Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the average time taken to complete cladding remediation works on residential buildings of approximately 20 to 25 storeys; what evidence underpins an estimated 24-month completion timeframe for such projects; and whether he will publish a percentage breakdown of remediation projects completed within 18 months, within 24 months, and beyond 24 months.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department’s data collection is focussed on height thresholds as this is the current determinant of programme eligibility. We expect buildings of 20 to 25 storeys to make up a very small proportion of those requiring remediation.
Based on the reported remediation start and completion dates, and storey information provided for the 24 buildings known to be 20 to 25 storeys, which have completed remediation and for which start and end dates have been reported, the average time taken to complete remediation on site is 24 months.
The Department does not work to an assumption on the time take to complete remediation of buildings of this height group (20 to 25 storeys) - and does not currently publish information on the time taken to complete remediation.
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 British High Commission Islamabad news story of 17 April 2025, which individuals and external organisations Lord Khan met during his visit to the (a) Overseas Pakistanis Convention, (b) Faisal Mosque and (c) St Joseph’s Cathedral whilst on his official Ministerial visit to Pakistan.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A summary of the former Minister’s schedule will be placed in the Library of the House.
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, if he will publish the full meeting, visit and event schedule for Lord Khan's visit to Pakistan from 13 to 17 April 2025.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A summary of the former Minister’s schedule will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 9 February 2026 to Question 110704, whether the answer provided also applies to (a) Thurrock council and (b) other unitary authority councils.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 110704 on 9 February 2026, which applies to all councils. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 specifies the type of councils which may resolve to move from holding whole council elections to electing by thirds, namely non-metropolitan district that have previously held elections by thirds.
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, whether guidance has been provided to local authorities on entitlement to council tax reduction for people who receive Universal Credit.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer provided on 4 February 2026 to UIN 109028.
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, what his policy is on (a) further delaying or (b) cancelling under scheduled council elections in 2027 in areas with local government restructuring.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt.Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February HCWS1349, updating the House on 2026 local elections.
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 20 January 2026 to Question 104771 on MHCLG: Remote Working, if he will publish the recorded workplace attendance data for the last quarter, for each of the individual offices outside London.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG publishes quarterly HQ Occupancy Statistics for its headquarters at 2 Marsham Street, London (not proportional attendance). We do not intend to publish regional information or numeric staff attendances.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that local authorities under financial constraints prioritise essential services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are investing in local government. The government will provide over £5.6 billion of new grant funding towards local government services over the next three years. By the end of the multi-year Settlement (2028-29), the government will have provided a 15.5% increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, worth over £11.4 billion, compared to 2025-26. The government has also announced £4 billion investment over three years for new programmes to deliver improvements in SEND.
The government is introducing a fairer and evidence-based funding system. Our reforms ensure that this funding is allocated fairly, and that the places and services that need it most are supported. We are supporting all authorities to maintain services and manage their updated funding positions with transitional arrangements.
The government recognises that some councils remain in a challenging financial position as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous system. Any council that has concerns about its financial sustainability should approach the department in the first instance where we will treat all discussions in confidence
The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 (a) accessibility and (b)) ease of access of online consultations held by his Department.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Consultations at MHCLG are published on GOV.UK using the ‘consultations’ content type. This page type has been designed by Government Digital Service (GDS) to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 standards.
Teams are supported to follow GDS guidelines for creating accessible web documents when creating consultations. Wherever possible, MHCLG publish consultation documents in HTML format to maximise accessibility.
Respondents can comment on a consultation via an online survey that is hosted on MHCLG’s consultation platform, Citizen Space. The Citizen Space platform has been developed to meet WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards and is commonly used by central and local government to conduct accessible consultation processes.
Most consultations at MHCLG also give users the opportunity to make enquiries and to respond to the consultation via email and/or by post.
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 23 January 2026, to Question 106115, on Business Rates: Luton, what is his department's estimate of the amount of retained business rate income that Luton Borough Council will receive in 2026-27, and whether this amount is affected by the uplift in business rates from the 2026 revaluation of Luton Airport, and introduction of the high value surcharge for hereditaments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Luton Borough Council reported their estimate of retained business rates for 2026-27 to the department here in the document ‘National non-domestic rates collected in England 2026 to 2027: local authority data’, in the ‘Part 1' tab and on line 14.
I refer the Rt.hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107993 on 28 January 2026, regarding the interaction of the 2026 Revaluation with local authority income.
It is long-standing government policy intention that as far as is practicable, local authorities’ income should not be affected by changes to the underlying business rates tax, such as the introduction of the three additional multipliers from 1st April 2026. The government intends to neutralise the impact of new multipliers on local government income from retained business rates from introduction of the three new multipliers from 1st April 2026. More information on how it will do so was published in a policy paper in November which can be found here.