Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43777 on Domestic Abuse: Refuge, what proportion of the total number of refuges had bedspaces for men.

This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse, including male victims. Local authorities, under their statutory duties under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, are required to assess the need for and provide support for all victims of domestic abuse and their children while in safe accommodation, including male victims. It is for local authorities to commission services based on local need. The Department collects data on the number of refuge bedspaces and the number of individuals, including male victims, that receive support in safe accommodation. This data is published annually: the most recent data can be found here. This data does not break down bedspace provision by gender-specific accommodation. According to Women's Aid 2025 Annual Audit report, there were 50 refuges in England with bedspaces for men in May 2024, an increase of 11 from the previous year.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 39650 on Housing: Construction, whether quarterly data on planning applications and housing starts and completions classifies the approval of a retrospective planning application of the conversion of a house into an HMO as a new dwelling.

Within the Department’s quarterly official statistics on planning applications, an application for the conversion of a house into a house in multiple occupation (HMO) would not be classified as an application for a new dwelling. Applications within Use Class C3 are classified as new dwellings, whereas applications for conversion to an HMO are within Use Class C4 (three to six residents) or as sui generis (more than six residents), both of which are classified as being within All Other Developments. The relevant official guidance is published and available on gov.uk here. Whether or not a planning application is retrospective does not affect how it is classified. Within the Department’s quarterly official statistics on housing starts and completions, the conversion of an existing house into an HMO would not count as a newly built dwelling. The official guidance for the data return is that new build dwelling figures should exclude dwellings created through conversion of existing dwellings and by change of use such as commercial buildings to residential. Extensions and alterations to existing dwellings should be excluded. The relevant official guidance is published and available on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, Official Report, column 945, what steps she is taking to monitor the progress made in meeting housebuilding targets.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 39650 on 25 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39650 on Housing: Construction, whether the conversion of houses into houses in multiple occupation counts as an increase in the number of new dwellings.

The definition of a dwelling is published on gov.uk here under “Dwelling (Housing supply; net additional dwellings)”.The conversion of an existing residential property into a house of multiple occupancy does not count as a net additional dwelling in the official statistics on housing supply or dwelling stock estimates.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her oral contribution in the Second Reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 24 March 2025, Official Report, column 659, what steps she is taking to protect high-quality agricultural land.

The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production.We are maintaining the existing strong protection for the best and most versatile agricultural land.The National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions. The Framework is clear that where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39650 on Housing: Construction, what types of property qualify as a dwelling.

The definition of a dwelling is published on gov.uk here under “Dwelling (Housing supply; net additional dwellings)”.The conversion of an existing residential property into a house of multiple occupancy does not count as a net additional dwelling in the official statistics on housing supply or dwelling stock estimates.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39650 on Housing: Construction, whether a bedsit qualifies as a dwelling.

The definition of a dwelling is published on gov.uk here under “Dwelling (Housing supply; net additional dwellings)”.The conversion of an existing residential property into a house of multiple occupancy does not count as a net additional dwelling in the official statistics on housing supply or dwelling stock estimates.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has held with Cabinet colleagues on the extension of the £250 reduction in electricity bills for those living within 500m of a pylon to those living near to NSIP level solar farms.

Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly engage with Cabinet colleagues to deliver the government’s priorities, including matters relating to planning and energy infrastructure. I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Energy to Question UIN 39293 on 24 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many of the new homes her Department has committed to delivering over the course of this Parliament have been (a) planned, (b) started and (c) completed.

The government publishes quarterly data on planning applications and housing starts and completions.The latest data on planning application statistics can be found on gov.uk here.Data on housing starts and completions can be found on gov.uk here. The main measure of housing supply is net additional dwellings, the latest data on which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what figures her Department uses for the population of (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough; and if she will publish those figures.

The Department uses a range of statistics that have already been published by the Office for National Statistics. These published statistics include the national and subnational Estimates of the Population for England and Wales (available on gov.uk here), which are routinely published by the Office for National Statistics and include figures on the populations of both Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. For some of our analysis that require figures at household-level, such as our homelessness and rough sleeping analysis, we make use of the Office for National Statistics’ published 2018-Based Household Projections (available on gov.uk here). Finally, we also make use of the Office for National Statistics’ census data (available on gov.uk here). The Department does not use unpublished population figures generally or for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough specifically.

Communities and Local Government, how many land transactions for nationally significant infrastructure projects were via compulsory purchase order since 4 July 2024.

Since July 2024, 13 Development Consent Orders (DCOs) have been determined by the government. The number of land transactions relating to compulsory purchase will depend on the relevant DCOs, the relevant agreement between parties, and the extent of powers granted that was necessary for the project. The number of transactions may also change over the lifetime of a project. This information is not collected by the government.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March to Question 34375 on Elections: Disqualification Orders, how many prosecutions have been made under the Elections Act 2022.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 34375 on 7 March 2025. As stated in our previous answer, we do not hold data on how many people have been disqualified. This includes data on the number of people prosecuted.

Communities and Local Government, what the 2013 population projection from the 2011 Census used in the Settlement Funding Assessment estimates the population of Cambridgeshire to be in that year.

The estimated projection from the 2011 Census of the population of Cambridgeshire for the 2013/2014 local government finance settlement is 635,923. More detail is available here.The government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34056 on Fire and Rescue Services: Finance, what specific elements of the Settlement Funding Assessment use population data from the 2001 Census.

The 2013/2014 funding formulae for the Settlement Funding Assessment used a mix of 2001 and 2011 Census data. The publication available at this link provides further detail on which set of Census data each element of the formulae use.The government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33161 on Fire and Rescue Services: Finance, what factors the funding formula uses to (a) determine and (b) distribute funding to fire and rescue services.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement, including funding for Fire and Rescue Authorities, is distributed through the Settlement Funding Assessment. This funding includes Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates. The Settlement Funding Assessment uses a range of formulas to determine the relative funding need of areas, which when combined with a measure of tax base, determines their relative income. This includes the Fire and Rescue Formula, which consists of a basic allocation of funding per resident, with adjustments for coastline, population density and sparsity, deprivation, fire risk areas and community fire safety. Further details on the current funding methodology can be found online, within the ‘Calculation of 2013/14 Formula Funding’ page, linked here. The government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33161 on Fire and Rescue Services: Finance, how retained business rates are used to fund fire and rescue services.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement, including funding for Fire and Rescue Authorities, is distributed through the Settlement Funding Assessment. This funding includes Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates. The Settlement Funding Assessment uses a range of formulas to determine the relative funding need of areas, which when combined with a measure of tax base, determines their relative income. This includes the Fire and Rescue Formula, which consists of a basic allocation of funding per resident, with adjustments for coastline, population density and sparsity, deprivation, fire risk areas and community fire safety. Further details on the current funding methodology can be found online, within the ‘Calculation of 2013/14 Formula Funding’ page, linked here. The government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, from 2026-27. We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on infrastructure development alongside new housing in Huntingdon constituency.

MHCLG Ministers regularly collaborate with official and Ministerial colleagues across government to deliver shared priorities, including in relation to the provision of housing and infrastructure.I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 26106 on 5 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many people have been disqualified for holding elective office under Part 5 of the Elections Act 2022.

Under UK law, those convicted of intimidation or abuse of candidates, campaigners or elected office holders, may be subject to a five-year ban from standing for, or holding, elective office, in addition to any standard punishment for the underlying criminal offence. The disqualification can be imposed at the point of sentence before a criminal court, unless it is unjust in the circumstances to do so. The disqualification order came into force in November 2023, meaning that it has not been in place for a substantive period of time. We do not hold data on how many people have been disqualified

Communities and Local Government, from what year the population data used to calculate fire service funding is taken from.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement, including funding for Fire and Rescue Authorities is distributed through the Settlement Funding Assessment. This formula was introduced in 2013-14 and is based on the 2013 population projections from the 2011 census data. The formula also includes other variables that have a population measure in them such as density and sparsity which uses a mix of 2001 and 2011 census data.The previous government committed to improving and updating the way in which local authorities are funded through the “Fair Funding Review” but this was not delivered. We will make good on this commitment and implement long-awaited reforms through a multi-year settlement in 2026-27.As a core part of this plan, the government is committed to introducing an improved and updated approach to funding local authorities from 2026-27 and endeavours to use the most up to date data as part of the fundamental improvements we will make.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has prepared draft legislation to amend the Building Safety Act 2022.

The government will set out its legislative plans to Parliament in the usual way.