Written questions by Hollinrake.

Communities and Local Government, whether the (a) security agencies and (b) Bank of England have been able to make representations about the cyber-security of telecommunication cables in the BT Openreach exchange next to the proposed Chinese Embassy without providing that information to the Chinese Government.

As the hon. Member is aware, any party can make representations in respect of a planning application. Representations on planning applications are dealt with in accordance with paragraphs 18, 19 and 20 of the published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions found on gov.uk here. The Secretary of State is able to issue a direction under section 321 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This allows specific evidence to be withheld from public inspection. Again, as the hon. Member is aware, no section 321 direction was made during the public inquiry on this matter, which closed on 19 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to ensure that his decision on the called-in Chinese Embassy planning application is announced through a statement to Parliament.

The House will be notified when the decision is made.

With reference to the Civil Service Management Code, updated on 9 November 2016, whether his Department has internal guidance on the process for the dismissal of a Cabinet Secretary.

The Permanent Secretary model contract sets out the contractual detail on exits and disciplinary procedures for all Permanent Secretaries. This applies to the Cabinet Secretary and there is no separate internal guidance. A copy of the model contract has been placed in the House Library.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer on 13 October 2025 to Question HL10731 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, when the property was vacated.

The former Deputy Prime Minister has vacated the property. The Government agreed the terms of vacation of Admiralty House with the former Deputy Prime Minister in the usual way.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 77559 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Aviation, what was the topic of the training course.

The topic of the course was risk management.

Communities and Local Government, how many applications for a selective licensing designation were approved between 4 July 2024 and 23 December 2024.

My Department approved applications for Selective Licensing submitted by Waltham Forest and Blackpool in November 2024. Between July 2024 and the introduction of the 2024 General Approval on 23 December 2024, Burnley, Barking and Dagenham, and Lambeth submitted applications to introduce or expand large schemes. These were superseded by the 2024 General Approval which enables local authorities to introduce selective licensing schemes of any size without seeking approval from the Secretary of State. These applications therefore did not require approval from my Department.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) Camden Council and (b) Southwark Council on (i) regulation of landlords and (ii) selective licensing since 4 July 2024.

My Department engages regularly with a broad range of local authorities on matters including the regulation of landlords and selective licensing.

When her Department will provide a response to the letter from the Hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton dated 18 September 2025.

A response to the letter from the Hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton was issued on 6 November.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the ongoing Natural Environment Research Council study on the role of prescribed burns in reducing wildfires.

Defra will consider the outcomes of this study when published, as with all new evidence in this area.

What steps he is taking with the National Fraud Initiative to tackle evasion of the council tax second homes premium.

The National Fraud Initiative (NFI), as part of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), works closely with local authorities to help them identify and prevent fraud. As part of this, the NFI is currently collaborating with local authorities to understand the fraud risks related to council tax second home premiums. The NFI will use that insight to inform options to detect and prevent fraud in this area. This collaboration is also helping local authorities to address fraud in other areas of council tax, such as fraudulent claims for a ‘single person discount’ (SPD). In its most recent report, the NFI detected £20.4m in fraudulent SPDs in England, with £20.2m, or 99%, in recovery.

What data her Department holds on the revenue from stamp duty land tax on primary homes in the last financial year for which figures are available by (a) local authority and (b) Parliamentary constituency.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not collect data via the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) return on whether a residential property will serve as a primary residence. However, the Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) apply when an individual acquires a residential property while already owning another piece of residential property anywhere in the world. SDLT paid on homes which did not pay HRAD on a local authority basis can be calculated using Table 7b and on a Parliamentary constituency basis using Table 8b of the UK Stamp Tax statistics publication available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-stamp-tax-statistics In both cases, SDLT paid on homes which did not pay HRAD is calculated by subtracting HRAD receipts from Residential receipts. Please note that the statistics publication covers the temporary thresholds period ending 1 April 2025 so the HRAD share may be higher than usual.

Whether he has considered (a) banning vaping in pubs, (b) banning 16 and 17 year olds from buying zero alcohol drinks in pubs and (c) raising the drink drive limit to support the economic viability of pubs.

The Department for Business and Trade is not responsible for bans on vaping in pubs, restrictions on zero-alcohol drinks for 16–17-year-olds, or changes to drink-drive limits. These matters fall under the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Transport DHSC advises that while vapes are less harmful than smoking, they are not risk-free and plans to consult on making most indoor settings vape-free. Many pubs already prohibit vaping voluntarily. In Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to explore prohibiting sales of no- and low-alcohol drinks to under-18s including prohibiting sales to individuals under the age of 18 years old. This policy is being pursued as these alcohol substitute drinks are intended for consumption by adults. DHSC Officials are scoping details and will update stakeholders in due course.This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. In 2023 there were 1,624 people killed on GB roads. There were an estimated 260 people killed in collisions involving drink driving, accounting for 16% of total fatalities in 2023. Given the significant casualties caused by drink driving, we have no plans to increase the drink drive limit.

What guidance (a) her Department and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority has given to financial institutions on the anti-money laundering checks on (i) UK domestic Politically Exposed Persons and (ii) their spouses or partners when purchasing a house to determine the true source of (A) deposits and (B) equity.

Guidance for financial institutions on the treatment of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) is published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and can be found here: FG25/3: Treatment of politically exposed persons | FCA The guidance was updated in July 2025, including to clarify that unless other enhanced risk factors are present, UK PEPs and their relatives must be subject to a lower level of enhanced due diligence than overseas PEPs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question HL10734 on USA: Diplomatic Service, whether the ongoing work involved expenditure whilst Lord Mandelson was Ambassador.

Refurbishment work at our Embassy in Washington DC began in June 2019. The majority of work was completed in 2023, with limited aspects ongoing.

Whether the hon Member for Hampstead and Highgate received a Ministerial severance payment.

Ministerial severance is payable under the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 when a Minister leaves office and meets the following statutory conditions: Ministers who have not attained the age of 65 and are not appointed to a relevant ministerial or other paid office within 3 weeks of the last day of service, are eligible for a severance payment of one quarter of the annual ministerial salary being paid. Details of HM Treasury ministerial severance payments, including recipients and amounts, are published in the annual report and accounts.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with BT Openreach on the cyber-security of the CL-WAP telephone and internet exchange adjacent to the Royal Mint.

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure. The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 introduced a robust security framework requiring public telecoms providers to identify, reduce and prepare for security and resilience risks.The Government does not comment on discussions around the security of specific sites.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local billing authorities on (a) the length of time that council taxpayers should be given to pay and (b) when council tax bills are considered to be in arrears.

This government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax. This included seeking views on the current processes in place to recover council tax. We are currently reviewing all responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course. A person is considered to be in arrears from the day they have missed a payment. Councils cannot carry out formal enforcement action until after they have issued a reminder and then acquired a liability order confirming the amount owed.

Whether (a) members of the Royal Family and (b) parliamentarians will be required to have digital ID cards.

There will be no requirement to enrol in Digital ID. Employers will be required to conduct digital right to work checks by the end of this Parliament.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 74185 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, for what reason the second homes council tax premium was paid in August 2025.

I refer the Honorable Member to 74185 which has since been corrected.

How much has the Cabinet Office spent in John Lewis since 4 July 2024.

The Cabinet Office procures furniture, furnishings, and work-related items from a range of suppliers. It is sometimes the case that required items can be procured cheaper at great British brands such as John Lewis. This has been the practice under previous administrations. Value for money is always central to purchase decisions.