Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on the Local Land Charges Programme.

HM Land Registry’s (HMLR’s) new national Local Land Charges search service went live for customers in 2018, the programme is making good progress in digitising this critical information on land and property, transforming how it is stored, searched and delivered. Since the launch of the programme, at the time of writing HMLR has transferred 8 million charges from 137 Local Authorities to the new service, and another 133 Local Authorities’ data is currently in the process of being digitised, ready for it to be transferred. So far, the new service has delivered over 1.9 million searches, which saves the average customer over £10 per search and approximately 12 days in waiting time. As a result, customer sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with 74% of them rating the service as good to excellent.

Communities and Local Government, if he will set out the transitional arrangements prior to equalisation of differences in Council Tax rates across merging local authorities.

Council tax is managed by local authorities, who decide what level of council tax they wish to set. The Government sets referendum principles each year and any authority which sets a council tax increase above the principles must have it approved by voters. There is an established system for the harmonisation of council tax levels across the area of a restructured local authority area, whereby the difference between the Band D level of the highest and lowest charging predecessor areas must narrow each year, until a single uniform Band D is reached across the new authority. There is no minimum or maximum requirement on the extent to which the gap must close each year, provided harmonisation is completed by the start of year 8 at the latest. This is set out in The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/3022).

Communities and Local Government, whether he has issued guidance on the length of time over which Council Tax equalisation can take place.

The government set out the process for council tax equalisation in The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/3022). These regulations set out equalisation must be completed no later than the beginning of the eighth financial year after restructuring. Councils are responsible for setting their own level of council tax, including how quickly council tax levels are equalised within this timeframe. While the government does not currently issue guidance on this, we will continue to review the FAQs published on the Local Government Association website regarding devolution and local government reorganisation.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated from the Brownfield Infrastructure and Land fund to (a) Huntingdonshire District Council and (b) Cambridgeshire since the establishment of that programme.

No funding has been allocated to Huntingdonshire District Council from the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) programme. In Cambridgeshire, one BIL project is now in contract, for a £23.35m grant (alongside funding from the Cambridge City Deal) to support the relocation of the Waterbeach Village railway station which is a condition of the planning for the 4,500 home Waterbeach East New Town.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people granted asylum who now reside in social housing since 5 July 2024.

My Department does not hold data on the number of people granted asylum who now reside in social housing since 5 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated from the Affordable Homes Programme to (a) Huntingdonshire District Council and (b) Cambridgeshire since the establishment of that programme.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771).

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential need for additional financial support to local authorities to offset revenue losses during the equalisation process of Council Tax rates.

Council tax is managed by local authorities, who decide what level of council tax they wish to set. There is an established system for the locally-led harmonisation of council tax levels across the restructured local authority area, no later than the start of the eighth year after reorganisation. The Government will continue to set referendum principles each year and any authority which sets a council tax increase above the principles must have it approved by voters.The government is committed to ensuring that funding is targeted effectively at the places and services that need it most and allocated in a way that empowers local leaders to deliver against local priorities. This includes committing to multi-year allocations for each council through the upcoming 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) and moving to a more up-to-date assessment of each council’s needs and resources.

Communities and Local Government, how much of the Mayoral Recyclable Growth Fund will be available to the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

At the Spending Review the government announced that the new Mayoral Recyclable Growth Fund will be available to Mayors in the North and Midlands with an integrated settlement.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what discussions the Local Government Pension Scheme has had with the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is managed locally by its administering authorities. Discussions between Mayors and administering authorities are a matter for those parties.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how many new planning officers will be recruited in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Huntingdonshire.

The government has committed to recruiting at least 300 additional planners as part of our Planning Capacity and Capability Programme. Recruitment is being delivered through national schemes such as the Local Government Association’s Pathways to Planning graduate programme and Public Practice, which place experienced built environment professionals into councils across England. It is up to individual local planning authorities to determine if they wish to take part in these schemes based on their own circumstances and need. We do not set specific targets for individual counties or districts, including Cambridgeshire or Huntingdonshire. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 67508 on 21 July 2025, which sets out our wider plans for supporting local planning authorities to attract, retain and develop the skills they need.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress she has made on reforming the Local Government Pension Scheme to consider local growth priorities in investment strategies.

The Pension Schemes Bill includes a new power to require Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds to include their approach to local investment in their investment strategies. The Pensions Schemes Bill and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill also include new reciprocal duties on LGPS funds and strategic authorities to cooperate to identify and develop appropriate local investment opportunities. Wider reforms including consolidation of all LGPS assets in the LGPS asset pools and improved governance will also support LGPS investment in local and regional growth priorities.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how many (a) gigafactories, (b) laboratories and (c) data centres have opted in to being designated as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

No gigafactories, data centres or laboratories have yet opted into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) consenting process. Regulations which will enable large-scale data centres to ‘opt in’ to the NSIP consenting process are intended to be laid in Parliament for approval later this year and we anticipate a number of applicants will make use of the process once they are able to do so. Gigafactories and laboratories can already request to ‘opt in’ to the NSIP consenting regime under existing prescriptions of types of business or commercial projects in the Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) Regulations 2013.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 70001 on Voting Rights: Cambridgeshire, whether the Impact Assessment to be published alongside forthcoming legislation will be published before the introduction of new unitary authorities in Cambridgeshire.

An Impact Assessment will be published alongside forthcoming legislation in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, which areas within Cambridgeshire fall within the scope of the Cambridge Growth Company.

The Cambridge Growth Company is focused primarily on the Greater Cambridge area. Greater Cambridge is comprised of the city of Cambridge and the surrounding South Cambridgeshire District Council. Following the Spending Review, my Department is now working through departmental allocations. Once this process is complete, we will be in a position to make clear what the Spending Review means for funding for the Cambridge Growth Company.

Communities and Local Government, how many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what her planned timetable is for publishing further information on the funding of the Cambridge Growth Company.

The Cambridge Growth Company is focused primarily on the Greater Cambridge area. Greater Cambridge is comprised of the city of Cambridge and the surrounding South Cambridgeshire District Council. Following the Spending Review, my Department is now working through departmental allocations. Once this process is complete, we will be in a position to make clear what the Spending Review means for funding for the Cambridge Growth Company.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much funding her Department plans to provide to the Cambridge Growth Company.

The Cambridge Growth Company is focused primarily on the Greater Cambridge area. Greater Cambridge is comprised of the city of Cambridge and the surrounding South Cambridgeshire District Council. Following the Spending Review, my Department is now working through departmental allocations. Once this process is complete, we will be in a position to make clear what the Spending Review means for funding for the Cambridge Growth Company.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the age profile of local government officers eligible for redundancy following the implementation of local government reform (a) in Cambridgeshire and (b) nationally.

Councils, as employers, are responsible for managing the staffing implications of Local Government Reorganisation. In our invitations to councils, we asked areas to set out in their proposals how they will seek to manage transition costs, which we expect to include any staffing implications. We anticipate that the vast majority of council workers will transfer to new organisations, and workers will be protected by the relevant employment laws, including the Local Government (Structural and Boundary Changes) (Staffing) Regulations 2008.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, what estimate her Department has made of the number of electors per district councillor in Huntingdonshire after the voting age is lowered to 16.

As outlined in the recently published ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, the government believes that enabling 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in all UK elections will foster early and sustained participation in civic life and enhance engagement in our democratic processes. By delivering this manifesto commitment, we want young people to find their voice and exercise their right to vote.In June 2025, the House of Commons Library published constituency-level estimates of the number of 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK, based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from 2022 for Great Britain and 2023 for Northern Ireland. These figures provide indicative estimates of the population and should be treated as approximations rather than precise counts.The government recognises the importance of understanding the implications of this policy change. Accordingly, an Impact Assessment will be published alongside forthcoming legislation in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds on the size of the proposed unitary councils in Cambridgeshire.

As outlined in the recently published ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, the government believes that enabling 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in all UK elections will foster early and sustained participation in civic life and enhance engagement in our democratic processes. By delivering this manifesto commitment, we want young people to find their voice and exercise their right to vote.In June 2025, the House of Commons Library published constituency-level estimates of the number of 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK, based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from 2022 for Great Britain and 2023 for Northern Ireland. These figures provide indicative estimates of the population and should be treated as approximations rather than precise counts.The government recognises the importance of understanding the implications of this policy change. Accordingly, an Impact Assessment will be published alongside forthcoming legislation in due course.