Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Under consumer protection legislation enforced locally by Trading Standards, it is illegal to mislead consumers as to the nature of a product through labelling or other marketing.

With respect to food labelling, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency work closely with Local Authority Enforcement Officers who enforce food labelling rules in the UK, including country-of-origin labelling requirements.

Resourcing of Trading Standards is a matter for the relevant local authority. The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

The previous Conservative government introduced national fee caps of £500 for new pavement licence applications and £350 for renewals, which came into force on 31 March 2024. This remains unchanged.

We have committed to taking forward the recommendations of the Licensing Taskforce related to outdoor spaces by increasing the maximum term length for pavement licenses and consulting on the case for a minimum term length.

Where there are disputes between the notifying authority and the notified authority over which authority should be responsible for an applicant, the Homelessness (Decisions on Referrals) Order 1998 sets out a process for resolving the dispute. In these circumstances, the Local Government Association will typically mediate between the two authorities to resolve the dispute, and the Local Government Association has issued its own guidance for authorities for invoking this disputes procedure and agreeing a referee.

Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed. To support delivery of this duty, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has committed £499 million over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29.

An independent three-year evaluation commissioned by MHCLG examined the implementation of this duty and found that specialist ‘by and for’ services can be particularly effective in meeting the support needs of some groups of survivors, particularly those from minoritised communities. The evaluation also found that areas which commissioned by and for services were better able to meet the needs of diverse groups of victims. Survivors who accessed these services reported valuing support from staff who understood their background, culture and experiences. A copy of the evaluation is available on gov.uk here.

Interfaith relations are vital for strong, cohesive communities.

The Government is funding Inter Faith Week 2026, which provides a national platform for organisations and communities across England to come together, strengthen relationships between different faith and belief communities, and deliver joint interfaith activity. This funding supports the development of joint faith infrastructure by enabling organisations to collaborate and build connections through shared activity, including through a new microgrant scheme for grassroots organisations.

More broadly, the Government supports interfaith activity taking place in communities, including through programmes such as Near Neighbours and the Common Ground Resilience Fund. These programmes support local organisations to bring communities together, build relationships across faith and belief groups and strengthen community cohesion.

The Government continues to engage with the faith and belief sector as it considers the future of interfaith co-ordination in England, as faith is a devolved matter.

On his first day in office the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity. We are providing £442 million new funding to local areas through a new Rough Sleeping Programme to ensure that everyone who needs it is offered a route off the streets before Christmas this year, while providing longer-term accommodation and support for people with the most complex and long-term experiences of rough sleeping.

This takes total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to more than £4 billion.

The Programme has been designed to respond to the different pressures facing different parts of the country. Funding has been targeted towards areas with the greatest rough sleeping pressures, while giving Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local authorities flexibility to shape services around local needs and priorities. MHCLG will work closely with local areas and partners to support mobilisation and delivery.

The Government recognises that boosting demand is key to reducing high street vacancy rates. Through the new National Planning Policy Framework, we have placed a stronger emphasis on mixed-use development, including residential development in town centres.

We are also creating the conditions for businesses to occupy vacant units, including by reforming business rates and banning upwards-only rent reviews. We have also introduced High Street Rental Auctions giving local authorities powers to take over the lease of long-term vacant units and bring them back into use.

Later this year, the Government will publish its new High Streets Strategy, setting out further measures to support thriving, resilient high streets and town centres.

In line HM Treasury guidance, departments are expected to manage new pressures within existing budgets and therefore maintain robust contingency arrangements. Departments are required to identify around 5 percent of their allocated Departmental Expenditure Limits that could be reprioritised if unforeseen pressures arise, either through unallocated provision, contingency plans, or a combination of the two.

Consistent with this approach, MHCLG retains a degree of budget flexibility rather than committing all funding at the start of the financial year. The precise level of flexibility changes as budgets are allocated and decisions taken over the course of the financial year and the Spending Review period.

In MHCLG savings are recorded by the Department’s Commercial Team in line with the cross government methodology agreed by Cabinet Office, Government Commercial and Finance Functions, this captures and reports savings over the duration of contacts. In 2025/26 an additional 212 individual savings records were added to the system in addition to those recorded in prior years. Savings were generated through a combination of competitive tendering and negotiation/renegotiation of contracts and scopes of works. This includes where appropriate the use of should cost models in line with the Government’s Sourcing Playbooks.

A total of 4,573 financial corrections were applied across the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014-20 England Programme, with a cumulative value of £73,454,209.

My Department was responsible for managing the UK’s participation in nine 2014-2020 Interreg Programmes, which have now closed. My Department has not been notified of any financial correction applied by the European Commission or the European Court of Auditors.

As set out in the answer of 14 July 2026 to Question 14926, departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets to fund this Government’s Defence Investment Plan.

Revisions to departmental capital budgets will be reported to Parliament through the usual estimates process.

The Local Government DEL budget does not include capital expenditure and therefore no Local Government CDEL allocation is held.

As set out in the answer of 14 July 2026 to Question 14926, departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets to fund this Government’s Defence Investment Plan.

Revisions to departmental capital budgets will be reported to Parliament through the usual estimates process.

The Local Government DEL budget does not include capital expenditure and therefore no Local Government CDEL allocation is held.

The Department keeps its workplace attendance arrangements under regular review and is satisfied that staff assigned to the Darlington campus have adequate access to office accommodation to support required attendance levels. Attendance expectations are applied alongside agreed workplace attendance exceptions where appropriate. Based on the most recent quarter, the attendance target for Darlington was 28%, reflecting the impact of approved exceptions, and actual attendance was 29%, exceeding the target for that period.

The Department's current workplace attendance expectations for Darlington are that Senior Civil Servants spend an average of 60% of their working time in the office, while junior colleagues are expected to spend an average of 40% of their working time in the office.

The multiple disadvantage research carried out by Verian included the preparation of a series of webinars which will share the learning generated from the evaluation of Changing Futures 1 with the sector, and internal work to support the design and delivery of the evaluation of Changing Futures 2.

MHCLG manages its budgets in line with HM Treasury guidance. I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer given to UIN 22099, tabled on 28 August 2026, for further information on the department's budget management practices.

MHCLG holds information relating to new spending proposals that are subject to departmental approval processes, including in areas such as property, advertising, consultancy, technology and commercial activity.

The information held will vary depending on the nature of the approval proposal but will likely include details such as the contract value, duration and supplier information. Relevant approvals and assurances required as part of departmental governance processes are also captured. Consultancy and professional services spending is subject to specific approval arrangements within the Department.

The number of buildings 11 metres over in height identified with unsafe cladding in the Building Safety Remediation data release already includes social sector buildings. Overall remediation progress information on social sector buildings is available in the Overall remediation progress section of the data release, as well as in the ACM remediation, Building Safety Fund, Cladding Safety Scheme and Social housing self-funded remediation sections of the release.

This Government is committed to ensuring that fire and rescue services can draw on national capabilities, enabling them to respond effectively to large-scale or critical incidents.

Government funds specialist national resilience capabilities, ensuring national assets - such as urban search and rescue; high volume pumps; and mass decontamination – are strategically located across the country for times of need.

My department funds the national resilience lead authority in Merseyside to deliver a range of services, including capability assurance, to ensure National Resilience Capabilities operate effectively across the country.

The National Coordination and Advisory Framework (NCAF) provides robust and flexible arrangements for mutual aid and the mobilisation of specialist and conventional resources from across England where an incident, or combination of concurrent incidents, places demands beyond the capabilities or capacity of an individual service.

The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out action to tackle the worst forms of temporary accommodation and supporting councils to develop better alternatives. These actions include increasing the supply of good quality, affordable temporary accommodation by delivering up to 5,000 homes by 2030 through the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund 2026-2030; a national target to end the unlawful use of B&B accommodation for families; and continuing to work with local authorities with the highest use of B&B accommodation over the next three years, through an expanded Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme backed by £30 million funding.

This government is investing more than £4 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services, alongside the wider resources made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement. This includes £969 million over three years which has been rolled into the core Revenue Support Grant for temporary accommodation (previously part of the Homelessness Prevention Grant). Further information can be found here.

For the London Borough of Havering, the multi-year Settlement makes available up to £329.7 million in Core Spending Power by 2028-29, an above average increase of 33.5% compared to 2024-25, equivalent to £82.8 million.

The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade.

As a result of the fair funding review reforms, nine in ten councils will receive funding that broadly matches their assessed relative need by the end of the multi-year Settlement, up from around a third before our reforms.

The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in August 2026, gives substantial weight to the benefits of providing new or improved public service infrastructure, including healthcare facilities.

The NPPF is clear that existing community facilities and public services should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on their current or permitted operation as a result of development being approved after they were established. This means that development proposals should be capable of being integrated effectively with existing public service activities and infrastructure in their vicinity including blue light services.

Where the operation of an existing activity could have a significant adverse effect on a proposed new development in its vicinity, development proposals should identify the nature of the potential impacts and be able to demonstrate that suitable mitigation can be provided before the development has begun.

The new NPPF and the government’s response to the consultation are available on gov.uk here.

This government implementing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which will introduce licensing and national support standards across England to ensure supported housing residents receive support tailored to their individual needs. I will publish a consultation on the draft licensing regulations later this year.

Alongside this, the department has issued guidance and provided new burdens funding to support local authorities in developing supported housing strategies, which will assess the supply and demand for different types of supported housing in their areas.

While these reforms are being implemented, my officials continue to work closely with Birmingham City Council to address concerns about supported exempt accommodation.

Local authorities already have a range of powers to tackle poor-quality accommodation. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing schemes play an important role in ensuring properties are safe, well maintained and properly managed, and councils have robust enforcement powers where landlords fail to comply.

Local planning authorities also have a wide range of enforcement powers, backed by strong penalties for non-compliance with planning regulations. However, it is for individual authorities to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate in the circumstances of each case.

This government implementing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which will introduce licensing and national support standards across England to ensure supported housing residents receive support tailored to their individual needs. I will publish a consultation on the draft licensing regulations later this year.

Alongside this, the department has issued guidance and provided new burdens funding to support local authorities in developing supported housing strategies, which will assess the supply and demand for different types of supported housing in their areas.

While these reforms are being implemented, my officials continue to work closely with Birmingham City Council to address concerns about supported exempt accommodation.

Local authorities already have a range of powers to tackle poor-quality accommodation. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing schemes play an important role in ensuring properties are safe, well maintained and properly managed, and councils have robust enforcement powers where landlords fail to comply.

Local planning authorities also have a wide range of enforcement powers, backed by strong penalties for non-compliance with planning regulations. However, it is for individual authorities to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate in the circumstances of each case.

This government implementing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which will introduce licensing and national support standards across England to ensure supported housing residents receive support tailored to their individual needs. I will publish a consultation on the draft licensing regulations later this year.

Alongside this, the department has issued guidance and provided new burdens funding to support local authorities in developing supported housing strategies, which will assess the supply and demand for different types of supported housing in their areas.

While these reforms are being implemented, my officials continue to work closely with Birmingham City Council to address concerns about supported exempt accommodation.

Local authorities already have a range of powers to tackle poor-quality accommodation. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing schemes play an important role in ensuring properties are safe, well maintained and properly managed, and councils have robust enforcement powers where landlords fail to comply.

Local planning authorities also have a wide range of enforcement powers, backed by strong penalties for non-compliance with planning regulations. However, it is for individual authorities to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate in the circumstances of each case.

Decisions on the procurement and operational use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and respiratory protective equipment (RPE) for wildfire incidents are matters for individual fire and rescue authorities and services. Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for planning for foreseeable risks in their areas, including wildfire, and for ensuring they have the appropriate capabilities, equipment and resources in place to respond safely and effectively.

On his first day in office the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity. We are providing £442 million new funding to local areas through a new Rough Sleeping Programme to ensure that everyone who needs it is offered a route off the streets before Christmas this year, while providing longer-term accommodation and support for people with the most complex and long-term experiences of rough sleeping.

Funding has been targeted towards areas with the greatest rough sleeping pressures, while giving Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local authorities flexibility to shape services around local needs and priorities. A full breakdown of allocations of funding, including for West Midlands Combined Authority, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleeping-programme. MHCLG will continue to work closely with the Mayoral Strategic Authority and Birmingham City Council to develop plans for accommodation and support provision through the Programme.

These measures build on the Government's wider action to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, and take total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to more than £4 billion. Further details of the Government's most recent measures are set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 1 September 2026 (HCWS300).

The department retains information from public consultations/calls for evidence only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the relevant business need and statutory requirements. The department's standard retention period for public consultation responses is two years from the consultation closing date, although this is a guideline rather than a fixed requirement, and the final retention period is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Retention decisions must comply with data protection principles, including data minimisation and storage limitation, ensuring personal data is kept only for as long as necessary. For example, confidential or sensitive personal information may require a shorter retention period and may be deleted or anonymised once analysis is complete.

The applicable retention period for personal information is normally set out in the published consultation documentation.

Similarly decisions on retention of summaries of responses will be determined on a case-by-case basis in line with the departmental retention policy. Retention decisions are made by officials responsible for the consultation/call for evidence in consultation with the department’s records management and data protection teams.

Government responses to consultations are published in line with Government Consultation Principles Guidance Consultation principles: guidance - GOV.UK . The Government does not routinely publish details of individual respondents to calls for evidence.

The department retains information from public consultations/calls for evidence only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the relevant business need and statutory requirements. The department's standard retention period for public consultation responses is two years from the consultation closing date, although this is a guideline rather than a fixed requirement, and the final retention period is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Retention decisions must comply with data protection principles, including data minimisation and storage limitation, ensuring personal data is kept only for as long as necessary. For example, confidential or sensitive personal information may require a shorter retention period and may be deleted or anonymised once analysis is complete.

The applicable retention period for personal information is normally set out in the published consultation documentation.

Similarly decisions on retention of summaries of responses will be determined on a case-by-case basis in line with the departmental retention policy. Retention decisions are made by officials responsible for the consultation/call for evidence in consultation with the department’s records management and data protection teams.

Government responses to consultations are published in line with Government Consultation Principles Guidance Consultation principles: guidance - GOV.UK . The Government does not routinely publish details of individual respondents to calls for evidence.

All communicators are members of the Government Communication Service.

All communicators are members of the Government Communication Service.

The leaseholder protections introduced through the Building Safety Act 2022 provide vital protection for leaseholders from the costs of remediating historical building safety defects.

The Government recognises that some leaseholders remain outside the scope of existing protections and is keeping this under review, including considering options to provide further support to those affected by building safety defects.

The government is committed to ensuring fire and rescue services have the resources they need to keep communities safe.

Firefighter pay is the responsibility of the National Joint Council (NJC), made up of the National Employers and trade unions. The government has no role in the NJC negotiations or in setting firefighter pay.

On 9 February, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue.

This marks the first multi-year funding Settlement for local government in 10 years, giving local authorities the certainty to plan and invest for the long term.

The Local Government Finance Settlement made available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, we will have provided a 12.75% increase in CSP compared to 2025/26.

This financial year, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £105.36 million, an increase of 3.80% compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how their resourced, retained and best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of Sates Oral Statement on 7 September.

The technical annex on the resources adjustment published at the final Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 sets out how the band D equivalent council tax base is calculated (Technical annex on the Resources Adjustment (measure of tax base) - GOV.UK). The technical annex publishes authority-level Band D equivalent tax base figures used in the modelling of the resource adjustment.

The notional council tax used in this adjustment is set at the average level of Council Tax in England. This includes the social care precept and the fire precept but does not include police or parish precepts. Mayoral precepts are not included, except for the fire element.

In response to UIN 20355, the department does not make such a comparison.

The technical annex on the resources adjustment published at the final Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 sets out how the band D equivalent council tax base is calculated (Technical annex on the Resources Adjustment (measure of tax base) - GOV.UK). The technical annex publishes authority-level Band D equivalent tax base figures used in the modelling of the resource adjustment.

The notional council tax used in this adjustment is set at the average level of Council Tax in England. This includes the social care precept and the fire precept but does not include police or parish precepts. Mayoral precepts are not included, except for the fire element.

In response to UIN 20355, the department does not make such a comparison.

The technical annex on the resources adjustment published at the final Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 sets out how the band D equivalent council tax base is calculated (Technical annex on the Resources Adjustment (measure of tax base) - GOV.UK). The technical annex publishes authority-level Band D equivalent tax base figures used in the modelling of the resource adjustment.

The notional council tax used in this adjustment is set at the average level of Council Tax in England. This includes the social care precept and the fire precept but does not include police or parish precepts. Mayoral precepts are not included, except for the fire element.

In response to UIN 20355, the department does not make such a comparison.

The Local Growth Fund represents a significant change in the UK Government’s approach to local growth investment, with a greater focus on long-term capital investment to support economic growth. MHCLG has worked closely with the Welsh Government on the design and implementation of the Fund, through which Wales will receive £546.5 million during this Spending Review period to support transformational projects and create lasting jobs and opportunities across Wales.

Fire and rescue services have been responding to an exceptionally challenging period of wildfire activity, with multiple significant incidents being managed simultaneously across England and Wales.

Measures have already been utilised to assist with the response to emergencies such as the ban on the disposable BBQs introduced on 14 August as well as use of the emergency alert system across the East of England and other parts of the UK. These are options that will assist emergency services going forward.

This year, we have made available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power to standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester) through the Local Government Finance Settlement. It is for each fire and rescue authority to decide how best to use that funding, including for wildfire training, preparation and prevention, based on local risk.

The Local Government Finance Settlement made available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England. We work closely with fire and rescue services to ensure they can prepare for and manage local risks. Decisions on how fire and rescue authorities use their resources and equipment to meet those risks are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

We’re investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, part of which includes more specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters that can deploy nationally to support in wildfires across the country.

The Local Government Finance Settlement made available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England. We work closely with fire and rescue services to ensure they can prepare for and manage local risks. Decisions on how fire and rescue authorities use their resources and equipment to meet those risks are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

We’re investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, part of which includes more specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters that can deploy nationally to support in wildfires across the country.

Effective ventilation plays an important role in maintaining good indoor air quality. The Government sets standards for this mainly through Part F (Ventilation) of the Building Regulations, which applies primarily to new buildings. Approved Document F provides guidance on meeting minimum ventilation requirements, to provide fresh air for occupant health and reduce risks from pollutants, moisture, condensation and mould.

The Government has recently published updates to Approved Document F. These changes include improvements to commissioning, testing and installer competence, and revisions made in response to concerns about design flexibility, ensuring systems work as intended once homes are occupied. The changes will come into force in March 2027 for non-Higher Risk Building Work.

Indoor air quality in existing properties is addressed separately. Awaab’s Law requires social landlords to investigate and remedy damp and mould hazards within set timescales. Private landlords are already required to provide homes that are fit for human habitation, and local authorities must take enforcement action where the most dangerous hazards, including damp and mould, are identified.

From 2035, the Government is strengthening these protections by applying the new Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time.

The two cases referred to in the Annual Report and Accounts were cases of prevented fraud. Homes England identified suspected false representations through the controls it has in place to assess funding applications, and those controls operated effectively and both applications were stopped before any funding was awarded

The cases were not reported directly to the police because no funding was awarded and the suspected activity was disrupted before a loss occurred. Homes England instead referred the matter to the National Crime Agency through the Suspicious Activity Reporting regime, which was considered the appropriate route for sharing the intelligence.

Under the Developer Remediation Contract, developers committed to fix or pay to fix over 2,600 buildings at a cost to themselves of around £4.2bn. This includes repaying taxpayers for money spent to fix any of those buildings through government schemes.

The terms of the Contract, which are publicly available, provide for any developer who signed it to request a payment plan to allow it to spread those repayments over an agreed period, with interest.

Developer eligibility is informed by due diligence undertaken by government.

To date, government has agreed a payment plan with one developer (Avant Homes).