Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
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 place in the Library a copy of the equality impact assessment produced in relation to the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 16 December 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.
The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
Duty assessments alongside such consultations. We are seeking views through the consultation on how the proposed policies could affect protected characteristics, and the views we receive will inform our final assessment and the government’s response to the consultation.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
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 written statement of 16 December 2025, HCWS1186, on Electoral Resilience, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of political donations to APPGs by foreign donors on democracy.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The registration of APPGs, as well as their compliance with the 'Guide to the Rules on All-Party Parliamentary Groups', is a matter for Parliament. The Government believes it is right that there are strict rules for APPGs regarding benefits from foreign governments and supports the prohibition on foreign governments providing or funding APPG secretariats. Ultimately, MPs must conduct the appropriate due diligence and are responsible for following not only the rules for APPGs, but the House of Commons Code of Conduct as well, which is clear on the requirements for MPs with regards to lobbying and foreign governments.
In October, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) launched specific guidance to help Members of Parliament, councillors, mayors, and their staff better understand and protect themselves from threats like espionage and foreign interference. This guidance provides simple, effective steps to safeguard individuals, their teams, and the integrity of democratic processes.
The Government takes any attempts to intervene in democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes, including from foreign interference.
On the 16th of December, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics to provide an in-depth assessment of the current financial rules and safeguards that regulate political parties and political finance and make recommendations. The terms of reference for the review can be found here.
Given the review’s independence, we cannot pre-empt specifics of the ground it will cover, nor the recommendations it will make. It is right that the review is independent of Government and independent of any political party.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's statistics entitled Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation, published on 26 November 2025, for what reason the average Rateable Values of Royal Palaces have increased by 201%.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Royal Palaces are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property; through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating.
An increase in RV does not mean that business rates liability will increase by the same percentage.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of uprating the monetary thresholds for (a) small business rate relief and (b) rural rate relief Rateable Value in the 2026 revaluation cycle in line with the change in aggregate Rateable Values since the 2023 Rating List.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible property under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.
Rural Rate Relief aims to ensure that key amenities are available, and community assets protected in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations his department has received on postponing local elections in May 2026 from (a) Blackburn with Darwen Council and (b) Hyndburn Council.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I wrote to Council Leaders on 18 December to invite them to set out their views on the potential postponement of local elections in their area, and if they consider that postponement would release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation.
All representations received are being taken into account before a final decision is made following a fair process. I will continue to update the House on this issue.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many unauthorised traveller caravans are (a) land owned by travellers and (b) land not owned by travellers, including tolerated unauthorised sites, by each local authority for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Data on unauthorised traveller caravans on land owned by travellers and on land not owned by travellers, including tolerated unauthorised sites, by each local authority, is available from Live Table 1 of the published Official Statistics, available on gov.uk here.