Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of offering publicly funded (a) services and (b) activities to asylum seekers on local community cohesion.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Home Office are responsible for asylum policy and the support provided to asylum seekers while they await the outcome of their asylum claim. The department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of providing publicly funded services and activities to asylum seekers.
On community cohesion more broadly, we are committed to bridging divisions between communities and challenging hatred, and we continue to work closely with community groups, charities, and public sector partners to achieve this. That is why MHCLG has launched a landmark £5 billion Pride in Place programme — backing the true patriots who build their communities up and choose unity over division.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 78216 on Community Relations: Expenditure, which places received funding; and how much each received.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Councils to receive funding through the Community Cohesion Resilience Programme were set out in my response to Parliamentary Question UIN 85786. The payments were made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, and the detail of the funding is set out in the grant determination.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the number and value of UK properties held by (1) direct trust ownership, (2) UK companies held via a trust, and (3) overseas companies held via a trust
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This information is not held by MHCLG, DBT or HM Land Registry.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which types of asylum seekers accommodation provided under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are subject to (a) council tax and (b) business rates; and what exemptions exist.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All properties are generally liable for either council tax or business rates. Whether a property is assessed for council tax or business rates will depend on whether it is assessed being primarily domestic (council tax) or non-domestic (business rates). There is no mandatory exemption in the council tax system for dwellings which are used for asylum purposes. To the extent that any asylum seekers accommodation is in a non-domestic use, no specific exemption is provided from business rates for such purposes.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2025 to Question 84635 on English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, if he will list each organisation that the Government discussed the Supplementary Vote with prior to the introduction of the Bill.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engaged with a wide range of local stakeholders during the development of all the measures in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. We engaged with local stakeholders on all the measures in the Bill ahead of the Bill’s introduction, including the Supplementary Vote change.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2025 to Question 84636 on Eden Project: Morecombe, if he will publish the Memorandum of Understanding; and what proportion of the £50 million of funding is conditional on matched funding.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have no plans to publish the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 19th November 2024 as the project information is published by the local authority responsible for the project. Available on gov.uk here.
The grant funding provided to the project is not conditional on match funding; however, the Local Authority is responsible for securing the additional funds required to deliver the benefits for which the funding was granted.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 28 October 2025, HCWS998, on Local government reorganisation, and with reference to the debt write-off of Woking Borough Council, whether he plans to do the same for any other councils following restructuring.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In general, as with previous rounds of local government reorganisation, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation.
Alongside Woking Borough Council, and as I set out on 13 October, Thurrock Council holds significant unsupported and exceptional debt that cannot be managed locally in its entirety as a result of historic capital practices. The Government has committed to providing debt repayment support. Any support will need to consider value for money for the taxpayer and what can be done locally to reduce debt. We will continue to work with the Council and Commissioners and provide further details in due course.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of real-terms reductions in core funding on the delivery of statutory services by Buckinghamshire Council.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has been listening closely to the views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation. No final decisions on the outcome of the review have yet been taken.
The vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement. We will publish further information in the government’s consultation response in Autumn, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 October 2025 entitled Local Government Reorganisation, HCWS998, what estimate his Department has made of the upfront costs to (a) local government and (b) central Government of the restructuring.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. hon Member to the answer given to UIN: 85785 on 4 November 2025. Exact costs and savings will vary depending on the area and the final decisions on which proposals, if any, are implemented.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Affordable housing set to benefit from £100 million following CMA probe, published on 9 July 2025, whether he has considered the potential merits of allocating the English portion of the £100 million to community-led housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As the Competition and Markets Authority set out in its final decision letter published on 30 October 2025 (which can be found on gov.uk here), the government will disburse England’s proportion of the payment to the affordable homes programmes delivered by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
While maximising supply is at the forefront of the SAHP, the programme is also designed to support greater diversity and supply of the different types of homes that can be delivered, as well as greater diversity in who delivers these homes.
We recognise that some types of social and affordable homes that are much needed can often cost more to deliver – such as some homes built by local councils, supported housing, community-led and rural homes. The new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed, and we are asking providers to come forward with ambitious bids that reflect this diversity.
The flexibility in grant rates provided for under the new programme will help community-led schemes achieve viability and help the sector grow towards its full potential.