Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Ten major mortgage lenders have signed the updated joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. Officials in my department engage with lenders individually should we receive evidence to suggest a signatory is not upholding the statement. The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners impacted by building safety issues who have difficulty selling or remortgaging their properties.

The leaseholder protections give greater protection from costs to shared ownership leases. Specifically, holders of qualifying leases which were shared ownership leases as of 14 February 2022 have lower maximum contribution caps, proportional to their share of ownership of the property on that date. Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further. The Leaseholder Protections balance the rights of leaseholders with those of those freeholders not connected with the developer who were equally innocent in the creation of the emerging defects.

Ten major mortgage lenders have signed the updated joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, where the building is in a remediation scheme or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. Officials in my department engage with lenders individually should we receive evidence to suggest a signatory is not upholding the statement. The Government does not collect data on the number of shared owners impacted by building safety issues who have difficulty selling or remortgaging their properties.

The leaseholder protections give greater protection from costs to shared ownership leases. Specifically, holders of qualifying leases which were shared ownership leases as of 14 February 2022 have lower maximum contribution caps, proportional to their share of ownership of the property on that date. Government is not currently considering expanding the leaseholder protections further. The Leaseholder Protections balance the rights of leaseholders with those of those freeholders not connected with the developer who were equally innocent in the creation of the emerging defects.

As set out in the provisional settlement, we will continue to have a framework to support councils and have set the process out in communication with the sector. Councils should engage with the department as soon as they have concerns about their ability to set or maintain a balanced budget or if they are considering submitting a request to be considered for higher council tax referendum thresholds in 2026-27. All discussions will be treated in confidence, but we will publish details of any support provided, including bespoke referendum principles at the Local Government Financial Settlement.

We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits on their accounts and that they will need continued support during the transition to a reformed Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. This will include working with local authorities to manage their SEND system, including deficits. On 23 June, as part of the Fair Funding Review 2.0, we announced a two-year extension to the DSG Statutory Override, now due to end in March 2028.

We will provide further detail on our plans to support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits later in the Settlement process.

My department monitors individual councils, including Kent, through a wide range of data and direct engagement. We continually review local authority governance, financial management, and sustainability, including through examining national data metrics, local authority documents, reports from auditors and inspectorates, and letters from residents. Where we become aware of early indications of best value failure, we consider a range of ways to closely monitor an authority’s progress. We will continue to monitor risk in individual councils, and we will act where necessary to ensure that councils meet their best value duty and are transparent and accountable to their residents.

On 5 February 2025, the Government issued invitations to councils in two-tier areas in England and neighbouring unitary councils to prepare proposals for local government reorganisation.

The Government will work with these areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible. The exact timings and details will depend on the decisions taken on which proposal, if any, to implement. On the most ambitious timelines, elections to new unitary councils could take place in May 2027, ahead of "go live” date of 1 April 2028.

Surrey is operating on an accelerated timeline and we anticipate elections to the new unitary authorities will take place on May 2026, ahead of a vesting date of 1 April 2027.

This government takes democracy very seriously. In the spirit of devolution and trusting local leaders we have listened to councils telling us about the capacity constraints they are operating within and the work that reorganisation introduces on top of existing challenges.

On 18 December I invited councils undergoing local government reorganisation with local elections in May 2026 to set out their views on the postponement of their local election and if they consider this could release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation and will consider all the representations we receive by the deadline of 15th January. The Secretary of State will consider the position of each council individually, weighing up the evidence received.

This government takes democracy very seriously. In the spirit of devolution and trusting local leaders we have listened to councils telling us about the capacity constraints they are operating within and the work that reorganisation introduces on top of existing challenges.

On 18 December I invited councils undergoing local government reorganisation with local elections in May 2026 to set out their views on the postponement of their local election and if they consider this could release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation and will consider all the representations we receive by the deadline of 15th January. The Secretary of State will consider the position of each council individually, weighing up the evidence received.

Thurrock Commissioners were involved in the development of reorganisation proposals and my officials met with them in the course of those and other responsibilities.

The Department met with councils following the submission of proposals on 26 September, and officers from Basildon attended the meeting on the five unitary authority proposal meeting in November.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage visited Basildon on 12 December, where local government reorganisation was raised.

On the wider question of Thurrock’s debt and the general handling of council debt, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77936 on 13 October 2025.

Thurrock Commissioners were involved in the development of reorganisation proposals and my officials met with them in the course of those and other responsibilities.

The Department met with councils following the submission of proposals on 26 September, and officers from Basildon attended the meeting on the five unitary authority proposal meeting in November.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage visited Basildon on 12 December, where local government reorganisation was raised.

On the wider question of Thurrock’s debt and the general handling of council debt, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77936 on 13 October 2025.

Thurrock Commissioners were involved in the development of reorganisation proposals and my officials met with them in the course of those and other responsibilities.

The Department met with councils following the submission of proposals on 26 September, and officers from Basildon attended the meeting on the five unitary authority proposal meeting in November.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage visited Basildon on 12 December, where local government reorganisation was raised.

On the wider question of Thurrock’s debt and the general handling of council debt, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77936 on 13 October 2025.

No decisions have yet been taken on reorganisation in Essex, Southend on Sea and Thurrock and as such the Secretary of State has not had discussions on any expected change in the number of councillors.

On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities and their neighbouring small unitary councils to develop proposals for unitary local government. In those proposals, areas were asked to include details of the expected number of councillors for any new unitary council. The four proposals submitted by councils in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock each included councillor numbers. Consultation on these proposals closed on 11 January 2026. The Secretary of State will now consider the proposals, alongside consultation responses and other available evidence, before deciding which, if any, to implement.

The government considers reserves to be an important part of the resources available to local authorities.

We encourage local authorities to consider how they can use their reserves to maintain services in the face of pressures, taking account, of course, of the need to maintain appropriate levels of reserves to support their financial sustainability and future investment.

Local authority revenue expenditure and financing data, which includes data on the level of local authority reserves held over the last decade, is published on gov.uk at the following link.

Further information about an individual local authority's reserves can be found in the financial accounts published by that authority. The government will continue to monitor the level of local authority reserves.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has a duty to maintain an accurate list of council tax bands. As part of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS), announced at budget, the VOA will conduct a targeted valuation exercise to identify properties in scope of the surcharge. This will be conducted without reference to existing council tax bands. A consultation on the HVCTS will be published in due course. Properties will not be revalued for the purposes of council tax as part of the HVCTS. The Government is committed to ensuring the council tax system is fair for taxpayers and local authorities and will continue to keep council tax under review.

In our invitation on 5 February 2025, we set out guidance to support councils as they develop reorganisation proposals that are in the best interests of their areas. This includes guidance on issues of size, sensible geographies, efficiencies and financial sustainability. The criteria we will assess proposals against includes the ability to achieve financial efficiencies.

It is for councils to develop and submit robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. Once a proposal has been submitted it will be for the Government, whilst having due regard to the criteria and the available relevant evidence, to decide on which proposal, if any, to take forward.

In our invitation on 5 February 2025, we set out guidance to support councils as they develop reorganisation proposals that are in the best interests of their areas. This includes guidance on issues of size, sensible geographies, efficiencies and financial sustainability. The criteria we will assess proposals against includes the ability to achieve financial efficiencies.

It is for councils to develop and submit robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. Once a proposal has been submitted it will be for the Government, whilst having due regard to the criteria and the available relevant evidence, to decide on which proposal, if any, to take forward.

We anticipate the vast majority of local council workers will transfer to roles in the relevant new unitary council and all workers will be protected by the relevant employment laws.

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) collect the Unitary Payment information for all PFI Contracts held by Local Authorities annually as part of the HM Treasury PFI Data collection exercise. This is shared with relevant Sponsoring Government Departments on a project-by-project basis, the data is not aggregated by Authority but shown per contract.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77631 on 13 October 2025.

Local authorities are responsible for their own capital strategies and financial management, including borrowing and investment decisions. They must, however, comply with statutory duties and guidance to ensure that all decisions are prudent, affordable and sustainable and consistent with their Best Value duty.

The PFI Programme team attend regular intelligence sharing forums with other teams in the Department who are responsible for overseeing local authority financial stability. The Department provides PFI grant funding to its local authority PFI contracts funding the capital elements of the projects, this ranges 50-70% of the annual Unitary Charge. Local authorities are contractually obliged to pay the annual Unitary Charge under the terms of their PFI Contract. The PFI Grant paid by the Department was awarded by HM Treasury at the Financial Close of the Project Procurement and is paid for the whole of the PFI Contract term to support the Unitary Charge payment.

The £500 million funding for the Fair Pay Agreement is part of an increase of around £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028-29, compared to 2025-26, and is part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement published on 17 December 2025. The Government has published an impact assessment of the Fair Pay Agreement, which outlines our best current summary of the evidence on potential impacts, costs and benefits, including on local government finances. The Impact Assessment can be found here.

As set out at the 2026/27 provisional local government finance settlement, the £502 million Employer National Insurance Contributions Grant from 2025/26 will be consolidated into the Revenue Support Grant. As outlined in the explanatory note on Mayoral Strategic Authority funding existing Strategic Authorities will receive the Mayoral Capacity Fund in 2026/27, which takes account of their allocation from Employer National Insurance Contributions Grant from 2025/26.

Police authorities received funding for the increase in employee National Insurance Contributions separately.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.

The consultation includes policies relating to sustainable transport and updated policy on parking standards. It proposes that maximum parking standards should be set where they will support efforts to encourage the use of sustainable transport modes, optimise the density of development in well-connected locations, or where they are necessary for managing the local road network.

As is the case now, it will be for local planning authorities to determine appropriate parking standards for their area through the plan-making process.

The consultation is open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97317 on 12 December 2025.

This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. 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.

The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For Surrey Council, we are making available up to £1.3 billion in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of up to 6.9% compared to 2024–25. For Surrey Heath Council, we are making available up to £15.4 million in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of up to 2.4% compared to 2024–25.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77631 on 13 October 2025.

As part of the provisional settlement the Government has made estimates of changes to Core Spending power between 2026 and 2029. This includes estimates of the council tax requirements councils will set for those years. These estimates are set out here - Core Spending Power table: provisional local government finance settlement 2026 to 2029 - GOV.UK. These estimates exclude parish precepts, police and crime commissioner precepts, as well as the High Value Council Tax Surcharge being introduced from 2028.

Provisional allocations of the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant have been published on gov.uk here. Final allocations will be published in due course.

The government publishes homelessness and rough sleeping data for England on gov.uk here. This includes data on the number of people owed a homelessness duty due to leaving asylum accommodation and the number of people seen sleeping rough who had left asylum accommodation within the last 85 days.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.

The draft Framework incorporates policies relating to traveller sites, currently set out in Planning Policy For Traveller Sites, within relevant chapters.

The government recognises that there are particular concerns about the ability of local planning authorities to deal with intentional unauthorised development. The consultation on the revised NPPF seeks views on strengthening the policy on intentional unauthorised development.

The consultation is open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

It is not within HM Land Registry's remit to conduct estimates of potential impacts of the number of years of the lease length and the capital value for flats or houses.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes a list of Written Ministerial Statements and other documents where the planning policy stated within them is reflected in the proposed NPPF policies on which we are consulting, or which no longer represents government policy. The changes would not affect other content in the Written Ministerial Statements concerned.

The consultation includes policy designed to facilitate and safeguard the provision of community facilities such as public houses.

The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.

Proposed Green Belt policy is set out in Chapter 13 of the consultation which can be found on gov.uk here.

A proposal to build a crematorium would be assessed by the relevant local planning authority in the light of all material considerations, including the NPPF, relevant development plan policies and any specific land-use impacts associated with the proposal.

The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

As is usual practice, my Department will publish relevant information on the Verian study on the evaluation registry in due course. This will include the rationale and methods of the evaluation, alongside publication dates. The report findings will be published two and five years after the Renters’ Rights Act implementation date of 1 May 2026.

The Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) is expected to be onboarded onto the Government Major Programmes Portfolio (GMPP).

In line with the HM Treasury guidance for GMPP programmes, the SAHP intends to publish a summary of its Programme Business Case (PBC) within four months of HM Treasury’s formal approval of the PBC.

My Department is working to update the land use statistics’ methodology to take advantage of new, more granular data from Ordnance Survey. Publication is expected to resume this year.

The government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector.

Following the close of the private parking Code of Practice consultation on 26^th September 2025, all responses are now being analysed, and the government will publish a response detailing its final proposals in due course.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances in rural areas.

To promote sustainable development, housing should be located where it will support and enhance the vitality of rural communities, especially where this will support local services.

The Framework is also clear that significant development should be focused on locations which are, or can be made, sustainable, through limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes. It also notes that opportunities to maximise sustainable transport solutions will vary between urban and rural areas, and this should be taken into account in both plan-making and decision-making.

The Framework sets out that development should only be prevented or refused on highways grounds if there would be an unacceptable impact on highway safety, or the residual cumulative impacts on the road network, following mitigation, would be severe, taking into account all reasonable future scenarios.

The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes policies on housing and sustainable transport.

The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances in rural areas.

To promote sustainable development, housing should be located where it will support and enhance the vitality of rural communities, especially where this will support local services.

The Framework is also clear that significant development should be focused on locations which are, or can be made, sustainable, through limiting the need to travel and offering a genuine choice of transport modes. It also notes that opportunities to maximise sustainable transport solutions will vary between urban and rural areas, and this should be taken into account in both plan-making and decision-making.

The Framework sets out that development should only be prevented or refused on highways grounds if there would be an unacceptable impact on highway safety, or the residual cumulative impacts on the road network, following mitigation, would be severe, taking into account all reasonable future scenarios.

The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes policies on housing and sustainable transport.

The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

The government is committed to supporting the community affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy for the long term.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government agreed to provide c£25m towards the refurbishment of the Lancaster West estate on the assumption that this funding was to be matched by Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and that no further funding would be required from Government.

My officials have been engaging with RBKC, who lead on the refurbishment of the estate, to fully understand the cause of the shortfall and the Council’s plans for delivery.

The firefighters’ pension aggregation issue remains subject to litigation, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 2026. While we are not yet able to provide a definitive timeline, we will update the sector as soon as we are in a position to do so.

We recognise that pubs are an important part of the social fabric of the UK, places that are focal points of many communities, where people from different backgrounds can mix and generate a sense of belonging. That is why we are introducing Community Right to Buy so people can protect pubs that mean so much to their communities. We are also taking steps to support the viability of pubs, such as introducing legislation to ban upwards only rent reviews in commercial leases, reforming licensing rules, and committing funding to support rural pubs to diversify their services.

The department engages regularly with Birmingham City Council and Commissioners, as is normal for all Councils under intervention, and continues to monitor the disruption caused by the bin strikes and the associated impact to the residents of the city.

The waste dispute is a local issue and is rightly being dealt with by the Council. The Government has no formal role in this matter. Waste management funding arrangements are also a matter for the Council and the department does not pay for waste management services on behalf of councils.

The department engages regularly with Birmingham City Council and Commissioners, as is normal for all Councils under intervention, and continues to monitor the disruption caused by the bin strikes and the associated impact to the residents of the city.

The waste dispute is a local issue and is rightly being dealt with by the Council. The Government has no formal role in this matter. Waste management funding arrangements are also a matter for the Council and the department does not pay for waste management services on behalf of councils.