Written questions by McMurdock.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the amount of public money recovered through Rent Repayment Orders for which the latest data is available.

No such estimate can currently be made. My Department is in the process of implementing a new mandatory collection of private rented sector enforcement data from local housing authorities, which will include the number of Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) applied for by the council, the value of Universal Credit/Housing Benefit recovered following a rent repayment order, and the number of tenants supported in making an application. My Department has made no specific assessment of the potential impact of Rent Repayment Orders on housing conditions in the private rented sector.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to reclassify crimes against churches as hate crimes.

All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, including that directed at Christians and Christian places of worship. Churches occupy a valuable position in society through their access to citizens, their role within local communities and their good relationships with other faith groups and this Government is committed to protecting individuals' right to practise their religion freely at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer. The Government has extended the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme for 2025/26, which gives grants towards VAT paid on repairs and renovations to the nation's listed sites of worship across the UK, which includes churches. Churches are also eligible for funded protective security measures through the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. This scheme offers physical security enhancements, such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing. Crimes against churches can already be recorded as hate crimes. Any religiously aggravated criminal damage is an offence under section 30 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, carrying a higher maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment. An offence is considered religiously aggravated, if at or around the time of committing the offence, the offender demonstrates hostility towards a religious group, therefore, including any crimes against churches.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make his policy to publish the number of electors for each street.

The Government has no plans to make it its policy to publish the number of electors for each street. Electoral registers are maintained by local authority Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to publish a consolidated evaluation of digital engagement pilots undertaken by local authorities as part of the PropTech Innovation Fund.

Through my Department’s PropTech Innovation Fund, the government is funding local planning authorities to use digital citizen engagement tools, including interactive maps and 3D models, alongside leveraging AI to summarise consultation responses. Our case studies on Local Digital (see here) and gov.uk (see here) demonstrate how these can increase the quantity and quality of community engagement in respect of local plans and new developments, including reaching younger residents. My Department plans to launch a sixth round of the PropTech Innovation Fund in early 2026. The Fund is evaluated as a part of the Digital Planning Programme. Local planning authorities take a hybrid approach to public consultation, combining digital tools with traditional methods like in-person engagement, to ensure consultations are accessible and inclusively incorporate the views of those unable to participate in digital consultations. We have published guidance on gov.uk (see here) and a Digital Citizen Engagement toolkit (see here) to support authorities to adopt and use digital tools. Our Planning Capacity and Capability programme continues to develop its means of supporting authorities to ensure they have the skills they need both now and in the future. The new plan-making system that we are shortly commencing is designed not only to ensure that local plans are faster to prepare and simpler for end users to access and understand but to improve community engagement. We will publish further guidance and provide further support to help local planning authorities engage with communities effectively under the new system.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Housing Sec pledges to 'go further than ever before' to hit 1.5 million homes, published on 16 December 2025, whether he plans to bring forward measures ensuring that local people get the opportunity to buy homes first.

As set out in the government’s manifesto, we are committed to working with local authorities to give younger buyers the first chance to buy homes in their area. My Department will set out further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department will publish the new assessment of the financial impact of estate management charges on homeowners, and when this assessment is expected to be completed.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, what criteria he will use to determine when substitute managers may be appointed in cases of serious failure by estate management companies.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to improve data collection on the operation, costs, and performance of private estate management companies.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of deferring local elections on the long-term level of turnout.

We have not made such an assessment. It is only right that we listen to councils who are expressing concerns about their capacity to deliver a smooth and safe transition to new councils, alongside running resource-intensive elections to councils who may be shortly abolished. The Secretary of State has asked councils to set out their views on the postponement of their local elections and is minded to only make an Order to postpone elections for one year for those councils who raise capacity concerns. Previous governments have postponed local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation to allow councils to focus their time and energy on the process.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, whether his Department has conducted analysis on the potential for increased housebuilding in Greater Essex.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 includes a new Standard Method for assessing housing needs that is aligned to our Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new safe and decent homes in England by the end of this Parliament The standard method is used by local authorities to inform the preparation of their local plans. Once local housing need has been assessed, authorities should then make an assessment of the number of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability, constraints on development, such as National Landscapes and areas at risk of flooding, and any other relevant matters. The approach taken is then be tested by the Planning Inspector during the examination of the Local Plan. We expect local authorities to assess and plan how to meet their local housing needs over the plan period by maximising brownfield land, working with neighbouring authorities, and, where necessary, reviewing Green Belt.The

Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms for homeowners challenging estate management charges.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make resident‑controlled management the default model for new freehold estates.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to introduce standardised information requirements for estate management charges.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make it mandatory for local authorities to adopt certain shared facilities on new housing estates.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce private estate management arrangements on new housing developments.

I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Communities and Local Government, with refence to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report col 1130, what plans he has to ensure that councillors whose democratic mandates have expired are accountable to the electorate if their elections are cancelled again.

In the event of a delay to a local election, provision to extend existing councillors’ terms of office would be made so that they retain their legal powers and responsibilities. Existing councillors have all been elected so have a democratic mandate. This is in line with previous postponements of local election.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Housing Sec pledges to 'go further than ever before' to hit 1.5 million homes, published on 16 December 2025, if he will set out the conflicting policies that his Department will over-ride.

The reference in question relates to the proposed transitional arrangements for implementing changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, on which the government is currently consulting. Details of the proposed transitional arrangements are set out in Annex A of the draft text on which we are consulting. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, whether his Department considered recent local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland when deciding on local government reorganisation in England.

As set out in my letter to council leaders, previous governments have postponed local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation to allow councils to focus their time and energy on the process. For example, between 2019-2022, the previous government postponed elections in Buckinghamshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, and Weymouth and Portland. We have not however looked to examples of local government reorganisation from the 1970s or Northern Ireland in relation to the potential postponement of local elections as we are committed to the process and indicative timetable that was published in July. This sees elections to new councils in May 2027 and those councils going live in April 2028. This is a complex process, and we will take decisions based on the evidence provided.

Communities and Local Government, with refence to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report col 1132, what discussions his Department has had with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England on the viability of preparing new ward boundaries for the 2028 local elections in reorganised council areas.

As stated in the previous answer to Questions UIN 59361 and UIN 77939, my department is liaising closely with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements for all new councils. Once Ministers have reached a decision on which proposal, if any, to implement, then electoral arrangements will be included in the structural changes order that establishes any new councils. These will be built using a mixture of existing wards, divisions or, in some cases, parishes. The Government expects to work closely with the relevant councils and the Commission to ensure these arrangements are fit for purpose for the first elections, anticipated to be in May 2027, and have regard to the Commission’s criteria. The Commission then expects to carry out an electoral review of all newly established councils after their first elections and before their subsequent elections.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Housing Sec pledges to 'go further than ever before' to hit 1.5 million homes, published on 16 December 2025, who will determine the suitability of housing proposals to provide the default yes to housebuilding around train stations.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation sets out the details of the proposed approach to land around stations, including those that are defined as well-connected and those that are within and outside of settlements. It can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.