Housing, Communities and Local Government

In February 2025, the Government published their response to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Holocaust Memorial Bill. In line with an undertaking given to the Select Committee, the Government:

Have submitted representations via the Planning Casework Unit that security should remain a key issue.

Have consulted on security with the Metropolitan Police Service, the National Protective Security Authority, the Community Security Trust, Westminster city council, and the corporate officers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Are depositing consultees’ comments in the Libraries of both Houses, except where security sensitive.

The Government are grateful for comments received from consultees and look forward to continuing close engagement as the programme proceeds.

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We are nation of a thousand neighbourhoods, where our identity and sense of belonging all depend on what is around us. When the streets are clean and the high streets are thriving, times are good. But when shops are empty and crime is rife, those are the moments when we ask what is going wrong. As part of the Government’s commitment to restoring Pride in Place, we are today announcing further measures to echo the pride that people have in their town and city centres, ahead of the publication of the high streets strategy this summer.

First, we will deepen our commitment to tackling the blight of boarded-up shops, which damages the vibrancy of high streets and encourages antisocial behaviour. Since 2024, through a partnership with 12 early adopter local authorities, we have been successfully trialling high street rental auctions. These are new powers that enable councils to auction the lease of high street premises that have been empty for over a year in a two-year period, and compel the landlord to accept an offer. The experience of these councils shows that the powers are an effective lever to engage landlords, as over 60 high street shop units have been reoccupied without a rental auction needing to be held, and evidence of a tangible impact on vacancy rates. We now want to see these powers being taken up across the country, and to do this we will provide £10 million over the next two years, available to local authorities across England to apply for to fund refurbishment grants and other associated costs. This will open these spaces up to new tenants—not just taking out eyesores, but providing businesses with access to tenancies at below-market rent.