Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to repeal the Parliamentary Elections Act 1695.

The majority of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1695 was repealed by the Representation of the People Act 1948. The one remaining section (section 7) related to the minimum age of candidacy for elections to the House of Commons and was repealed by the Electoral Administration Act 2006 when that Act reduced the minimum age of candidacy for elections to the House of Commons from 21 to 18 years.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 69673 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Remote Working, if he will list the expected level of attendance expectations at each of his Department's offices by (a) percentage and (b) location.

All Senior Civil Servants in the Department are expected to attend an office for 60% of the time, irrespective of which office they are based in. Staff at delegated grades are currently expected to attend for 50% of the time, with the exception of staff in the following offices who are currently expected to attend for 40% of the time due to capacity constraints; Darlington, Hemel Hempstead, Manchester, Sheffield and Wolverhampton. The ambition of the Department is for all staff to attend an office for 60% of the time in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 75449 on MHCLG: Standards, if he will list each metric presented on the Ministerial Delivery Dashboard.

MHCLG uses a range of metrics and data to monitor and track delivery progress on key departmental priorities, as well as support policy development and decision-making. The table below shows a list of the publicly available metrics included in the dashboard. PriorityMetricBuild 1.5m new homesNet additional homesBuild 1.5m new homesHousing startsBuild 1.5m new homesHomes granted planning permissionBuild 1.5m new homesNew affordable housing by type of tenureBuild 1.5m new homesNew affordable housing supply (gross) by regionBuild 1.5m new homesPermanent dwellings completed by providers (LA / Housing associations)Build 1.5m new homesPermanent dwellings started by providers (LA / Housing associations)Build 1.5m new homesRolling annual number of first-time buyers with a mortgageBuild 1.5m new homesHouse price to workplace-based earnings ratioBuild 1.5m new homesAnnual rental inflation - all rentsBuild 1.5m new homesNew lets (Zoopla)Building remediationCompletions as a percentage of buildings estimated to need worksBuilding remediationStarts on site as a percentage of buildings estimated to need worksBuilding remediationThe number of buildings identified as a percentage of buildings estimated to need worksHomelessness & rough sleepingNumber of families in temporary accommodationHomelessness & rough sleepingNumber of families in B&B accommodationHomelessness & rough sleepingTotal number of people sleeping rough (according to autumn snapshot)Homelessness & rough sleepingNumber of people who are sleeping rough over the course of the monthDevolutionDevolution depth and coverageLocal government financial stabilityPercentage of upper tier local authorities in 'high' and above risk categoriesLocal government financial stabilityNumber of local authorities receiving financial supportCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people agreeing that they can personally affect local decisionsCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people satisfied with their local area as a place to liveCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people agreeing that people in their immediate neighbourhood can be trustedCommunity & cohesionPercentage of people with each level of trust in general

Communities and Local Government, what (a) Home England's and (b) his Department’s definition is of a housing start.

When referring to housing starts, my Department uses the definition for “new build dwelling start” in housing supply statistics and “start on site” in its affordable housing statistics. Homes England also uses the term “start on site” to refer to housing starts. Both terms are defined in the Housing Statistics and English Housing Survey glossary which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has undertaken research on the potential impact of rent controls on the housing market.

My Department regularly reviews external research and evidence related to various aspects of the private rented sector. The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures. We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2025, to Question 72839, on Planning Permission, whether the increased digitalisation of the planning system review will examine removing the requirement for statutory notices to be placed in local newspapers.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 75991 on 26 September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the answer of 5 August 2025 to Question HL9889 on Asylum: Housing, what the £500 million will be spent on; over what time period that funding is for; and whether it will involve a bidding process.

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.The model supported by this funding will be delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with the Home Office and local authorities.Its aim is to deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers by supporting local authorities to make available basic alternative accommodation that can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. In the longer term, our intention is to ensure that the accommodation made available benefits local communities and reduces pressure on local housing markets.We continue to engage with local government on the design of the model and will confirm the process for distributing funding in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68122 on Business Premises: Rents, if he will publish that research.

The government published a full Impact Assessment upon First Reading of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on 10 July. All sources for our analysis are included within it.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73599 on Personal Pensions: Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the treatment of self-invested personal pensions in relation to local council tax support.

The Department has not issued guidance on the treatment of self-invested personal pensions in relation to local council tax support schemes. Support for working age households is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Pension-age council tax support is centrally prescribed in the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012. The regulations set out how income and capital are to be treated when determining the level of support, including various types of retirement pension income.

Communities and Local Government, what information his department holds on the (a) amount of green belt that has been de-designated and (b) number of developments that have been built on green belt land since the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024.

As part of our annual Green Belt release, my Department published the extent of England’s Green Belt as at 31 March 2025. It can be found on gov.uk here. These statistics give the area of land designated as Green Belt by local authority in England, and also provide details on each local authority who made changes to their Green Belt between 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Data is collected by financial year. Figures for 2025-26 will be published in our next release at the end of 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether the provision of (a) short-term and (b) long-term accommodation for asylum seekers is included within the target of 1.5 million new homes.

The government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in England in this Parliament.Progress against this commitment is being measured through net additional dwellings. The types of accommodation included are defined on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 72484 on Inheritance Tax: Valuation, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the free home care threshold on trends in the number of unoccupied homes.

My Department does not hold records on the impact of care costs on the number of vacant homes.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the collection entitled Crown Development and Urgent Crown Development applications and decisions, published on 10 September 2025, what criteria are used to assess whether a development is of national importance.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 13 February 2025 (HCWS454).

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of council responses to the raising of UK national flags on (a) integration and (b) community relations.

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. Guidance exists, 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, what the average difference is in Band D council tax rates between parished and non-parished areas in 2025-26.

The Department does not hold data on the average Band D council tax for parished and non-parished areas.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68791 on MHCLG: English Language, if he will make an assessment of whether publications issued by his Department use (a) clear and (b) understandable language.

While there is no legal requirement for government documents to be published in plain English, the department always asks teams to use clear, understandable language in its publications.

How much funding his Department provided to Kent County Council for public health activities in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26; and whether the Council is required to use those funds to promote child vaccinations.

The Department of Health and Social Care allocated public health funding to Kent County Council of £86.6 million in 2024/25 and £91.3 million in 2025/26, which consists of:Total DHSC Public Health Funding to Kent County Council, £2024/252025/26Public Health Grant77,308,93582,039,842Drugs and Alcohol Treatment and recovering funding15,570,7255,584,314Start for Life Grant1,755,0001,799,600Stop Smoking Services1,944,8231,891,779Total86,579,48391,315,535[1] Includes contributions from the Department for Work and Pensions for individual placement and support funding and from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for rough sleeping drug and alcohol treatment funding which are transferred to the Department of Health and Social Care, and paid out via Department of Health and Social Care grants.Core funding for local authorities’ public health responsibilities is provided through the Public Health Grant. Local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to use this funding in support of their public health responsibilities. There is no specific requirement for them to use it to support access to National Health Service childhood immunisations, but local authority funded services may play an active role in promoting uptake of childhood vaccinations – for example through local authority-commissioned health visiting services that may advise parents on childhood vaccinations.

Communities and Local Government, which international conferences were attended by representatives of his Department since 4 July 2024; and what the cost was of attending each conference.

The requested information cannot be reported on centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of licensing hospitality zones on the regulation of licensed premises not designated as a hospitality zone.

The government is exploring a range of reforms proposed by the recent Licensing Taskforce to support the hospitality industry and night-time economy. This includes designating zones to promote or preserve economic and cultural activity. Similar approaches have been successful in the UK and overseas – for example, in New South Wales.We have launched a call for evidence to provide an opportunity for the public and a range of stakeholders to shape early policy development on the designation of licensing hospitality zones, alongside other possible reforms to the licensing system. The call for evidence is open to the public on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the guidance entitled Local Regeneration Fund: accounting officer assessment, published on 2 September 2025, which projects were safeguarded following the consultation entitled Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: consultation on implementation of plan-making reforms of February 2025.

A list of the projects safeguarded is published on gov.uk: Local Regeneration Fund Culture Projects.