Every parliamentary written question tabled by James Cleverly this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,261–1,280 of 1,474 · this parliament
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69680 on English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, with which mayors his Department has held discussions on the supplementary vote.
Before the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill was introduced on 10 July 2025, all Mayors were invited to a briefing on the Bill, which included discussions on the change back to the supplementary vote.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written ministerial statement of 2 September 2025 on Local Regeneration, HCWS900, whether funding allocations previously given to local authorities from the Levelling Up Fund will be retained by those authorities.
Yes, as part of the Local Regeneration Fund, allocations provided to Local Authorities from the Levelling up Fund will be retained. The Local Regeneration Fund consolidates multiple funds into a single pot, with greater flexibility. It exemplifies this government’s commitment to pushing power to local authorities, reducing burdens and allowing them to get on with delivery.
Communities and Local Government, whether strategic authority commissioners will be politically restricted.
The government will be setting out further details on Commissioners in statutory guidance using powers set out in Schedule 3 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. We will consider appropriate political restrictions to be included in this guidance.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to the Local Government Pension Scheme on hiring lobbyists; and whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.
The Department has not issued guidance to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) on hiring lobbyists. Local authorities should have regard to the provisions of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.The Department is in regular contact with LGPS funds and asset pools, including the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, as part of work to implement LGPS reforms.
Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the letter from the Rt hon. Member for Braintree of 13 August 2025.
The Rt Hon Member’s letter has been passed to the Department for Business and Trade for a response.
Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of new build homes that were sold in the last 12 months.
My Department does not hold the requested data.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 75188 on MHCLG: University of Cambridge, for what reason the salary of the Chief Scientific Adviser is recharged through Cambridge University.
The MHCLG Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) is a Professor of Engineering at Cambridge University. MHCLG is recharged a proportionate amount to account for his role as CSA in the department.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68790 on MHCLG: Civil Servants, for what reason the London pay range is paid to civil servants in the Hemel Hempstead office.
The application of the MHCLG London pay scale to the Hemel Hempstead office relates to a historic decision and wider contractual pay agreement reached with Departmental Trade Unions.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 70567 on Deputy Prime Minister: Finance, what the status is of staff in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister who did not work on matters in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, following the appointment of the new Deputy Prime Minister.
Staff allocated to the Office of the former Deputy Prime Minister continue to be employed by MHCLG, working on the priorities of the new Secretary of State.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16490 on Deputy Prime Minister: Departmental Responsibilities, what the status is of the policy and strategy unit that was allocated to the previous Deputy Prime Minister.
Staff allocated to the Office of the former Deputy Prime Minister continue to be employed by MHCLG, working on the priorities of the new Secretary of State.
Communities and Local Government, whether Essex county council elections will take place in May 2026.
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 60731 on 24 June 2025.
Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce planning restrictions on the opening of (a) betting shops, (b) vaping shops and (c) Turkish barbers.
My Department currently has no plans to introduce such restrictions. An application for planning permission will always be required for an additional betting office. In the Pride in Place Strategy, we committed to introduce Cumulative Impact Assessments in gambling licensing, which will allow councils to take data-driven decisions on premises licences, particularly in areas that have been identified as being vulnerable to gambling-related harm. Furthermore, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will provide powers for ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products.
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 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 Answer of 19 September 2025 to Question 75610 on Anti-muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group, whether the working group (a) received and (b) accepted responses from extremist organisations.
The Working Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive engagement they had undertaken. The Call for Evidence closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was able to submit evidence. The Working Group did not engage with any organisations that are subject to the Government’s non-engagement policy.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 74221 on Business Rates: Tax Allowance, whether any central government body is responsible for monitoring rate relief fraud across local authorities.
Business Rates are a local tax and local authorities are responsible for decisions on the awarding of relief, ensuring compliance, and tackling fraud. The Government also provides local authorities with data-matching services to help detect fraud and errors in business rates by comparing different datasets, through the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative (NFI).
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 71488 on Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, who the members are of the social cohesion taskforce.
As outlined in my response to Question 71488, the Social Cohesion Taskforce is an internal Civil Service team comprised of civil servants.
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 the former Deputy Prime Minister has received a Ministerial severance payment.
Details of such payments are published in departmental annual reports and accounts.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 July 2025 to Question 69052 on Belong: Contracts and with reference to Belong's press release entitled Belong commissioned by MHCLG to develop national cohesion guidance in partnership with the LGA, published on 1 May 2025, how much funding his Department is providing to Belong to develop the national cohesion guidance; and if he will publish the contract for that funding agreement.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 75178 on 12 September 2025.