James Cleverly MP: written questions 2026
1515 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Office for Statistics Regulation: CorrespondenceCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108226More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the head of the Office for Statistics Regulation plans to respond to the letter from the Rt hon. Member for Braintree of 8 January 2026 on business rates.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Rt Hon. gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 26th January is attached.
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108225More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on publishing details of grants on asylum housing costs to individual local authorities.
Answer: The Home Office does not publicly publish grant payment levels by local authority, and we have no plans to do so. We do however publish the grant funding instructions, which can be found here:Unaccompanied asylum seeking children and leaving care: funding...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCo-operative PartyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108224More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Co-operative Party has made representations on the Elections Act 2022 provisions on the banning of dual registration of political parties as third parties.
Answer: Our package of electoral reforms set out in our Strategy for Modern and Secure Elections has been informed by a wide variety of stakeholder recommendations and representations over time, including from political parties.
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSecond Homes: Council TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108223More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether households charged second home council tax premiums under processes later found to be procedurally defective are entitled to refunds.
Answer: Each billing authorities is responsible for the administration of council tax in its area including making any relevant determinations or calculations in accordance with the law. Whether any refunds may be necessary would depend on the specific circumstan...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordElectoral CommissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108222More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 84633 on Electoral Commission, when he plans to issue the new Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission to
Answer: The government is committed to strengthening democracy and upholding the integrity of our elections. Robust and proportionate enforcement of political finance rules is an essential part of this. That is why, as announced on 17 July in the government’s Str...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Translation ServicesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108221More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost to (a) central and (b) local government of the cost of translation and interpretation services.
Answer: As under the previous government, this information is not held centrally. The department does not hold this data for other departments or local authorities.
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAffordable Housing: Greater LondonMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Affordable housing supply in England: 2024 to 2025, published on 20 November 2025, whether the Greater London Authority’s
Answer: The Affordable Housing Supply statistical release published on 20 November 2025 reflected the most recent data published by the Greater London Authority.There were no revisions of the Greater London Authority’s historical data for the November 2025 releas...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPlanning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108219More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether guidance has been provided by his Department to planning decision makers on rejecting applications due to (a) undue pressure and (b) unreasonable behaviour by applicants.
Answer: My Department has issued no such specific guidance. By law, planning applications should be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108218More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 86657 on Elections and Political Parties, whether the final version of the Elections Strategy was shared with the Labour Pa
Answer: The government’s Strategy for Elections was not shared with any political party prior to publication.
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordIndependent Review into Civil Unrest in LeicesterMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108217More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87636 on Independent Review into Civil Unrest in Leicester, on what date the panel's report was received by his Department.
Answer: The panel submitted their findings to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 1 July 2025.
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAffordable Housing: Greater LondonMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108216More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding was allocated to the Greater London Authority in each year of the 2026-36 affordable housing programme.
Answer: The Greater London Authority has secured up to £11.7 billion to deliver the London portion of the government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which will run from 2026 to 2036.The programme will support the delivery of thousands of new social and a...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: ValuationTreasuryTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108000More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Valuation Office Agency plans to publish an ad-hoc release for (a) Non-domestic rating: properties over £500,000 and (b) Non-domestic rating: summary of properties over £500,000, based on the 2026 Rating
Answer: This information was included in the Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation publication:Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation (draft list) - GOV.UK
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesTreasuryTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107999More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2025, to Question 99923, on Retail Trade: Business Rates, what is the estimated change in the value of Retail Hospitality and Leisure relief for business rates in 2026-27 on fir
Answer: The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government publishes data on the cost of, and number of properties receiving, business rates relief. This data can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domes...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordValuation Office Agency: Conditions of EmploymentTreasuryTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107998More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Valuation Office Agency staff will have their contractual terms amended following its merger with HMRC.
Answer: The Valuation Office Agency will close from 1 April 2026 with all colleagues transferring into HMRC. Colleagues will transfer under the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSoP) with which HMRC and the VOA have complied in full. All contractual terms c...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil Tax: ValuationTreasuryTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107997More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Valuation Office Agency uses Value Significant Codes for council tax valuations, and whether it is planning to collect new Codes, for (a) England or (b) Wales.
Answer: The Valuation Office Agency uses Value Significant Codes for council tax valuations to indicate specific features that are likely to affect the value of a property either positively or negatively.
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLicensed Premises: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107996More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria is used by the Valuation Office Agency to determine whether a licensed premises is assigned a special category code of a (a) pub or (b) bar.
Answer: The criteria for determining special category codes for pubs and bars is published in the Valuation of Public Houses Approved Guide 2023. Guide_to_Public_Houses.pdf
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: UpratingTreasuryTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107995More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2025, to Question 95882, on Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties, for what reason CPI is used to calculate business rates.
Answer: The national business rates multipliers uprate by the previous September’s CPI figure every April. Business rates make up a quarter of Local Authority core spending power and support critical local services, including child and adult social care. Indexing...
Answered 29 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107994More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the potential effect of the planned increases in landfill duty on housebuilding.
Answer: The government carefully considered the impact of reforms to landfill tax on rates of housebuilding and took account of the feedback received to the consultation carried out last year. As a result, the government set out a plan to prevent the gap between ...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107993More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how does the uplift in Rateable Values in the 2026 business rates revaluation affect the calculation of council funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-27; an
Answer: At revaluations, adjustments through the business rates retention system ensure that as far as possible local authorities do not see a change in the income they raise from business rates. In 2026-27, the business rates retention system is being reset as p...
Answered 28 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLichfieldsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107992More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent with Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners Limited since July 2024; and for what purposes.
Answer: Since July 2024, £608,970 has been spent with Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners Ltd in connection with contracts that the Department had, and has, with the firm. Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners Ltd provides technical planning advice relating to a numb...
Answered 11 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Departmental ResponsibilitiesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107991More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 97134 on MHCLG: Departmental Responsibilities, whether his attendance at the Labour YIMBY awards will be declared in gov.uk r
Answer: It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordWindrush Day Grant Scheme: Muslim Council of BritainMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107990More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Muslim Council of Britain is eligible to apply for funding through the Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2026.
Answer: The government does not engage with the Muslim Council of Britain. The Windrush Day Grant Scheme assesses all applications in line with the published eligibility criteria: Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2026 - GOV.UK. Organisations do not need to be Windrush‑s...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107989More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he holds data on (1) the aggregate number of hereditaments which claimed Retail, Hospitality and Leisure rate relief in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26, (2) the average Ratea
Answer: The number of hereditaments receiving the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief as at 31 December 2024 can be found in Table 4 on gov.uk here. This is based on a snapshot taken by local authorities on or as close to the 31 December 2024. The snapshot as ...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordFast Food: PlanningMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107988More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to amend the the National Planning Policy Framework to define a fast food outlet.
Answer: The government is consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, more rules-based policies for decision-making and plan-making. Through the consultation, we are seeking feedback on the application of the term ‘fast fo...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPlanning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107987More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local planning authorities are required to inform him when making an Article 4 direction in relation to restricting permitted development rights.
Answer: Local planning authorities are required to send a copy of all Article 4 directions made to the Secretary of State, as set out in Schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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