James Cleverly MP: written questions 2026
1515 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Valuation Office Agency: ConferencesTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111691More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will list the overseas conferences that Valuation Office Agency officials have attended since July 2024.
Answer: The VOA attends a small number of overseas conferences which are an important part of sharing expertise, innovation and best practice. Since July 2024 they have attended the following:Aug 2024 IAAO Conference, Denver;Oct 2024 COVA Conference, Dublin;Dec 2...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordRetail Trade: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111690More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 103000 on Retail Trade: Business Rates, what is the evidential basis for the £100 million figure on large distribution warehouses, how many of those hereditament
Answer: Details on how large distribution warehouses are impacted by the new high-value multiplier can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-valu...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordStamp Duty Land Tax: Tax YieldsTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111689More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data HMRC holds on (a) stamp duty revenues for residential dwellings which are primary homes raised and (b) the number of transactions, by local authority area in the last financial year for which figures are a
Answer: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not collect data via the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) return on whether a residential property will serve as a primary residence. However, the Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) apply when an individual acquires ...
Answered 16 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordValuation Office Agency: StatisticsTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111688More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Treasury Select Committee, Work of HM Revenue and Customs - Oral evidence, HC 416, 13 January 2026, Question 465, if she will list the Office for National Statistics datasets that the Valuation Office
Answer: The Valuation Office Agency is using the following data from the Office of National Statistics: Census geographies and House Price Index.
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordValuation Office Agency: StaffTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111687More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Treasury Select Committee, Work of HM Revenue and Customs - Oral evidence, HC 416, 13 January 2026, Question 442, how many of the additional headcount of 1,000 VOA staff are assigned to work on
Answer: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is developing its resourcing and recruitment plans for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) work. It is not yet possible to confirm how many VOA staff will be allocated to HVCTS activity, out of the additional 100...
Answered 16 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness RatesTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111686More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is her policy to replace the business rates system.
Answer: The Government has already started the work of reforming our business rates system by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year and w...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111685More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the datasets and data sources that have been used to calculate the settlements for individual local authorities in the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Answer: Details on how funding allocations were calculated, including datasets and sources, were published in the Final Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029, under the methodology for the Fair Funding Review reforms section, linked here.
Answered 16 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordRecreation Spaces: Planning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111684More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the status and timetable is of his Department's review of the legal framework of protections for public recreational space announced by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage during t
Answer: Open and green spaces are an essential part of local social infrastructure and must be protected for future generations. The review of existing protections will examine the fragmented and outdated nature of current legislative protections for public recre...
Answered 24 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111683More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026, to Question 104787, on business rates: tax allowances, what is the estimated increase in business rate receipts from not uprating the (a) £12,000 and (b) £15,000 small busi
Answer: The Government does not hold this information.The Government has already started the work of reforming our business rates system by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax ra...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111682More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 101747 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what estimate he has made of the number of hereditaments that claimed Retail, Hosp
Answer: I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 106116 on 23 January 2026.
Answered 16 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: AsylumMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111681More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the A National Plan to End Homelessness, 11 December 2025, CP1452, whether the new requirement for social housing landlords to rehouse statutory homeless househ
Answer: Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing or homelessness support. If granted refugee status, they become eligible but have their needs considered on the same basis as other households owed a homelessness duty under the Homelessness Reduction Act...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: Business RatesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111680More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether there is a plain English guide and formula for business owners to calculate if their premises is eligible for Supporting Small Business Relief.
Answer: Local authorities are responsible for the administration of business rates, including decisions on the awarding of and eligibility for various reliefs. Guidance for local authorities on the administration of Supporting Small Business relief was published ...
Answered 16 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCommunity Infrastructure LevyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 104671 on Local Government Finance, what information his Department holds on guidance issued by (a) his Department and (b) t
Answer: Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts must be used for the purposes which are set out in section 216 of the Planning Act 2008 and Part 7 of the CIL Regulations.My Department’s published guidance on the CIL includes detailed advice as to what the le...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Translation ServicesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111145More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria his Department uses to decide whether to translate documents and communications into foreign languages.
Answer: The department provides published content in additional languages where appropriate and on a case-by-case basis.
Answered 13 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: ElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111144More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral statement of 22 January 2026, Official Report, Column 486, on Local Government Reorganisation, whether he will reimburse councils for the administrativ
Answer: I refer the Rt.Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February HCWS1349, updating the House on 2026 local elections.
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Houses: Business RatesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111143More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Greater London Authority supplementary business rate arising from increases in Rateable Values from the 2026 business
Answer: The Greater London Authority currently levies a Business Rates Supplement (BRS) to fund the costs of the Crossrail project (renamed Elizabeth line in 2016). The Mayor of London approved the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement policies for 2026-27 via a for...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: AsylumMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111142More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026, to Question 107026, on Asylum: Housing, what criteria was used to select the range of local authorities to engage with on the new model
Answer: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has worked in close partnership with local authorities to develop a new, more sustainable model for asylum accommodation.A cross-section of local authorities were selected across different geograph...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111141More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2026, to Question 103297, on Local Government Finance, whether areas where mayoral elections have been delayed will have access to any of the
Answer: The £200 million figure is in reference to the collective Investment Fund amount per year the six areas on the Devolution Priority Programme will receive once Mayors are in post in those areas. Before Mayors are elected, and once the institutions are esta...
Answered 11 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111140More
Question: 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
Answer: 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 ...
Answered 13 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordHotels and Public Houses: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111139More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104669 on Business Rates, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increases in Rateable Values for (a) hotels and (b) pubs from the 202
Answer: Business Improvement District (BID) levies are set locally through ballot approved proposals and are not automatically affected by revaluations or new multipliers. Therefore, any adjustment is a matter for the individual BID under its governing arrangemen...
Answered 13 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: Redundancy PayMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111138More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the (a) number, (b) total and (c) individual amount of local authority exit payments by authority in 2024-25.
Answer: The Government publishes data on local authority exit payments on an annual basis. It is available on gov.uk here.
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil Tax: Tax YieldsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111137More
Question: 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
Answer: 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 Se...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSecond Homes: Council TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111136More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the statistics entitled Local authority Council Taxbase in England 2025 (revised), 21 January 2026, for what reason there are some exceptions where the premium
Answer: The Government recognised that there were circumstances where it may not be appropriate for a premium to apply and introduced a number of mandatory exceptions to premiums. These exceptions include circumstances where the property is marketed for sale or l...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111135More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether core spending power figures published in the Local Government Finance assumes (a) that each principal local authority sets the maximum level of council tax that does not
Answer: Over the multi-year Settlement, Core Spending Power is calculated by assuming that authorities increase their Band D council tax in line with the maximum allowable level set out by the council tax referendum principles; and each authority’s council tax ba...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: ElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111134More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on (a) further delaying or (b) cancelling under scheduled council elections in 2027 in areas with local government restructuring.
Answer: I refer the Rt.Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February HCWS1349, updating the House on 2026 local elections.
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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