Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative estimate his Department has made of the (a) proposed population size of the West Surrey Unitary Authority and (b) largest and (c) smallest unitary authorities in England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposal from Surrey County Council, Elmbridge Borough Council and Mole Valley District Council set out that, based on the 2021 census population data, East Surrey Council would have a population of 545,798, and West Surrey Council 657,309. The Secretary of State decided to implement the two unitary proposal for Surrey, subject to Parliamentary approval, having assessed the proposals against the criteria set out in the statutory guidance and having regard to all representations received through the consultation and to all other relevant information.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative estimate his Department has made of the (a) proposed population size of the West Surrey Unitary Authority and (b) average population size of unitary authorities in England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposal from Surrey County Council, Elmbridge Borough Council and Mole Valley District Council set out that, based on the 2021 census population data, East Surrey Council would have a population of 545,798, and West Surrey Council 657,309. The Secretary of State decided to implement the two unitary proposal for Surrey, subject to Parliamentary approval, having assessed the proposals against the criteria set out in the statutory guidance and having regard to all representations received through the consultation and to all other relevant information.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of restrictions on local councillors who are in debt to the authority they are a member of.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Provisions on the declaration and registration of councillor interests restrict them from participating in decisions where they may have a conflict of interest. Participating in a decision where there is a conflict of interest may be a breach of codes of conduct and potentially a criminal offence.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to remove asbestos from buildings in town centres.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Building owners are responsible for managing safety and performance risks in their buildings, including asbestos, in a proportionate, risk based and evidence-based way. Duty holders must comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, which require them to identify any asbestos, assess its condition, and determine the risk of exposure.
They must maintain an asbestos management plan that sets out how asbestos containing materials will be monitored or, where necessary, safely removed by a licensed contractor. In most cases, asbestos that is in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed is safer left in place and managed appropriately.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the UK’s primary regulator for asbestos. It enforces the regulations, operates the asbestos licensing regime, and provides technical guidance to support compliance.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on special measures for local authorities not meeting statutory requirements for vulnerable children on safeguarding matters.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government is in regular discussion with the Secretary of State for Education on a large number of issues, including on matters related to local authority performance. The Department for Education is responsible for policy on safeguarding and the statutory requirements local authorities must meet in relation to vulnerable children.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative estimate his Department has made of (a) the proposed population size of the West Surrey Unitary Authority and (b) other unitary authorities in England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposal from Surrey County Council, Elmbridge Borough Council and Mole Valley District Council set out that, based on the 2021 census population data, East Surrey Council would have a population of 545,798, and West Surrey Council 657,309. The Secretary of State decided to implement the two unitary proposal for Surrey, subject to Parliamentary approval, having assessed the proposals against the criteria set out in the statutory guidance and having regard to all representations received through the consultation and to all other relevant information.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to support the (a) mental and (b) physical health of the homeless population in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out action to improve health access for people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, in alignment with the 10-Year Health Plan for England. As part of this, we will establish Neighbourhood Health Centres in areas with the lowest healthy life expectancy, acting as ‘one-stop shops’ for patient care and hubs for multi-disciplinary teams delivering holistic, trauma-informed services.
We will test a new model of community care for people for people living with severe mental illness through 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres in six pilot sites and 16 associate sites, to improve access to mental health support, including for people experiencing homelessness or rough sleeping.
We will invest £185 million from 2026-29 and continue to fund the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol treatment programme.
Councils can also use their Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant 2025/26 funding flexibly to meet the needs of people in their areas, including by delivering specialist mental and physical health services. Havering Council received £379,926 funding through this grant this year.
To support the health of families in temporary accommodation, we will introduce a new duty on homelessness teams in local councils to notify schools, health visitors and GPs that a child is in temporary accommodation, helping ensure that they are appropriately supported.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason he has reduced the cash grants from Government element of Core Spending Power to (a) Maldon District Council; and (b) Braintree District Council as part of Core Spending Power in the local government settlement published on 17 December 2025.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provisional Settlement 2026–27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power (CSP) for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025–26. By the end of the multi-year Settlement in 2028-29 Maldon will have a total of £11.3 million, and Braintree will have a total of £24.2 million in CSP.
The government has been clear that councils furthest above their new funding allocations which have benefitted the most from the existing system will need to accept some income losses, to ensure funding can be redirected to where it is assessed as being needed most. Recalculating available business rates alongside a new assessment of funding need will ensure that business rates income is reallocated to meet these changes in relative need - restoring the Business Rates Retention system to its intended purpose of providing a responsive funding stream for local government while rewarding authorities for business rate growth. This group of authorities will still receive protection of 95% of their income, including business rates growth.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking towards drafting technical specifications for energy efficiency for the new homes standard.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department is currently finalising the Future Homes and Buildings Standards following the consultation, which opened in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. As part of establishing the new Government, we have taken the time to carefully review previous proposals to ensure they align with our ambitions in this area. It is essential that we get the technical details right to deliver a robust and workable standard.
Work to develop the technical specifications for new homes has included drafting proposed performance requirements, undertaking detailed modelling, and engaging with industry and other stakeholders. These processes have informed the energy efficiency specifications set out in the consultation. Industry engagement has continued throughout the policy development process. In particular, key issues around rooftop solar have required a series of follow-up discussions with industry to ensure the policy is practical and effective. The consultation response will be published in Q1 this year.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Property Redress Scheme in providing impartial and evidence-based dispute resolution for leaseholders and tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 76613 and Question UIN 76612 on 16 October 2025.