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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate the Department has made of the total expenditure incurred by local authorities in preparing for local government reorganisation prior to the decision to pause those proposals; and whether the Government plans to reimburse councils for those costs.

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

As set out by the Secretary of State in her oral statement of 7 September, the government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused decisions for the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible. We also recognise that areas will have committed resources to reorganisation and ministers will consider this matter alongside the review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what material support, including provision of documentary evidence, her Department will provide to the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs during the course of its work.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

MHCLG is fully committed to supporting the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs and will co-operate with the Inquiry throughout the course of its work. In accordance with its legal obligations and the Inquiry’s procedures, my department will respond to requests for information and provide relevant material as required.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what meetings she has had with (1) Baroness Longfield, (2) any other members of the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs’ panel, or (3) any other interested parties, on the topic of the Inquiry’s progress, since May 12th 2026.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with interested external parties, including Baroness Longfield and other panel members, regarding the progress of the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs since her reappointment to the department on 20 July. We cannot account for her time prior to this.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what specific departmental savings are being made to fund increased defence spending as a consequence of the 1% reduction in CDEL allocations.

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

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 20319 on 10 September 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 1 September 2026 to Question 18019 on Islam: Radicalism, for what public interest reason the Government name MCB, MAB, CAGE and MEND.

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

Although the Government has a policy of not commenting about groups or individuals, there are cases where it is in the public interest to do so. The Government has previously made the decision to not engage with organisations that have taken positions that contradict our fundamental values and have not explicitly retracted these positions. We keep this under constant review to ensure our position is based on the latest information available.

The Government is committed to engaging with a broad range of leaders and organisations across many different communities and civil society groups. Engagement with communities can strengthen our democracy, our policymaking and our society.

The Home Office carries out due diligence when choosing to engage with any organisation or individual and, if asked, we will advise and share information to help others inform their decisions.

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 July 2026, to Question 18022, on Council Tax: City of Westminster and Wandsworth, whether an assessment has been made of the impact of potential increases in council tax on levels of council tax arrears in those areas.

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

The equalities impacts of the proposed approach to referendum principles was considered as part of the multi-year Settlement for the period 2026-27 to 2028-29. This included the proposal to not set council tax referendum principles for six councils including Westminster and Wandsworth.

Local authorities are responsible for setting council tax levels in their area and for considering the potential impact of those decisions, including on council tax arrears.

To support vulnerable residents, councils are required to put in place council tax reduction schemes. This includes 100% reductions for pensioners on the lowest income, which is centrally prescribed, and support for working age people, which is locally prescribed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the oral statement of 7 September 2026, Column 678, on Local Government Reorganisation, whether unitary council elections will take place in May 2028; and what arrangements will be in place for by-elections for county and district councils.

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

The Government is considering the next stages of the local government reorganisation programme and will set out next steps once that work has concluded.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the council tax surcharge will be levied on HMOs not subdivided into individual dwellings; and whether there will be any exemption.

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

The Government has consulted on the surcharge, including the treatment of different property types and possible exemptions and will publish a response in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Number 10 press release entitled and Burnham means business: PM slashes business rates bills for pubs, clubs and live music venues, published on 23 July 2026, whether the new pub relief will apply to (a) premises paying the high value business rate surcharge, (b) private members' clubs which are not open to the general public, including venues with a club premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003, (c) hotels, (d) nightclubs which do not play live music, (e) pubs with hotel rooms classified by the HMRC Valuation Office under Special Category Code 227 and (f) restaurants with a bar open to the general public for drinks.

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

The 20 per cent relief announced in July will be available for all pubs, social clubs and all but the very largest live music venues.

The scope of the 20 per cent relief will broadly mirror the scope of the existing 15 per cent relief. ^[1]

Eligible social clubs must be open to the general public and permit drinks to be purchased at a bar. Social clubs include working men's clubs, ex-servicemen's clubs and other community membership clubs that are open to broad sections of the local community.

The 20 per cent relief will be awarded at the discretion of Local Authorities, who will determine eligibility using guidance published by the Government and based on existing definitions.

The Government will set out further details of the relief, including the treatment of the very largest venues, at the Budget.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pubs-and-live-music-venues-relief

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will set out the property attribute information HMRC Valuation Office seeks to collect during a site visit when undertaking a valuation of a dwelling for council tax.

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

The Valuation Office (VO) carries out property inspections to establish and record facts relating to property on a case by case basis. The same categories of property attribute information are collected for Council Tax purposes in England and Wales. Further information about the property attribute information held for Council Tax purposes is available in the published guidance: Property attribute data (PAD). Additional information may be sought from the taxpayer in line with section 27 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Found: RWS0039 23 Kouropatov, Sofia RWS0044 24 Lee, Alan RWS002128 25 Lewis, Max RWS0015 26 MP, Katie Lam

Found: Party during the debate, Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Katie Lam

Submit Evidence (by 13 Nov 2026)

The Transport Committee is exploring Government interventions in public transport fares, pricing and ticketing.