Written questions by Simmonds.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the (a) civil and (b) criminal penalties for avoidance of paying the second homes council tax premium.

Councils have a range of powers available to them to recover any type of unpaid council tax, including council tax premiums. The government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax which seeks views on how council tax is collected and enforced. The government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether Local Government Boundary Commission boundary reviews have been (a) paused and (b) terminated because of potential unitary local government restructuring.

The Government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament. On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities and their neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local government. Final proposals from councils must specify the area for any new unitary council(s). If a boundary change is part of any final proposal, then it should be clear on the boundary proposed. Boundary changes are possible, but existing district areas should be considered the building blocks for proposals. More complex boundary changes will only be considered where there is a strong justification. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has paused all electoral reviews in areas that have been invited to submit proposals for local government reorganisation. My Department is liaising closely with the Commission so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements across the area of any new unitary local authority.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Communities to seize control over high streets and restore pride, by what mechanism will his Department block (a) vapes stores and (b) fake barbers.

The Government’s Pride in Place strategy sets out how we are giving communities the tools to drive improvements on their high streets. These include powers to auction leases of long-term vacant properties, which will provide opportunities for councils to cultivate a more diverse high street offering, as well as streamlined compulsory purchase order powers, and a new community right to buy valued local assets. Enforcement against rogue traders, such as fake barbers, is being strengthened through enhanced checks by Companies House and coordinated national enforcement. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban the advertising and sponsorship of vaping and nicotine products and provide powers for ministers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products.

Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to allow unitary councils to expand their size into current two-tier areas.

The Government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament. On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities and their neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local government. Final proposals from councils must specify the area for any new unitary council(s). If a boundary change is part of any final proposal, then it should be clear on the boundary proposed. Boundary changes are possible, but existing district areas should be considered the building blocks for proposals. More complex boundary changes will only be considered where there is a strong justification. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has paused all electoral reviews in areas that have been invited to submit proposals for local government reorganisation. My Department is liaising closely with the Commission so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements across the area of any new unitary local authority.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 October 2025 on Housing Delivery, HCWS991, whether the £322 million City Hall Developer Investment Fund is additional government funding or from the existing Spending Review settlement for the Greater London Authority; and what is the estimated number of dwellings it will support.

The initial allocation of £322 million to establish the City Hall Developer Investment Fund comes from capital grant funding for land and infrastructure delivered through the new National Housing Delivery Fund announced at the June 2025 Spending Review. The fund will enable the Mayor of London to take a more direct and interventionist role in unlocking new homes in the capital. We are currently negotiating and agreeing an integrated settlement outcomes framework with the Greater London Authority which will agree their targets for delivery.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 74185 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, whether the Government Property Agency intends to claim back the over-paid second homes council tax premium.

No overpayment has been made. Westminster City Council has determined that a premium is due regardless of the change in occupancy.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding is provided to councils with high numbers of people granted refugee status; and whether the Fair Funding 2.0 proposals would affect this level of funding.

The government has been listening closely to the views expressed by the public, local authorities and other stakeholder bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation.No final decisions on the outcome of the review have yet been taken. However, the government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most. The vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement. For those councils who would see their funding fall as a result of these changes, our intention is to protect the vast majority of these councils’ income through a funding floor.We will publish further information in the government’s consultation response in Autumn, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people on waiting lists for an allotment.

There are strict criteria in place to protect statutory allotments – these are sites covered by the Allotment Act 1925. A local authority cannot sell or dispose of statutory allotment land without the consent of the Secretary of State, who will only grant it if they are satisfied that either adequate alternative provision is made for displaced plot holders, or that such provision is unnecessary or not reasonably practicable.The rules on sales of assets have also been in place since 2016 and they have not changed. In fact, ministerial approval for sales of allotments were lower in 2024/25 than the average for previous years.The information regarding the number of people on waiting lists for an allotment is held by individual Local Authorities, not MHCLG, as they have the responsibility for the running, management and organisation of allotments.Government has made no formal assessment on the merits of selling statutory allotment sites in rural or smaller communities. The protections under the Allotment Act 1925, and the requirements under the Small Holdings and Allotment Act 1908 for local authorities to provide allotments where there is demand, provides the framework to ensure allotments are available to all communities.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with combined authority mayors on provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on restrictions on being Members of Parliament.

My department has engaged with Mayors and the local government sector ahead of publication of the English Devolution White Paper, where this policy was introduced.The post of mayor is a significant role at the forefront of delivering change and demands the full attention of any post holder. That is why the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will prohibit individuals from holding the office of Member of Parliament (or being a member of the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and mayor simultaneously. This is already the case for Mayors who hold Police and Crime Commissioner responsibilities.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to commission research to assess the consequences of the second homes council tax premium on the housing market in England.

It is for individual councils to decide whether to apply a premium in their area, taking into account local circumstances. The government does not currently make housing market assessments based on the use of premiums.

Communities and Local Government, whether councils will receive compensatory payments for increases in employer National Insurance contributions in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

The government provided an additional £515 million for local government in 2025-26 to manage the impact of changes to employer National Insurance Contributions. The recent Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29.The government will bring forward its proposals for 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Communities and Local Government, which local billing authorities have set a second homes premium on council tax in 2025-26.

The Department will publish data on the number of second homes liable for a council tax premium in November as part of the annual council taxbase statistics.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding was allocated to English for Speakers of Other Languages in 2024-25; what is the budget for 2025-26; and what proportion in each case was allocated as grants to local authorities.

The below answer refers to funding made by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government only. The provisions described are in addition to what other departments may offer. Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils can use this funding flexibly which could include supporting guests to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. However the department does not collect the full breakdown of expenditure per council on ESOL provision. Homes for Ukraine funding allocations are published on gov.uk here. The department provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for up to 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. We are about to launch a follow-up ‘STEP’ programme of £4.2m (excl. VAT) for English language courses and employment support for Ukrainians and Hong Kong British Nationals. The aim is for the programme to reach 4,000 participants. In the summer of 2025, the department has also allocated £3 million in grant funding to Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) in England to strengthen the capacity of ESOL teachers and expand community-based English language support for eligible Afghans, Ukrainians, and Hong Kong BN(O)s until March 2026. This builds on the £1 million SMP ESOL capacity grant delivered in 2023–24, which trained over 350 teachers and supported more than 2,500 resettled learners The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme, which is in its fifth year of funding, provides demand led funding to councils in England which can be accessed to cover the costs of English language courses. In 2024-25, the department allocated £4.5m to councils. Continued funding is available in 2025-26.

Communities and Local Government, what progress the Social Cohesion Taskforce has made on its objectives in the last 12 months.

The Social Cohesion Taskforce is a civil service team considering how to tackle divisions in our society and build common ground. Ministers will update on progress of the Taskforce in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide funding to local authorities for additional planning officers in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Question UIN 67508 on 21 July 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what planning appeal decisions the Planning Inspectorate has made in relation to Grey Belt land since December 2024 by (a) reference number and (b) local authority.

The Planning Inspectorate does not hold the requested information in a readily searchable way, and planning appeals do not have a marker for Grey Belt. As such, it is not possible to identify planning appeal decisions relating to grey belt land since December 2024 in the time available.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the number of housing starts in London in Q2 2025 on her target to build 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.

Delivering historic levels of housebuilding in London is a critical part of the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes within this parliament. The government fully recognises the scale and breadth of the housing delivery challenge in London. We are committed to working in partnership with the Mayor of London, boroughs and wider partners to significantly increase housing delivery to meet these ambitions.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 62596 on Greater Manchester Combined Authority: Property Development, what information (a) her Department and (b) Homes England holds on the number of developments that have received funding from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund in each of the last ten years.

The Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loan Fund is operated by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). MHCLG and Homes England do not hold information in individual developments in this programme. GMCA is therefore best placed to respond to this question.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 40908 on New Towns: Planning Permission, whether she has received representations from Ebbsfleet Development Corporation on removing the Site of Special Scientific Interest designation to facilitate the redevelopment of Ebbsfleet Central West.

The Secretary of State has received no representations from the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation to remove the Site of Special Scientific Interest designation at Ebbsfleet.

Communities and Local Government, what items from the Government Art Collection have been (a) installed and (b) deinstalled in (i) her office in Marsham Street, (ii) her office in Whitehall and (iii) Admiralty House by (A) title, (B) artist and (C) reference number since 4 July 2024.

This information is not held by MHCLG. The Government Art Collection is administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.