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 final version of the Section 106 agreement for the Chinese Embassy planning permission.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

All Inquiry documents for this case are publicly available on Tower Hamlets’ website here.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance has been given to local authorities on removing unauthorised moorings on rivers; and what is the division of responsibilities between (a) councils and (b) Environment Agency.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Navigation authorities are responsible for managing operations on their waterways and the Government does not direct that. Boaters are expected to comply with the terms of their licences for the benefit of all waterway users, including any restrictions on mooring. In instances of non-compliance, navigation authorities have enforcement powers. Where a boat is occupied, particularly in cases involving potential vulnerability, navigation authorities seek to work with local authority housing and safeguarding teams to assess welfare concerns and avoid disproportionate outcomes.

There is no specific national guidance on the division of responsibilities between councils and the Environment Agency (EA) for removing boats from unauthorised moorings, as such situations typically involve shared and locally determined responsibilities. The EA engages with local authorities on the potential use of its powers to remove unregistered boats from its waterways. Where a boat is moored without permission on land owned by a local authority, the authority leads on arranging its removal with the EA providing support and coordination where appropriate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner of 11 November 2025.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Thank you for raising this matter. The department has investigated the case, and we have provided a response on Friday 13 March.

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 HC6 in the new draft National Planning Policy Framework on the last public house in a locality.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 105500 on 20 January 2026.

We are currently analysing the feedback received to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.

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 February 2026 to Question 109265 on Local Government: Elections, which (a) people and (b) organisations submitted evidence, excluding ordinary members of the public.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

A summary of the representations submitted is set out in the Explanatory Memorandum prepared at the time and can be found on gov.uk here. The government currently has no plans to publish individual representations received.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered updating the electoral offence of making a false statement of fact in relation to the candidate’s personal character or conduct to help tackle the dissemination of deepfake material which is designed to mislead.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises the threat that deepfakes and misleading material pose to elections and the importance of ensuring that electoral law is fit for a modern electoral environment. The government continually assesses the effectiveness of electoral law. Where the law is found to be ineffective or outdated, we will take appropriate action.

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 Election Strategy document, Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, July 2025, para 113, for what reason the Government now intends to repeal and not amend the Electoral Commission’s Strategy and Policy Statement; and what assessment has been made of the potential effect of the repeal of its guidance on family voting.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is taking decisive action to strengthen and protect UK democracy, including strengthening the Electoral Commission’s powers and extending its remit to ensure that it can effectively enforce the political finance framework.

We have listened to stakeholders and recognise how vital it is that the Commission is fearlessly independent, commands trust across the political spectrum and operates free from political influence.

That is why we are bringing forward amendments to repeal the Government’s powers to designate a Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission. This will put beyond doubt the foundational principle of the Commission’s independence and further strengthen its ability to oversee elections into the future without fear or favour.

Family voting is illegal, and the Government takes any allegations extremely seriously. It is a criminal offence under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 to pressure someone to vote in a certain way in the polling station, and potential offences are a matter for the police. We do not consider that repealing the Strategy and Policy Statement will have any impact on enforcement of this offence.

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 billing authorities on (a) the hierarchy of liability for the second homes council tax premium and (b) who is responsible for paying (i) council tax and (ii) the second homes council tax premium if someone is occupying a property as a second home.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government has not published guidance on the assessment of council tax liability. Liability for council tax is determined by billing authorities who will consider the facts of each case against the hierarchy of liability set out in section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

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 February 2026, to Question 111685, on Local Government Finance, if he will publish the underlying datasets referenced in each of the technical notes in the "Methodology for the Fair Funding Review reforms" section of the Settlement website.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The technical notes published as part of the final multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement published on 9 February 2026 include footnotes, which provide links to the underlying datasets such as the ONS’ population projections and the 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

A few underlying datasets, such as the National Pupil Database, contain sensitive or proprietary information and so have restricted access.

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 OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, 3 March 2026, para 2.38, what information his Department provided to the OBR to assist them with their forecasts on net additions to the housing stock.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

OBR forecasts have no bearing on the government’s ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament which remains in place.

My Department supports the OBR’s forecasting by sharing the latest data on planning applications submitted, granted, and new housing construction starts, among other sources of evidence.

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 OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, 3 March 2026, para 2.38, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the OBR forecasts on UK net additions to the housing stock on the housebuilding target for this Parliament.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

OBR forecasts have no bearing on the government’s ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament which remains in place.

My Department supports the OBR’s forecasting by sharing the latest data on planning applications submitted, granted, and new housing construction starts, among other sources of evidence.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Public Digital staff are currently seconded to the UK Government to work on the Test, Learn and Grow Programme.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Public Digital are a commercial partner to the Test, Learn and Grow programme, led by the Cabinet Office, and their staff are now secondees.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance has been given on whether Public Space Protection Orders can be used against unauthorised traveller sites.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not issue specific guidance on the use of PSPOs against individual crime or ASB types, including unauthorised traveller sites.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will take steps to help reduce family voting.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission takes allegations of electoral fraud very seriously. It is a criminal offence to attempt to pressure someone to vote in a certain way. The Commission encourages anyone who believes an offence has occurred to report it to the police.

The Commission supports the electoral community to prevent, detect and take action against electoral fraud. It supports electoral administrators and polling staff to protect the integrity of the polls, including through guidance and its polling station handbook which sets out how to protect the secrecy of voting in polling stations.

The Commission also runs its ‘Your Vote is Yours Alone’ fraud prevention and awareness campaign – in partnership with Crimestoppers – to remind voters to complete their ballot independently and in private.

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 written statement of 2 March 2026, HCWS1375, on Flexible Voting Pilots, how many and which councils applied to be pilots; and what were the criteria used to select those which were chosen.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 84647 on 29 October 2025, UIN 118656 on 16 March 2026, and UIN 116760 on 25 March 2026.

The government have worked closely with the Electoral Commission in the design of the pilots, and will continue to work with them on their evaluation.

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 written statement of 2 March 2026, HCWS1375, on Flexible Voting Pilots, how much additional central government funding will be provided to each council to assist with the pilots in 2026.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 84647 on 29 October 2025, UIN 118656 on 16 March 2026, and UIN 116760 on 25 March 2026.

The government have worked closely with the Electoral Commission in the design of the pilots, and will continue to work with them on their evaluation.

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 Written Statement of 2 March 2026 on Flexible Voting Pilots, HCWS1375, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending such measures nationwide.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 84647 on 29 October 2025, UIN 118656 on 16 March 2026, and UIN 116760 on 25 March 2026.

The government have worked closely with the Electoral Commission in the design of the pilots, and will continue to work with them on their evaluation.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Electoral Commission was consulted by his department prior to the publication of the prospectus on local election pilots in May 2026.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 84647 on 29 October 2025, UIN 118656 on 16 March 2026, and UIN 116760 on 25 March 2026.

The government have worked closely with the Electoral Commission in the design of the pilots, and will continue to work with them on their evaluation.

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 OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, 3 March 2026, para 3.41, and Table A.5, what estimate he has made of the potential impact on policy changes on referendum thresholds on the amount of council tax to be collected in (a) 2026-27, (b) 2027-28, (c) 2028-2029, (d) 2029-2030 and (e) 2030-31 financial years.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has provided councils with longer-term certainty through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. As part of this, we have set out our intention to maintain 3% + 2% referendum principles for the vast majority of councils in each year of the multi-year Settlement. The OBR has based its forecasts to 2030-31 on this and noted that policy changes announced since November are forecast to add £0.4 billion to council tax receipts by 2030-31.

The Government has not taken any decisions on referendum principles beyond the period of the multi-year settlement. Council tax levels are ultimately a matter for local authorities.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what methodology his Department uses when calculating a council taxbase in the context of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government believes it is right to continue to calculate Core Spending Power in line with the approach used at previous Settlements. We are therefore assuming each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the average annual growth in their council tax base between 2021-22 and 2025-26.

We are rewarding local authorities for housebuilding by not making a council tax base projection in Fair Funding Allocations awarded through the Local Government Finance Settlement. Any increase in council tax income from new homes will therefore be additional across the multi-year Settlement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Equality Act 2010 on (a) the police and (b) local authorities ability to tackle unauthorised traveller sites.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police and local authorities are required to act in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The powers available to the police apply to anyone residing on land without consent and refusing to leave where the statutory conditions for enforcement are met, regardless of race or ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic. Enforcement powers must always be exercised fairly and in a way that respects the rights of all individuals.

The government keeps all legislation in this area under regular review to powers remain effective and proportionate. Operational decisions on the use of these powers rest with the police, working closely with local authorities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 109627 on Music Venues and Public Houses: Business Rates, if she will publish information on pubs and live music venues relief.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2026/27, all pubs and live music venues will benefit from 15% relief on their new business rates bills on top of the support announced at the Budget. Their bills will then be frozen in real terms for two years from April 2027.

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 105396 on Eden Project: Morecambe, whether he has had discussions with representatives from (a) Lancaster City Council and (b) any other sponsors of the Eden Project on (i) changes to the number of domes built as part of the project and (ii) any other potential development options since July 2024.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I have had no engagement. My officials have as part of regular monitoring as per the answer given to Question UIN 120470 on 19 March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of name of the high value council tax surcharge on public awareness of the local authorities' role in the process of collecting revenue from this tax.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out at Budget 2025, the High Value Council Tax Surcharge will be administered alongside existing Council Tax by local authorities, who will collect revenue. The Government will undertake a new burdens assessment to ensure costs to local authorities are fully funded.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 16 September 2025, to Question 70559, on Special Advisers: Elections, and with reference to May 2026 Elections: guidance on conduct for civil servants, published on 2 March 2026, and the new provisions in paragraphs 17 and 41, whether special advisers can provide party political support to Ministers in relation to (a) arranging visits or (b) writing speeches, using official government equipment, (1) outside office hours or (2) using paid or unpaid leave.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The guidance on conduct for civil servants in relation to the May 2026 elections makes clear that civil servants - including special advisers - should not use official resources for party political purposes. This guidance is available on gov.uk. The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the rules for special advisers in relation to local political activity. This is also available on gov.uk.