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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to encourage local authorities to undertake high street rental auctions.

The government is working with eleven early adopter councils who are taking steps to implement High Street Rental Auction powers to showcase their benefits and provide a source of best practice for other councils. My officials are also providing practical support and guidance to other councils and we have made up to £1 million available in 2025/26 to support the creation of vacancy registers and fund property refurbishments, as well as new burdens funding for local authority administrative costs.