Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 101 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether she plans to postpone local authority elections in Devon in 2025.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is usual for the government to take account of requests for reorganisation, and to decide on the appropriateness of elections taking place to local authorities which are planned to be replaced, usually postponing to allow elections to the new shadow authorities soon after.
I will consider any requests I receive to postpone the May 2025 local authority elections in Devon, Essex or elsewhere only where this will help the areas to deliver both reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeframe – either through the Devolution Priority Programme or where reorganisation is necessary to unlock devolution or open up new devolution options. As I set out in my letter of 16 December to those councils, I will need a clear commitment to these aims, including a request from the council(s) whose election is to be postponed, on or before Friday 10 January.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2024 to Question 16934 on Devolution: Essex, whether the May 2025 local elections will take place as scheduled.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is usual for the government to take account of requests for reorganisation, and to decide on the appropriateness of elections taking place to local authorities which are planned to be replaced, usually postponing to allow elections to the new shadow authorities soon after.
I will consider any requests I receive to postpone the May 2025 local authority elections in Devon, Essex or elsewhere only where this will help the areas to deliver both reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeframe – either through the Devolution Priority Programme or where reorganisation is necessary to unlock devolution or open up new devolution options. As I set out in my letter of 16 December to those councils, I will need a clear commitment to these aims, including a request from the council(s) whose election is to be postponed, on or before Friday 10 January.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) fire risk appraisals and (b) EWS1 assessments carried out by an engineer who has been suspended by the Institution of Fire Engineers must be reassessed.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Robust auditing processes are in place to ensure that all Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEWs) for buildings in the Government’s remediation funding programmes meet appropriate standards before the associated funding application can progress. Where required, feedback is given to allow assessors to make appropriate changes to the FRAEW to address any deficiencies identified. Reassessments of appraisals are not therefore necessary.
EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement. Their use is a commercial decision by lenders and subject to their individual lending criteria. If residents have concerns about the fire safety of their building they should raise this with the building owner or person responsible for fire safety.
The Institution of Fire Engineers is an independent organisation following bespoke reporting and investigation processes. Following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Report, the Department is reviewing the findings and recommendations in relation to the fire engineering sector.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to engage with local communities in Devon on local government restructuring.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The English Devolution White Paper sets out the Government’s plans for local government reorganisation, and that the Government will write to council leaders as soon as possible to formally invite proposals, setting out information on our criteria for sustainable unitary structures, how and when to submit proposals and how the government intends to respond to proposals.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 17560 on Local Government Services: Rural Areas, whether her Department has carried out an environmental principles assessment on repurposing the Rural Services Delivery Grant.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provisional settlement, published on 18 December, increases the total additional grant funding which will be made available to local councils in England through the settlement to over £2 billion. This Government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. No council will see a reduction – and new funding will be available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments.
The government intends to include a summary of the equalities impacts of its proposals as part of the response to the consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement 2025 to 26. This will be published alongside the final settlement, as usual.
The government considered the implications of all decisions made through the provisional Settlement and is of the view that the Rural Services Delivery Grant does not properly account for need. It is important also to note that the Rural Services Delivery Grant was not paid to all local authorities delivering services in rural areas, as such it did not do as it suggested.
As set out in the Environmental principles assessment guide, decisions around the spending or allocation of resources within government are exempt from the duty to give due regard to the Policy Statement on Environmental Principles.
Annex A of the Rural Services Delivery Grant Determination 2024-25: (No. 31/7256), sets out allocations in 2024-25. The total allocation of Rural Services Delivery Grant 2024-25 to local authorities in England was £104,645,256.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 17560 on Local Government Services: Rural Areas, if she will publish that equality impact assessment.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provisional settlement, published on 18 December, increases the total additional grant funding which will be made available to local councils in England through the settlement to over £2 billion. This Government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. No council will see a reduction – and new funding will be available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments.
The government intends to include a summary of the equalities impacts of its proposals as part of the response to the consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement 2025 to 26. This will be published alongside the final settlement, as usual.
The government considered the implications of all decisions made through the provisional Settlement and is of the view that the Rural Services Delivery Grant does not properly account for need. It is important also to note that the Rural Services Delivery Grant was not paid to all local authorities delivering services in rural areas, as such it did not do as it suggested.
As set out in the Environmental principles assessment guide, decisions around the spending or allocation of resources within government are exempt from the duty to give due regard to the Policy Statement on Environmental Principles.
Annex A of the Rural Services Delivery Grant Determination 2024-25: (No. 31/7256), sets out allocations in 2024-25. The total allocation of Rural Services Delivery Grant 2024-25 to local authorities in England was £104,645,256.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much each eligible local authority received in Rural Services Delivery Grant in 2024-25; and how much was allocated in total.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provisional settlement, published on 18 December, increases the total additional grant funding which will be made available to local councils in England through the settlement to over £2 billion. This Government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. No council will see a reduction – and new funding will be available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments.
The government intends to include a summary of the equalities impacts of its proposals as part of the response to the consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement 2025 to 26. This will be published alongside the final settlement, as usual.
The government considered the implications of all decisions made through the provisional Settlement and is of the view that the Rural Services Delivery Grant does not properly account for need. It is important also to note that the Rural Services Delivery Grant was not paid to all local authorities delivering services in rural areas, as such it did not do as it suggested.
As set out in the Environmental principles assessment guide, decisions around the spending or allocation of resources within government are exempt from the duty to give due regard to the Policy Statement on Environmental Principles.
Annex A of the Rural Services Delivery Grant Determination 2024-25: (No. 31/7256), sets out allocations in 2024-25. The total allocation of Rural Services Delivery Grant 2024-25 to local authorities in England was £104,645,256.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 17552 on Local Government: Employers’ Contributions, what representations her Department has received on the cost of local government procurement of (a) goods and (b) services in the context of the planned increase in employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department regularly engages with a wide range of councils and representative bodies. Alongside the provisional Settlement, the government launched a consultation that seeks views, in particular from representatives of local government, on proposals for the local government finance settlement for 2025-26.
We propose to allocate £515 million of additional funding to support local government manage the impact of changes to employer NICs between local authorities in England based on their shares of total relevant net current expenditure. We have published a methodology note to assist councils with their financial planning and will provide final allocations to individual local authorities by the final Local Government Finance Settlement in early 2025.