Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on what the average Band D parish precept was in (a) Wiltshire, (b) Shropshire and (c) Cornwall in each year since 2008-09.

The Department publishes annual council tax level statistics, including town and parish council precepts. Statistics for 2025-26 can be found on gov.uk here. Table 2 shows council tax by class of authority and Table 6 shows the average Band D parish precept for England. The Band D council tax figures by local authority from 1993-94 to 2025-26 are published on gov.uk here. These show Band D council tax including and excluding parish precepts for all local authorities. Information on individual parish precepts has been collected by the Department annually since 2010-11.Data for 2016-17 to 2025-26 are available here: Live tables on Council Tax - GOV.UK. Data for 2010-11 to 2015-16 are available here: Council Tax statistics - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Affordable Homes Programme will support the (a) renovation and (b) putting back into use of long-term empty homes.

The primary focus of the new 2026-27 to 2035-36 Social and Affordable Homes Programme will be the supply of new homes. However, it will also be accessible for regeneration schemes that provide a net increase in homes on a site and will allow for some acquisitions of existing housing stock to support wider delivery.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department has provided to the Belong Network to develop national cohesion guidance; and whether there is a grant agreement.

MHCLG provided £410,000 in the financial year 2024-25 to the Local Government Association (LGA) to boost Local Authorities’ capacity and capability to develop effective local cohesion strategies, to bring people together. This will fund the creation of guidance, training, and targeted support. The LGA has contracted Belong to support the delivery of this work.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Red tape slashed to revamp high streets with new cafes and bars, published on 26 July 2025, whether her Department plans to make changes to the agent of change principle in the National Planning Policy Framework.

Following the recommendation made in the Licensing Taskforce report published in July, the government is exploring whether the ‘agent of change’ principle in the licensing regime should be strengthened to better protect existing licensed premises and residents. We intend to explore how we can improve the implementation of the ‘agent of change’ principle in the planning system, and will consult on a new set of national policies for decision-making later this year.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the European Commission in relation to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

The former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government did not have discussions with the European Commission in relation to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Terms of Reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group, for what reason the advice provided to her Department by the independent Working Group will be private.

It is important that government is transparent in the actions it takes to address all forms of hatred. However, any independent work should also have the space to consider sensitive and complex issues in private. This is the approach the Working Group will take when considering the appropriate and sensitive language to describe, understand and define unacceptable treatment, prejudice, discrimination and hate targeting Muslims or anyone who is perceived to be Muslim. Once submitted, the Government will review the Working Group’s advice and consider next steps.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 August 2025 to Question HL9815 on Electoral Register, what her planned timetable is for the commissioning of user research.

The Government is actively exploring a range of approaches to improve the completeness and accuracy of the register. User research is undertaken throughout the policy and digital service development process.

Communities and Local Government, how many applications were submitted for household extensions in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25.

The Department publishes a quarterly statistical release entitled ‘Planning applications in England’, which includes figures on ‘larger household extensions’ permitted development right decisions, as well as on ‘householder development’ decisions. Data for the periods 2023-24 to 2024-25 are available in the PS2 open data, here. The Department does not collect applications data for either of these, and the category ‘householder developments’ includes household extensions and other types of householder development.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on whether the conversion of a residential dwelling into a House in Multiple Occupation for asylum seekers requires (a) planning permission and (b) licensing.

My department has issued no such guidance. Further detail on HMO licensing is available on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to introduce a national find my councillor facility on gov.uk.

The ‘Find your local councillors’ function on GOV.UK allows users to find out who their local councillors are and how to contact them. In addition, many councils choose to publish details of their councillors on their own websites.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 41927 on Housing: Construction, what proportion of the 1.3 million homes forecast related to England alone.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 41927 on 1 April 2025 .

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 monetary value 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, what representations her Department has received from the Labour Infrastructure Forum.

My Department received a representation from the Labour Infrastructure Forum on 26 June regarding their recently published report on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. To date, there has been no engagement between the Department and the Labour Infrastructure Forum on this report.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 5 August 2025 to Question HL9813 on Combatting Hate against Muslims Fund, whether she plans to spend the remaining £350,000 of the fund in the 2025-26 financial year; and whether there will be a competitive process to allocate the funding.

The Government is committed to bridging divisions between communities and challenging hatred, and will announce other measures to support this in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 81 of her Department's annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, HC 1062, for what reason core departmental contingent labour spending increased from 2023-24 to 2024-25.

The increase in contingent labour spend between 2023–24 and 2024–25 (£6.808m to £7.674m) reflects targeted use of specialist contractors to support priority programmes, particularly in digital, technical, and transformation services. The department remains committed to reducing reliance on external suppliers and consultants, having already achieved a 50% reduction in consultancy use since 2023/24. As part of our ongoing invest-to-save initiative, we are actively replacing contractors and professional services with permanent civil servants. This approach has already delivered substantial savings and is expected to generate further annual efficiencies. By building in-house capability, the department is not only reducing costs but also enhancing the skills and sustainability of the civil service workforce, which in turn supports more effective and efficient delivery of our objectives.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered bringing forward legislative proposals on Empty Dwelling Management Orders.

The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country. Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years. They can also access funding through the Affordable Homes Programme and Local Authority Housing Fund. Through the New Homes Bonus, local authorities can also receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here. The government outlined its intent to strengthen local authorities’ ability to take over the management of vacant residential premises in the English Devolution White Paper published in December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the abolition of fixed term tenancies on the security of tenure for rental properties for those who needed to be in an area for a fixed period.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will ensure that tenants enjoy greater security of tenure. The introduction of a new tenancy system based on periodic tenancies will ensure tenants have the flexibility to stay in a property for as long as they need to. Tenants will need to provide two months’ notice when leaving a tenancy. Landlords will only be able to evict a tenant in reasonable circumstances as set out in this legislation.

Communities and Local Government, further to her Department's press release of 17 June 2025 entitled Over 500,000 homes to be built through new National Housing Bank, what is her planned timetable for the financial guarantees be allocated; and over what period of time will the houses be constructed.

At the Spending Review, the government confirmed that it is establishing a new National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England which will be publicly owned and backed with £16 billion of financial capacity to accelerate housebuilding in England. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 18 June 2025 (HCWS712).My department is currently working with Homes England and HM Treasury to establish the Bank, including developing its investment strategy, and parameters for different debt interventions including financial guarantees. We we will announce further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department holds information on (a) the total number of allotments in England and (b) the number of allotments by local authority.

Provision of allotments is managed by Local Government. The Department does not currently hold data on the total number of allotments within England or by local authority. Since 4 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government has issued 10 approvals for the disposal of allotments under the Allotments Act 1925.Regarding the allotment disposal application for Ravenscroft Allotments, this information is not in the public domain at present so will not be shared at this time. The consent granted by the Secretary of State for the disposal of the allotment is available and in the public domain, I have arranged for a copy of this to be placed in the Library of the House.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce (a) schemes and (b) fiscal incentives to help first-time buyers onto the housing ladder.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 60807 on 30 June 2025.