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.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88278 on Travellers: Caravan Sites, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Temporary Stop Notices in preventing unauthorised development or encampments by travellers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has no current plans to amend the guidance on temporary stop notices.
The criteria for issuing a temporary stop notice, namely that the local planning authority thinks there has been a breach of planning control and that it is expedient for it to be stopped immediately, are set out in legislation. The changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024 do not affect this.
We have not made an assessment of the effectiveness of temporary stop notices in preventing unauthorised development by travellers.
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, whether changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on decision making in December 2024 are a material consideration when a council considers a Temporary Stop Notice on an unauthorised traveller site.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has no current plans to amend the guidance on temporary stop notices.
The criteria for issuing a temporary stop notice, namely that the local planning authority thinks there has been a breach of planning control and that it is expedient for it to be stopped immediately, are set out in legislation. The changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December 2024 do not affect this.
We have not made an assessment of the effectiveness of temporary stop notices in preventing unauthorised development by travellers.
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, for what reason the National Development Management Policies are non-statutory.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The reasons for not preceding with statutory National Development Management Policies are set out in the government’s consultation on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The consultation is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
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, whether the absence of a five-year land supply for traveller sites constitutes grounds for traveller site development in the green belt in the context of (a) a local plan and (b) an individual planning decision.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy is clear that it is the responsibility of local planning authorities to assess the need for traveller sites in their areas and plan to meet that need, in the same way that they plan for all forms of housing.
In producing their local plan, local planning authorities should set pitch targets for traveller sites, and identify a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years' worth of sites against their locally set targets.
When considering applications, local planning authorities should consider matters such as the local need for sites and whether an up-to-date five-year supply of deliverable sites can be demonstrated. It is for local authorities to make decisions on specific development proposals and locations, taking into account all relevant circumstances.
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, whether unmet need for traveller sites constitute grounds for traveller site development in (a) the Green Belt and (b) open countryside.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy is clear that it is the responsibility of local planning authorities to assess the need for traveller sites in their areas and plan to meet that need, in the same way that they plan for all forms of housing.
In producing their local plan, local planning authorities should set pitch targets for traveller sites, and identify a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years' worth of sites against their locally set targets.
When considering applications, local planning authorities should consider matters such as the local need for sites and whether an up-to-date five-year supply of deliverable sites can be demonstrated. It is for local authorities to make decisions on specific development proposals and locations, taking into account all relevant circumstances.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the numeric value of the (a) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure and (b) high value multipliers will be (i) uprated by inflation each year within the 2026 revaluation cycle based on the previous values for both those respective multipliers, (ii) remain fixed value (A) 5p discounts and (B) 2.8p additions to the standard multipliers and (iii) fixed value, but the 5p and 2.8p respectively will be uprated as well.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The national multipliers uprate by the previous September’s CPI figure every April before resetting at a revaluation, which occurs every three years. This is the standard approach, as multipliers are uprated yearly with CPI.
The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) multipliers will remain 5 pence below their national equivalents every year. The high-value multiplier will remain 2.8 pence above the national standard multiplier every year. However, the rates will remain under review, and the legislation does not preclude the Government from changing the rates for future tax years.
This is set out in the Explanatory Memoranda of the relevant legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/4/memorandum/contents
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 11 November 2025 on Social and Affordable Housing Programme, HCWS1027, what estimate his Department has made of the level of subsidy per unit for a (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent and (c) affordable home ownership under the new scheme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 60080 on 24 June 2025.