Written questions by Holmes.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 16 December 2025, HCWS1186, on Electoral Resilience, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of political donations to APPGs by foreign donors on democracy.

The registration of APPGs, as well as their compliance with the 'Guide to the Rules on All-Party Parliamentary Groups', is a matter for Parliament. The Government believes it is right that there are strict rules for APPGs regarding benefits from foreign governments and supports the prohibition on foreign governments providing or funding APPG secretariats. Ultimately, MPs must conduct the appropriate due diligence and are responsible for following not only the rules for APPGs, but the House of Commons Code of Conduct as well, which is clear on the requirements for MPs with regards to lobbying and foreign governments. In October, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) launched specific guidance to help Members of Parliament, councillors, mayors, and their staff better understand and protect themselves from threats like espionage and foreign interference. This guidance provides simple, effective steps to safeguard individuals, their teams, and the integrity of democratic processes. The Government takes any attempts to intervene in democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes, including from foreign interference. On the 16th of December, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards that regulate political parties and political finance and make recommendations. The terms of reference for the review can be found here. Given the review’s independence, we cannot pre-empt specifics of the ground it will cover, nor the recommendations it will make. It is right that the review is independent of Government and independent of any political party.

What was the average mean Rateable Value of a hereditament on the (a) 2023 Rating List and (b) 2026 Rating List, with the Valuation Office Agency's special category code of (i) 227 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme), (ii) 226 Public House/Pub Restaurants (National Scheme), (iii) 234 Restaurants, (iv) 238 Roadside Restaurants (National Scheme), (v) 409 Cafes, (vi) 500 Cafes/Restaurants Within/Part of Specialist Property, (vii) 060 Clubhouses, (viii) 061 Licensed Sports, Social and Private Members Clubs, (ix) 062 Coaching Inns and (x) 303 Bars (Valued on Floor Space).

Relevant data can be found here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation

What is her Department's estimate for annual CPI inflation in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29 financial years.

HM Treasury does not produce forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasting the economy is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 November 2025.In their most recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR forecast CPI inflation to be 3.5% in 2025-26, 2.2% in 2026-27, 2.0% in 2027-28 and 2.1% in 2028-29.

How does the Valuation Office estimate the value of a garden when valuing a dwelling for council tax in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Gardens are not valued separately or in isolation for Council Tax. They are reflected within a property’s overall Council Tax assessment.

With reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and to the Answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, for what reason the £965 million value of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multipliers in 2026-27 is less than the £1.4 billion value of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief in 2025-26.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate has the Land Registry made of the potential impact of the number of years of the lease length and the capital value of a leasehold (a) flat and (b) house.

It is not within HM Land Registry's remit to conduct estimates of potential impacts of the number of years of the lease length and the capital value for flats or houses.

With reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what estimate her Department has made of the average monetary value of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief or multiplier to an average RHL hereditament in (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) 2026-27.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

With reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the notional increase in revenue from the abolition of the 2025-26 centrally funded RHL relief in 2026-27.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to issue updated land use in England statistics.

My Department is working to update the land use statistics’ methodology to take advantage of new, more granular data from Ordnance Survey. Publication is expected to resume this year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95881 on council tax, what data was provided to Office for Budget Responsibility by her Department to assist them in the calculation of the council tax receipts in England.

The OBR forecast methodology for council tax can be found on their website, including information about the data they commission.

Communities and Local Government, if he will re-introduce the guidance entitled Four-day working week arrangements in local authorities, withdrawn on 8 November 2024.

The Secretary of State wrote to all Council Leaders and Chief Executives in England on 19 December 2025, setting out the Government’s policy that local authorities should not be offering full time pay for part time work. This policy is reflected in the Best Value Guidance issued in May 2024.

With reference to page 52 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the estimated uplift in the non-payment rate of council tax.

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) is a new tax and is separate to Council Tax. HVCTS costings do not assume any increase in the non-payment of Council Tax. The assumptions used to estimate the revenue raised by the HVCTS are set out in the costing note published at Budget 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the second homes council tax premium on house prices.

The use of council tax premiums is at local authorities’ discretion. The Government does not make housing market assessments based on premiums.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of aggregate council tax receipts in England in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29.

As part of the provisional settlement the Government has made estimates of changes to Core Spending power between 2026 and 2029. This includes estimates of the council tax requirements councils will set for those years. These estimates are set out here - Core Spending Power table: provisional local government finance settlement 2026 to 2029 - GOV.UK. These estimates exclude parish precepts, police and crime commissioner precepts, as well as the High Value Council Tax Surcharge being introduced from 2028.

What is the statutory basis for the Valuation Office Agency to publish and share the council tax valuation list, and the banding of each dwelling, on gov.uk.

Section 28(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 provides the statutory basis for publishing and sharing the Council Tax valuation list.

How many hereditaments are there with a Rateable Value of £500,000 or over in the 2026 Rating List, by Special Category code; and what is the average Rateable Value of a hereditament in that Special Category amongst the subset of those with a Rateable Value of £500,000, according to information held by the Valuation Office Agency.

Statistics detailing the number of properties within a range of Rateable Values in the draft 2026 Rating List can be found here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation

How many (a) hotels, (b) bed and breakfasts, (c) guest houses and (d) overnight camping groups are valued for business rates in England.

Statistics detailing the number of properties categorized by their property type in the draft 2026 Rating List can be found here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation This information is broken down by Special Category code in the downloadable spreadsheet, titled “RVL_4_2”.

With reference to HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, November 2025, page 95, for what reason a policy costing is listed for council tax and fire authorities but not for other types of local authority.

No policy changes were introduced prior to or at Autumn Budget for other types of council tax authority, so no additional policy costing notes were necessary.

What methodology does the Valuation Office Agency use to calculate the difference in a dwelling’s sale price and its assessed council tax valuation value for leasehold properties with less than a 99 year lease.

I refer the hon member to the answer on UIN 99866, tabled on 15 December 2025. The Valuation Office Agency values all domestic properties on the same basis and in line with legislation. Council Tax valuations are based on the value a property, offered for sale in an open market, could have been expected to meet at the antecedent valuation date (AVD), which in England is 1 April 1991 and in Wales, 1 April 2005.

Pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2025, to Question HL12434, on Council tax: valuation, whether each of the property attributes in Question HL12434, are or were taken into account as a material consideration by the Valuation Office Agency during their valuations for the current council tax revaluation in Wales.

The variables used to determine valuations for the Council Tax revaluation in Wales include property attributes, locations and sales details. More detailed information on these variables can be found in the Valuation Office Agency’s model specification document.