Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 29 October 2025 to Question 84950, on Local Government: Elections, if he will list the dates on when political parties were (a) individually or (b) collectively consulted.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the response to Question UIN 84950, the Government has worked closely with a range of partners in the electoral sector in the development of the strategy for modern and secure elections. The Government will continue to engage with all key election sector stakeholders, including political parties, to ensure the successful delivery of the changes.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 29 October 2025 to Question 84208 and 84626 on Chinese Embassy, if he will publish the requested information.
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.
Post-inquiry representations, including parties' responses to the reference back letter, will be listed in the final decision letter and will be publicly available when that letter is published.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 22 October 2025 to Question 84201 on Absent Voting, if he will make it his policy to amend legislation to ensure that political parties and elected representatives have access to the expiry date of a postal vote as part of their existing rights to receive absent voting lists.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As stated in the Answer of 29 October 2025 to UIN 84201 on Absent Voting, political parties and elected representatives are entitled to request access to the electoral register, including absent voter lists. The Government has no plans to make changes to the information which is shared as part of the electoral register.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 letter of 27 October 2025 from the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness to the hon Member for Thirsk and Malton, what is the planned timetable for introducing the legislation on councillors’ home addresses.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 18 November, we tabled government amendments NC45 and 114 to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. These amendments would prevent a member’s or co-opted member’s home address from being included in public registers by default. They are scheduled for debate during the Commons Report Stage from 24 November.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 paragraphs 99 and 102 of his Department's policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, whether the donation threshold of £7,500 will be uprated to £11,180, in line with the threshold for unincorporated associations.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our ‘Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections’ sets out how we will respond to the threat of foreign interference by strengthening the rules around political donations. This includes ensuring that unincorporated associations are prevented from making significant campaign contributions unless they can verify and disclose the source of their funding, and requiring donors to declare any benefits received in connection with their donation.
We will ensure the appropriate thresholds for these requirements are uprated from £7,500 to £11,180 in line with other thresholds in electoral law.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 paragraph 99 of the policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, to what activities would the proposed thresholds of (a) £11,180 and (b) £2,230 apply.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our ‘Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections’ sets out how we will respond to the threat of foreign interference by strengthening the rules around political donations. This includes ensuring that unincorporated associations are prevented from making significant campaign contributions unless they can verify and disclose the source of their funding, and requiring donors to declare any benefits received in connection with their donation.
We will ensure the appropriate thresholds for these requirements are uprated from £7,500 to £11,180 in line with other thresholds in electoral law.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 make it his policy to ensure that his decision on the called-in Chinese Embassy planning application is announced through a statement to Parliament.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The House will be notified when the decision is made.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the (a) security agencies and (b) Bank of England have been able to make representations about the cyber-security of telecommunication cables in the BT Openreach exchange next to the proposed Chinese Embassy without providing that information to the Chinese Government.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As the hon. Member is aware, any party can make representations in respect of a planning application.
Representations on planning applications are dealt with in accordance with paragraphs 18, 19 and 20 of the published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions found on gov.uk here.
The Secretary of State is able to issue a direction under section 321 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This allows specific evidence to be withheld from public inspection. Again, as the hon. Member is aware, no section 321 direction was made during the public inquiry on this matter, which closed on 19 February 2025.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 paragraph 33 of his Department's publication entitled Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales: Scheme improvements (access and protections), updated on 15 October 2025, if he will publish a copy of the (a) calculations and (b) estimates provided by the Government Actuary Department.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Currently, the Department has no plan to publish the calculations or estimates provided by the Government Actuary’s Department in the consultation document published on 13 October 2025. The policy is still being developed and is subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to local billing authorities by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies on council tax (i) avoidance and (ii) evasion in relation to the second homes council tax premium.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has not issued guidance to billing authorities on this issue. Council tax is a local tax and administered by local authorities. It is therefore for them to manage and address any potential cases of avoidance or evasion in the council tax system.