The Department does not collect such data and has not commissioned research to quantify vacancies nationally. It sometimes purchases commercial property market data, including vacancy information, from external providers to support internal policy development. The government continues to engage regularly with local authorities on high street regeneration and related issues.

The government recognises the important economic and social contribution that markets make to our high streets and town centres. Local authorities are empowered to make decisions on running, supporting and investing in local markets in their areas.

However, we want to ensure that markets can thrive where they are established. From 1 April 2026, we introduced permanently lower business rates multipliers for qualifying retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000, including markets.

Communities can also choose to invest in markets through the Government’s Pride in Place programme, which will provide £20 million over 10 years to 284 of the most deprived places in the UK, empowering local people to make decisions about what is important to them, including markets.

Later this year, we will also bring forward a High Streets Strategy, backed by £301 million of support, to help turn the tide on the high streets most in need.

Local authorities may hold public open space subject to a statutory trust or public recreation under section 10 of the Open Spaces Act 1906 and section 164 of the Public Health Act 1875.The disposal or appropriation of such land is governed by the Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972), which requires local authorities to comply with the statutory advertisement procedures and consider any objections before a statutory trust can be released.

The amendment to the LGA 1972 in relation to statutory trusts by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 does not reduce those protections but it closes a gap in the law which was exposed by the Supreme Court case of R (Day) v Shropshire Council. This gap in the law had meant that if these procedures were not followed by the local authority, there would be no mechanism, whether under the LGA 1972 or otherwise, by which the statutory trust can be released.

This amendment to empower the Secretary of State to discharge the trust by way of a Statutory Trust Discharge Order (STDO) is carefully targeted, only applying where a local authority failed to comply with the advertisement requirements under the LGA 1972. In such situations and where the freeholder or long leaseholder of the land applies to the Secretary of State for the trust to be discharged, interested parties including town and parish council can make representations under the new regime. If the local authority has complied with its statutory advertising requirements, town and parish councils would have had the opportunity to make representations through the existing LGA 1972 advertising procedures.

We are also undertaking a review of the legislative protections for public recreational green spaces and have committed not to use the STDO power until that review has been completed. We will invite national representative organisations for parish and town councils to contribute their views and expertise as part of the review.

The government is committed to making it easier for hospitality businesses to make use of outdoor space by extending the current maximum duration of pavement licences beyond the current standard two-year period, and consulting on the case for a minimum term length.

The details of these reforms will be developed in collaboration with local government and industry and further detail will be set out in due course.

Local licensing authorities are often best placed to make licensing decisions based on their local knowledge and we encourage local authorities to set them appropriately for their area. They will continue to play a central role in the pavement licensing system, including determining the duration of individual licences.

The government recently ran a shadow Right to Request process, ahead of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act securing Royal Assent. Mayors submitted 43 requests for further devolution through this process. Ministers wrote to Mayors in May to confirm the Government’s response to each request.

The government has already announced detail on several requests which were accepted as part of the first round. This includes decisions which will apply across England – including the devolution of Transport and Works Act Order approvals to all Mayors, and the devolution of Local Innovation Partnerships Funding from the next SR. The 5 June press release referred to in the Honourable Member’s question also lists a number of requests which the Government is taking forward with individual Mayors, to test new approaches in one place before deciding whether to extend these arrangements to other mayoral areas.

The requests submitted by Mayors, and the responses sent to Mayors, have not been published for this shadow round of the process. It is for Mayors to decide whether they wish to share the contents of their letters.

The department has made no assessment of the enforcement practices of local authorities at places of worship. Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, Local authorities are empowered to manage parking and enforcement arrangements in their local areas.

In September 2025 the Local Regeneration Fund (LRF) brought together the Levelling Up Fund, Pathfinders Pilots and Towns Deals, into a single, flexible capital pot; exemplifying this government’s commitment to pushing power to local authorities, reducing burdens and allowing them to get on with delivery.

Overall, local authorities across the UK have been allocated £6,244,132,560 in capital funding through LRF, of which £3,204,986,867 (51.3%) had been reported as spent by local authorities as at 31 March 2026 with some local authorities yet to submit their spend data for the latest reporting period.

Bradford Council manages the LRF allocation for the area , including Keighley. In total the Council has been allocated £96,768,140 in capital funding through LRF, of which £32,235,162 (33.3%) had been reported as spent as at 31 March 2026.

Decisions on managing LRF allocations rest with each authority’s Section 151 Officer or equivalent In the small number of cases where projects are no longer viable, our consolidation means that money can still be used to deliver change.We expect that councils will rescope their plans and use the funding available for a new project in the area that originally stood to benefit, so local residents can feel the improvements to their everyday lives that they have been promised within the timeline of the fund.

This Government is working to help Gillingham and the wider Medway area thrive. Gilligham has received £20m of Pride in Place funding, out of £60m given to Medway Council. This comes alongside £1.5m of Pride in Place Impact Funding to support high street regeneration in Gillingham and Chatham.

The Government will bring forward a High Streets Strategy later this year backed by £301m, which includes funding for the Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund and High Street Rental Auctions. This will empower communities to take control of local assets and bring vacant properties back into use.

Through the UK Government's Pride in Place Programme, up to £5.8 billion is being invested over ten years in 284 neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation. In Northern Ireland, this includes up to £20 million funding and support each for Coleraine and Derry~Londonderry in phase one of the programme. In each place, the local neighbourhood board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which may include investment in community facilities, where this reflects community priorities.

Northern Ireland’s share of funding derived from phase two of the Pride in Place Programme and the Pride in Place Impact Fund for 2025-26 to 2028-29 will be delivered as part of the Local Growth Fund.

We are also delivering fairer funding for local government in England, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement in a decade. This Settlement strengthens the relationship between deprivation and funding need. By 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived. The majority of funding in the Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

MHCLG has drawn on a range of devolution evidence over time, including evaluations of programmes and interventions delivered through devolved arrangements, wider analysis of devolution-related outcomes, and evidence generated by local areas themselves. This includes support for mayoral areas to evaluate the Investment Funds that have historically accompanied devolution deals. We continue to build the evidence base and are considering what further evaluation would add most value in understanding the impacts of devolution, including on local public services.

MHCLG is working across Government to deliver our manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector, following the commitment to establish a Co-operatives Development Unit in the Pride in Place Strategy.

The Government believes that all communities can benefit from devolution, which places powers in the hands of local leaders who understand the opportunities and challenges facing their areas.

Strategic Authorities can play an important role in addressing the distinct challenges often associated with coastal communities, including economic development, transport connectivity, regeneration and skills.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 explicitly recognises coastal communities within the areas of competence for Strategic Authorities. This provides a clear basis for mayors and Strategic Authorities to consider the interests of coastal communities when exercising their functions and developing local priorities.

Growth is this Governments’ number one priority, and our city regions are identified as a key driver of this. Backing our major city regions is about creating strong growth for their whole areas, not just city centres, so that communities in the surrounding towns within commuting reach can benefit.

Growth priorities achieved through MSA Local Growth Plans will be beneficial for all places, boosting overall regional productivity while also reducing inequalities within regions. Everywhere has an important role to play in driving local growth, with many local authorities having or developing local economic strategies

We are supporting places across the country with our Pride in Place programme, which empowers communities to decide how they would like to shape their area and will provide up to £5.8bn funding and support over 10 years to 284 areas, including many coastal and former industrial areas.

The Department will survey a wide range of stakeholders and publish findings in spring 2027. We do not intend to publish an engagement request.

The Advisory Board, including membership, is currently under development. Advice to Ministers will follow in due course.

In accordance with the Better Regulation Framework the private parking Impact Assessment will undergo independent scrutiny by the Regulatory Policy Committee before the government takes its final decisions on the Code.

The maximum parking cap and debt recovery fee were subject to consultation in 2025 and the government response will be published in parallel to the new Code being laid in Parliament in autumn 2026.

There are currently no plans to bring forward the mayoral elections in Greater Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, or Sussex and Brighton.

As previously stated, the government remains committed to the indicative timetable for local government reorganisation set out in July 2025, which will see new unitary authorities created in April 2028. We intend to hold inaugural mayoral elections in the four new combined authority areas in May 2028 to allow them to first complete the reorganisation process and ensure there are firm institutional foundations in place before the mayor takes office.

High street rental auctions empower councils to auction the lease of persistently vacant premises. Throughout the process the landlord retains ownership and will receive the rent generated through the tenancy, thus financially benefitting from secured occupation.

In June, the Government announced £10 million of funding for local authorities in England to refurbish vacant properties and tackle high street eyesores where landlords cannot meet the cost of repair.

We will publish more information on Community Power Pilots, including the places we will be working with and the criteria that will be used, in due course.