Written questions by Hollinrake.

What estimate she has made of the number of households who will have child benefit reduced as a result of freezing of income tax thresholds.

At Budget 2025, the Government announced that it will maintain the income tax Personal Allowance at £12,570 and higher rate threshold at £50,270 from April 2028 to April 2031. The additional rate threshold remains at £125,140 from April 2028 to April 2031. These decisions have no impact on entitlement to Child Benefit or liability to the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92373 on Lord Mandelson, what the normal HR processes are for Heads of Mission.

They are the same processes that were in place when the Hon Member was in government.

Further to his Department's consultation entitled Make Work Pay: Consultation - Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Balloting for Statutory Union Ballots, published on 19 November 2025, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the security of e-balloting and postal balloting; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the level of (a) attempted and (b) actual interference by foreign state actors in trade union balloting for industrial action during the last five years.

The Government committed to enable unions to use modern and secure electronic and workplace balloting for statutory ballots, bringing union participation in line with modern voting practices that political parties and listed companies already use.

Whether she plans to consult political parties on the methodology for the allocation of Conference Security Grant for 2026.

The Home Office will be conducting an internal review of departmental funding for Party Political Conferences, including allocations from the Conference Security Grant, to ensure public funds are used effectively. The Home Office will consult relevant stakeholders on these arrangements.The UK government’s security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, including disclosure of costs, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect future security operations.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 84923 on Public Houses: Electronic Cigarettes, whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of a ban on vaping in pubs on their (a) financial viability and (b) profitability.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill gives the Government powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free also vape-free.We plan to consult on making most indoor settings, that are subject to existing smoke-free legislation, vape-free. This would include inside pubs and other hospitality venues. A number of places have already done this voluntarily.These measures will be subject to a full consultation, and we will be guided by public health advice. All future regulations will be accompanied by an impact assessment that will consider the economic effects of the proposed measures and will be published as part of the consultation process.

Whether council tax at 1 Carlton Gardens is paid by the Government.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s residence at Carlton Gardens is his primary residence.Council tax for 1 Carlton Gardens is paid for personally by its occupant, in line with long-standing government policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 84665 on DEFRA: Secondment, whether a business case was made for seconding the Second Permanent Secretary; and who is undertaking that role in the interim.

The secondment was arranged and undertaken in accordance with Defra’s standard secondment approach. There are no interim arrangements in place to cover the role of Second Permanent Secretary. Responsibilities previously held by the Second Permanent Secretary have been shared across other portfolios.

If he will investigate NHS Barts Health Trust funding for the Tower Hamlets Muslim Charity Run; and if he will make it his policy to ensure NHS funds are not used to support events which discriminate against women and offer no alternative single-sex provision.

The Tower Hamlets Muslim Charity Run is not funded by NHS Barts Health Trust. National Health Services are available to all, irrespective of sex. The Government does not tolerate discrimination within public services.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the feasibility of meeting the target of delivering 1.5 million homes in England by 2029.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 27400 on 3 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, how many new homes his Department estimates will be delivered in each year until 2028-29.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer prior to the publication of the consultation on reforms to landfill tax.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Building Safety Regulator will clear the Gateway Two backlog by January 2026.

In August 2025, following the June reforms to the Building Safety Regulator, the new innovation unit began to expedite all new cases for building control approvals for new buildings, whilst still assuring the delivery of safe, high-quality homes.  The innovation unit has dramatically reduced decisions times by 20 or more weeks compared with the previous peak of 38 weeks for approved new build decisions. Applications for new buildings already in the BSR system submitted before 4 August carried on via the existing model.  BSR has reduced the number of these existing new builds every month since August 25 and has significantly driven up the rate of approval. The latest published data shows that cases in the backlog reduced from 103 on 1st September 2025 to 63 as of the 24th November 2025, with 9 further applications being considered as being suitable for approval with requirements. The BSR continues to prioritise these legacy applications and expects the majority to be determined by the new year. With operational performance improving, quality applications are essential to ensure projects can progress. The BSR will continue to support industry leaders as they publish guidance for applicants but will not compromise on safety.

Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on densification in urban homebuilding.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including a number of proposals designed to driving urban and suburban densification in sustainable locations. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve the viability of brownfield development in London.

The government announced a package of support for housebuilding in London on 23 October, which can be found on gov.uk here.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 September 2025 to Question 74947 on Senior Civil Servants: Pay, when he plans to publish a high earner list.

Departments and their partner organisations are currently collecting the data for the next ‘high earner’ list. It will be published when the data set is complete and the personal information being released about individuals has been fully quality assured. As set out in my previous answer, salary information for the Senior Civil Service is already in the public domain.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85200 on Admiralty House: Valuation, whether a valuation has been undertaken in relation to Downing Street, including the two Downing Street flats.

The Downing Street estate is held on the department’s fixed asset register for their service potential and are valued in line with their existing use value (EUV) as defined in the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Red Book. Each property is revalued on a rotational basis on a five-year cycle commencing at the point of acquisition. A revaluation for the property as a whole was carried out in the 2022 to 2023 financial year. The flats are not valued individually.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2025, to Question 86773, on Ministers: Council Tax, whether Ministers who occupy a Ministerial residence as a second home are given a permanent key to the property in order for the council tax to be paid for by the Cabinet Office.

The Government does not disclose the security arrangements at official residences.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a copy of the model contract for Ambassadors and Heads of Mission.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office uses the Senior Civil Service template contract provided by the Cabinet Office as a basis for its contracts for Heads of Mission.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 92612, whether Tim Allan is required to recuse himself from government policy or communications on matters relating to the clients of Strand Partners.

Before joining the government, Mr Allan sought and received advice on his interests. He has followed every element of the advice received. As a result of that advice, he resigned his directorship with Strand and ceased any involvement in its governance or operations. Mr Allan has recused himself from engagement with Strand Partners in relation to the firm’s business, and from involvement in any procurement relating to Strand Partners during his period of employment.

If he will publish the correspondence from the Permanent Secretary to his Department to the Hon Member for Thirsk & Malton of 24 November 2025.

There are no plans to publish this correspondence.