Written questions by Hollinrake.

Whether the Government plans to establish an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 19 November 2024, Official Report, PQ 11597.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25696 on Public Appointments: Political Activities, at what point in the appointment process should the public disclosure on political activity be made for a regulated public appointment.

The Governance Code on Public Appointments requires that any political activity, as defined within the Code, by successful candidates should be publicly disclosed. Generally, this is done within the wider declarations of interest process for Non-Executive Board Members, published guidance for which is set out on Gov.uk,https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-executive-board-member-declaration-of-interests-process/non-executive-board-member-declaration-of-interests-process.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) end of life and (b) other palliative care services provided by the NHS on patient quality of life; and whether the new 10-year health plan for the NHS will include measures on ensuring equal access to palliative care.

As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, including those in the hospice sector.Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the National Health Service is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it. We have established 11 working groups to take forward policy development that will feed into the plan. This includes working groups focused on how care should be designed and delivered to improve healthcare equity, alongside ensuring that access to healthcare services is effective and responsive.We have launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in palliative and end of life care to take part in that process so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. This public engagement process is available at the following link:https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025, to Question 28146 on Asylum: Local Government, what the estimated aggregate budget is for (a) Grant 6 and (b) Grant 7 funding to local authorities in (i) England and (ii) the United Kingdom in the 2024-25 financial year.

I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer he received on 10 February 2025 to UIN 28146.

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.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 24499 on Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission: Social Media, whether the Electoral Commission plans to issue guidance to (a) political parties and (b) non-party campaigners on this matter.

The Commission does not currently have plans to publish specific guidance on the manipulation of social media algorithms.Its guidance on donations and on non-party campaigning may be applicable to situations where a party or candidate is intentionally favoured by a social media platform's algorithm. The Commission is currently doing more work in this area to identify any key considerations for how the law is applied in practice.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission had discussions with Leicestershire Police on (a) electoral fraud and (b) the issuing of unauthorised and anonymous literature during the 2024 General Election.

As part of its work to support the police, the Commission has provided advice to Leicestershire Police in relation to its enquiries into complaints about campaign literature distributed without an imprint at the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election.The police are responsible for enforcing imprints laws on candidate literature.

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.

What methodology her Department used to calculate the allowance for public sector bodies for changes to employer National Insurance contributions.

The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contributions costs.The amount of public sector support was based on an estimate of the proportion of employer NICs receipts paid by public sector organisations, using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary. The Treasury routinely uses the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary, for example in relation to public sector spending, public sector borrowing and public sector debt.This is in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.This funding will be allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way.The Government plans to publish the allocations for departments alongside departmental budgets for 2025/26 as part of Main estimates.

Whether the forthcoming NHS 10-year plan will include commitments to reform funding for (a) palliative and (b) end-of-life care.

As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, including those in the hospice sector.Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the National Health Service is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it. We have established 11 working groups to take forward policy development that will feed into the plan. This includes working groups focused on how care should be designed and delivered to improve healthcare equity, alongside ensuring that access to healthcare services is effective and responsive.We have launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in palliative and end of life care to take part in that process so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. This public engagement process is available at the following link:https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

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.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued to political (a) parties, (b) agents and (c) candidates on the (i) use of battlebuses in regulated election period and (ii) circumstances in which their use should be declared as a local candidate expense.

The Commission has published guidance for parties and candidates and agents on spending by the party to promote a candidate during the candidate regulated period.The guidance sets out how to identify whether an activity promotes a candidate, and if so, how this should be reported. In most cases, activity promoting a candidate must be reported on the candidate return, either as notional spending or as spending authorised by the candidate. In the case of a battlebus visit, this will depend on the content of the event and the role of the candidate or agent in directing, encouraging, or authorising the spending.

When his Department plans to acknowledge the Freedom of Information Act request made by the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton, contained in the letter to the Prime Minister of 26 January 2025.

The referenced Freedom of Information request has been received, and a response will be issued in line with the Freedom of Information Act in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to local government on the number of people standing for election to local councils.

Local government reorganisation, can help strengthen local leadership, improve services, save taxpayers’ money, and improve local accountability.The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of reorganisation on the number of people standing for election in local councils. We recognise that Councillors at all levels of local government do a tremendous job in serving their communities day-in and day-out, helping deliver for their local area. All councillors are frontline councillors.We know people value the role of governance at the community scale and that can be a concern when local government is reorganised. The letter that I sent on 5 February to all councils in two-tier areas and neighbouring unitaries inviting proposals for reorganisation set out that “New unitary structures should enable stronger community level governance and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment”.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question HL3663 on Public Bodies: Translation Services, if she will take steps to remind (a) local authorities and (b) public bodies of the guidance entitled Translation into Foreign Languages, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 12 March 2013, Official Report, Column 5WS.

The Government continues to recognise the official status of certain non-English languages in the UK, including Irish in Northern Ireland and Welsh in Wales.More broadly, we continue to encourage local authorities and public bodies to balance their obligations to public service with their obligations to provide value-for-money to the taxpayer.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to increase densification of developments and housing on brownfield land in inner cities.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas.On 22 September 2024, the government also published a ‘brownfield passport’ working paper inviting views on how we might further prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land. This included exploring the role of national policy in setting minimum density expectations for certain types of locations, to support intensification in the right places. The deadline for providing responses to the working paper was Friday 28 February and the government is analysing the feedback.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 27158 on Planning Permission, for what reason planning powers are being transferred to a sub-regional level.

The government intends to implement strategic planning at a sub-regional level through the production of Spatial Development Strategies to facilitate effective cross-boundary working to address development and infrastructure needs.