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Paul Holmes
CON✓ Current MP
🏛️ Hamble Valley
📅 2001–2026
790 speeches on Hansard record
✅ Votes attended: 90.93% (#50 of 650 MPs)
🟢 Rebelled against party: 0.41%
📝 Topics: Travellers: Caravan Sites, Business Rates: Tax Allowances, Local Government: Elections
🤝 Member of 13 All-Party Parliamentary Groups
Written Answers
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Cabinet Office
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether digital ID will be provided to 16 and 17 year olds.
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the former Deputy Prime Minister’s official residence in Admiralty House will be allocated to another Cabinet Minister.
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has had discussions with the Chinese government on the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in London.
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Church Commissioners
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what representations the Church Commissioners have received on the occupancy of the Bishop's Palace in Winchester.
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Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87776 on Private Rented Housing: Energy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the costs of new energy efficiency measures on the level of open…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using UK-based manufacturing companies to deliver the Rampion 2 wind turbine scheme.
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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2025 to Question HL7834 on New Towns: Planning Permission, if she will set out in which designated parts of the Swanscombe Peninsula were jumping spiders discovered; and what were their…
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Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, by what date he expects full implementation of reforms to the Electronic Communications Code brought about through the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of further delay of the implementation of reforms to the Electronic Communications Code under the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 on 5G rollout.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of legal cases that have commenced related to the installation of 5G masts; and whether provisions within the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act…
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Department for Transport
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department is making on amending regulations to allow for recognition of non-UK Air Traffic Controller licences.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department is making on amending regulations to allow for the conversion of military Air Traffic Controller licences to civil Air Traffic Controller licences.
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Department for Work and Pensions
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the time taken to respond to casework queries from Members of Parliament.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with her Australian counterpart on negotiating a new reciprocal social security agreement for the uprating of UK State Pensions for UK pensioners residing in Australia.
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Department of Health and Social Care
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Integrated Care Boards are required to publish the (a) evidence base, (b) modelling assumptions and (c) workforce capacity assessments used to determine commissioned elective activity levels against projected population demand.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Integrated Care Boards are required to (a) undertake and (b) publish (i) equality and (ii) patient impact assessments when commissioning decisions may result in reductions to (A) planned service activity and (B) access to care.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department’s timeline is for deciding on the second wave of Modern Service Frameworks; and whether respiratory conditions will be considered.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Hamble Valley constituency; and what steps he is taking to ensure…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussion he has had with the Secretary of State for Science and Technology on the potential impact of a respiratory Modern Service Framework on the UK’s life sciences ecosystem.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of a respiratory Modern Service Framework on reducing winter pressures on the NHS by simultaneously improving outcomes for long-term respiratory conditions and short-term…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of people being held in Accident and Emergency departments due to unavailability of local NHS mental health beds on patients.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the UK National Screening Committee plans to fast track the implementation of an in-service evaluation for newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to implement a financial redress scheme for people harmed by Sodium Valproate as recommended by the Patients Safety Commissioner.
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her department is taking to support democratic elections overseas, including in relation to challenging practices by foreign governments of (a) cancelling and (b) delaying elections.
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Home Office
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish any detailed assessments carried out (a) by and (b) on behalf of her Department on the use of Crowborough Training Camp to house asylum seekers; and whether Wealden District Council has (i) requested and (ii) been supplied…
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 65276 on Travellers: Caravan Sites, if she will publish the representation made by the National Police Chief’s Council on the High Court judgment and its implications for operational…
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set out (a) how and (b) when local authorities are consulted on the housing of asylum seekers in HMOs by the Home Office and its contractors.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the advice provided by her Department to Somani Hotels on the need to seek a temporary application for a change of use of the Bell Hotel, Epping.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her definition of non-violent extremism is.
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Ministry of Defence
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of contracts awarded by his Department were given to (a) UK and (b) non-UK companies in the last 12 months.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his Department's policy to procure new defence stocks from UK companies.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) his Department's officials have met with representatives of Domo Tactical Comms in Hamble Valley constituency.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support UK capability through defence contracts for the (a) development, (b) manufacture and (c) maintenance of critical defence (i) equipment and (ii) systems.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which (a) UK and (b) non-UK companies have been awarded contracts for drones; and what the value is of each contract.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which contracts for drones have been awarded by (a) competitive tender and (b) single source.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 17 on European security, what recent discussions he has had with drone component suppliers to ensure that the UK military is up to date when it comes to drone technology and capability.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local election pilots in May 2026 will take place in any of the localities which had their May 2026 local elections postponed and then reinstated.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what Home England's financial commitment is to Vistry, including subsidiaries and joint ventures, in terms of (a) funding under the affordable homes programme, (b) loans and (c) equity investments.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether partnerships are the Government's preferred model for housing delivery.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will set out the liquidity tests undertaken by Homes England on strategic partners participating in the Affordable Homes Programme.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment Homes England has made of the level of off-balance sheet liabilities amongst strategic partners participating in the Affordable Homes Programme.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department and Homes England audit the number of homes delivered by strategic partners participating in the Affordable Homes Programme.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Representation of the People Bill, at what point political parties and elected representatives will have access to the date of birth of an attainer elector.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Representation of the People Bill, whether an election offence of intimidating council staff can apply after the close of poll, including to election counts.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to obtain Legislative Consent from devolved Administrations in Wales and Scotland for the Representation of the People Bill.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Representation of the People Bill, what his Department’s definition is of a British citizen usually resident in the United Kingdom; and what (a) immigration and (b) domiciled status this…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Representation of the People Bill Impact Assessment, February 2026, Table 8, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that bill on levels of permissible donations.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Representation of the People Bill Impact Assessment, February 2026, para 386, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of corporate donation reforms on small businesses wishing to make…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Representation of the People Bill Impact Assessment, February 2026, Table 8, what proportion of the donation value that would now be impermissible was made to (a) Reform Party, (b) Brexit Party and…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a scheme to assist political parties with the implementation costs of the Representation of the People Bill.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Improving voter registration, published on 2 March 2026, if he will make it his policy to place markers on the electoral roll where (a) UK nationals and (b) foreign citizens have…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Representation of the People Bill will allow candidates and agents to use PO Box addresses.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to prevent automatic electoral registration from adding European Union citizens to (a) the UK Parliamentary electoral roll and (b) the local electoral roll where they do not qualify because of their…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made by (a) his Department and (b) the Defending Democracy Taskforce of sectarianism in election campaigning.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to answer of 11 September 2025, to Question 74719, on Electoral Register, whether user research has now been commissioned or tendered.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what is the timetable for a Government response to the working group on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim hatred.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered moving mayoral combined authority elections that were delayed from May 2026 to May 2028, to May 2027; and what representations he has received on this matter.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to hold a consultation to amend electoral law to ban imprinted (a) candidate and (b) political party electoral communications being published in foreign languages during the short campaign…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025, to Question 90712, on Elections: Proof of Identity, whether prepaid bank cards offered by financial institutions registered outside the United Kingdom, including companies such…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to local authorities by his department on whether (a) churches, (b) synagogues and (c) mosques may be used as polling stations.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether automatic electoral registration, following the proposed reduction in the voting age, will be used to add attainer voters under 16 to the electoral roll.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the full report by Philip Rycroft into foreign financial interference in UK politics will be laid before the House when it is completed.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his polices of trends in the number of registered postal votes in the last six months.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his press release of 16 December 2025 entitled Urgent review into foreign financial interference in UK politics, what is the evidential basis that political donations can currently be made to shell…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has been made of the potential impact of adopting an opt-in approach to the open electoral register on the level of revenues to local authorities accrued from the sale of open electoral…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Braintree during the Oral Statement of 23 February 2026 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report, column 80, whether his (a) officials…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers have had discussions with representatives of (1) political parties and (2) political groups of the LGA on the provision of guidance to local authorities on requests to delay…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2025, to Question 86656, on Hate Crime: Internet, if he will place a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding in the Library.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 86657 on Elections and Political Parties, whether each of those parties were (a) consulted and (b) engaged before the publication of the strategy in July; if he will…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will list each planning application that has been called in since 4 July 2024, including (a) planning reference number, (b) local authority, (c) the proposed development, and the result of each decision to date.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 83467 on Councillors: Disclosure and Barring Service, whether he intends to consult on checks for other elected representatives.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87776 on Private Rented Housing: Energy, whether new registration and licensing fees are a material consideration in assessing an open market rent increase.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30628, on Local Government: Codes of Practice, and further to the consultation response entitled Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations his department has received on postponing local elections in May 2026 from (a) Blackburn with Darwen Council and (b) Hyndburn Council.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many unauthorised traveller caravans are (a) land owned by travellers and (b) land not owned by travellers, including tolerated unauthorised sites, by each local authority for which the latest data is available.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88278 on Travellers: Caravan Sites, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Temporary Stop Notices in preventing unauthorised development…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on decision making in December 2024 are a material consideration when a council considers a Temporary Stop Notice on an unauthorised traveller site.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the National Development Management Policies are non-statutory.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether unmet need for traveller sites constitute grounds for traveller site development in (a) the Green Belt and (b) open countryside.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the absence of a five-year land supply for traveller sites constitutes grounds for traveller site development in the green belt in the context of (a) a local plan and (b) an individual planning decision.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 11 November 2025 on Social and Affordable Housing Programme, HCWS1027, what estimate his Department has made of the level of subsidy per unit for a (a) social rent, (b) affordable…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 87114 on Eden Project: Morecambe, what data his Department holds on any changes made to the scale and size of the proposed Eden Project development since July 2024.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87325 on Devolution: Cornwall, if he will make it his policy to rule out the creation of a single strategic authority consisting of Devon and Cornwall county councils.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 16 December 2025, HCWS1186, on Electoral Resilience, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of political donations to APPGs by foreign donors on democracy.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87317 on Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners: Elections, which Mayors were consulted; and on what dates.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, If he will place in the Library a copy of the equality impact assessment produced in relation to the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 16 December 2025.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether changes to the National Planning Policy Framework since December 2024 apply to retrospective planning applications for unauthorised traveller sites.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, What guidance has been given to the Planning Inspectorate on the use of (a) gender-neutral language and (b) pronouns.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the estimated level of council tax receipts in England from 2026-27 onwards, including police, combined authority, GLA and parish precepts.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with (i) London Councils and (ii) Westminster City Council on second homes council tax premium (a) evasion and (b) avoidance since July 2024; and what representations his Department…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his department holds information on the number of local authorities which offer rural rate relief and in which locations.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given on whether a second home which is long-term unoccupied, but furnished, is liable for the empty homes council tax premium or the second homes council tax premium, where a local authority has…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, What plans he has to (a) publish the election pilots prospectus on gov.uk and (b) make it available to Hon Members.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the official statistics entitled Count of Traveller Caravans, July 2025: England, published on 11 December 2025, what information his Department holds on the reasons for the 22% increase in unauthorised…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding was allocated to the Affordable Housing Programmes in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25, including funding provided to his Department, Homes England, the Greater London Authority, local councils, housing…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Local Authority Housing Fund: Round 4 can be used to provide accommodation for asylum seekers and former asylum seekers other than those from Afghanistan.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Authority Housing Fund: Round 4 prospectus and guidance, of 19 November 2025, for what reason the funding can be used for the flipping of forthcoming shared ownership completions into social…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the second homes council tax premium on house prices.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to issue updated land use in England statistics.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate has the Land Registry made of the potential impact of the number of years of the lease length and the capital value of a leasehold (a) flat and (b) house.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of aggregate council tax receipts in England in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will re-introduce the guidance entitled Four-day working week arrangements in local authorities, withdrawn on 8 November 2024.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme plan to build 300,000 homes over ten years, of which 180,000 will be for social rent, do these targets exclude (a) completions under the AHP 2021-26, (b)…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what changes have been made to (a) funding for individual projects and (b) the total quantum of funding for cultural projects allocated levelling up funding prior to July 2024; and if he will list the projects for which…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the new socio-economic duty will apply to local authorities’ waste policies on household rubbish and recycling collections.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 69053 on Special Educational Needs: Finance, what recent estimate he has made of the aggregate, accumulated deficits that have been built up under the DSG Statutory…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to reintroduce Article 5 certificates, in the context of trends in the number of cases where Tree Protection Orders are removed at the request of insurance companies; and what discussions he has had…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has commissioned on (a) land value capture and (b) land valuation taxation since 4 July 2024.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (a) headcount and (b) FTE staff are employed by the Building Safety Regulator; if he will list the addresses of its offices; and how many assigned desks for staff it has in total.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 69054 on Community Cohesion and Resilience Programme: Finance, for what reason the programme has been discontinued.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 69456 on British Muslim Trust, if he will publish the application submitted on 18 May 2025.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the departmental funding provided to Great South West pan-regional partnership has conditions on funding being used for lobbying activity.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what research has been (a) commissioned or (b) undertaken since July 2024 on the cost of unitary local government restructuring.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance on incumbent (a) district, (b) unitary and (c) county councillors standing for election for (i) combined authority and (ii) county combined authority mayorships; and whether…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 69050 on Local Government Finance, whether his Department is informed of the type of asset being disposed of.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 33500 on Eden Project: Morecambe, how much government funding has been spent on supporting the project to date; and on what date were the funds released.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69680 on English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, whether the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners supported changing the voting system to…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has provided to local authorities on whether individuals can have three entries on the electoral roll.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will update the NPPF to include guidance on the importance of telecommunications infrastructure in any major planning decisions.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will provide guidance to local authorities on ensuring mobile network operators are informed for large-scale developments.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will increase permitted development rights for telecommunications applications.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report by the Office for Budget Responsibility entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in March 2025, CP 1289, whether the forecast of 1.3 million homes in the next five years applies to (a)…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the target of 1.5m homes this Parliament applies to England only.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 20982 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, what the (a) job title, (b) unit or division and (c) grade is of each Civil Service job not advertised externally; and for what…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that critical cavity nesting bird habitat is mandated in new developments in line with nature recovery targets.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 20827 on Religious Freedom, what steps the Government is taking to protect freedom of speech in relation to the expression of lawful statements which may be critical of…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many times the Communities and Recovery Steering Group has met; on what dates; in which locations; and whether minutes are taken.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the draft Local Government Finance Settlement published on 18 December 2024, HCWS342, what her Department's estimated increase in council tax receipts is in 2025-26 compared to 2024-25; and what…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to promote the English language other than through (a) schemes for people from Ukraine and Hong Kong and (b) English for Speakers of Other Languages training.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 64 of the Devolution White Paper (CP 1218), published on 16 December 2024, whether Spatial Development Strategies will (a) include targets and (b) propose sites for authorised traveller pitches by…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16948 on Planning Permission, what previous guidance has been provided by (a) her Department and (b) the Planning Inspectorate on whether representations made…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery, published on 15 December 2024, whether Biodiversity Net Gain expenditure can be scored against…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 99 of the Devolution White Paper (CP 1218), published on 16 December 2024, whether her Department plans to issue statutory guidance on the appropriate use of (a) byelaws and (b) fixed penalty…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17826 on Local Government: Disadvantaged, what plans she has to update the 2019 Index of Deprivation.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 20129 on Unitary councils, whether her Department has evidential basis for unitary restructuring what has not been funded by organisations supporting unitary…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has received representations from local authorities on increasing the council tax referendum threshold for councils with Section 114 notices; and what her policy is on this issue.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.2.3 of the Devolution White Paper (CP 1218), published on 16 December 2024, at what administrative level social care will be administered in areas where counties and districts are replaced…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Local Audit Office will have the authority to (a) undertake inspections of individual local authorities, (b) commission external research and (c) exercise best value powers.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which councils which received Rural Services Delivery Grant in 2024-25 will not receive Recovery Grant in 2025-26.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 4 of her Department's College of Experts recruitment pack, published in December 2024, whether strengthening and consolidating employment rights is a formal Ministerial responsibility of her…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 6 January 2025, HCWS353, on Community Ownership Fund Round 4, how much funding has been distributed under each of the individual rounds of the Community Ownership Fund.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 18954 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Appointments, for what reason her Department was without Non-Executive Board Members since 7…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025, to Question 20980, on MHCLG: Photography; whether the photographer was recruited (a) via open and fair competition and (b) on a full-time contract; and what the pay grade of the…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question HL3199 on Government department: cost effectiveness, what requirements local authorities will have to make efficiency savings as part of the Spending Review Phase 2.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which individual funding streams to local government in 2025-26 are ring-fenced.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18565 on Recruitment: Location, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department are on location-neutral employment terms.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the responses to the consultation entitled Changes to various permitted development rights, which closed on on 9 April 2024.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the full internal Equality Impact Assessment for changes to Right to Buy discounts.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to commence section 113 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's letter to Leaders of all two-tier councils and neighbouring unitary authorities of 16 December 2024, what is the (a) process and (b) timetable for secondary legislation to postpone local…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 21478 on Local Government: Correspondence and with reference to the letter of 16 December 2024 to local authority leaders from the Minister for Local Government and…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the (a) cash and (b) real terms change in total government grant in (i) monetary and (ii) percentage terms is for each local authority in England from 2025-26 to 2026-27.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 21478 on Local Government: Correspondence, and with reference to the letter of 16 December 2024 to local council leaders from the Minister for Local Government and…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what her timetable is for the (a) publication and (b) passage of the English Devolution Bill; and whether she plans to consult on the…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16542 on Councillors: Data Protection, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using a Legislative Reform Order to remove the requirement for…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 21478 on Local Government: Correspondence and with reference to the letter of 16 December 2024 to council leaders from the Minister for Local Government and English…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14996 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if she will publish the planning representations made by the (a) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons her Department plans to close its offices in (a) Birmingham, (b) Exeter, (c) Truro, (d) Sheffield, (e) Warrington and (f) Newcastle; what estimate her Department has made of the cost of closing each…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much and proportion of local government core spending power was compromised of locally-retained business rate receipts in the 2024-25 financial year; and what estimate her Department has made of the revenue from…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department made of the revenue that would be raised by the (a) small business multiplier and (b) standard multiplier in the 2024-25 financial year; and how much was raised from hereditaments with a…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11925 on Council tax: Greater London, if she will publish a breakdown of the core spending power for 2024-25.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide additional funding via the Local Government Finance settlement to help local authorities with the cost of increases to employer national insurance contributions.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what datasets her Department used to calculate the Local Government Finance Settlement for financial year 2024-25.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.63 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what methodology her Department plans to use to allocate the £1.3 billion of grant funding for local government; and…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11925 on Council tax: Greater London, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) value and (b) proportionate increase of the (i) Transport for London and (ii)…
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Ministry of Justice
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance HM Prison and Probation Service has issued on political restrictions for Crown Servants by grade, including restrictions on standing for (a) local and (b) Parliamentary elections.
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Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued to local authorities on the use of (a) churches, (b) synagogues and (c) mosques as polling stations.
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued on the language of imprints.
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has provided on the resignation of election agents without the consent of the candidate after the close of nomination.
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how long the Electoral Commission will hold data from proposed returns under the Representation of the People Bill; and whether that data will be (a) published online and (b)…
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has provided on the withdrawal of certificates authorising party political descriptions before the close of nominations.
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued on declaring corporate sponsorship to Members’ Associations.
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has provided on whether named promoters on (a) hard copies and (b) digital imprints can be unincorporated associations.
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued to EROs on accepting scanned copies of postal vote application forms.
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To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has issued updated guidance following the passage of the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
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Treasury
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review the legal age at which an individual may enter into consumer credit and legally binding contracts.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the numeric value of the (a) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure and (b) high value multipliers will be (i) uprated by inflation each year within the 2026 revaluation cycle based on the previous values for both those respective multipliers, (ii) remain…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of uprating the monetary thresholds for (a) small business rate relief and (b) rural rate relief Rateable Value in the 2026 revaluation cycle in line with the change in aggregate Rateable Values since…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's statistics entitled Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation, published on 26 November 2025, for what reason the average Rateable Values of Royal Palaces…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the increase in business rates for pubs, after transitional relief, in each year of the 2026 revaluation cycle.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95881 on council tax, what data was provided to Office for Budget Responsibility by her Department to assist them in the calculation of the council tax receipts in England.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 52 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the estimated uplift in the non-payment rate of council tax.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the notional increase in revenue from the abolition of the 2025-26 centrally funded RHL relief in 2026-27.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and to the Answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, for what reason the £965 million…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what estimate her Department has…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, November 2025, page 44, what is the estimated effect on (a) rental prices and (b) house prices.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what methodology does the Valuation Office Agency use to calculate the difference in a dwelling’s sale price and its assessed council tax valuation value for leasehold properties with less than a 99 year lease.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Valuation Office Agency has (a) access to the data and (b) intends to makes use of the Department for Transport’s new Connectivity Tool when undertaking (a) council tax and (b) business rate valuations in (i) England and (ii) Wales.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2025, to Question HL12434, on Council tax: valuation, whether each of the property attributes in Question HL12434, are or were taken into account as a material consideration by the Valuation Office Agency during their…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to make further changes to business rate relief in 2026-27, further to the measures introduced at Budget 2025.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, November 2025, page 95, for what reason a policy costing is listed for council tax and fire authorities but not for other types of local authority.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 99189 on Private Rented Housing: Income Tax, whether her Department has made an assessment.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the average mean Rateable Value of a hereditament on the (a) 2023 Rating List and (b) 2026 Rating List, with the Valuation Office Agency's special category code of (i) 227 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme), (ii) 226 Public…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how does the Valuation Office estimate the value of a garden when valuing a dwelling for council tax in (a) England and (b) Wales.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many hereditaments are there with a Rateable Value of £500,000 or over in the 2026 Rating List, by Special Category code; and what is the average Rateable Value of a hereditament in that Special Category amongst the subset of those with a Rateable…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) hotels, (b) bed and breakfasts, (c) guest houses and (d) overnight camping groups are valued for business rates in England.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the statutory basis for the Valuation Office Agency to publish and share the council tax valuation list, and the banding of each dwelling, on gov.uk.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is her Department's estimate for annual CPI inflation in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29 financial years.
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) changes to employer National Insurance contributions and (b) other recent fiscal measures on (i) employment, (ii) investment and (iii) business closures in hospitality; and what steps she is taking…
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to extend deemed reseller rules to cover UK-established sellers to help mitigate potential risks of unfair competition from overseas sellers.
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