) threshold and (b) test for the acceptance of donations, gifts and hospitality by a Minister after which that Minister should themselves from the issues relating to the business or policy area of the donor.

As set out by the Minister without Portfolio, the updated Ministerial Code will be published in due course. It will include details of a new Register of Ministers' Gifts and Hospitality, which will bring the publication of ministerial transparency data more closely into line with the parliamentary regime for gifts and hospitality.

What information her Department holds on the estimated cost to the public purse of the special escort group policing for Taylor Swift and her entourage; and whether any external sources contributed to that cost.

The safety of the British public is the first priority of this Government. We make no apologies for ensuring citizens are protected.It is entirely right that for major events in the capital, the Government has a dialogue with the Metropolitan Police and Mayor to discuss planning to ensure events happen safely. Operational decisions on security arrangements are made by the police, independent of politicians.It is long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

What plans he has for revising his policy on accepting hospitality from the (a) football and (b) music industry.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers by my hon. Friend, the Minister without Portfolio, during the Urgent Question, Reporting Ministerial Gifts and Hospitality, on 14 October 2024, Official Report, Columns 594-602.

With reference to the Institute of Fiscal Studies' finding relating to the fall in revenues from tobacco duty over the last decade, outlined on page 42 of its report entitled The outlook for the public finances in the new parliament, published on 10 October 2024, what steps she is taking to help tackle the illicit and non-duty paid markets for tobacco.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) launched its first strategy to tackle illicit tobacco in 2000. This, and consequent strategies with Border Force, have reduced the overall tobacco duty tax gap from 21.7% in 2005/6 to 14.5% in 2022/23. During this time, the duty gap for cigarettes has reduced by a third, and for hand-rolling tobacco by a half. In January this year HMRC and Border Force published their latest illicit tobacco strategy, ‘Stubbing Out the Problem’. The government is committed to reducing the trade in illicit tobacco with a focus on reducing demand, and tackling and disrupting the organised crime groups behind the illicit tobacco trade. The strategy is supported by £100 million of new smokefree funding over the next 5 years to boost existing HMRC and Border Force enforcement capability.

With reference to page 42 of the Institute of Fiscal Studies' report entitled The outlook for the public finances in the new parliament, published on 10 October 2024, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the Office for Budget Responsibility's estimate of the impact of the generational smoking ban on revenue from tobacco excise duty by 2060.

The Government is committed to delivering its two key objectives on tobacco duty; to raise revenue and protect public health. High taxes reduce the affordability of tobacco products and supports the Government’s objective to reduce smoking prevalence. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will be the biggest public health intervention in a generation – tackling the harms of smoking and paving the way for a smoke-free UK. Alongside the Bill, DHSC will publish an impact assessment which will include an estimate for the impact on tobacco duty receipts. The Government has consulted on proposals for a Vaping Products Duty. This would seek to discourage non-smokers and young people from taking up vaping and to raise revenue. The responses to this consultation are being reviewed and we will respond in due course. As with all taxes, the Government keeps tobacco duty rates under review during its Budget process.

What discussions (a) she has had and (b) officials in her Department have had with the Metropolitan Police on Special Escort Group policing for (i) Taylor Swift and (ii) her entourage.

The safety of the British public is the first priority of this Government. We make no apologies for ensuring citizens are protected.It is entirely right that for major events in the capital, the Government has a dialogue with the Metropolitan Police and Mayor to discuss planning to ensure events happen safely. Operational decisions on security arrangements are made by the police, independent of politicians.It is long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.