Written questions by Olney.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to provide additional support to councils that receive less funding after the fair funding formula is implemented.

By the end of the multi-year Settlement, we will have made available a 15.1% increase in Core Spending Power for councils in England, worth over £11 billion, compared to 2025-26. The vast majority of social care authorities will see a real terms increase across over the multi-year Settlement. The government agrees with respondents to the December consultation and Fair Funding Review 2.0 that implementing funding reform in full in 2026-27 without transitional arrangements would be the wrong approach. We will support local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by introducing changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income, including locally retained business rates growth.

Communities and Local Government, in what way compliance with accessibility regulations for new build homes is monitored.

In the initial stages, a building control application is required for new build homes. This is reviewed by building control bodies to ensure compliance with building regulations, including Part M – Access to and use of buildings.During the build process, progress on site may be checked and monitored, using a number of methods, including on site visits, where the inspector may ask the builders on site to open up parts of the build in order to check compliance, and give advice if needed.At the end of the build process, if a building complies with relevant regulations, a completion certificate will be issued.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to mandate higher accessibility standards for new build homes.

Housing is one of this Government’s top priorities. Everyone deserves to live in a decent home that is suitable for them and meets their needs. The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of older and disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies. Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing. The Government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.

Communities and Local Government, what are the delivery rates of M4(2) accessible and adaptable homes.

The data requested is not held centrally although the English Housing Survey does collect data on accessibility and adaptations within the home.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure the provision of accessible housing for disabled Ukrainian refugees.

We provide a tariff of £5,900 per Ukrainian arrival to councils. Councils can use this funding flexibly to support households as best suits the local area, including using the funding for measures to support guests to access secure and appropriate accommodation in the private rental sector. All Ukrainian guests have access to public services, including benefits to support the costs of private rented housing. The Citizens Advice Bureau can advise on which benefits individuals may be eligible for and how to apply for those. Council housing teams can also offer advice to Ukrainians about the range of housing options available locally.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that a proportion of new build homes are adapted to be accessible to people with physical disabilities.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to ensure that a proportion of shared ownership homes are adapted to be accessible to those with physical disabilities.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of (a) the duplication of scanned signatures and (b) technical problems with the Electoral Registration Officer Portal since its introduction in 2023; how many (i) local authorities and (ii) postal vote applications have been affected; if she will list which local authorities have been affected; and whether there were periods when duplicate signatures could not be checked.

On 13 May 2025, MHCLG identified a software bug with the batch application upload functionality on the Electoral Registration Officer Portal (ERO Portal), which had existed since 21 March 2024. The bug could lead to misallocated signature images for certain elector records stored in local authority Electoral Management Systems (EMS). The issue would only present where an elector had applied for a postal vote via a paper form, where an ERO had included their application in the batch paper upload feature of the ERO Portal, and where there was a large volume of processing of batched application uploads. Our investigation also concluded that the issue was more likely to present where there were network performance issues. The issue was fixed on 14 May 2025, and further cases have since been prevented from occurring An analysis conducted on the data held in the ERO Portal was used to identify duplicated signature images in the data. This analysis identified a potential 112 cases of exact duplicate images caused by this issue across the ERO Portal data, out of a total of 2,257,946 postal vote applications. In total, we identified 64 Electoral Registration Offices, across 67 local authorities, where we had identified a duplicated signature Due to the data retention periods of the ERO Portal, the data analysis was only able to check for duplicates between 14 May 2024 and 14 May 2025. EMS suppliers have been able to provide support for ERO teams to check for duplicated signatures between 21 March 2024 and 14 May 2024 ERO Portal users across local authorities were updated throughout the investigation. MHCLG engaged directly with local authorities believed to be impacted by this bug to inform them of potential cases so they could be investigated and rectified by individual ERO teams. We continue to work closely with EMS suppliers to support impacted ERO teams. Technical issues on the ERO Portal are routinely documented and communicated through digital service governance processes. As part of this, any lessons that can be taken from technical issues are discussed and analysed, whilst preventative mitigations are then adopted in software development practises. We also work closely with the LA elections sector to collate and evaluate user feedback, which feeds directly into our roadmap for continuous product improvements.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the licensing criteria for Houses in Multiple Occupation.

It is important that private rented properties are safe, well-maintained, and properly managed. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing schemes play a crucial role in achieving this. The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces reforms to drive-up standards within the private rented sector properties, including HMOs. This includes a Decent Homes Standard and new enforcement powers for local authorities. We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Renters' Rights Bill will place penalties on landlords who have been unable to sell their properties and want to re-rent.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will introduce a new ground for possession for landlords who wish to sell their property. To prevent abuse of this ground, landlords will not be able to market or re-let their property for twelve months after using the selling ground. This will remove the financial incentive to landlords from misusing the grounds and evicting a tenant with the intention to re-let at a higher rent.Once the legislation is in place, landlords could be given a fine of up to £40,000 by local councils if they market or re-let their properties within twelve months of using the moving and selling grounds. Tenants will also be able to seek Rent Repayment Orders for this offence. Tenants will be able toc challenge evictions in court if they believe the landlord is misusing the grounds. If this happens, the landlord will need demonstrate that their intention to sell or move in is genuine.

Communities and Local Government, what target she has set for the total number of dispersal accommodation centres available to victims of domestic abuse.

This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and supporting victims of domestic abuse. Since 2021, local authorities in England have a duty to ensure domestic abuse victims and their children who need to flee their homes have access to support within safe accommodation when they need it. MHCLG has defined in regulations the types of safe accommodation that support to victims can be delivered in, including dispersed accommodation. MHCLG has allocated £160 million to local authorities in 2025/26 to help them deliver their duty, a £30 million uplift from the previous year. This revenue funding is for local authorities to fund provision of lifesaving support for victims and their children within safe accommodation, including dispersed accommodation. It is for local authorities to determine how best to allocate the funding MHCLG has provided to meet local needs, in line with a local needs assessment and strategy.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of people who were evicted from their properties in each year since 2015.

The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on possession claim actions in the county court. It can be found on gov.uk here.The data includes the volumes of repossessions carried out by county court bailiffs in mortgage and landlord possession cases. It does not include cases where a tenant has left their property voluntarily following a notice for eviction.

Communities and Local Government, how many Section 21 evictions have taken place in each year since 2015.

The Department does not hold granular data on Section 21 evictions, either year by year or by the demographics of those affected.However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families, including single parents.The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, how many single parents that have been evicted through a Section 21 notice in each year since 2015.

The Department does not hold granular data on Section 21 evictions, either year by year or by the demographics of those affected.However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families, including single parents.The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, how many single parents with more than two children have been evicted through a Section 21 notice in each year since 2015.

The Department does not hold granular data on Section 21 evictions, either year by year or by the demographics of those affected.However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families, including single parents.The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to improve protections for homeowners facing damage to their homes from neighbouring buildings.

The Party Wall Act 1996 currently provides that a building owner carrying out work must not cause unnecessary inconvenience to adjoining owners. This is taken to mean inconvenience over and above that which will inevitably occur when such works are properly undertaken. The building owner must provide temporary protection for adjacent buildings and property where necessary. The building owner is responsible for making good any damage caused by the works or must make payment in lieu of making good if the adjoining owner requests it.His Majesty’s Government is committed to keeping the Party Wall Act under continuous review. No date or decision has been made to review the party wall act. If the act is reviewed it would require an open public consultation on any proposed legislative changes.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that eligible voters are on the electoral register.

The electoral register is the foundation of our democratic processes, showing who is eligible to vote in which elections. The Government is committed to improving how registration works, including the use of data and online services to help increase registration levels so that everyone who is eligible to vote can vote.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a searchable public database of political adverts to improve transparency for political (a) advertising, (b) donations and (c) spending.

Under UK law, those promoting eligible digital campaigning material targeted at the UK electorate are required to include an imprint with their name and address, supporting the transparency of political material online.Political parties, candidates and third party campaigners are subject to campaign spending limits at UK elections. For transparency, they are already required to report on their spending and donations and provide invoices for payments over a certain amount, including money spent on advertising. Following an election, the Electoral Commission publishes details of campaign spending and donations on their website, and details of candidate spending are available from the relevant local authority.We have no plans at this time to introduce a requirement for a public database of political adverts but welcome the steps taken by social media companies to create “advert libraries”. We will continue to keep political advertising transparency rules under review.The Government are committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections and, as stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase participation in elections.

The Government is committed to increasing participation in elections by improving voter registration and addressing inconsistencies in voter ID rules that have prevented legitimate voters from voting.We are also reducing the voting age to give 16- and 17-year-olds the vote in all elections and acting to improve electoral registration.Firm proposals to deliver on these commitments will be outlined in due course. Progress has already been made with the inclusion of the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card to the list of documents accepted at polling stations.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on steps to improve public engagement with politics.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Question UIN 901650 on 5 December 2024.