Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Communities to seize control over high streets and restore pride, published on 24 September 2025, whether the funding will involve a bidding programme.

On 25 September, the government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, underpinned by two allocative funding programmes. The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. New areas have been selected using a robust metrics-based methodology, using Indices of Multiple Deprivation and the Community Needs Index. The full list of places and selection methodology is published here. The Pride in Place Impact Fund will provide £1.5 million of funding to a further 95 places over the next two years. Local Authorities will be responsible for the selection and delivery of projects. The full list of areas and place selection methodology is set out here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 24 of his Department's policy paper entitled Pride in Place Strategy, published on 25 September 2025, whether the allocation of funding for the 75 places will differ from the (a) 169 places and (b) Pride in Place Impact Fund.

On 25 September, the government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities. The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This includes the 75 places announced in March, alongside new funding for an additional 169 neighbourhoods. New areas have been selected using a robust metrics-based methodology, which focused on smaller geographies, targeting hyper-local pockets of deprivation. The full methodology is published here. In addition, the newly established Pride in Place Impact Fund will offer £1.5 million each to 95 places, aimed at developing shared spaces, revitalising local high streets, and enhancing the public realm. The place selection methodology is set out here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Communities to seize control over high streets and restore pride, published on 24 September 2025, what his definition is of a fake barber; and how he plans to block them.

The government is taking a tough stance against illicit trading which suffocates high streets. ‘Fake’ barbers are an example of cash-intensive businesses that are trading illicitly. In March, the National Economic Crime Centre coordinated a three-week crackdown against such businesses. We are taking further steps to tackle this problem. Companies House has introduced enhanced checks and identity verification requirements, and used new powers to remove false and misleading information from the companies register. Through the Pride in Place strategy, we are empowering communities to reclaim their high streets with powers to auction off vacant premises, a new Community Right to Buy for valued assets, and streamlined compulsory purchase orders.

Communities and Local Government, how many national significant infrastructure planning decisions have been made (a) within and (b) outside the statutory time frame in this Parliament; how many applications have been made but not yet had a decision; and what estimate his Department has made of the number that would be needed to be approved each year to meet the Government's target.

The government made 21 decisions on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) in the first year of this Parliament. This compares with the first year of the last Parliament in which only 15 decisions were made and represents the highest number of annual decisions made since the NSIP programme was introduced in 2011. 27 NSIP decisions have been made so far since the start of this Parliament. Of these, 13 were within the statutory timeframes and 14 were not. A number of those 14 decisions made outside of statutory timeframes exceeded the limit during the previous Parliament. This government swiftly made decisions on those projects in July 2024. To date in this Parliament, 33 projects have submitted an application but have not yet had a decision. Through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, we are seeking to reduce the average time it takes reach a decision on an NSIP project from its peak of 4.2 years under the previous government. To achieve our Plan for Change milestone of fast-tracking 150 planning decisions, we will need an average of 32 decisions per year from July 2025. While we have not achieved this in our first year, we expect the rate of decisions to continue to accelerate alongside the already seen increase in projects entering the pipeline.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 73798 on Disinformation and Radicalism, if he will publish the most recent report from the National Community Tensions Scheme.

The reports provided by the National Community Tensions Team are not public and contain sensitive data and therefore cannot be published. This data gathered from this team forms part of the National Hate Crime statistics, which are made public.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77635 on English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which organisations (a) supported and (b) did not support changing the electoral system to Supplementary Vote.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has engaged with a wide range of local government stakeholders during the development of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. We engaged with both Mayors and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on changing the voting system for Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners back to the Supplementary Vote. As part of the usual parliamentary process, a range of stakeholders set out their views on the Bill to the Public Bill Committee, both via the Oral Evidence session on 16 September and in writing. The Government firmly believes the Supplementary Vote system works better for electing people to single executive roles and ensures a wider range of support than First Past the Post.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued advice on ensuring (a) community cohesion and (b) integration, in the context of Operation Raise the Colours during summer 2025.

The Prime Minister has been clear that he supports the flying of flags across the country. Flags should be an embodiment of bringing our country and our communities together. Decisions about whether flags should be removed are devolved to local authorities and it is for them to assess the impacts of removing or allowing flags to remain. My Department engages with local authorities on a regular basis across numerous meetings. Where the subject has been raised we have been clear that everyone can make their own decisions, including local councils, on flying flags and that guidance exists to support them, such as ‘Flying flags: a plain English guide” - as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007 (as amended in 2012 and 2021) – which outlines the regulations related to the flying of flags in England. It is important that the decisions taken by local authorities reflect the character and values of the communities they serve. Where symbols are used in ways that threaten public safety, it is right that action is taken to address this.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Communities to seize control over high streets and restore pride, published on 24 September 2025, whether the Pride in Place funding replaces an existing funding stream.

On 25 September, the government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities. The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This includes the 75 places announced in March, alongside new funding for an additional 169 neighbourhoods. New areas have been selected using a robust metrics-based methodology, which focused on smaller geographies, targeting hyper-local pockets of deprivation. The full methodology is published here. In addition, the newly established Pride in Place Impact Fund will offer £1.5 million each to 95 places, aimed at developing shared spaces, revitalising local high streets, and enhancing the public realm. The place selection methodology is set out here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77627 on Eden Project: Morecambe, whether he plans to allocate £100 million to the Eden Project North.

The department has committed £50 million towards the total project cost of £100 million for Eden Project Morecambe. The Memorandum of Understanding for the full £50 million grant, was fully signed on 19 November 2024.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77627 on Eden Project: Morecambe, what the (a) £6.3 million and (b) £10.8 million will be spent on.

The £6.3 million and the £10.8 million referenced in the answer given to Question UIN 77627 is for the technical building / design work and site investigation works that will then lead to enabling and construction work on site. This is in line with the information provided by Lancashire City Council in their Q4 monitoring return, submitted 16 May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77535 on Business Premises: Rents, what the names were of those (a) industry experts and (b) representatives of the retail, hospitality, and property sectors.

The government conducted considerable research and carried out engagement with numerous experts before deciding to ban upwards only rent reviews. A full Impact Assessment was published upon First Reading of the Bill on 10 July. It provides a summary of the economic analysis and research the government relied upon to reach the decision.

Communities and Local Government, what reporting his Department has received under Schedule 3 of the Management Information of the Housing Investment Fund Facility Agreement from the (a) City of Manchester Council and (b) Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

In line with the terms of the Housing Investment Fund Facility Agreement, my Department is not obliged to monitor, verify, or check how funds provided by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) through the Fund are used. Management information set out in Schedule 3 of the said Agreement is collected by GMCA and provided to MHCLG upon request.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 3 September 2025, to Question 69302, on Local Government Finance, whether his Department collates local government finance data on unspent infrastructure levy revenues; and whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on publishing that data.

Any local planning authority that receives a developer contribution through Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) or section 106 planning obligations is required to publish an Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) at least annually, ensuring a transparent and accountable system. The IFS must report on the total CIL sums demanded, received, and spent in the reported year, with details of how sums were spent and how sums are intended to be spent going forwards. The IFS must also report on the CIL receipts retained unspent at the end of the reported year both in respect of sums received in the reported year and sums received in earlier years. Further to this, my Department collects data on local authority revenue expenditure and financing in England, including income from the CIL. This can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77557 on Electoral Commission, which parts of the Strategy and Policy Statement do not reflect his priorities.

The Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections, sets out the Government’s commitment to strengthen our democracy and uphold the integrity of elections. Our priorities include expanding the democratic rights of young people, improving voter registration, reforming voter identification, combatting foreign interference, and tackling harassment and intimidation. Our proposed reforms will confer significant new powers and responsibilities on the Electoral Commission to enhance the enforcement of the political finance regime and strengthen public confidence in the integrity of our elections. In light of these proposals, a new Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission to reflect this Government’s priorities for elections and the Commission’s increased roles and responsibilities is intended.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with Ebbsfleet Development Corporation on the SSSI designation in relation to the redevelopment of Ebbsfleet Central West since July 2024.

My Department is involved in ongoing discussions with Ebbsfleet Development Corporation in relation to the SSSI designation in question and the redevelopment of Ebbsfleet Central West.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 97 of his policy paper entitled Pride in Place Strategy, published on 25 September 2025, whether the Cumulative Impact Assessments process will regulate existing betting premises.

Cumulative Impact Assessments will give local authorities powers to determine whether the cumulative impact of the number or density of gambling premises in a local area undermines the licensing objectives, particularly in areas that have been identified as vulnerable to gambling-related harms. We will introduce Cumulative Impact Assessments when parliamentary time allows.While we expect that this would apply to new premises seeking a gambling licence or variations of existing licences, local authorities do already have a number of tools to manage existing betting premises, such as site inspections, restrictions on opening hours and suspending or revoking a gambling premises licence if premises are found to be non-complaint with the licensing objectives.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to ensure that Cornwall is eligible for full devolution without having to join a combined authority with Devon.

The government has been clear in its goal to achieve universal coverage in of Strategic Authorities in England.The English Devolution White Paper set out the principles that will guide the government’s programme of widening and deepening devolution. The government remains committed to working in partnership with local leaders to deliver its vision and will continue to engage with local partners in Cornwall to explore how the area can benefit from devolution.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to local government finance statistics collated by his Department, what information he holds on how much local authorities made in profit on (a) on-street and (b) off-street parking in 2024-25.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government holds the below On and Off-Street Parking income data for Local Authorities in England for 2024-25. This is sourced from Revenue Outturn returns submitted by each authority in England. All monetary values are presented in thousands of pounds (£000) Type of ParkingSales, Fees and ChargesOther IncomeTotal IncomeOn-street parking1,362,37099,5221,461,892Off-street parking842,64433,513876,158 Local authorities are empowered to determine their parking arrangements through the Traffic Management Act 2004, which requires them to ensure that parking policies be proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and reconcile competing demands for kerb space whilst ensuring traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities.

Communities and Local Government, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital he plans to allocate to the Pride in Place programme in each constituent nation in each year of the next 10 years.

We recently announced the Pride in Place programme, which will see up to £280 million shared among 14 places in Scotland, each receiving up to £20 million over 10 years. Up to £180 million will be provided to a further 9 Welsh communities as part of the programme. These areas will join 10 areas in Scotland and 5 in Wales where work is already underway, taking the totals up to £480 million over 10 years in Scotland and £280 million over 10 years in Wales. For Northern Ireland, corresponding funding will be made available. MHCLG and the Northern Ireland Office are working in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive to determine the appropriate delivery approach. Further details on the neighbourhoods selected, individual funding profiles and the breakdown between revenue (RDEL) and capital (CDEL) will be shared in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to rename the combined authority of Hampshire and the Solent to include a reference to the Isle of Wight.

In January 2025 we received an expression of interest from all four constituent councils (Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council and the Isle of Wight Council) to establish a combined county authority over this area. They unanimously proposed the name ‘Hampshire and the Solent’. The Hampshire and the Solent mayoral combined county authority can also change its name by resolution once it is established, should it decide to.