Written questions by Lowe.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has conducted any assessment of risks posed by foreign-state or foreign-network mobilisation of postal-voting blocks among overseas nationals eligible to vote in UK local elections.

The Government is committed to upholding and strengthening UK democracy by protecting against foreign interference, improving political transparency, adding tougher checks for donations and closing loopholes by reinforcing electoral legislation against foreign interference. Our election reforms will deliver a robust and proportionate response to known risks, protecting the integrity of our system and reinforcing public trust in democracy. This is set out in our Elections Strategy, published in July. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit coordinates work to protect UK elections and referendums, from threats including foreign interference.

Communities and Local Government, whether additional support will be given to coastal councils like Great Yarmouth facing above-average costs for waste and public space maintenance.

The government recognises the significant pressures that councils are facing. This is why, alongside the additional £3.4 billion of grant funding announced at the Spending Review, the government is delivering fair funding reforms to ensure money goes to the places that need it most.On 17 December, the government published the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. The provisional 2026-27 Settlement will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. By the end of the multi-year period, we will have provided a 15.1% cash-terms increase, worth over £11 billion, compared to 2025-26.The government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural and coastal communities. Our updated assessment of need will more effectively capture variations in demand for services within a local authority. We will continue to apply Area Cost Adjustments to account for the different costs faced in delivering services, including in coastal areas.

Communities and Local Government, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by his Department in the last financial year.

The department does not hold information on LinkedIn membership fees and other subscriptions in the format requested, and this could only be collated at a disproportionate cost.

Communities and Local Government, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.

Information on sickness absence, including data by Department and sickness reason (such as Mental Ill-Health), is published in the Civil Service sickness absence reports available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. The next release is expected soon.

Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.

Sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83627 on Refugees: Social Rented Housing, how many lead tenants there are in (a) social and (b) rented housing by the nationality of those tenants.

The English Housing Survey (EHS) collects information about the characteristics of households, including the nationality of the household reference person (equivalent to lead tenant). Breakdowns by housing tenure can be found in Annex Table 1.1 of the EHS 2023-24: rented sectors on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds information on the amount spent by Harrow Council on (a) No spitting signage and (b) related Public Space Protection Order enforcement campaigns since January 2024.

Local councils are responsible for their own spending. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the total cost of (a) translation and (b) interpretation for services related to social housing in each of the last ten financial years.

My Department does not hold data on the cost of translation and interpretation for services related to social housing.

Communities and Local Government, if he will assess the potential merits of barring non-UK nationals from (a) being the lead tenant for social housing (b) living in social housing.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19776 on 20 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what information the Department holds on the number of Somali citizens living in social housing as a proportion of the Somali population living in the UK for which the latest data is available.

My Department does not hold data on the type of housing tenure in which Somali nationals living in the UK reside.

Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that the local elections in Norfolk take place on 7 May 2026.

The starting point is for all elections to go ahead, unless there is strong justification. We intend for the mayoral election for the new strategic authority to take place in May 2026, alongside the scheduled elections to Norwich City Council and the County Council elections postponed from May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department records the (a) nationality and (b) immigration status of tenants who purchase their homes under the Right to Buy scheme; and how many Right to Buy sales have been made by non-British nationals in each of the last five years.

My Department does not record the nationality or immigration status of tenants who have purchased their homes under the Right to Buy scheme, nor how many Right to Buy sales have been made to non-British nationals. Eligibility for social housing is already tightly controlled. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they are not eligible for an allocation of social housing. Migrants arriving in the UK on student or work visas are not eligible and nor are those who arrive in the country illegally with no leave to remain. On 2 July, the government announced further reforms to the Right to Buy, including increasing the length of time someone needs to have been a public sector tenant to qualify for Right to Buy from 3 to 10 years. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on that day (HCWS771).

Communities and Local Government, how many people with refugee status are resident in (a) council and (b) social housing by local authority.

My Department does not hold information on people claiming council or social housing who were formally granted refugee status and/or settlement. Our social housing lettings in England statistical series, which can be found on gov.uk here, includes information on new social lettings only, based on the tenant’s self-reported main reason for leaving their last settled home. It shows that 2.0% of all new social housing lettings in 2023/24 were to households who self-reported as refugees (4,100 households). Care should be taken when considering figures for new social lettings to refugees. The data is based on specific definitions and there may be overlaps and households missing from the statistics presented above.

Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to require local authorities to ensure staff in customer-facing roles are fluent in English.

Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces and compliance with all relevant employment legislation. They are expected to organise their workforce so that it is best placed to meet the needs of their residents.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to local authorities of (a) translation and (b) interpretation services.

Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces and compliance with all relevant employment legislation. They are expected to organise their workforce so that it is best placed to meet the needs of their residents.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the levels of English language proficiency of staff working in local authority (a) housing and (b) social services.

Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces and compliance with all relevant employment legislation. They are expected to organise their workforce so that it is best placed to meet the needs of their residents.

Communities and Local Government, how many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Organogram data is released by all central government departments on a quarterly basis. Names and salaries are also listed for Senior Civil Servants. MHCLG organograms are available on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of procurement contracts were awarded to UK companies in the 2024-25 financial year.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023 above £12,000 inc VAT are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service. This includes a note of the winning supplier. (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search).

Communities and Local Government, how many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

In line with wider Government policy, the Department policy allows spouses of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials to work abroad when their spouses have been posted overseas. The Department allows working abroad when officials are overseas on official business, typically to support Ministers. If there is a clear business need, the Department allows officials to take equipment abroad to keep in touch whilst on leave. The Department also allows working overseas for up to two weeks for exceptional welfare reasons The numbers of staff with equipment oversees varies during the year. On 9 July, seven officials were working overseas on official business in Italy. 10 officials had equipment overseas allowing them to work if there was a need to keep in touch in, variously, Belgium, Bulgaria, France (three), Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States of America (three).

Communities and Local Government, how much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.

Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.