Written questions by Hollinrake.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the requirements set out in the interim planning guidance on the consideration of the Environment Act PM2.5 targets in planning decisions, published in November 2024, on the (a) viability and (b) cost of new developments.

The interim planning guidance is expected to have minimal impact on the viability and cost of new developments. It is interim guidance whilst Defra develops substantive technical guidance, and as such an assessment is not required.

Communities and Local Government, whether the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement entitled Protecting Public Money of 23 February 2015, HCWS292, on the payment of lobbyists by local authorities remains her Department’s policy; and if she will take steps to ensure that local authorities do not pay lobbyists for work on (a) local government restructuring, (b) the local government finance settlement and spending review and (c) devolution deals.

The policy as set out in the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity has not changed.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 16736 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Expenditure, if she will list the activities previously undertaken by her Department that have been (a) curtailed, (b) suspended and (c) discontinued, in the context of the efficiency savings of £5 million.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 16736 on 6 December 2024. Departmental budgets are currently under review and will be announced by His Majesty’s Treasury in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the previous Government’s submission to the then Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee entitled Improving the home buying and selling process, published in April 2024, whether it remains her Department’s policy to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the information provided by sellers when a home is marketed for sale as set out in the April 2024 proposals.

Providing essential information upfront is important in supporting potential buyers to make important decisions about whether a property is suitable for them early in the process, reducing the risk of transactions falling through when this information comes to light at a later stage. With this in mind, we continue to work with stakeholders across industry, government and the public sector to understand the most effective way of supporting buyers to make the right decisions for them. We will set out more details in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Ensuring good waste collection services for households, published on 29 November 2024, and the consultation outcome on exemptions and statutory guidance for simpler recycling in England entitled Government response, published on 9 May 2024, for what reason that guidance does not specify minimum levels of service frequency for residual waste collections.

This Government is simplifying the rules to make recycling easier for people in England, while stimulating growth and maximising environmental benefits. Local authorities are already legally required to deliver waste collection services to all households in their area. Simpler Recycling in England will go further by mandating weekly food waste collections ensuring that the most unpleasant waste is dealt with quickly and reliably. Local authorities are best placed to determine the effective delivery of local services. As is currently the case, authorities will continue to decide collection frequency of waste collections in a way that suits the needs of their local community. There has never been a statutory requirement regarding the frequency of bin collections for local authorities, under any Government. We recognise that as recycling services are expanded and improved under Simpler Recycling in England, local authorities may choose to review residual waste services to ensure they are providing best value for money in line with local need. The government’s priority is ensuring that households’ needs are met, and we expect local authorities to continue to provide services to a reasonable standard, as they do now. Defra recently published guidance to ensure that local authorities consider certain factors when they review services, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained. These include ensuring that there are no disamenity impacts, such as the build-up of odorous waste at the kerbside or an increase in fly-tipping of residual waste. We expect local authorities to monitor any changes to collection frequencies to ensure there are no unintended adverse consequences.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11925 on Council Tax: Greater London, and with reference to the Urgent Question on Council Tax on 14 November 2024, Official Report, columns 907-914, what estimate her Department has made of the average Birmingham City Council Council Tax rate in 2025-26, expressed as (a) a Band D amount in pounds and (b) the percentage difference from 2024-25, in the context of her Department's local government core spending power estimate of £68,459m for that year and the consequential assumptions on council tax referendum principles for 2025-26.

Council tax levels are decided by each council following the local government finance settlement. As such the government cannot comment on individual council tax levels or band D rates. The Local Government Finance Policy Statement published on 28 November sets out proposed council tax referendum principles for 2025 to 2026 of up to 3% and an adult social care precept of 2% for all local authorities responsible for adult social care services. This is in line with the previous government’s policy for 2024-25, and together with central government grant and locally-retained business rates provides a real-terms increase in core spending power of around 3.2% next year. The full statement can be found at: Local government finance policy statement 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK.

[SUGGESTED RE-DRAFT] To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many away days her Department has held for senior officials since the 30 May 2024.

The department uses a range of forums and approaches to bring senior leadership teams together to plan work to deliver ministerial priorities and ensure we are developing necessary leadership capability. These are dependent on team need and priorities and are not directed centrally but we are confident our arrangements are proportionate.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with Councillor Abdal Ullah of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the call-in of the planning application of the proposed Chinese Embassy in London.

The Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions with Councillor Abdal Ullah on the call in of the planning application of the proposed Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint Court.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to extend the statutory override for the Dedicated Schools Grant.

We will work with the sector when considering how we can help councils manage the impacts of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits on their finances.This government recognises the vital work that local councils do for their communities, and we stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.We will set out the government’s plans for the future of the Statutory Override at the provisional Settlement in December.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a formal consultation on reductions to Right to Buy discounts.

In line with our manifesto commitment, the government undertook a review of the increased Right to Buy discounts introduced in 2012. The review was conducted internally within government but was informed by external analysis and reports, as well as engagement with local authorities, social housing tenants, and other stakeholders.This engagement informed the conclusions of the review, which was to reduce maximum cash discounts to pre-2012 levels of between £16,000 and £38,000. More information about the review can be found on gov.uk here and details of the stakeholder engagement undertaken to inform it is set out within Annex B to the review document.The reduced discounts will remain in place until further notice, but will be kept under review to ensure that we strike the right balance between protecting social housing stock and enabling tenants to access home ownership.On 20 November, the government published a consultation on wider reforms to the Right to Buy scheme, including percentage discounts. This can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has a policy on location-neutral recruitment.

MHCLG adheres to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles for all advertised recruitment campaigns, ensuring roles are offered on a fair, open and merit basis. Alternative working patterns and flexible working arrangements can be discussed with successful candidates on a case-by-case basis. Some roles are offered in specific and limited locations where they are related to a particular place or region, whilst other roles are offered in a broader range of locations.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 6111 and 6401 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Civil Servants, how many people appointed under exception one worked in their previous role for (a) the Labour Party, (b) Labour Together and (c) a Labour Parliamentarian.

It is the longstanding convention of government under successive administrations that we do not comment on matters relating to individual staff.As part of our recruitment and onboarding process, we ask all candidates to disclose any perceived, actual or potential conflicts of interest in line with Cabinet Office guidance.All disclosures made by candidates are explored and discussed with the hiring manager.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has received representations from (a) trade unions and (b) local authorities other than South Cambridgeshire District Council on a potential four day week on full pay for local government since 5 July 2024.

Local authorities are independent employers, responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces; the Department has not received representations from trade unions or any other local authority on a potential four-day week on full pay for local government since 5 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, how many (a) teams and (b) staff work in her Department's offices in (i) Birmingham, (ii) Exeter, (iii) Truro, (iv) Sheffield, (v) Warrington and (vi) Newcastle.

As of 30 November 2024, (a) all six of the department’s Director General led teams had some representation in the six named locations. Details are set out below, with data withheld where it might lead to the identification of individuals. However, in total on 30 November 2024, 367 staff were (b) working at these locations and engaged on the department’s payroll.(a) teams and staff (b) working from each location as of 30th Nov 2024(i) Birmingham(ii) Exeter(iii) Truro(iv) Sheffield(v) Warrington(vi) NewcastleGrand TotalCorporate Services46……7…876Local Government and Public Services28……812961Local Growth, Communities and Devolution169…11222081Regeneration, Housing and Planning37……1492188Safer and Greener Buildings17……79…43Strategy and Communications………………18Grand Total1492615515967367

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11925 on Council tax: Greater London and with reference to the Urgent Question on Council Tax of 14 November 2024, Official Report, column 907, what assumption her Department used of the (a) pound and (b) proportionate increase of the police precept in the context of the council tax receipts figure within the core spending power calculation for the 2025-26 financial year.

The Local Government Finance Policy Statement published on 28 November set out proposed referendum principles for 2025-25. This included a £14 principle for police authorities, compared to a £13 principle in 2024-25. Together with central government grant and locally retained business rates, the proposed principles provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of around 3.2% next year.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to respond to Question 9070 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Civil Servants, tabled by the hon. Member for Bridgwater on 14 October 2024.

A response was given to the hon Member for Bridgwater on 10 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6112 on MHCLG: Public Appointments, if she will name the four public appointees who left their posts; and whether they were asked to resign.

The four appointees were: Dame Alison Nimmo, Lord Porter, Jeff Dodds and Tom Taylor. The new administration decided to appoint new non-executive board members upon taking office.

Communities and Local Government, how many staff will be affected by the closure of her Department's Birmingham office; and whether she plans to co-locate staff in the Government Hub in Birmingham.

As at the 30 November 2024 there were 149 employees of the department based in the Birmingham office. The department is consulting staff and Trade Unions on the decision to close the Birmingham office. This consultation will consider the impact on the individuals affected with a view to putting in place measures to mitigate that impact and enable them to continue to perform their roles effectively.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has plans to move additional staff from (a) her Department and (b) arms length bodies to office locations outside London.

The Department will continue to grow its presence outside London in order to meet its ambition of 50% of roles being outside of London. Currently 45% of staff are in the regions and nations of the United Kingdom. The Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies have their own plans for the number of roles which will be based outside London.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 November 2024 on Local Government Finance, HCWS265, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Government’s programme of devolution and reorganisation on the scheduling of elections in May 2025.

The English Devolution White Paper announces a widening and deepening of devolution, and a programme of local government reorganisation. We have committed to work closely with local leaders to explore what support they might need to develop robust proposals for that reorganisation and to implement new structures, including taking decisions to postpone local elections where this will help.