Written questions by Dillon.

What assessment has been made of potential differences in postal service performance between urban and rural areas within Newbury constituency.

The government does not collect or hold this information. Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has a duty to secure the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service. It monitors Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its performance targets as appropriate, taking account of all relevant factors.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the case for a more sustainable funding model for horseracing through reform of the Horserace Betting Levy.

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to the nation’s economy and sporting landscape. For this reason, UK horseracing bets will not be subject to the new rate of general betting duty and will remain taxed at 15%.The Horserace Betting Levy is important for the financial sustainability of horseracing. We will provide an update on next steps in due course.

What plans the Government has to uprate the Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of local rents.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed each year at Autumn Budget. In his Written Ministerial Statement following Autumn Budget, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions confirmed that LHA rates will remain at current levels in 2026/27. He considered a range of factors, such as rental levels across Great Britain and the challenging fiscal context. Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament For those renters who require additional support to meet a shortfall in rent costs, Discretionary Housing Payments are available from local authorities.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential for fiscal devolution to narrow regional inequalities.

The Government is committed to supporting regional growth. Analysis informed by OECD evidence shows that equipping local leaders with fiscal tools can stimulate investment in priority areas and foster sustainable growth. This is why we are pursuing further fiscal devolution through enhanced local revenue raising powers, including our intention to introduce a new power for Mayors to introduce a levy on short-term overnight stays. A public consultation was launched immediately following the Chancellor’s Budget statement and will run until 18 February.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department will take to reduce the use of forms of temporary accommodation such as nightly-paid accommodation in line with commitments made in the National Plan to End Homelessness.

The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out immediate action to help councils address the most unacceptable forms of homelessness, including our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families except in emergencies by the end of this parliament. To achieve this target, we will support and drive temporary accommodation models that address specific challenges in local areas and share good practice through an Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice – including B&B and unsuitable out-of-area placements. We will also increase the supply of good-quality, affordable temporary accommodation including through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the provision of stepping-stone accommodation to supporting care leavers into independent living.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 96485 on 10 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate provision of one-bedroom homes for young people within the Government’s target of delivering 180,000 homes for social rent.

For details on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 11 November 2025 (HCWS1027). The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that it is for local planning authorities to assess the size, types and tenure of housing needed for different groups, including (but not limited to) those who require social rented homes and to reflect this in their planning policies.

Communities and Local Government, how many households have been refused social housing due to affordability checks; and what alternative affordable housing options are available to those households to help prevent homelessness.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 98397 on 17 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she will take to remove barriers to accessing social housing for those most in need.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 98397 on 17 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on access to social housing of pre-tenancy checks by housing associations on the ability of households experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 98397 on 17 December 2025.

Media and Sport, what recent progress she has made on the review of the Horserace Betting Levy.

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to the nation’s economy and sporting landscape. For this reason, UK horseracing bets will not be subject to the new rate of general betting duty and will remain taxed at 15%.The Horserace Betting Levy is important for the financial sustainability of horseracing. We will provide an update on next steps in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities and the voluntary sector have sufficient resources to deliver the National Plan to End Homelessness.

Our National Plan to End Homelessness is backed by £3.5 billion from 2026/27 to 2028/29. Over £3 billion of this funding will be delivered to councils through the multi-year local government finance settlement. We are also providing £37 million through the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund for voluntary, community and faith groups.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce out-of-area placements in temporary accommodation; and what support local authorities will receive to help people remain in their local areas, in line with commitments made in the National Plan to End Homelessness.

The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out immediate action to help councils address the most unacceptable forms of homelessness, including our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families except in emergencies by the end of this parliament. To achieve this target, we will support and drive temporary accommodation models that address specific challenges in local areas and share good practice through an Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice – including B&B and unsuitable out-of-area placements. We will also increase the supply of good-quality, affordable temporary accommodation including through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the placement of homeless families with children alongside single adult households in shared temporary accommodation, in the context of commitments made in the National Plan to End Homelessness.

The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out immediate action to help councils address the most unacceptable forms of homelessness, including our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families except in emergencies by the end of this parliament. To achieve this target, we will support and drive temporary accommodation models that address specific challenges in local areas and share good practice through an Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice – including B&B and unsuitable out-of-area placements. We will also increase the supply of good-quality, affordable temporary accommodation including through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Centrepoint’s finding that local authorities face a £400 million funding shortfall in meeting their statutory duties to young people experiencing homelessness.

The government has provided more than £1 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services this year. Councils should use this record investment to meet the needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in their area, including young people.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Centrepoint’s call to build 40,000 one-bedroom homes per year to address record levels of youth homelessness.

Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out how we will tackle the root causes of homelessness, including by building 1.5 million homes, including a generational increase in new social and affordable homes backed by £39 billion investment through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed, and we are asking providers to come forward with ambitious bids that reflect this diversity. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing (including Social Rent), and reflect this in their planning policies. The Government is consulting on changes to the Framework, including proposals relating to the delivery of social rent and affordable homes. The consultation document is available here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanism is in place to funnel Biodiversity Net Gain funding from developers into county-wide nature recovery partnerships, such as the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Partnership.

Land managers, including Local Nature Recovery partnerships (LNRPs), can sell biodiversity units to those developers who cannot achieve 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) onsite and need to go off-site. The BNG metric also provides an incentive to achieve off-site biodiversity gains in areas of strategic significance, as set out in the relevant Local Nature Recovery Strategy. The Local Investment in Natural Capital programme, funded by Defra and delivered by the Environment Agency, has provided grants of over £1 million to five local and combined authorities to create a pipeline of investable projects and develop capacity and capability to crowd in finance from private sources, including from developers. Learnings from this programme will provide guidance to Local Nature Recovery Strategies in these areas on how best to attract and allocate BNG funding and will be available to all LNRPs upon the conclusion of the programme in 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government provides a) grants or b) matches-funding to encourage private businesses, landowners, and farmers in West Berkshire to participate in habitat creation and restoration.

On 1 December, the Government published our revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP25) – a clear roadmap for restoring nature. This is our long-term plan for improving the natural environment and enjoyment of it. EIP25 includes prioritised actions to help meet the ambitious Environment Act targets and sets an interim target to create or restore 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites by December 2030. The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund, funded by Defra and delivered by the Environment Agency, has provided grants to over 130 projects across England to attract private investment for nature recovery. These projects are plotted on an interactive map available on the Ecosystem Knowledge Network’s website: https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/neirf/neirf-project-directory-2/.

Food and Rural Affairs, what funding the Government has allocated to a) implement the Local Nature Recovery Strategy in Berkshire for financial year 2025-2026 and b) what proportion of that funding is assigned for delivery in West Berkshire.

As responsible authority for the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council has been allocated £135,500 in financial year 2025-26 to support their transition to delivery of their LNRS. Government has not prescribed how this funding will be distributed geographically within the area covered by the LNRS.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that (a) statutory Biodiversity Net Gain initiatives are implemented fully and (b) local authorities are provided with sufficient resources to monitor long-term habitat improvements.

Local planning authorities (LPAs) are provided with funding for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), including £10 million for this current financial year. The Government also funds the Planning Advisory Service to help LPAs meet their BNG obligations. LPAs can charge for monitoring activity through the legal agreements into which the developer enters .