Written questions by Dhesi.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds data on the number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries attended by Fire and Rescue Services in Slough each year.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Slough Borough Council on the prevention of the illegal (a) use and (b) sale of fireworks.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue further guidance to local authorities on the use of discretionary powers to provide relief from council tax premiums for second properties which have be

The government’s guidance sets out a range of factors which councils should consider in implementing council tax premiums and whether to provide further discretionary exceptions or other support. It is for councils to assess where further support is appro...

Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of legislative protections against discrimination during the application process for prospective tenants for privately rented reside

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 provides local authorities with strong investigatory and enforcement powers to bear down on rental discrimination practices in the private rented sector. It addresses both overt discriminatory practices, such as ‘No DSS’ adver...

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to update domestic electrical safety guidance and regulations on plug-in solar.

Part P of the Building Regulations 2010 and Approved Document P make clear that electrical installations in dwellings should be designed and installed in such a way to protect people from electric shock and fire hazards. The Building Safety Act 2022 requires the Building Safety Regulator to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review. As new evidence emerges, updating of Building Regulations or statutory guidance in Approved Documents can then be considered; this includes the electrical safety requirements in Part P of the Building Regulations. Approved Document P refers to the electrical installation standards in BS7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations as the way of showing compliance with Part P requirements. Building owners remain responsible for managing building safety and performance risks of all kinds in a proportionate, risk-based and evidence backed manner.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential risk of interference by the US in UK elections.

The UK Government takes attempts by any country to intervene in democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The Government has renewed the mandate of the Defending Democracy Taskforce (DDTF), which brings together Government Ministers, representatives from law enforcement and the intelligence community, to coordinate work to protect our democratic institutions and processes from threats, including foreign interference.In April 2023, DDTF created the Joint Election Security and Preparedness (JESP) Unit, which sits jointly between Cabinet Office and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, as a permanent function dedicated to protecting UK elections and referendums and coordinating work across government to respond to issues of protective security, cyber threats and mis and disinformation, including foreign interference.In December 2025, the Secretary of State commissioned former permanent secretary Philip Rycroft to lead an independent review into foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. The review was published on 25 March 2026 and can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the progress of remediation works on properties approved for the Cladding Safety Scheme in Slough.

Buildings in the CSS in Slough are making progress on their remediation, and in cases outside of the timeframe expected by CSS, action has been taken to bring progress back on track.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of regulations on private parking companies.

The Government will be raising standards in the private parking industry by introducing a new Code of Practice as soon as possible, in accordance with the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 88 of the policy paper entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published on 14 July 2025, how many meetings have been attended by civil servants within their Department in relation to the Home Defence Programme; which directorate in the Department owns the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme; and what the job title is of the civil servant leading and cohering the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme.

Senior officials from the Resilience and Recovery Directorate in MHCLG regularly attend meetings to discuss matters of national security, defence and resilience as well as the associated public communications required to deliver these lines of efforts. The conversation on National Defence was a recommendation in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which the Government accepted. The Ministry of Defence is the lead department for delivering the SDR, with support from the Cabinet Office, and particularly from the National Security Secretariat. As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year, cross-departmental effort designed to deliver on the whole-of-society approach to national security and defence allowing Government, the private sector and public to play their part in strengthening the UK’s resilience to any potential future shocks. This work addresses the risks and threats the UK faces, including those below and above the threshold of an armed attack. MHCLG is actively supporting this work, including liaising with Local Resilience Forums.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 92 of the Strategic Defence Review, how many meetings officials from their Department have attended on the national conversation on defence and security; which directorate in their Department is responsible for the departmental contribution to that national conversation; and what the job title is of the official responsible.

Senior officials from the Resilience and Recovery Directorate in MHCLG regularly attend meetings to discuss matters of national security, defence and resilience as well as the associated public communications required to deliver these lines of efforts. The conversation on National Defence was a recommendation in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which the Government accepted. The Ministry of Defence is the lead department for delivering the SDR, with support from the Cabinet Office, and particularly from the National Security Secretariat. As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year, cross-departmental effort designed to deliver on the whole-of-society approach to national security and defence allowing Government, the private sector and public to play their part in strengthening the UK’s resilience to any potential future shocks. This work addresses the risks and threats the UK faces, including those below and above the threshold of an armed attack. MHCLG is actively supporting this work, including liaising with Local Resilience Forums.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help tackle exploitative and non‑transparent sub‑letting in the private rented sector; and whether he has assessed the merits of strengthening redress for sub‑tenants who have been misled into paying rent to a legal tenant rather than the landlord.

Subletting a property is subject to the conditions outlined in the tenancy agreement between the tenant and landlord, and the agreement between the sub-tenant and the main tenant. Where disputes arise, established legal routes and access to the courts are available to provide appropriate remedies. On 13 November 2025, the government published a roadmap for implementing the Renters' Rights Act, which can be found on gov.uk here. In implementation Phase 2 from late 2026, we will introduce the national Private Rented Sector Database, providing tenants with more information about private landlords, and supporting local authorities to identify and take action against illegal subletting.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 88 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, how many meetings Ministers in their Department have attended related to the Home Defence Programme.

Ministers have regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience. The Home Defence Programme was established in August 2024 to build the UK’s resilience to any potential escalation to conflict. It is an evolving and enduring programme of work which provides defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK, informed by and reflecting the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan. MHCLG is actively supporting this work, including liaising with Local Resilience Forums.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 92 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, how many (a) public engagements and (b) private meetings Ministers in their Department have undertaken related to the national conversation on defence and security.

Ministers have regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience, and associated public communications. As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year engagement designed to embed a whole-of-society approach, where Government, businesses, and the public all play a part in strengthening our resilience. This addresses the risks we face, including threats below and above the threshold of an armed attack. MHCLG is actively supporting this work, including liaising with Local Resilience Forums.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) transparency (b) financial protection and (c) value for money of leaseholders' service charges.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 109581 on 3 February 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps have been taken to help ensure value for money for leaseholders in relation to service charges imposed by management companies.

My Department does not hold data on average service charges in Slough and Berkshire. On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation, jointly with the Welsh Government, on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. The consultation included proposals to reform the section 20 ‘major works’ procedure, increase transparency over service charges and enhance access to redress through the relevant provisions in the Act. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses with a view to bringing the relevant measures into force as quickly as possible.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the average service charges for leaseholders billed by management companies in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

My Department does not hold data on average service charges in Slough and Berkshire. On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation, jointly with the Welsh Government, on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. The consultation included proposals to reform the section 20 ‘major works’ procedure, increase transparency over service charges and enhance access to redress through the relevant provisions in the Act. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses with a view to bringing the relevant measures into force as quickly as possible.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on taking steps to ensure that properties under their responsibility comply with Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.

The Government has published guidance to support understanding and compliance with the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and has since updated this to ensure it meets the needs of users including social housing providers. Officials have frequently presented at forums with local authorities and engage regularly at official level with those who are responsible for the Regulations to understand how these are working on the ground, alongside providing policy expertise and identifying where further or amended guidance is needed. A 2023 survey indicated that understanding and compliance with the Regulations is positive. A review of the Regulations is being planned, and the Government will use any learning from this to address any questions or queries around the requirements of the Regulations.

Communities and Local Government, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.

As part of its risk management activities, MHCLG monitors a range of national emergency and security risks, based broadly on those risks set out in the National Risk Register (NRR). Each risk in the NRR has a designated risk owner, working within the Lead Government Department (LGD) which is responsible for that designated risk. MHCLG is the LGD for several of the risks on the NRR. Our LGD risks are overseen collectively by a Resilience Board. Our Secretary of State and our Permanent Secretary (as the department’s accounting officer) are ultimately responsible for all risks owned by the department where it is the designated LGD.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has assessed the potential merits of introducing a statutory Code of Practice on the Sikh articles of faith to help prevent discrimination against (a) public sector workers and (b) users of public services.

This Government attaches great importance of correctly applying equalities legislation in the public sector to avoid discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, one of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) regulates equality law across England, Wales and Scotland, and human rights across England and Wales, and is independent of government. It has published Code of Practice on Equal pay, Employment and Services, public functions and associations. These Codes of Practice provide individuals, businesses, employers and public authorities the information they need to understand the Act, exercise their rights, and meet their responsibilities, including on the basis of religion or belief.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken alongside local stakeholders to reduce child homelessness in the Slough constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 86837 on 10 November 2025.