Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to support energy efficiency in domestic dwellings through the replacement of single glazed windows with double or triple glazing; and in what circumstances is planning permission required for such replacements.

Forthcoming changes to the energy performance model underpinning Energy Performance Certificates will ensure that fabric improvements made by consumers, such as installing double or triple glazing, are suitably recognised and rewarded by the model.In most cases the replacement of windows of similar appearance can be undertaken without the need for a planning application. However, there may be some local exceptions, and other consents such as listed building consent may be required.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 15001 on Local Government Finance and with reference to the Provisional local government finance settlement: England, 2025 to 2026, published on 18 December 2024, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) value of locally retained business rates in 2025-26 and (b) the proportion of core spending power comprised by those rates.

Local authorities have not yet submitted their estimates of business rates income for 2025-26. The Department will publish local authority estimates of locally retained business rates for 2025-26 on 19th February.Core Spending Power, published alongside the settlement, includes Settlement Funding Assessment which is comprised of Revenue Support Grant and a component linked to business rates - Baseline Funding Levels. Baseline Funding Levels represent an authority’s need that is funded via business rates and will increase to £16.1 billion for 2025-26. In addition, Core Spending Power includes an adjustment for compensation for under-indexing the business rates multipliers of £2.7 billion. In total, business rates elements make up £18.8 billion, or 27% of core spending power.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Regulator of Social Housing has provided guidance to registered providers of social housing on translation of guidance into foreign languages.

All registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. In particular, under the Transparency, Influence and Accountability standard, all registered providers must ensure that communication with and information for tenants is clear, accessible and appropriate to the diverse needs of their tenants.The regulator’s consumer standards Code of Practice states that providers should make tenants aware of the different ways in which services are tailored to meet their needs. It provides examples of ways in which providers could achieve this, including by informing tenants that information can be supplied in different languages on request.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14950 on Council tax and with reference to the Provisional local government finance settlement: England, 2025 to 2026, published on 18 December 2024, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) increase in council tax receipts between 2024-25 and 2025-26 on which the core spending power estimates in the draft Settlement are based and (b) the proportion of the increase in council tax receipts that are expected to be derived from (i) increases in the level of council tax in (A) Band D and (B) and other bands and (ii) changes in net housing supply in 2025-26.

Growth in council tax revenue is calculated using two factors, growth in the size of the tax base, and levels of taxation. Council tax levels are assumed to increase in line with the principles set out at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. More detail on the methodology including assumptions about the growth in the size of the tax base is available here.The methodology used to calculate the expected increase in average Band D council tax in England is available in the Explanatory Note on Core Spending Power for the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to recommendation 3 of the report entitled Report on the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election and the May 2024 elections, published by the Electoral Commission, if she will make it her policy that postal voting should be the default option for all overseas voters when they register for elections.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 17831 on 12 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 December 2024, Official Report, HCWS316, on the Devolution White Paper, whether devolution by default will include the devolution of local taxation powers by default.

We have published a new, enhanced devolution framework, expanding and deepening the powers available to Mayors and Strategic Authorities. Mayors of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will, for the first time, have a right to request further devolution of specific functions and powers which the government will have to respond to. The government keeps all taxes under review and is focused on standardising existing tax powers which are currently uneven across Mayoral areas.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Provisional local government finance settlement: England, 2025 to 2026, published on 18 December 2024, what estimate she has made of the expected increase in average Band D council tax in England in (a) cash and (b) percentage terms between 2024-25 and 2025-26 when calculating the core spending power increase.

Growth in council tax revenue is calculated using two factors, growth in the size of the tax base, and levels of taxation. Council tax levels are assumed to increase in line with the principles set out at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. More detail on the methodology including assumptions about the growth in the size of the tax base is available here.The methodology used to calculate the expected increase in average Band D council tax in England is available in the Explanatory Note on Core Spending Power for the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26.

Communities and Local Government, how the allowances of combined authority mayors will be determined.

Decisions on allowances for Combined Authority mayors is a matter for each individual Combined Authority. The process to follow is set out in regulation 20 of the of the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. This requires them to consider a report from an independent remuneration panel established by the Combined Authority or by one or more of their constituent councils.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17835 on Local Government Pension Scheme, and with reference to the consultation paper entitled Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales): Fit for the future, published on 14 November 2024, on what (a) geographical areas or (b) local government tiers will the new asset pools be based.

The Government has asked the existing Local Government Pension Scheme asset pools to submit proposals as to how they will meet the minimum requirements set out in the consultation. The Government is not proposing to require changes to the areas covered by the pools in order to align with regions, strategic authorities or other geographic or local government areas.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on how the proposed Community Right to Buy will (a) operate and (b) differ from the community rights provisions of the Localism Act 2011.

Community Right to Buy will be introduced in the English Devolution Bill, providing stronger powers for local people who wish to purchase valued community spaces. We are considering what changes need to be made to the Localism Act 2011 to better support community ownership, while respecting the rights of asset owners. We will provide more details on the planned measures in due course.

Communities and Local Government, how many times local planning authorities will be required to update Local Plans following (a) the new National Planning Policy Framework, (b) the creation of Strategic Development Strategies and (c) unitarisation in two-tier areas.

Local planning authorities must review local development plans once every five years from their adoption date to ensure that policies remain relevant and that they address the needs of the local community. However, there will be occasions where there are significant changes in circumstances which may mean it is necessary to review the relevant strategic policies earlier. Reasons might include changes to national policy, the adoption or updating of a spatial development strategy or local government re-organisation. As a result of the revised National Planning Policy Framework published in December 2024, all councils have been asked to review and update their Local Development Schemes and send a copy of their new timetable to the Ministry by no later than 6 March 2025. They should do this in line with the well-established obligations under s.15 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the planning practice guidance on plan-making.

Communities and Local Government, which local authorities responded to her Department's letter of 16 December 2024 on local government restructuring to (a) express a formal interest and (b) request that May 2025 local elections be cancelled.

I have welcomed the large number of areas that have responded to my letter of 16 December to recognise the benefits of mayoral devolution. A list of those county and unitary councils which have responded to my letter to make a request that involves postponing their May 2025 local elections can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-reorganisation-letter-to-two-tier-areas.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question HL3612 on Unitary Councils, what she classes as a small unitary authority.

In writing to all two-tier areas, on publication of the English Devolution White Paper on 16 December, I also wrote to their neighbouring small unitaries as well to provide further detail on the Government's plans for local government reorganisation.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 20841 on Local Plans, what parts of the local development scheme will local planning authorities be required to update by March 2025.

Local planning authorities must review local development plans once every five years from their adoption date to ensure that policies remain relevant and that they address the needs of the local community. However, there will be occasions where there are significant changes in circumstances which may mean it is necessary to review the relevant strategic policies earlier. Reasons might include changes to national policy, the adoption or updating of a spatial development strategy or local government re-organisation. As a result of the revised National Planning Policy Framework published in December 2024, all councils have been asked to review and update their Local Development Schemes and send a copy of their new timetable to the Ministry by no later than 6 March 2025. They should do this in line with the well-established obligations under s.15 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the planning practice guidance on plan-making.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 17565 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if she will place in the Library a copy of the correspondence between her Department and the Foreign, Commons and Development Office on the planning application for a proposed new Chinese Embassy.

The government does not routinely publish correspondence between departments or place copies of such correspondence in the Library.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 17127 on Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, if she will list each section of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 that she does not intend to (a) implement with secondary legislation and (b) substantively commence.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 17127 on 7 January 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 17127 on Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, if she will list each section of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act that (a) has not yet been commenced and (b) she plans to commence (i) in 2025, (ii) in 2026 and (iii) after 2026.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 17127 on 7 January 2025.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to publish a consultation on data sharing powers between relevant government agencies and political parties.

Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems. The Government has committed to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will make them public in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committees, published on 9 December 2024, whether the requirements for delegation to planning officers would apply to planning applications for traveller sites.

The working paper in question invites views on a number of proposals designed to support better decision making in the planning system, including proposals on a national scheme of delegation. We have made no decisions in relation to how a national scheme of delegation would work, including in relation to applications for traveller sites. Should we determine to take proposals for a national scheme of delegation forward they would be the subject of further detailed consultation in the normal way.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the section entitled timelines and next steps of her Department’s letter to local councils of 16 December 2024 on the devolution white paper, what the methodological difference is between (a) areas that need reorganisation to unlock devolution and (b) areas that are minded-to join the Devolution Priority programme.

Reorganisation should not delay devolution. We will shortly set out which areas will be included in our Devolution Priority Programme, aimed at places ready to come together under the sensible geography criteria set out in the White Paper and wishing to progress to an accelerated timescale. This is with a view to inaugural mayoral elections in May 2026. However, places will be in different stages of their devolution journey. While some will already have an existing strategic authority, others may be in the process of establishing one, and in other places reorganisation may be necessary to unlock devolution or open up new devolution options. Government is now reviewing responses to the 16 December letter and decisions will be made in due course.