Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation published on 22 January 2026, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) Basildon Council and (b) Essex County Council on local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per the Secretary of State’s statement on 22 January, the necessary legislation will be laid shortly to postpone a minority of local elections in 2026, including Thurrock Council.
The Department has had a range of discussions with councils across the country in recent weeks about local government reorganisation and elections, including with Basildon Council and Essex County Council.
In relation to local elections in 2027, we anticipate that in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock these will be for any new unitary authorities that are announced following the recent statutory consultation. Once a decision is taken on which final proposal for unitary local government, if any, is to be implemented, we will bring forward a Structural Changes Order as soon as possible to give councils certainty. Officials in my Department, alongside the Electoral Commission and other sector bodies, support Returning Officers with some aspects of election preparation to ensure they are progressing effectively.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation published on 22 January 2026, whether he plans to issue guidance to Thurrock Council on planning 2027 local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per the Secretary of State’s statement on 22 January, the necessary legislation will be laid shortly to postpone a minority of local elections in 2026, including Thurrock Council.
The Department has had a range of discussions with councils across the country in recent weeks about local government reorganisation and elections, including with Basildon Council and Essex County Council.
In relation to local elections in 2027, we anticipate that in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock these will be for any new unitary authorities that are announced following the recent statutory consultation. Once a decision is taken on which final proposal for unitary local government, if any, is to be implemented, we will bring forward a Structural Changes Order as soon as possible to give councils certainty. Officials in my Department, alongside the Electoral Commission and other sector bodies, support Returning Officers with some aspects of election preparation to ensure they are progressing effectively.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation published on 22 January 2026, whether he has had discussions on the postponement of Basildon's 2027 local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per the Secretary of State’s statement on 22 January, the necessary legislation will be laid shortly to postpone a minority of local elections in 2026, including Thurrock Council.
The Department has had a range of discussions with councils across the country in recent weeks about local government reorganisation and elections, including with Basildon Council and Essex County Council.
In relation to local elections in 2027, we anticipate that in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock these will be for any new unitary authorities that are announced following the recent statutory consultation. Once a decision is taken on which final proposal for unitary local government, if any, is to be implemented, we will bring forward a Structural Changes Order as soon as possible to give councils certainty. Officials in my Department, alongside the Electoral Commission and other sector bodies, support Returning Officers with some aspects of election preparation to ensure they are progressing effectively.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 potential merits of Thurrock Council's request to postpone the 2026 local elections following the cancellation of the 2025 local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per the Secretary of State’s statement on 22 January, the necessary legislation will be laid shortly to postpone a minority of local elections in 2026, including Thurrock Council.
The Department has had a range of discussions with councils across the country in recent weeks about local government reorganisation and elections, including with Basildon Council and Essex County Council.
In relation to local elections in 2027, we anticipate that in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock these will be for any new unitary authorities that are announced following the recent statutory consultation. Once a decision is taken on which final proposal for unitary local government, if any, is to be implemented, we will bring forward a Structural Changes Order as soon as possible to give councils certainty. Officials in my Department, alongside the Electoral Commission and other sector bodies, support Returning Officers with some aspects of election preparation to ensure they are progressing effectively.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for the rollout of Automatic Voter Registration as part of the Democratic Modernisation Strategy.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is exploring more automated approaches to electoral registration over the coming years. Any changes must be tested to ensure they have a positive outcome in an already complex system, which will take time to assess. Some of this work may also require legislative changes which can only be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lorraine Beavers (Labour - Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
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 is taking to ensure that local authorities within the most deprived decile receive above average increases in Core Spending Power in each year of the local government funding settlement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Following extensive consultation and engagement, we are realigning funding distributed through the Local Government Finance Settlement with need and deprivation. These updates will account for local circumstances, including for different ability to raise income locally from council tax. By using the most up to date data available, the government will be able to assess local authorities' relative demand for services more effectively. This includes using the most up to date 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation in our assessment of need.
We introduced the £600 million Recovery Grant in 2025-26 to support the most deprived local authorities. Following a large number of representations, the government has consulted on its plans to maintain the Recovery Grant across the multi-year Settlement; and to provide a Recovery Grant Guarantee, ensuring that upper-tier authorities in receipt of Recovery Grant see an increase of at least 5% in 2026-27, 6% in 2027-28 and 7% 2028-29, compared to their 2025-26 income, subject to a cap of £35m.
As a result of our reforms, the most deprived places – such as Blackpool – will see increases in government funding which ensure that their Core Spending Power per head will on average be higher than in less deprived places.
The government is considering the responses received following the consultation of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027 and will set out a position when the final Settlement is published in early February.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Department's press release entitled Councils granted flexibility to finish reorganisation published on 22 January 2026, whether the Statutory Instrument to delay local elections will include in the Explanatory Note the reason why those councils have been selected for postponement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State’s decisions were explained in his Statements to the House on 22 January and the letter he sent to council leaders, which was also copied to the Honourable Member, and is publicly available.
The Department will now prepare the necessary Order, which will be laid in both Houses when Parliamentary time allows. The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the statutory instrument is required to set out the policy context including what is being done by the instrument and why.
It is not within the Secretary of State’s gift to change the process for Parliamentary scrutiny of a statutory instrument as this is prescribed in primary legislation, in this case by section 105(5) of the Local Government Act 2000.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 extent to which temporary accommodation provided by local authorities includes access to essential (a) furniture and (b) household appliances.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not collect data on the furniture and appliances provided in temporary accommodation.
Local authorities can use the Household Support Fund up until March 31, and from April, the Crisis and Resilience Fund, to provide discretionary help with essential items such as furniture and household appliances.
Chapter 17 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance includes information on the suitability of accommodation and makes clear that accommodation which may lack or require sharing of important amenities, such as cooking and laundry facilities, should be avoided wherever possible. You can access the Code of Guidance on gov.uk here.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his letter to council leaders whose elections he is seeking to postpone published on 22 January 2026, if he will make it his policy to utilise the affirmative procedure to postpone local elections through a statutory instrument.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State’s decisions were explained in his Statements to the House on 22 January and the letter he sent to council leaders, which was also copied to the Honourable Member, and is publicly available.
The Department will now prepare the necessary Order, which will be laid in both Houses when Parliamentary time allows. The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the statutory instrument is required to set out the policy context including what is being done by the instrument and why.
It is not within the Secretary of State’s gift to change the process for Parliamentary scrutiny of a statutory instrument as this is prescribed in primary legislation, in this case by section 105(5) of the Local Government Act 2000.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 to help improve (a) verification and (b) record-keeping of radon mitigation measures by (i) building control bodies and (ii) approved inspectors.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Data on verification and record-keeping by Building Control Bodies and local authority Building Inspectors is not collected centrally. Guidance and information about radon for householders, employers, professionals and local authorities including radon maps, action levels, remedial work and further resources are available from the UK Health Security Agency and the Health & Safety Executive.
The Building Regulations apply to new building work and are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They are supported by statutory guidance called Approved Documents, which are a significant tool for local authority Building Control officers or Registered Building Control Approvers who ensure new building work is compliant.
Approved Document C includes guidance on radon protective measures and refers to the BRE report Radon: Guidance on protective measures for new buildings (including supplementary advice for extensions, conversions and refurbishment projects which is now in its 2023 edition; and to Radon in the workplace; a guide for building owners and managers. The Building Safety Act 2022 requires the Building Safety Regulator to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review; Building Regulations and Approved Documents can then be updated as needed.