Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to consult the public on formal new names for new unitary councils.

A statutory consultation has already been undertaken, or is currently underway, on the proposals for new unitary councils, many of which included suggested names.There are no plans to further consult the public on formal new names for new councils.Where proposals did not include names for the new councils, or where different views have been expressed, then the Secretary of State may seek further representations from the councils and other interested parties before reaching a decision on what the formal new names of the councils should be.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102765, on Planning: Publications, whether he intends to update any of the other Plain English guides published on gov.uk by his Department.

The government will continue to keep all guidance under review to update as necessary. Any new or updated guidance will be published in the usual way on gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 May 2024, to Question 53574, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, and with reference to page 26 of the Section 106 agreement, for what reason the agreement references Articles 13 and 141 of the EU Treaty Articles.

Full reasons for the decision in question are set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.The letter and associated Inspector’s Report must be read in their entirety. The EU Treaty Articles are addressed at footnote 47 of the decision letter.

Communities and Local Government, what are the internal areas within the proposed Chinese Embassy that would be exempt from UK inspection and verification.

Full reasons for the decision in question are set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.The letter and associated Inspector’s Report must be read in their entirety. Planning enforcement is addressed at paragraphs 103-105 of the decision letter.

For what reason the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge will be levied on the property owner of the dwelling.

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge is intended to address aspects of unfairness in the current Council Tax system. Owners of properties worth £10 million should not be paying less tax than those renting an ordinary family home.

Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has undertaken into the reasons for sites with planning permission being (a) stalled and (b) not built out.

In May 2025, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built. It can be found on gov.uk here. The working paper drew on a range of independent research and market studies, including the Letwin Review and the Competition and Markets Authority’s October 2024 market study into housebuilding, exploring stalled sites and build out rates. Alongside the working paper, we launched a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve the transparency of build rates from new residential developments, which includes proposals to implement provisions in Section 113 of the LURA on the power to decline to determine applications. That consultation can be found on gov.uk here. We are now analysing the responses to both consultations, and we will set out our next steps in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to introduce planning reforms through primary legislation.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill , which contains provisions relating to housing and strategic planning, continues its passage through the other place. Parliament will continue to be updated in the usual way in respect of the government’s planning reform agenda, including any future measures which may require primary legislation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104897 on Strategic Migration Partnership: Finance, and with reference to the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work, paragraph 233, if he will provide an aggregate figure for the most recent year’s funding to the partnerships contained with the Government Grants Data and Statistics database.

The Home Office does not currently publish funding levels to Strategic Migration Partnerships, previous years funding can be found here Government Grants Data and Statistics Government grants data and statistics - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication ENTITLED MHCLG register of board members’ interests 2025 to 2026, updated 21 January 2026, whether any of the individuals have declared political activity.

In line with the definition of political activity in the Governance Code on Public Appointments, none of the individuals listed in the MHCLG register of board members’ interests 2025 to 2026 has declared any political activity.

Communities and Local Government, how many headcount staff in his Department work compressed hours on full pay.

At 31 January 2026 there were 760 active payroll staff who worked full‑time hours over a compressed period, meaning they received full pay. This figure includes a range of different compressed full‑time working arrangements.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the full meeting, visit and event schedule for Lord Khan's visit to Pakistan from 13 to 17 April 2025.

A summary of the former Minister’s schedule will be placed in the Library of the House.

Communities and Local Government, whether any staff in his Department work a four day week.

In response to the question of whether any staff in the Department work a four‑day week, we have interpreted this as referring to staff whose contractual hours are worked over four days per week. On this basis, 241 headcount staff work part‑time hours (less than 1.0 FTE) arranged over four days. Additionally there are 339 staff who work a five‑day week (1.0 FTE) over four extended days. These are staff on compressed hours arrangements on full pay. These figures are provided on a headcount basis for active payroll staff at 31/01/2026. Type of Worker31st Jan 2025 31st Jan 2026Full time (compressed 4 days) (1FTE)214339Part time over 4 days (less than 1FTE)285241Total499 (12.4%)580 (15.8%) Flexible working, including part‑time and compressed hours arrangements, is a positive and valuable element of the MHCLG employee offer when managed effectively and in line with business need. The Department supports flexible working where it enables delivery of business objectives while providing benefits to both the organisation and employees. Such arrangements can be particularly beneficial for staff with caring responsibilities, as well as those with health conditions. Supporting flexible working helps the Department to attract and retain a diverse and skilled workforce while enabling staff to achieve a better work‑life balance.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Delegation of the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Fair Funding Review on planning fees in local authorities which have lost funding in real terms.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act provides the Secretary of State with the power to delegate the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities. The Fair Funding Review considers how resources are distributed across local government based on relative need and demand for services. It does not determine planning fee levels, which remain cost-recovery charges rather than general funding streams. The government is supporting local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by introducing changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income through transitional arrangements, including locally retained business rates growth.

What guidance he issues to Departments on whether they may decline to publish or signpost information which has otherwise been released to members of the public under Freedom of Information laws.

The Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work), published by my office, sets out the government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for information through parliamentary questions and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. Paragraph 221 states that “if information would be released under FOI, it would also be released in response to a WPQ”.I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks and Permanent Secretaries to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to WPQs.In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee recently launched an inquiry into WPQs which is considering the interaction between WPQs and FOIs. I look forward to working with the Committee as this work progresses.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026, to Question 104773, on Housing: Construction, what is his proposed timeline for the delivery of the 9,000 homes.

Delivery of the up to 9,000 new homes is a matter for the Mayor of London and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. They have published the Old Oak Masterplan Framework, which includes an Illustrative Masterplan, showing how development could be brought forward comprehensively. We will continue to work with the development corporation as it develops its proposals to ensure the best use of the public sector land to bring forward new housing and regeneration.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason he has incorporated Planning policy for traveller sites into the National Planning Policy Framework.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The rationale for proposing to incorporate policies relating to traveller sites, currently set out in Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, within relevant chapters of the draft Framework is set out in the consultation. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 103283 on New Towns: Adlington, on what evidential basis was Adlington added to the list of New Towns.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the independent New Towns Taskforce final report which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether (a) Judges' Lodgings and (b) other workplace accommodation are within the scope of the proposed overnight visitor levy.

We have published a consultation running until 18 February, so that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power to introduce a levy that will be devolved to local leaders, including potential exemptions. The scope of the levy, which will cover short‑term overnight stays in commercially let visitor accommodation, will be set out in future legislation.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Northern Growth Strategy, January 2026, CP1485, paragraph 4 and footnotes 3 and 4, what is the evidential basis for the underlying statistics of the 2.2% productivity growth per year in the largest northern mayoral strategic authorities.

Footnotes 3 and 4 of the Northern Growth Strategy: Case for change outline how the calculation of compound average productivity growth rate in the largest northern Mayoral Strategic Authorities is based on ONS Official Statistics, using subnational estimates for Gross Value Added and hours worked.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025, to Question 95394, on Housing: Construction, what estimate has ONS made of per capita housebuilding rate in each constituent nation of the UK over the last 12 months.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Rt Hon. gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd February is attached.