Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 73797 on Community Cohesion and Resilience Programme: Finance, how much funding was provided to each local authority; and what information his Department holds on how that funding was spent.

The 44 places that received funding through the Community Cohesion and Resilience Programme were awarded grants of between £55,000 and £557,000. Local authorities have been required to report to the department on how the funding has been spent and, once completed, their project evaluations. Over 300 projects have been supported through the Programme to strengthen community connections and increase resilience to divisive narratives. Examples include school-based workshops on hate crime and extremism, inclusive sports sessions for marginalised groups, interfaith events, creative arts and cultural festivals, and training for community leaders on tackling misinformation and promoting cohesion. To date, local authorities have reported supporting over 25,000 people through community engagement, cohesion, and awareness activities and provided training to over 8,000 people on topics such as community cohesion, countering extremism, and tackling hate crime.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2025 to Question 75610 on Anti-muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group, if he will publish the (a) individuals and (b) organisations that the group's secretariat has recorded the working group as having met.

Alongside drawing on their own expertise, the independent working group engaged widely to ensure the definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of communities across the United Kingdom. To build on the extensive engagement they had undertaken, the Working Group launched a Call for Evidence which closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 July 2025 to Question 65978 on Islamophobia, whether there was a tender process for the True Vision portal.

True Vision is an online service for reporting hate crimes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It sends reports to local police forces and provides information about hate crimes and support. It will record any crime as a hate crime where the victim or any other person perceives it was motivated by hostility or prejudice towards their identity. We provide a non-competitive, direct grant funding of £80,000 to the project.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the level of English language proficiency by women from an ethnic minority background; and whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of the level of English language proficiency by women from an ethnic minority background on barriers to their employment.

Data on English language proficiency falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. The Census 2021 provides datasets detailing population and proficiency in English. These datasets can be downloaded from nomis. Nomis is a service run on behalf of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) by the University of Durham publishing statistics related to population, society and the labour market at national, regional and local levels, including data from current and previous censuses. Data is freely available. Alternatively, you can obtain census data from the ONS. The department is supporting cross-government work to invest in ongoing integration support, including English language training, employment programmes, and social integration initiatives, to ensure that people can fully participate in society well beyond their initial arrival. For example, 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 have now launched 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.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to construct new housing for asylum seekers.

As allocated as part of the Spending Review, the Government is investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This funding will be delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with the Home Office and councils, to deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers.This fund will support councils to make available basic alternative accommodation so that it can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. In the longer term, our ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets.We continue to engage with local government on options for design of the fund and the best way to deliver this accommodation in different areas. We will confirm further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the balance between supply and demand of student accommodation in university towns.

My Department has not made a specific assessment of the balance between the supply and demand of student accommodation in all university towns.MHCLG and the Department for Education regularly engage with a range of stakeholders in the student accommodation market and will continue to do so.The government recognise the concerns of some students about the availability and cost of accommodation in university towns across the country. We expect higher education providers to work collaboratively with local authorities to ensure there is adequate accommodation for their students, and we expect universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are affordable, fair, clear, and promote the interests of students.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the new homes target his Department expects to be (a) flats and (b) family homes; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of incentivising the construction of dwellings with (i) multiple bedrooms and (ii) gardens.

The government has not made an estimate of the proportion of new homes to be delivered in this Parliament which will be flats and houses.The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, and reflect this in their Local Plans. This includes considering the need for family homes, in addition to need for other forms of housing such as student housing and older persons housing.The government believes that these matters are best determined locally, and so it is for local authorities to consider if there is a need for particular types of housing in their area.

Communities and Local Government, how many special advisers he plans to hire.

The government publishes an annual statement to Parliament setting out the numbers, names and pay bands of special advisers, the appointing minister and the overall paybill.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the estimated value of the 2026-2036 Affordable Homes Programme after discounting for (a) the GDP deflator using OBR’s estimates and (b) the Treasury’s Social Time Preference Rate.

At the Spending Review, the government announced £39 billion for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The Spending Review document sets out that spend on the SAHP will reach £4 billion per year in 2029-30 and rise in line with inflation subsequently. The programme follows the financial appraisal as set out in the HM Treasury Green Book guidance and uses HMT’s GDP deflator which can be found on gov.uk here. My Department will continue to publish capital spend figures in its Annual Report and Accounts.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question HL8844 on Affordable Housing: Finance, what measure of inflation was used to provide the statistical basis for the valuation of the programme.

At the Spending Review, the government announced £39 billion for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The Spending Review document sets out that spend on the SAHP will reach £4 billion per year in 2029-30 and rise in line with inflation subsequently. The programme follows the financial appraisal as set out in the HM Treasury Green Book guidance and uses HMT’s GDP deflator which can be found on gov.uk here. My Department will continue to publish capital spend figures in its Annual Report and Accounts.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's document entitled Planning applications in England: April to June 2025 - statistical release, published on 18 September 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the declines of (a) 5 per cent for planning permission applications compared to the same quarter last year, (b) 5 per cent in granted decisions compared to the year ending June 2024, and (c) 9 per cent in granted residential applications compared to the year ending June 2024.

The individual factors affecting changes in quarterly planning statistics are complex and difficult to disentangle. My Department’s initial assessment is that a combination of structural, economic, and operational factors best explain the Q2 2025 results. These include a rise in financing costs, which particularly impacts SME developers, and capacity constraints within local planning authorities which affect decision-making timescales. It should be noted that the planning statistics in question do not separately identify outline planning applications. It is also the case that other data sources indicate a more positive position. For example, TerraQuest figures on residential planning applications outside of London suggest a 68% increase in the number of new homes included in residential applications in Q3 this calendar year. The government expect that the changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December 2024, alongside other reforms to the planning system enacted since, will feed through into a higher level of planning applications and decisions. In its March 2025 outlook, the OBR estimated that the revised NPPF alone would increase net additions by 170,000 over the forecast period 2024/25 to 2029/30, or 120,000 in the Parliament – delivering the highest level of UK housebuilding in 40 years. Once it receives Royal Assent, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will further streamline planning processes, improve certainty for applicants, and unlock and accelerate more housing and infrastructure delivery. Through our capacity and capability programme, we are giving local planning authorities the resources needed to provide a more efficient and responsive planning service, including in respect of making timelier decisions.

Communities and Local Government, if he will list the expert advisers who are not civil servants or special advisers that provide advice the Minister for Housing and Planning.

MHCLG ministers are advised by civil servants employed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Details of all meetings with external stakeholders are published on a quarterly basis on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68123 on Business premises: Rent, if he will list the external organisations that he consulted before the decision to ban upwards only rent review.

The government conducted considerable research and engagement before deciding to ban upwards only rent reviews. This included extensive engagement with industry experts, including representatives of the retail, hospitality, and property sectors.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has received representations from mayoral authorities on powers to introduce local taxes on hotels.

The Government has received representations from Mayors to consider the introduction of a visitor levy. The Government currently has no plans to introduce a levy in England. Manchester and Liverpool have already introduced a levy on overnight stays through Accommodation Business Improvement Districts.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the level of council tax charged by local authorities.

It is for individual local authorities to set their level of council tax, taking into account all relevant local factors. The government maintains a referendum threshold, and authorities who choose to increase their council tax above this must obtain the approval of voters. The government will set out its position on referendum principles for the next financial year at the local government finance settlement in the usual way.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) correspondence and (b) discussions his Department has had with local authorities on the (i) erection and (ii) removal of (a) UK national and (b) foreign flags on street furniture in summer 2025.

The Prime Minister has made clear that he is proud of our flag, which represents our history, our heritage, and our values; it is a great symbol of our nation and should not be devalued and belittled. 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.

What discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) public bodies on the planned implementation of the definition of Islamophobia into the work of (i) government and (ii) public bodies.

Should government accept the recommendations of the Islamophobia Definition Working Group, the definition used will be non-statutory. It will enable government and other relevant bodies to have a greater understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities. We will consider the advice of the Working Group, including discussing across government, before confirming next steps in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation of property agents.

The government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. Property agents must already belong to a government-approved redress scheme. This legislative requirement is currently enforced by local authorities and by the National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents. The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group chaired by Lord Best to advise them how to do it, yet it failed to respond to their findings from 2019.Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future, and so we are looking again at Lord Best’s 2019 report on regulating the property agent sector, particularly in light of the recommendations in the final Grenfell Inquiry report. On 4 July 2025, we launched a wide-ranging consultation on proposals to hold landlords and managing agents to account for the services they provide and the charges and fees they levy. This included a number of proposals recommended by Lord Best, including the introduction of mandatory qualifications for managing agents and estate managers on freehold estates. We are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents and we will continue to reflect on the various other recommendations made in the 2019 report. We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support home extensions through mansard roof development.

The government recognises the valued role mansard roof development can play in supporting urban intensification. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that national policy supports all types of upwards extensions, including mansard roof development, and encourages their approval in areas or building types where this is appropriate and meets adopted or emerging local policies and design codes that require development to be well designed.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with the social housing regulator on the financial viability of East End Homes.

MHCLG ministers have not had discussions with the independent Regulator of Social Housing (The Regulator) about East End Homes. All registered social housing providers are required to deliver the standards set by the Regulator. Those standards seek to ensure a financially viable and well-governed sector, which can continue to increase the provision of social housing. In May 2023, the Regulator determined that East End Homes was non-compliant with its Governance Standard. It continues to engage with the provider and monitors its progress in addressing the issues previously identified.