theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Shivani Raja:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32327 on Asylum: Hotels and the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 63118 on Asylum: Housing, whether her Department retains data on (a) occupancy levels and (b) property capacity in relation to asylum accommodation. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Occupancy and Capacity are not terms defined within asylum accommodation contracts. Data on the number of individuals occupying asylum accommodation is published in the quarterly migration statistics.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of community policing in tackling antisocial behaviour linked to waste crime. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

​ As a result of our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated lead officer for ASB, who will work with communities to develop a local ASB action plan, which could include waste crime such as fly tipping

As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional policing personnel into neighbourhood policing. West Midlands Police has been allocated £12,210,903 and will deliver an increase of 289 police officers and 20 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) by 31 March 2026.

These officers will be out patrolling in our town centres and communities, working with partners to tackle anti-social behaviour, including waste crime and fly-tipping, and making our neighbourhoods safer and more welcoming.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider lowering the annual turnover criteria in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for which companies have to produce an annual report on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in (a) operations and (b) supply chains. \p Jess Phillips: The Home Office is currently undertaking a statutory Post-Implementation Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Transparency in Supply Chains) Regulations to assess whether the £36 million total turnover threshold and the definition of total turnover are still appropriate. The conclusion of this review will be published in the Autumn.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to he Written Ministerial Statement on 14 October 2024, HCWS127, what progress she has made on reforming the Animals in Science Regulator to ensure that licence holders are compliant with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. \p Dan Jarvis: The Home Office is in the final stages of delivering a comprehensive programme of regulatory reform to strengthen the Animals in Science Regulation Unit and ensure robust compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). The reforms are designed to enhance protections for animals used in science whilst supporting a high performing, transparent regulatory environment.

As part of this programme the number of Inspectors is increasing from 17 at the end of 2023, to 22 by end of 2025. This expansion will improve the Regulator’s capability to provide oversight, conduct inspections and support licence holders in meeting their statutory obligations.

The reform programme includes a number of key elements: Enhanced governance through the establishment of a new governance board that will advise the Department on the Regulator’s performance; Specialist roles in the Regulator to focus on data, regulatory performance and quality monitoring to improve delivery of protections to animals; Improved Guidance to provide greater clarity and further revisions are in progress; and, Audit reform where a revised approach for the programme of audits of licensed establishments is under consideration which will allow the Regulator to better ensure compliance by effectively targeting resource in alignment with its objectives.

These reforms reflect the Government’s strong commitment to continuous improvement in regulation and assuring that the UK remains a global leader in science and innovation.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of foreign governments investing in UK media on national security. \p Dan Jarvis: As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence issues.

More generally, the Government is committed to a pluralistic media landscape, where citizens are able to access information from a range of sources in order to form opinions. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport have provided an assessment on the potential impact of foreign states investing in UK Newspapers, which can be found in the Written Statement Ministerial of 15 May 2025 - Official Report Vol 767 Col 17WS.
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Warinder Juss:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of missing children in the West Midlands; and what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of Black and Asian missing children. \p Jess Phillips: The Missing Persons Authorised Professional Practice, issued by the College of Policing, sets out best practice guidance for all missing person investigations, including missing children.

The Government recognises the need for an effective multi-agency response to missing person investigations. To this end, the Home Office and Department for Education have been supporting the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for Missing Persons in the development of a ‘Missing Children from Care’ framework, which has been piloted in West Yorkshire. This framework outlines good practice that can be adopted by local areas when setting up their own multi-agency protocols for the strategic and operational response to a missing incident, with an aim to ensure that the appropriate safeguarding partner responds in the best interest of the missing person.

The Home Office has also funded the NPCC for Missing Persons to conduct research to explore disproportionality and discrimination in police missing persons investigations; comparing how risk is categorised in different ethnic groups. The final report is nearing completion.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals to Prevent related to Islamist ideology have been made in the last three years. \p Dan Jarvis: Information about Prevent referrals and Channel cases can be found on GOV.UK Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme statistics - GOV.UK.

Official statistics on individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme for year ending 31 March 2025 will be published later this year.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Prevent cases resulted in prosecutions for Islamist-related offences during the past year. \p Dan Jarvis: Prevent seeks to intervene early and provide support to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Prevent is not an investigative tool or a criminal sanction, and prosecution is not the intended outcome.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle online Islamist (a) radicalisation and (b) propaganda targeting young people. \p Dan Jarvis: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 9 July to Question 64852.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are under surveillance by counter-terrorism police for suspected links to Islamist extremism. \p Dan Jarvis: As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence matters. However, we continuously assess potential threats to the UK and, where necessary, deploy the full range of tools available to mitigate them.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether foreign nationals convicted of Islamist extremist offences are automatically considered for deportation. \p Dan Jarvis: Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity.
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Dan Aldridge:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the sale or promotion of merchandise linked to (a) the Wagner Group and (b) other proscribed terrorist organisations on (i) UK-based and (ii) UK-accessible websites; and what enforcement action is being taken against companies found to be doing so. \p Dan Jarvis: It is a matter for the operationally independent police and Crown Prosecution Service to determine if a crime has been committed under Sections 11-13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT), and what action should be taken in response.

Under the Online Safety Act, tech companies are accountable to Ofcom, an independent regulator, to keep their users safe, and they need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content, including terrorist material. Tech companies can be held liable for unlawful terrorism-related content on their services once they have knowledge of it. It is on this basis that the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit in the Metropolitan Police refers terrorism content to companies for removal.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ask the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation to publish guidance on what constitutes terrorism in the event of an attack by a hostile state. \p Dan Jarvis: To declare an attack as a terrorist incident is an operationally independent decision for the Police, taken in line with the definition of terrorism as set out in Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) help prevent radicalisation in (i) mosques, (ii) Islamic schools and (iii) community centres. \p Dan Jarvis: The Prevent duty was introduced through the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and requires a range of public sector bodies working in local communities to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism as part of their day-to-day work.

The Prevent programme is run locally by experts who understand the risks and issues in their area, and how best to support their communities including working with faith institutions, education and community settings. These experts include local authorities, the Police, charities and community organisations.

In addition, the programme provides training for educators, healthcare professionals and other frontline staff to help them identify and support those susceptible to radicalisation. Prevent also works closely with local partners, policing, and other government departments to disrupt those groups that radicalise others, both online and in communities.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was the cost to the public purse of assessing Hamas' appeal against proscription. \p Dan Jarvis: No assessment of those costs has yet been carried out.
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Peter Lamb:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of releasing withheld historic documents relating to (a) Mark Thatcher and the Omanis, (b) Request by Electronic Data Systems to employ Mark Thatcher, (c) proceedings of the Profumo inquiry and (d) the Peter Wright Spycatcher case. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: No. These records are subject to regular review in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act 1958.
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Dan Carden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Procurement Policy Statement, published on 12 February 2025, when he plans to introduce a public interest test for contracting authorities to assess whether work should be outsourced. \p Georgia Gould: The Government is determined to deliver high quality public services and better value for money for the taxpayer. The Government is currently consulting on introducing a public interest test to assess whether expiring contracts could be better delivered, and drive better value for money, in-house. Contracting authorities are responsible for their own procurement decisions; introducing a public interest test will mean that authorities make evidenced-based decisions on the best way to deliver public services.
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Dan Carden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to consult trade unions on the (a) award of public contracts and (b) appointment of strategic suppliers. \p Georgia Gould: The Government is determined to ensure public money spent on public procurement delivers economic growth, supports small businesses, champions innovation, creates good jobs and skills opportunities across the country, and maximises social value.

Public sector procurement is subject to a legal framework set out by the Procurement Act, which encourages free and open competition and a focus on delivering value for money, in line with internationally and nationally agreed obligations and regulations. There is no specific legal requirement to consult trade unions on the award of public contracts or the selection of Strategic Suppliers. Individual Contracting Authorities are responsible for their own procurement and contract award decisions under the Act. Strategic Suppliers are selected based on the scale, scope and criticality of the services they provide, and are overseen centrally to observe their performance in the delivery of public services.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 48185 on Government: Policy, whether Mission Champions may have access to internal government papers. \p Ellie Reeves: I refer the Rt.Honorable Member to the response to PQ48185.
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Sarah Edwards:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government paid Microsoft for digital services for the last 12 months for which data is available. \p Georgia Gould: Full information on government spend with Microsoft is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office (CO), as individual departments and public bodies are responsible for their own procurement and contractual arrangements.

However, the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, manages the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) with Microsoft.

Through SPA24, approximately £1.9 billion has been spent on Microsoft software licences via third-party resellers in the financial year 2024/25. SPA24 enables all eligible UK public sector organisations to access discounted pricing on a range of Microsoft products.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the document entitled Cabinet Office spend approvals: January to March 2025, published on 27 June 2025, what the purpose is of the Advertising, Marketing and Communications spending on Q4 mission activity; what (a) suppliers and (b) firms have been contracted to undertake this work; and what media channels will be used. \p Georgia Gould: The Q4 mission activity spend formed part of ongoing New Media Unit (NMU) work. The NMU utilises a wide range of digital and social media channels to reach target audiences.

The frameworks used for this spend were Campaign Solutions 2 (RM6125) and Media Services (RM6123).
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the document entitled Committee on Standards in Public Life 334th Meeting, Thursday 15 May 2025: Minutes, published on 30 June 2025, if he will place in the Library a copy of the research paper by José Pedro Lopes of the University of Manchester. \p Georgia Gould: The Committee on Standards in Public Life is an independent advisory body. It is a matter for the Committee to determine the information it publishes.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has received any correspondence from external organisations on the Ethics and Integrity Commission since 4 July 2024. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Cabinet Office regularly receives correspondence on a range of policy issues, including on manifesto commitments.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62332 on Civil Service: Redundancy, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential number of exits under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme in each financial year until 2028-29. \p Georgia Gould: Departments have been commissioned to provide information on their planned use of exits to inform the development of the Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan, due to be published later this year.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the secretary to each Cabinet (a) committee and (b) sub-committee. \p Georgia Gould: The Cabinet Secretariat works on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary to support Cabinet committees. Cabinet committees are supported by the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, the National Security Secretariat and the European and Global Issues Secretariat according to the Terms of Reference of the committee.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Deputy Prime Minister has chaired Cabinet in the absence of the Prime Minister. \p Georgia Gould: The Deputy Prime Minister chaired Cabinet on 17 June 2025.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which organisations have been invited to meet his Department in plenary sessions to discuss the intellectual property rights of creative industries. \p Feryal Clark: The Government has committed to establishing stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.

In line with debates in Parliament on the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, the Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are convening the first meeting of these stakeholder working groups on 16th July. The Government will publish details and a list of working group members in due course.
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Sarah Edwards:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy to transition government digital services to (a) free and (b) open-source providers. \p Feryal Clark: Where appropriate, the Government makes use of free and open-source providers. The Digital, Data & Technology playbook provides guidance on sourcing and contracting for digital, data and technology projects and programmes. Cabinet Office & Government Digital Service are currently working together to define a comprehensive sourcing strategy for what we build, what we buy and how we partner. This will include use of open-source solutions.
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Dame Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to take steps through a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence to (a) mandate safety-by-design principles, (b) mitigate potential harms and (c) prevent AI-generated child sexual abuse material. \p Feryal Clark: As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.

On Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) specifically, creating, possessing, or distributing AI-generated CSAM is illegal, and the Online Safety Act requires services to identify and remove it. We are also taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create CSAM.
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Dame Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to require social media platforms to enable users to transfer their (a) data, (b) content and (c) connections between competing services, in the context of the Digital Choice Act in Utah, US. \p Chris Bryant: Article 20 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) already provides individuals with a right to ‘data portability’. It applies where an individual has provided their personal data to one data controller based on consent or a contract and wants that organisation to transmit it directly to another data controller. The right only applies to personal data that is being processed by automated means and where the transmission would be technically feasible.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, has published guidance for organisations on the right to data portability, which can be viewed at Right to data portability | ICO.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the cyber security industry in Manchester Rusholme on economic growth in the North West; and whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to update the Computer Misuse Act 1990. \p Feryal Clark: The government’s new Industrial Strategy highlights cyber security as a strategically important sector and one with potential for high growth. The annual UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis shows the sector is worth £13.2 billion, up 12% on the previous year, having grown significantly each year since the analysis began.

Greater Manchester is recognised in the Industrial Strategy as a key centre of innovation and technology, with our analysis showing 8% of UK cyber companies and 10% of the country’s cyber workforce are based in the North West. Last year the North West attracted £101.5m in private equity cyber security investment, accounting for 49% of the UK total, the most for any region or devolved administration in the UK. The region is home to the Digital Information Security Hub (DiSH) and The University of Manchester is also recognised as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research, highlighting Manchester’s importance in the cyber security industry.

The Home Office is reviewing the Computer Misuse Act, and will update on proposals taken forward in due course.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much the Met Office has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years. \p Feryal Clark: The Met Office has had the ability to track and report totals for the provision of monitors, mice and keyboards for staff working from home, where required, since August 2024. Since then, the total cost to date is £21,551.95.

For the period preceding August 2024, it is not possible to identify the costs specifically related to home working without incurring disproportionate cost.
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Louise Haigh:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Antisemitism Policy Trust entitled Antisemitism Goes Viral, published on 19 December 2024. \p Feryal Clark: The Government condemns all forms of hate crime, including antisemitism, and recognises the serious concerns raised in the Antisemitism Policy Trust’s report about the prevalence of antisemitic abuse online.

We are committed to ensuring that users can engage online without fear of harassment or abuse. Since publication of this report, the illegal safety duties under the Online Safety Act have come into force, Online platforms and search services need to prioritise tackling hateful content under their new duties, subject to Ofcom’s regulatory oversight.
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Louise Haigh:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions (a) he and (b) his Department has had with (a) health, (b) environment, (c) energy, (d) film, (e) education, (f) business and (g) transport regulators on the impact of AI technology on their areas of regulation. \p Feryal Clark: Please refer to the answer the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology gave on 14 July to Question 66210.
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Wera Hobhouse:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions his Department has had with experts on (a) transitional science and (b) change management on the roadmap to phase out animal testing. \p Feryal Clark: The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. This transition must be science-led and the Government has been consulting industry, academia and civil society as this process unfolds.

Although we have not yet engaged specifically on translational science and change management, we will consider this as we move into implementation of the Strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, which we will publish later this year. We will shortly host a workshop with translational experts ahead of publication of the strategy.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help tackle digital skills inequalities. \p Chris Bryant: In February we published a Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year to boost digital inclusion across the UK.

These will be targeted at local initiatives for boosting digital skills and confidence, widening access to devices and connectivity, and supporting people in their communities. This includes increasing digital upskilling, and enhancing support for the Essential Digital Skills framework, which helps businesses and individuals obtain the necessary digital skills.

Additionally, The Department will deliver a £187 million 'TechFirst' programme and a charter to deliver AI skills for 7.5 million workers.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to keep children safe online. \p Feryal Clark: Keeping children safe online is a priority for this government. Through the Online Safety Act, children already benefit from the protections of the illegal content duties, and later this month the child safety duties will come into force, providing additional protections. Once in force, services in-scope will be required to protect children from harmful content, including pornography, suicide and self-harm material.

Ofcom – the regulator of the Act – has robust enforcement powers to use should services not comply with their duties. The government continues to consider all options in pursuit of child online safety building on provisions in the Act.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that religious organisations’ assets are scrutinised before making decisions regarding an extension of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. \p Chris Bryant: The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme offers grants towards the VAT incurred on eligible repairs and renovations and is open to all listed places of worship. The future of the grant scheme will be considered as we work through the output of the Spending Review and Departmental business planning process.

Grants for the scheme are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, determined by the eligibility of submitted invoices for repair work. The focus is on the nature of the conservation and repair work undertaken on historic buildings, and an organisation's financial assets or standing are not considered in the decision-making process.
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Stephen Gethins:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation protecting the operability of purchased video games. \p Chris Bryant: The Government is aware of concerns relating to the operability of video games including the life-span of licensed, online-only video games. We appreciate the frustrations of players of some games that have been discontinued. The Government has responded to a petition on this issue.

There are no plans to amend existing consumer law on disabling video games. Those selling games must comply with existing requirements in consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). We will continue to monitor this issue.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Glastonbury organisers on comments made at the festival by Kneecap. \p Chris Bryant: The Culture Secretary has made clear that previous comments made by Kneecap are appalling, and that celebrating and promoting prescribed terrorist organisations is a criminal offence. This Government unequivocally condemns threatening remarks made towards any individual, and political intimidation and abuse must have no place in our society.

Following conversations between the Secretary of State and members of the Jewish community on concerns about imagery and slogans on display at the festival, DCMS officials have met with Glastonbury organisers for detailed discussions on their procedures to monitor imagery on site, and the due diligence processes undertaken for festival acts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_220

Peter Lamb:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the reasons for which the National Archives has amended its policies on the disclosure of public records. \p Chris Bryant: The National Archives has not amended its policies regarding either the disclosure or reclosure of public records.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_221

Lee Pitcher:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children living in temporary accommodation in Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme constituency. \p Rushanara Ali: The government publishes statistics on homelessness including the number of children in temporary accommodation each quarter through gov.uk. You can find the data gov.uk here.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_222

Claire Hazelgrove:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of discrepancies between voter identification documents and electoral register entries caused by (a) failure to update identification documents of a change of surname following marriage (b) other named-related reasons on trends in the level of voter participation; and what steps her Department is taking to communicate the need for identification documents to match the electoral register for future elections. \p Rushanara Ali: As set out in the Elections Act 2022, where there is a discrepancy between the name shown on an elector’s identification document and how their name is recorded on the electoral register, that elector may still use that document if they are able to explain the discrepancy to the satisfaction of the presiding officer, and may provide further evidence (e.g. a marriage certificate) when doing so

This information is set out on poll cards and is displayed in polling stations.

No assessment has been made on the potential impacts that such discrepancies might have on levels of voter participation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_223

Vikki Slade:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she expects new elected mayoral roles to be filled for each authority. \p Jim McMahon: The consultations in the six areas on the Devolution Priority Programme have now closed, and the government is carefully considering the evidence collected. Further updates will be communicated in the usual way, in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_224

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 20 June 2025 on Fair Funding Review 2.0 and Modernising and Improving the Administration of Council Tax, HCWS724, how much was allocated to the New Homes Bonus including legacy payments by tier of local government in England in 2024-25. \p Jim McMahon: New Homes Bonus allocations are published online, and the amounts awarded in 2024-25 can be found gov.uk here. The then government ended new legacy payments in 2020-21, with final payments made in 2022-23.

The totals allocated by tier in 2024-25 are as follows:

Authority type

Total

Shire District

£101,455,702

London Borough

£50,146,660

Metropolitan District

£35,078,441

Unitary Authority

£78,760,516

Shire Counties

£25,363,926
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_225

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 9.3.3 of her Department's publication entitled The Fair Funding Review 2.0, published on 20 June 2025, what estimate she has made of the number of local authorities at the 0% funding floor. \p Jim McMahon: The vast majority of upper-tier authorities will see their income increase in real terms over the next three years.

For those councils who would see their funding fall as a result of these changes, our intention to protect the vast majority of these councils’ income through a flat cash funding floor.

We will engage directly with a small number of councils whose new share of funding is furthest from where they are currently, to support them to manage larger losses. Many of these councils have prepared for long overdue reforms which the previous government consulted on, including by setting aside reserves.

Our proposed transitional arrangements are subject to consultation and we will set out the detail of them in the autumn. We will then publish allocations at the provisional multi-year Settlement later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_226

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 9.4.8 of her Department's publication entitled The Fair Funding Review 2.0, published on 20 June 2025, what estimate she has made of the level of council tax receipts in England in each year of the multi-year settlement. \p Jim McMahon: It is for individual councils to set their own level of council tax. The Spending Review assumed a 3% core referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept over the period, in line with OBR forecasts. The final set of referendum principles will be set out each year as part of the local government final settlement each year, subject the approval of the House of Commons, in the usual way.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_227

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 6.2.5 of her Department's publication entitled The Fair Funding Review 2.0, published on 20 June 2025, how the £2,000 Band D figure is split in two-tier areas where districts and counties set different council tax precepts. \p Jim McMahon: As set out in paragraph 6.2.5 of the Fair Funding Review 2.0, the government is proposing to set the notional Council Tax level at the average Band D level of Council Tax in England for authorities in scope of these reforms (circa £2000 in 2026-27). This includes the social care precept and the fire precept (including the fire element of mayoral precepts), but does not include police or parish precepts.

For each multi-tier area, the government is proposing to apply a uniform split to the measure of Council Tax in the resources adjustment based on the average split for all multi tier areas in England.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_228

Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) support available to fire and rescue staff who attend traumatic incidents and (b) suicide prevention training provided to fire and rescue staff. \p Alex Norris: The health and wellbeing of firefighters is of the utmost importance. The government recognises the risks that firefighters face and is grateful to them for their bravery. Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) are ultimately responsible for the health and wellbeing of firefighters and the government-issued National Framework directs that all Fire and Rescue Authorities should have a people strategy which sets out the mental and physical health and wellbeing support available to firefighters.

National organisations such as The Fire Fighters Charity and Mind also offer valuable support to individuals and services. Their resources can assist Fire and Rescue Authorities in developing local approaches to managing mental health risks and promoting the wellbeing of their workforce.

The health and wellbeing support provided by Fire and Rescue services is considered by the fire inspectorate (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) in the course of their work.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_229

Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that innovative UK building products are approved for use in a timely manner. \p Alex Norris: The Construction Products Green Paper, published earlier this year, set out a range of potential measures for reform. This included proposals which seek to encourage the adoption of new technologies and methodologies that promote safety and sustainability in construction, simultaneously facilitating growth. We also sought views through the green paper on ways to support and encourage innovation in the built environment by ensuring that the safety and regulation of emerging technologies is robust enough to assure a safer future for the built environment. We also consider that there is a need for greater public sector testing and research capacity to support regulatory activity and research safety issues.

We are now analysing responses and will set out the government’s initial response, and our next steps for long term reform.

More broadly, all building works need to meet the functional requirements of the Building Regulations 2010 regardless of the products or methods used. The functional requirements are product agnostic, allowing designers the freedom to innovate and design new ways to comply.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_230

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many approvals for the disposal of allotments she has made under section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 since 4 July 2024; and what the (a) location and (b) reference number of each disposal is. \p Alex Norris: Since 4 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government has issued 8 approvals for the disposal of allotments under the Allotments Act 1925. See the available data on locations and LPA reference numbers below:

Location / Address Line

Town

County

LPA Application Reference

LPA Name

Land at Spaxton Allotments, Spaxton

Bridgwater

Somerset

G3300

Somerset County Council

Land ar Wallingford Road Allotments, Wallingford Road

Cholsey

Oxfordshire

N/A

South Oxfordshire District Council

Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council, Stapleton Garden Allotments

Borehamwood

Hertfordshire

Stapleton Gardens Allotments

Hertsmere Borough Council

Kingsway Allotments

Ashfield

Nottinghamshire

N/A

Ashfield District Council

Ravenscroft Allotments, Browns Lane Storrington

Horsham

West Sussex

n/a

West Sussex County Council

Longlands (Oxcroft) Oxcroft Lane

Old Bolsover

Derbyshire

N/A

Bolsover District Council

Longlands Allotment, Off Longlands

Old Bolsover

Derbyshire

N/A

Bolsover District Council

Churchfield Allotment Site

Wye

Kent

Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council

Ashford Borough Council
wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_231
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-16)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-16 conversation_231

Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase the number of community (a) pubs and (b) social clubs. \p Alex Norris: This Government recognises the crucial role that pubs and social clubs play in our communities, supporting local economies, providing a sense of community pride, and fostering belonging and connection.

We want to support communities to take ownership of assets that are important to them. Community Right to Buy, introduced in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, will help local people acquire valued community spaces, such as pubs and social clubs, if they come up for sale, keeping these assets in the hands of the community.