Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 correspondence entitled 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027, published on 27 January 2026, for pubs eligible for the £800 Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR) cap, whether the 15% pubs relief (a) reduces the £800 cap to £680 and (b) reduces the rates liability by 15% before any £800 cap is applied.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Properties eligible for the pub and live music venue relief scheme will benefit from a 15% relief in 2026/27. The 15% relief will be applied after the existing Supporting Small Business Relief scheme.
The Treasury have published examples of how the pub and live music venue relief scheme will work. Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to publish proposals for a long-term funding settlement for adult social care during this Parliament.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-27 to 2028-29 sets out multi-year
settlements for local authorities, including upper tier authorities that have social care responsibilities. As part of this, the government have set out the funding available to local authorities for adult social care over three years, with around £4.6 billion of additional funding being made available for adult social care in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26.
Alongside a document setting out priority outcomes and expectations for local authorities’ delivery of adult social care from 2026-27, the Department of Health and Social Care has published local authority level notional allocations for adult social care to facilitate local authority budget setting and plans to progress the delivery of adult social care priorities. Notional allocations are not formal spend expectations but will instead act as a reference point to support local authorities in budget-setting. These will be reviewed annually to reflect new data and any wider changes in local government funding.
The provisional Local Government Settlement consultation has closed and the government will publish the final details in due course.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to implement the legislative changes proposed in the 'Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England' consultation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published its response to the consultation “Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England” in November 2025.
We intend to legislate on local government standards reforms when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which scheduled town or parish council elections will take place in May 2026 in localities where scheduled principal council elections will be postponed in May 2026 by district council.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parish and town council elections will be proceeding as planned, given they are outside of local government reorganisation. Information on town and parish councils elections is held by the relevant district councils.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether all units in a multi-phase development scheme under the Affordable Homes Programme would be defined as a "start on site" when only part of the scheme has commenced enabling works.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The definition of start on site for the Affordable Homes Programme is set out in the Capital Funding Guides (attached) for Homes England and Greater London Authority. Start on site is achieved when:
Start on site can be recorded where demolition works, or other infrastructure work eligible under the published definition, have commenced.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a unit would be defined as a "start of site" if the building designs had not been updated to comply with fire-safety regulations.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The definition of start on site for the Affordable Homes Programme is set out in the Capital Funding Guides (attached) for Homes England and Greater London Authority. Start on site is achieved when:
Start on site can be recorded where demolition works, or other infrastructure work eligible under the published definition, have commenced.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a unit would be defined as a "start on site" under the Affordable Homes Programme were it located on part of a site where existing residents are living in buildings that would need to be demolished before development can begin.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The definition of start on site for the Affordable Homes Programme is set out in the Capital Funding Guides (attached) for Homes England and Greater London Authority. Start on site is achieved when:
Start on site can be recorded where demolition works, or other infrastructure work eligible under the published definition, have commenced.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the current legal grounds for local authorities to postpone local elections planned in May.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The legal basis for postponing local elections is set out in section 87 of the Local Government Act 2000, which gives the Secretary of State, not local authorities, the power to change the year in which ordinary local elections are held by an order which is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
In order to inform his decisions on postponing the May 2026 elections, the Secretary of State wrote to councils on 18 December inviting leaders to set out if a postponement in their area would help release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 issued guidance to local authorities on the assessment of entitlement to a Council Tax reduction for residents who are in receipt of Universal Credit.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department has not issued any recent guidance to local authorities on the assessment of entitlement to a council tax reduction for residents who are in receipt of Universal Credit. The administration of council tax reduction for working-age claimants is the responsibility of local authorities. The government encourages taxpayers who are in hardship to contact their local authority to discuss their options.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to launch the Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme; and whether that programme will include the expansion of Housing First.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We will launch our £15 million Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme shortly. The funding will enable councils to trial and deliver new approaches to support people furthest away from resolving their rough sleeping.
The government will provide £3.5 billion funding for homelessness services from 2026/27 to 2028/29, of which over £3 billion will be allocated to local government through the Local Government Finance Settlement. Councils can use this funding flexibly to meet the needs of people in their areas, including by commissioning Housing First services which evidence has shown can transform the lives of people with complex needs.