Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75621 on Elections: Reform, whether the Code of Conduct will be mandatory for registered political parties.

As set out in the Restoring Trust in our Democracy strategy, we will work with the Speaker and the Electoral Commission to develop a code which is fit for purpose. The code will not be mandatory; however, we will work closely with political parties and other stakeholders to ensure it is effective, proportionate and reflective of the needs of candidates and campaigners across the political spectrum.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75627 on Byelaws, what his planned timetable is for that consultation.

The government is considering its approach and timetable for consultation on byelaws system reform.

Pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 71489 on Police: Finance, what the estimated cash value of council tax receipts for policing in England is in (a) 2026-27, (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29.

As set out in the Spending Review 2025 document, police spending power is projected to increase by an average 1.7% per year in real terms. Police spending power includes projected spending from additional income, including estimated funding from the police council tax precept.The cash value of council tax receipts for policing in England will be subject to individual decisions from directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) as part of their annual budget setting process. To inform those decisions, the 2026-27 police precept referendum limit for PCCs in England will be confirmed as part of the forthcoming police funding settlement later this year.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department collates information on which local authorities have introduced (a) boycotts, (b) divestment or (c) sanctions against firms which (i) trade or (ii) are based in (A) Israel or (B) the Occupied Territories.

The Department does not collate information on which local authorities have introduced boycotts, divestment or sanctions against firms trading with or based in Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Cabinet Office has published guidance to public authorities prohibiting procurement boycotts against Israeli firms and firms which trade with Israel.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75447 on Trade union Officials: Facilities Agreements, whether the increase in facility time was (a) requested by trade unions and (b) approved by Ministers.

Trade union representatives have a legal right to be given time off to undertake their duties and this is requested in line with MHCLG policy. Facility time is granted in line with Cabinet Office guidance and remains within 1% of our overall pay bill. Ministerial approval is not required for facility time.

Communities and Local Government, how many special advisers are employed by his Department as of 27 October 2025.

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, with reference to the Freedom of Information Act response with reference FOI2025/22431, published on 18 September 2025, what estimates his Department made of the revenue from the (a) town and parish council, (b) police, (c) the Greater London Authority and (d) combined authority precept in gross cash terms (i) in the Spending Review 2025 and (ii) in financial planning since the publication of the Spending Review annually from 2024-25 to 2029-29.

The Core Spending Power estimates produced at the 2025 Spending Review use the same methodology as the previous government: starting with Council Tax Requirement (CTR) figures from the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement; forecasting growth in the tax base using the average growth in the tax-setting tax base in each local authority over the previous five-year period (also from published CTR figures); and then assuming councils increase their council tax levels by the maximum allowable before triggering a council tax referendum. This is 5% for social care authorities, the greater of 3% or £5 for shire districts, £5 for fire authorities and £14 for the police element of the Greater London Authority. These estimates do not therefore include the following precepting authorities: town and parish councils; police and crime commissioner authorities; and the non-fire element of mayoral combined authorities, as they are not in scope of the Local Government Finance Settlement. Further detail on local government Core Spending Power will be published at the upcoming multi year Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 17 September 2025 to Question HL10289 on England: Anniversaries, if he will make it his policy to support the recognition of the 1100th anniversary of England's establishment as a unified state.

Further to the response to HL10289 on 17 September 2025, MHCLG currently has no plans as we are not responsible for anniversaries of this type. All policy announcements will be made in the usual way.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 75980, on MHCLG: Travel, if he will breakdown the requested information for each month of the last six months.

Question 75980 does not relate to travel. If the Rt Hon Member can clarify his question, I will ensure he receives a response.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 76608 on Local Government: Elections, whether the information sharing gateway will include powers to share information (a) to and (b) from (i) political parties and (ii) other regulators.

The Government intends to provide the Electoral Commission with an explicit statutory gateway that will enable it to disclose information to certain regulators and enforcement authorities for the purpose of assisting those bodies in carrying out their statutory functions. The gateway will not include political parties. This will provide a solid legal foundation for the Commission to disclose information on cross-cutting issues such as foreign interference and data protection, nurturing a more collaborative and effective regulatory environment. Any disclosures will remain subject to UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Communities and Local Government, how many new homes have been completed in London in the first half of 2025.

My Department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build starts and completions in London. Statistics to the quarter ending June 2025 can be found in Table 217 on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the initial Government response to the independent report entitled New Towns Taskforce, published on 28 September 2025, whether the (a) plan-making for the site and (b) outline planning permissions will be decided by (i) the Government, (ii) development corporations and (iii) local authorities.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the government’s initial response to the New Towns Taskforce’s final report which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75626 on Business Premises: Rents, what sources of external research were used to produce the impact assessment.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 75626 on 16/9/2025.

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for (a) decision on and (b) implementation of unitarisation of councils in Surrey; and whether Surrey will have an elected mayor.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Gentleman to the Written Ministerial Statement that was published on 28 October 2025, which announced the decision made by the Government to implement the proposal for two unitary councils for Surrey, subject to Parliamentary approval.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 74712 on Local Government: Empty Property, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of abolishing the New Homes Bonus on the number of empty homes.

Through the New Homes Bonus, local authorities can receive funding for bringing a long-term empty home back into use. The New Homes Bonus in its current form will close at the end of the financial year 2025-26. Following its closure, local authorities will still be able to access funding for empty homes work through the Local Authority Housing Fund.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding will be allocated to the Pride of Place programme in each of the next 10 years.

On 25 September the Government announced the Pride in Place Programme, supporting 244 of Great Britain’s most in need neighbourhoods with up to £20m each over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March.The full funding profile for the Phase 1 Pride in Place neighbourhoods is detailed in the Plan for Neighbourhoods prospectus, published on GOV.UK on 16 June 2025. This is set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plan-for-neighbourhoods-prospectus-and-tools/plan-for-neighbourhoods-prospectus. Further details about the funding profile for Phase 2 Pride in Place Programme neighbourhoods will be published shortly.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's report entitled Initial government response - September 2025, published on 28 September 2025, which of the proposed 12 new towns are supported by the local (a) planning and (b) highways authority.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the government’s initial response to the New Towns Taskforce’s final report which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75194 on Planning and Infrastructure Bill: European Commission, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have had with the European Commission on (a) issues of environmental regression and (b) other issues in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

Under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK meets annually with the European Commission through the Level Playing Field Trade Specialised Committee to discuss the implementation of the Level Playing Field chapter within which Article 391 (non-regression from levels of environmental protection) sits. This year’s meeting of the Trade Specialised Committee was held on 15 October 2025.At this meeting the UK provided an overview of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and both parties agreed to ongoing engagement once the Bill receives Royal Assent and focus shifts to its implementation.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of banning vaping inside pubs on the economic viability of community pubs.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides the Government with powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free also vape-free.Many businesses and enclosed public places, including pubs, already have voluntary schemes in place to prohibit vape usage inside their premises. We plan to consult on making most indoor settings, that are subject to existing smoke-free legislation, vape free.Exactly which settings should become vape-free will be a matter for secondary legislation and will be subject to a full consultation. We will undertake full impact assessments before any regulations are made, including the likely impact on businesses.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77561 on MHCLG: Aviation, if he will list the (a) diplomatic, (b) humanitarian meetings and (c) visits that the Minister undertook on his visit to Pakistan.

As per the Guidance on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance#annex-b-ministers-meetings-with-external-individuals-and-organisations-including-meetings-with-newspaper-and-other-media-proprietors-editors-and-senior-executives), details of meetings with foreign governments, and details of visits, are not normally disclosed.