Every parliamentary written question tabled by Kevin Hollinrake this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,061–1,080 of 1,585 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 26476 to Community Development: Radicalism, whether (a) individuals and (b) groups that condone criminal activity are able to submit responses to public consultations.
The government does not actively and knowingly consult with any individual or group that condones criminal activity.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 26551 on Business Premises: Change of Use, how many additional dwellings were provided from the prior approval applications from October 2022 to September 2024.
The office to residential permitted development right (Class O) was subsumed into the commercial, business and service uses to residential permitted development right (Class MA) in August 2022.The Department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply.It includes estimates of new dwellings delivered from change of use through permitted development rights in England in each financial year, up to 2023-24, and can be found in Live Table 120 on gov.uk here.The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2025 to Question 26040 on Councillors and Mayors: Workplace Pensions, whether the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution has had discussions with representatives of local government on this issue since 5 July 2024.
As the Responsible Authority for the Local Government Pension Scheme, MHCLG keeps access to the scheme under regular review. As part of this regular review, the Minister for Local Government has been approached by representatives of local government about this issue.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter of 16 December 2024 to council leaders from the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, whether her Department has undertaken an equality impact assessment in relation to its decision to postpone local elections in certain areas undergoing local government reorganisation.
I can confirm that my Department has undertaken analysis fulfilling the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, in relation to the postponement for one year of the May 2025 elections to the councils specified in the Local Authorities (Changes of Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) businesses and (b) hereditaments eligible for Retail Hospitality and Leisure business rate relief which are subject to the £110,000 cap.
The Government does not collect business-level data regarding recipients of business rate reliefs. All available hereditament-level data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils. This data does not contain specific estimates concerning hereditaments which are subject to the £110,000 cap on retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to her oral statement of 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, Column 766, whether she plans to follow article five of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the context of her consultation on local government restructuring.
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, sets out the process we will follow in undertaking local government reorganisation. The undertakings in the Act are consistent with the UK’s commitments under the European Charter of Local Self Government and we will continue to fully comply with all our obligations under the Charter. In formulating proposals for local government reorganisation we expect local leaders to ensure there is wide engagement with their Members of Parliament, local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses in working up their proposals. Once a proposal has been submitted it will be for the Government to decide on taking a proposal forward and to consult as required by statute. Once established, the new unitarities will determine the structure of their own administrative services and terms of employment.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 21621 on Unitary Councils, whether her Department has issued guidance on the (a) number of electoral wards, (b) total number of councillors and (c) residents per councillor in each new unitary council.
My department is working closely with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements across the area of any new unitary local authorities.The LGBCE’s approach during electoral reviews is that there are no set ratios of the number of electors each councillor should represent. The ratio flows from the number of councillors an authority should have. An authority has a unique set of characteristics which determines this and the LGBCE’s approach is outlined in its electoral review guidance.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the reliability of the Pedestrian Comfort Assessment prepared by Arup used by the Metropolitan Police to withdraw their objection.
An appointed Inspector held a public inquiry which heard a range of evidence for and against the proposals in question.As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be appropriate to comment further.Decisions on planning applications are based on material planning considerations.
Communities and Local Government, whether Surrey will have (a) mayoral combined authority and (b) unitary council elections in (i) 2026 and (ii) 2027.
Surrey will not have a mayoral election in 2026 as it has not been included in the Devolution Priority Programme; decisions on subsequent devolution have not yet been taken. The date of any unitary council elections will depend on the nature of proposals for local government reorganisation and progress on development of those proposals.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to her oral statement of 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, Column 766, whether she plans to follow article six of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the context of her proposals to change two-tier councils to unitary structures.
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, sets out the process we will follow in undertaking local government reorganisation. The undertakings in the Act are consistent with the UK’s commitments under the European Charter of Local Self Government and we will continue to fully comply with all our obligations under the Charter. In formulating proposals for local government reorganisation we expect local leaders to ensure there is wide engagement with their Members of Parliament, local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses in working up their proposals. Once a proposal has been submitted it will be for the Government to decide on taking a proposal forward and to consult as required by statute. Once established, the new unitarities will determine the structure of their own administrative services and terms of employment.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 February 2025 on Further support for social and affordable housebuilding and next steps on supported housing, HCWS447, what the estimated average grant subsidy per unit is by tenure type for the Local Authority Housing Fund third round.
The amount of grant provided under the third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund is calculated relative to local property prices. We provide a grant of 40% of the median house price in the local authority area, or 50% for larger homes.On the 12 February the government committed a further £50 million in new funding and around £30 million of reallocated funds taking the total funding available to £530 million. Based on the total expected commitment and outcomes, the average grant rate for each home delivered will be c. £196k.We do not provide different grant rates for tenures under the Local Authority Housing Fund, but we do require that all homes delivered under the fund are affordable.
Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on the potential impact of regulatory requirements (a) in the London Plan and (b) nationally on levels of housebuilding in London.
The Secretary of State meets with the Mayor of London regularly to discuss a range of matters, including regulatory requirements and housing delivery.The Mayor of London has commenced work on the next London Plan which will be submitted to the Secretary of State in due course.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to streamline (a) planning policy and (b) planning guidance.
The government published a revised National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024.Last week, the government published revising Planning Practice Guidance to support local planning authorities in their plan making. Further details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 27 February (HCWS480).The government intends to take further steps to streamline the delivery of homes and infrastructure through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which will be introduced in the coming months.We also intend to produce a set of national policies for decision making this year that will make national policy more accessible and understandable. We will consult on these in the Spring and further details will be set out in due course.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to her oral statement on 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, Column 766, what the upfront costs are of local government reorganisation in each of the next three years.
The upfront costs of local government reorganisation will be a matter for local councils to consider as they develop their proposals for reorganisation. As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, a PWC 2020 report estimated that reorganisation of the then 25 two-tier areas to a single unitary would have a one-off cost of £400 million, with the potential to realise £2.9 billion over five years, with an annual post-implementation net recurring saving of £700 million.It will be for the new councils to achieve the efficiencies identified in reorganisation proposals and subsequent detailed implementation and transformation plans while delivering high quality and sustainable public services to local residents and businesses. We are working with areas to understand the costs of taking forward proposals and implementation of new unitary structures.
Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities will be (a) encouraged and (b) required to update neighbourhood plans following changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.
There is no requirement to update a neighbourhood plan. However, we recognise some communities may wish to update their plans in response to changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.Groups continue to receive the financial and technical support they have been awarded for both the production and updating of neighbourhood plans.We will make announcements in due course regarding the new support contract for 2025-26 and beyond, but intend to open for new applications from Summer 2025.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 December to Question 20228 on Civil Society: Islam, for what reason her Department has not engaged with (a) MEND, (b) CAGE, (c) the Muslim Association of Britain and (d) the Muslim Council of Britain.
The Government will only engage with organisations when it is in the public interest.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2025 to Question 28148, on Civil Society: Islam, what steps her Department takes to ensure there is consistency across individual teams on policy engagement; and whether policy teams share lists of organisations they have met with.
Policy teams routinely confer when making decisions on engagement. We do not maintain and share lists of organisations policy teams have met.
Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on the application of critical race theory by local public bodies.
No such guidance has been issued by the department since 5 July 2024.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that proposed larger local authorities do not impact economies of scale.
The government’s long-term vision is for simpler structures which put the right powers at the right scale. On the 5 February, I formally invited proposals for local government reorganisation from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring unitary councils.The invitation letter sets out the criteria against which proposals will be assessed in coming to a decision on implementation. These include the criteria that new unitary structures must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks; reflect local identity considerations; and enable stronger community engagement and genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment. As set out in the published criteria for proposals, proposals should be for sensible economic areas, with an appropriate tax base which does not create an undue advantage or disadvantage for one part of the area.It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024, what powers directly elected Mayors will hold on the development of spatial planning strategies; and whether directly elected Mayors in Mayoral Combined Authorities will have the authority to rescind Local Plans within their boundary which have passed inspection stage by HM Planning Inspectorate.
As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, Mayors will have a duty to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy for their area. The required provisions will be set out in the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We do not intend to give Mayors a power to rescind a local development plan.