Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to extend the statutory override on the treatment of deficits to the dedicated schools grant after the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Jim McMahon
We will work with the sector when considering how we can help councils manage the impacts of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits on their finances.
This Government recognises the vital work that local councils do for their communities, and we stand ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on (a) local government salary related costs and (b) local government third party spend costs.
Answered by Jim McMahon
We have announced £1.3 billion of new grant funding in 2025/26 for local government to deliver core services, of which at least £600 million is for social care.
The Government has committed to provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer NICs costs. This applies to those directly employed by the public sector, including local government.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to (a) continue the Adult Social Care Precept and (b) amend the Council Tax referendum limit.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Government is committed to keeping taxes on working people as low as possible. Decisions of the future of local authority funding are a matter for the Local Government Finance Settlement which will report in the coming months.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential barriers to employment for people from Hong Kong who are resident in the UK under the British National (Overseas) visa (a) in general and (b) when that employment requires a Certificate of No Criminal Conviction to be secured from the Hong Kong authorities for the purposes of a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is aware that some Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders [BN(O)s] can face barriers to employment in the UK. To support BN(O)s as they integrate into their communities, the department developed a Welcome Programme, which launched in April 2021. Through this programme, BN(O)s are able to access guidance and support on a range of issues including employment, education, housing and English language provision.
The Government has recently announced a “Jobs for Hongkongers” initiative, part of the Hong Kong BN(O) Welcome Programme. This will be delivered by The Growth Company and will support BN(O)s in England to find employment through an 8-week course. Support will be delivered in Cantonese, in person and remotely, allowing access to all who need support. Where a BN(O) requires a Certificate of No Criminal Conviction check, there is guidance on the process and sectoral examples for obtaining alternative checks on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how her Department calculated revised housing targets affecting (a) Braintree District Council, (b) Colchester City Council and (c) Maldon District Council.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposed methodology to calculate local housing need figures for each local authority, including Braintree District Council, Colchester City Council and Maldon District Council is set out in the ‘Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system’ consultation documents. These can be found at gov.uk.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has for the adult social care precept in the next five years.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Decisions on future local authority funding will be a matter for the Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged. Ahead of any decisions taken on the tax, the Government will carefully consider the impact on councils and taxpayers. The Government is committed to keeping taxes on working people as low as possible.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the level of funding that her Department will provide to local authorities in each of the next five years.
Answered by Jim McMahon
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 524 on 26 July 2024.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households receive a single person discount on their council tax liability; and what the total value was of that discount in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The latest available data for October 2023 shows there were approximately 8.6 million households in receipt of a single person discount. This data is available here: Council Taxbase 2023 in England. The Government does not collect data on the revenue foregone to provide the discount.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 29 January 2024 from Witham Industrial Watch Ltd providing notice under regulation 3(2) of the Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004 that they are proposing to initiate a Business Improvement District renewal ballot.
Answered by Simon Hoare
The department responded to Witham Industrial Watch Ltd to confirm receipt of their letter dated 29 January 2024.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the (a) total and (b) average cost of processing planning appeals per appeal type in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The information requested is published as part of the Planning Inspectorate’s Annual Report and Accounts and can be found at the following links:
20/21 Planning_Inspectorate_ARA_2020-21_FINAL.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
21/22 Planning_Inspectorate_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2021-22.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
22/23 Planning_Inspectorate_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2022-23.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)