Written questions by Hollinrake.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with the (a) Scottish and (b) Welsh government on spending limits for the (i) Scottish Parliament and (ii) Welsh Senedd elections in 2026; and what the Commission’s planned timetable is for the ratification of the spending limits.

Each government, through the appropriate parliament, sets the spending limits for each relevant election. The Commission provides advice on the potential impact of any changes to the spending limits, and if necessary, consent. Any changes should be supported by rigorous analysis of relevant data and evidence to understand the likely impacts on parties and candidates, to maintain a level playing field, and on transparency and voter confidence. The Commission will monitor how recent changes made by governments function and their impact at the elections in 2026.It is the role of individual parliaments to ratify their respective spending limits. The Commission offers proactive advice to the regulated community to ensure parties, campaigners and candidates understand the spending rules they must follow. It will update its guidance to reflect any changes.

Communities and Local Government, who the members of the Reorganisation Advisory Group in her Department are; and what the terms of reference for that group are.

The Department has convened a Local Government Reorganisation Advisory Group. It is made up of a number of senior sector representatives to provide expert advice relating to the Local Government Reorganisation Programme. It has an advisory role. We will publish further details on the group’s membership and terms of reference shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 530393 on Picketing, whether the 6 person limit on picketing will be (a) retained or (b) removed when the Code of Practice on Picketing is revised.

There is no statutory limit on the number of people attending a picket. The Code of Practice on Picketing, which is issued by the Secretary of State under section 203 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, recommends a 6 person limit.At this time, we do not plan to change the 6 person recommendation in the Code of Practice.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, April 2025, published on 30 May 2025, if she will publish the specification of the research commissioned from the Department for Education on research services.

No such payment exists in the transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over 25,000, April 2025, published on 30 May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what funding her Department has provided to Greater Manchester Combined Authority's Housing Investment Loans Fund; and whether (a) guidance and (b) conditions were attached to that funding.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) provided Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) with a £300m Housing Investment Loan Fund in 2015, as part of its devolution deal. The requirements of the fund, including the conditions, are set out in a Facility Agreement – executed as a deed – between MHCLG and GMCA. Summaries of how the fund operates are publicly available at gov.uk https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/Data/Executive/20150318/Agenda/21_GMHousingInvestmentFund_2.pdf and https://democracy.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=34289 On 17 June 2025 we announced that the fund will be extended to deliver thousands of new homes over the next ten years.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2025 to Question 54299 on Motorcycles: Bus Lanes, if she will make it her policy to issue guidance to (a) local highways authorities and (b) combined authorities on an England-wide approach to allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes.

Any decision on whether to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes is a matter for the relevant local highway authority. In 2024 the Department for Transport ran a consultation on allowing motorcycles to access bus lanes by default, as is the case for pedal cycles. The responses did not provide a robust evidence base on which to amend the current policy, but highlighted issues regarding the current approach to permitting access. In urban areas permissions can change frequently at borough boundaries and this can lead to uncertainty. Following this consultation, the Department is considering whether to update Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/24 to include advice that local authorities should work with neighbouring authorities to achieve consistency of provision across boundaries, particularly in urban areas. The Department will also consider how best to work with the metro mayors, combined authorities and Transport for London, to encourage a more joined up approach to motorcycle access in these areas.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the spending to Livewire Consultancy Limited on Research Services was for.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 59139 on 16 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the full specification was of the research commissioned from Ipsos on the spending items entitled (a) research and (b) place level case studies evaluation.

The payments for research commissioned from IPSOS comprised: a) Research: work conducted as part of the Domestic Abuse Duty Evaluation, a three year independent evaluation of Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. b) Place level case studies: delivery of interim reports from the place-level evaluation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Further details are published on gov.uk here.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has given guidance to (a) political parties and (b) Reform UK Ltd on whether the provision of research is a donation in kind.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance for all political parties. The guidance states that any service – including research – provided to a party for free or on non-commercial terms is a donation. If the market value is above £500, the donor must be permissible, and if the value is above the reporting threshold (£11,180 for donations to central parties, or £2,230 for donations to accounting units or subsequent donations from the same source), it must also be reported to the Commission.If the party pays for the service, it would not be a donation.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme on levels of industrial action by municipal firefighters.

Proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) are not expected to lead to industrial action by firefighters. Non-uniformed staff of local fire and rescue services are members of the LGPS but firefighters have their own separate pension scheme, the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55454 on Local Government: Surrey, whether the Local Government Boundary Commission will be formally commissioned to undertake a full boundary review for the new unitaries.

My department is liaising 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 authority.The LGBCE is responsible for electoral reviews for local government, reviewing wards, and setting the council size in terms of number of councillors. When a full electoral review of a newly established authority is carried out, the LGBCE will follow its guidance (which is available on its website). The LGBCE have recently published FAQ on their website to support councils going through Local Government Reorganisation and have set out as part of this that they expect to carry out an electoral review of all newly established local authorities after their first elections and before their subsequent elections.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on considering downstream carbon emissions in planning applications.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change should be considered in preparing and assessing planning applications.The government provides guidance on how carbon impacts can be taken into account in the planning process through its Planning Practice Guidance on Climate Change, the National Design Guide, and the National Model Design Code.While these do not deal with downstream emissions specifically, the government keeps guidance under review and intends to update the Climate Change guidance to provide additional advice on taking carbon emissions into account.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49771 on Parking: Fines, if she will publish the (a) correspondence and (b) research.

The research into the effectiveness of current civil parking penalty charge levels was carried out by the Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London organisation in concert with the British Parking Association, and with the support of the Local Government Association. Dissemination of this research, which was not commissioned by the Department for Transport, and associated correspondence with the Department, is a matter for those organisations.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 50850 on Local Government: Israel, whether the (a) Local Government Ombudsman, (b) Local Auditor and (c) Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman has powers over breaches of procurement guidance by local authorities.

There are no specific legal powers invested in independent, external bodies to take action over breaches of procurement guidance.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled MHCLG: spending over £25,000, March 2025, published on 28 April 2025, what the spending to LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS LLP entitled Consultancy was for.

This spend related to the Local Partnerships’ programme management of the Contract Management Pioneer Programme (CMPP). The CMPP was a capability-building initiative designed to strengthen contract management across local government. It aimed to equip councils with the skills, tools, and confidence needed to manage complex contracts more effectively, improve service outcomes, and deliver better value for money.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Plan for Neighbourhoods: Regeneration Plan guidance, published on 9 June 2025, what estimate she has made of the (a) quantity and (b) length of the total paperwork required for participants to receive Plan for Neighbourhoods funding.

On 9th June, the government published the Plan for Neighbourhoods Regeneration Plan Guidance which re-iterates our commitment for a light touch assessment process. The Plan for Neighbourhoods represents a break from the competitive bidding process and micromanaging of previous regeneration funds. Instead, this is a model whereby Neighbourhood Boards are provided with a list of pre-approved interventions and given the autonomy such that, if that activity can be evidenced as a clear priority of the community, it can be pursued without the need to provide a lengthy business case. The activities listed range from eye-catching new developments to the bread-and-butter issues raised by people on the doorstep. The Plan for Neighbourhoods will transform “left behind” areas to deliver meaningful change in the day-to-day lives of local people.

If she will list the policies she has adopted from the previous Government's document entitled Plan for Drivers, published 2 October 2023.

“The Plan for Drivers” was published by the previous government; the Department is focused on actions that will make a positive difference for drivers in the light of this Government’s priorities. These include providing £1.6bn enabling councils to fill 7 million potholes and collaborating with the British Parking Association to make paying for parking easier. In addition, we are delivering those measures in the Plan that help ensure smoother journeys, including incentivising roadworks to be finished promptly by extending overrun charges to weekends, and supporting the transition to electric vehicles by streamlining the approval process for works to install public chargepoints.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54882 on Elections: Fraud, if she will take steps to improve (a) transparency and (b) accountability in local government.

The government is taking steps to strengthen both. I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to Question UIN 54882 on 9 June 2025. Statutory guidance on overview and scrutiny was updated in April 2024. We are also working to strengthen standards, governance, financial management, and local audit to fix the foundations of local government to ensure that it is fit, legal and decent.

What powers local authorities have to object to the housing of asylum seekers in (a) hostel and hotels and (b) private rented sector accommodation in their locality.

The Asylum Accommodation Services Contracts set out a number of principles in relation to working with Local Authorities, and other stakeholders including consultation and liaison regarding the location of accommodation and other issues, ranging from security controls to the impact on local amenities.It is through this consultation and liaison that local authorities may raise any objection to specific properties being used as asylum accommodation, including on behalf of the local people they represent.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether expenditure on (a) swift bricks and (b) bee houses and biomes for new-build homes can be counted towards biodiversity net gain units.

No, expenditure on swift bricks, bee houses and bee biomes cannot be counted towards biodiversity net gain (BNG) units which must be calculated using the main Statutory BNG metric or the small sites version of it.