Paul Holmes MP: written questions 2026
195 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Travellers: Caravan SitesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105386More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88278 on Travellers: Caravan Sites, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Temporary Stop No
Answer: My Department has no current plans to amend the guidance on temporary stop notices. The criteria for issuing a temporary stop notice, namely that the local planning authority thinks there has been a breach of planning control and that it is expedient for ...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTravellers: Caravan SitesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105385More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many unauthorised traveller caravans are (a) land owned by travellers and (b) land not owned by travellers, including tolerated unauthorised sites, by each local authority fo
Answer: Data on unauthorised traveller caravans on land owned by travellers and on land not owned by travellers, including tolerated unauthorised sites, by each local authority, is available from Live Table 1 of the published Official Statistics, available on gov...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented Housing: EnergyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105384More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87776 on Private Rented Housing: Energy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the costs of new energ
Answer: Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector, including proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. We have engaged with landlord an...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDevolution: CornwallMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105383More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87325 on Devolution: Cornwall, if he will make it his policy to rule out the creation of a single strategic authority consi
Answer: The government’s strong preference is for partnerships that bring more than one local authority together over a large geography to form a combined or combined county authority. By exception, the government will consider non-mayoral devolution arrangements...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Authority Housing FundMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104971More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Authority Housing Fund: Round 4 prospectus and guidance, of 19 November 2025, for what reason the funding can be used for the flipping of forthcoming
Answer: Local authorities delivering the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF R4) can shape its delivery according to local circumstances. Converting unsold shared ownership completions into social rented housing is included in a list of possibl...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Authority Housing FundMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104970More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Local Authority Housing Fund: Round 4 can be used to provide accommodation for asylum seekers and former asylum seekers other than those from Afghanistan.
Answer: The Local Authority Housing Fund Round 4 (LAHF R4) funds local authorities to provide better quality temporary accommodation to those owed homelessness duties, as well as providing sustainable settled housing for families on the Afghan Resettlement Progra...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMayors: ElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104969More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87317 on Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners: Elections, which Mayors were consulted; and on what dates.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 78213 on 10 October 2025.
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAffordable Housing: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104968More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding was allocated to the Affordable Housing Programmes in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25, including funding provided to his Department, Homes England, the Greater Londo
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 95055 on 5 December 2025.
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSecond Homes: Council TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104966More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given on whether a second home which is long-term unoccupied, but furnished, is liable for the empty homes council tax premium or the second homes council
Answer: The government has published guidance on when council tax premiums may apply and when a property is considered a second home or a long-term empty home. This is available here. A second home is defined, for council tax purposes, as dwelling which is substa...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAll-party Parliamentary Groups: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104965More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 16 December 2025, HCWS1186, on Electoral Resilience, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of political donations to APPG
Answer: The registration of APPGs, as well as their compliance with the 'Guide to the Rules on All-Party Parliamentary Groups', is a matter for Parliament. The Government believes it is right that there are strict rules for APPGs regarding benefits from foreign g...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104964More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, What plans he has to (a) publish the election pilots prospectus on gov.uk and (b) make it available to Hon Members.
Answer: Officials shared a prospectus detailing proposed flexible voting pilots with relevant local authorities in August 2025 and are currently engaging with local authorities wishing to pilot at the May 2026 elections. The government will share further details ...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordOfficial Residences: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104963More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's statistics entitled Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation, published on 26 November 2025, for what reason
Answer: Royal Palaces are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property; through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating. An increase in RV does not mean that business rates liability will increa...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSecond Homes: Council TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104962More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with (i) London Councils and (ii) Westminster City Council on second homes council tax premium (a) evasion and (b) avoidance since July 20
Answer: Local authorities are required to administer and enforce the council tax system. This includes managing and addressing any potential cases of avoidance or evasion in the system, including council tax premiums. The government does not advise local authorit...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTravellers: Caravan SitesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104961More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the official statistics entitled Count of Traveller Caravans, July 2025: England, published on 11 December 2025, what information his Department holds on the re
Answer: The July 2025 Traveller Caravan Count reported a 21% increase in unauthorised developments since July 2024. The reported increase in unauthorised developments is due in part to improved reporting in this category; data providers are encouraged to report t...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Rural AreasMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104959More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his department holds information on the number of local authorities which offer rural rate relief and in which locations.
Answer: Rural rate relief is a mandatory business rates relief so can be offered to eligible businesses by all authorities in England. In 2024-25, 159 local authorities reported that they gave some rural rate relief. The data on the amount of rural rate relief ...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil Tax: Tax YieldsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104789More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the estimated level of council tax receipts in England from 2026-27 onwards, including police, combined authority, GLA and parish precepts.
Answer: The Department does not publish specific data on estimated levels of council tax receipts in England for Police, combined authorities, Greater London Authority and parish councils. As part of the provisional settlement the Government has made estimates of...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTravellers: Caravan SitesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104788More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether changes to the National Planning Policy Framework since December 2024 apply to retrospective planning applications for unauthorised traveller sites.
Answer: Retrospective planning applications must be determined in accordance with the local development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The government is consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesTreasuryTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104787More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of uprating the monetary thresholds for (a) small business rate relief and (b) rural rate relief Rateable Value in the 2026 revaluation cycle in line with t
Answer: Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible property under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. There i...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Houses: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104786More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the increase in business rates for pubs, after transitional relief, in each year of the 2026 revaluation cycle.
Answer: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to UIN 101363.
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: UpratingTreasuryTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104785More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the numeric value of the (a) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure and (b) high value multipliers will be (i) uprated by inflation each year within the 2026 revaluation cycle based on the previous values for both
Answer: The national multipliers uprate by the previous September’s CPI figure every April before resetting at a revaluation, which occurs every three years. This is the standard approach, as multipliers are uprated yearly with CPI. The Retail, Hospitality and Le...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPlanning InspectorateMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104784More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, What guidance has been given to the Planning Inspectorate on the use of (a) gender-neutral language and (b) pronouns.
Answer: The Planning Inspectorate operates in line with relevant legislation such as the Equality Act 2010. My Department has not provided further specific advice to the Planning Inspectorate regarding gender neutral language or pronouns.
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPlanning: EqualityMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104783More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, If he will place in the Library a copy of the equality impact assessment produced in relation to the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 16 December 2025.
Answer: The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on g...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLeaseholdMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103897More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate has the Land Registry made of the potential impact of the number of years of the lease length and the capital value of a leasehold (a) flat and (b) house.
Answer: It is not within HM Land Registry's remit to conduct estimates of potential impacts of the number of years of the lease length and the capital value for flats or houses.
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil Tax: Tax YieldsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103896More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of aggregate council tax receipts in England in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29.
Answer: As part of the provisional settlement the Government has made estimates of changes to Core Spending power between 2026 and 2029. This includes estimates of the council tax requirements councils will set for those years. These estimates are set out here - ...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: Working HoursMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103895More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will re-introduce the guidance entitled Four-day working week arrangements in local authorities, withdrawn on 8 November 2024.
Answer: The Secretary of State wrote to all Council Leaders and Chief Executives in England on 19 December 2025, setting out the Government’s policy that local authorities should not be offering full time pay for part time work. This policy is reflected in the Be...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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