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 MHCLG annual report and accounts 2025 to 2026, HC484, 15 July 2026, page 86 (footnote 3) and page 88, whether the monetary value of the benefit in kind of the Ministerial residence in 2024-25 was reported to HMRC on time for that tax year.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

MHCLG officials are responsible for reporting benefits in kind to HMRC as the Department is the employer. Due to an administrative error, this was done so after the usual reporting deadline, however all related personal tax issues were dealt with on time.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the London Borough of Tower Hamlet's Cabinet paper entitled JP Morgan Chase’s Canary Wharf Development and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), of 27 March 2026, if he will place in the Library a copy of the final Memorandum of Understanding between her Department, the Greater London Authority and London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the business rates exemption for the proposed JP Morgan building in Canary Wharf; whether the programme has Subsidy Control consent; and what the gross cost of business rate relief is in each year to the public purse for each of the next 20 years.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The provision of business rates relief will be subject to a formal subsidy control assessment. The actual level of relief will be subject to the actual rates and liabilities incurred by the development and certain criteria being achieved. The level of total relief will be capped to protect the value for money this investment offers to the taxpayer.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans the UK Government has to agree further (a) Town Deals, (b) Growth Deals and (c) County Deals, with local councils and local areas, in (i) England and (ii) other parts of the United Kingdom.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

There are no plans for further Town Deals. The programme is currently in delivery. There is no new funding available via the Towns Fund.

The English Devolution White Paper and subsequent legislation has indicated a move away from County Deals, as an approach to devolution, and towards the creation of Strategic Authorities, with a consistent set of powers and functions as defined by the Devolution Framework. Our ambition is that everywhere in England has, or is in the process of establishing, a Strategic Authority with the powers needed to deliver good growth in every postcode by the end of 2027, and Strategic Authorities in place everywhere by the end of 2028.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what is the status of each Growth Deal signed in the last two Parliaments.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Historic ‘Growth Deals’, which provided funds to local enterprise partnerships or LEPs (partnerships between local authorities and businesses) for projects that benefited the local area and economy, were all signed between 2014 and 2017, prior to the last two Parliaments.

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