Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103186 on Asylum: Council Housing, if she will publish the information or guidance given to participating local authorities on the new accommodation model.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested on the information or guidance given to participating local authorities on the new accommodation model is considered commercially sensitive.
We have committed to closing every asylum hotel, and work is well underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities and cut asylum costs. MHCLG and HO are exploring options for a new, more sustainable accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities and devolved partners.
This would complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate to end the use of hotels. New council housing will not be used by asylum seekers under any circumstances.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he received representations on delaying local elections from Labour (a) MPs, (b) councillors and (c) council groups that were separate from formal representations from the local authority.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Representations were received from councils with elections scheduled in May, including from councillors and political groups, and from other councils, interested organisations, Member of Parliament, and members of the public.
The Secretary of State ran a locally led process and it was for councils to make representations and assess their capacity to conduct a safe and smooth transition to new authorities at the same time as holding elections.
In reaching his decisions, the Secretary of State carefully considered all the representations made alongside departmental advice on those representations.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 19 January 2026 to Question 104668 on council tax, how county councils which are fire authorities and do not have separate fire precepts are treated for the purposes of that methodology.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The updated distribution for the Local Government Finance Settlement includes a resource adjustment, which takes account of a local authority's ability to raise income locally.
To reflect their differing responsibilities, within the resource adjustment we apply a different tier split to Shire Counties with fire authority responsibilities than we do to Shire Counties without fire authority responsibilities.
More information can be found in the Technical Annex on the Resources Adjustment (measure of tax base).
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 19 January 2026 to Question 104789 on Council Tax: Tax Yields, whether his Department has unpublished working estimates of the revenue from council tax in England in each year from 2026-27 onwards based on the assumptions in the Spending Review.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department routinely considers a range of council tax data as part of policy development and has published its estimates of the revenue from council tax in England in each year from 2026-27 onwards.
As part of the multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government has made estimates of changes to Core Spending Power for 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29. This includes estimates of the council tax councils will set for those years. These estimates are set out here. These estimates exclude parish precepts, police and crime commissioner precepts.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with (a) Waverley Borough Council and (b) East Hampshire District Council on the provision of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspaces and housing delivery.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities must ensure that development does not adversely affect the integrity of sites protected under the Habitats Regulations (including through mitigation measures where appropriate).
Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) is one type of mitigation for the recreational pressures that new housing can place on protected habitats like Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). It provides an attractive alternative green space for new residents, drawing visitors away from sensitive habitats.
Local planning authorities are responsible for ensuring that developers deliver SANGs where they are needed, following an Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Regulations of a relevant development. It is therefore for local planning authorities to monitor local capacity of SANGs.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in council tax on the cost of living from April 2026.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Council tax levels are decided by local authorities, and the Department has not made specific assessments on the impact of council tax levels on the cost of living for households. For the vast majority of councils, the government intends to maintain a core 3% referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept. The government will set out final referendum principles as part of the local government finance settlement. Councils are required to put in place council tax support schemes to support those on low incomes.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 13 January 2026 to Question 102770 on Waste Disposal: Birmingham, whether the meeting between the Secretary of State and Unite was minuted.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Minutes were taken and in line with normal practice, the minutes will not be published. But the Secretary of State reiterated that the waste dispute is a local issue for Unite and the Council to resolve.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Suffolk County Council on the (a) social and (b) economic impact of housing (i) refugees and (ii) asylum seekers on the local area.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office continues to work closely with local authorities to manage all the pressures arising from the provision of asylum accommodation including the impact on wider local authority obligations and plans.
The Home Office has delivered various grants through which we provide funds to support local authorities housing asylum seekers.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on establishing (a) shadow unitary councils and (b) preparing councils when undertaking local government restructuring.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My officials are in regular contact with councils to support them to undertake preparatory work to ensure readiness for any transition to new authorities.
Once a decision is taken on which proposals, if any, to implement, the Structural Changes Order will specify the governance arrangements for the new unitary councils in the transition period. Representations will be sought from the councils on the detailed content of the Structural Changes Order including on whether a shadow unitary council or preparing council is appropriate.
For all areas except Surrey, we anticipate elections to new authorities will take place in 2027, with those authorities going live in 2028.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 his Department's guidance entitled The implementation of the council tax premiums on long-term empty homes and second homes, published on 1 November 2024, what plans he has to review the guidance given to local authorities in relation to the practices of council tax premiums being introduced by local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
211 local authorities began charging a second home premium from April 2025. The guidance was published in November 2024 to support councils in their decision making on the premium and assist taxpayers in understanding when a premium may apply. As ever, the government continues to keep all guidance under review.