Commons Chamber

Monday 24th November 2025

(began 1 hour, 49 minutes ago)

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None Portrait Q2. If he will take steps through the planned homelessness strategy to increase Housing First provision. (906476)
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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Gentleman who has a long standing record campaigning for those who have experienced
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None Portrait Q4. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of his Department's funding for Buckinghamshire Council. (906478)
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as they deliver essential services to my constituents? Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And we
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None Portrait Q10. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Floods Resilience Taskforce on future planning considerations. (906485)
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constituencies affected? I have constituents now wading through sewage after that development to talk about how we can integrate planning with flood prevention.
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None Portrait Q13. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of Pride in Place funding eligibility criteria in Scotland. (906488)
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Minister.
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None Portrait Q15. What steps his Department is taking to help ensure adequate levels of accountability of estate management companies. (906490)
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Yes.
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None Portrait Q16. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that new housing developments are adequately flood resilient. (906491)
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upon for development. Thank you. I thank the hon. Gentleman for
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None Portrait Q19. If he will take steps through the Fair Funding Review 2.0 to ensure that the most deprived Lower layer Super Output Areas receive the largest increases in funding. (906494)
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2.0 truly reflects vast. Internal inequalities, so that resources reach the communities most in need. Mr.
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Josh Simons Portrait Josh Simons MP, The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Makerfield, Labour)
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now published on a monthly basis, aligning more closely with the practices of members across this House. We have also doubled the frequency of publication of information about Ministers interests from twice yearly to quarterly. The Prime Minister further strengthened the ministerial code last month to implement reforms in relation to ministerial severance payments. And just last month, we set up the Ethics and Integrity Commission, as promised in our manifesto, and we reformed the business appointment rules system. The reforms introduced on ministerial severance payments ensure payments are proportionate and fair.

Before the government introduced these reforms, we saw thousands of pounds of public money going to waste. After being claimed again and again and again by members opposite in the last Parliament, as members of the House will no doubt remember, it did not matter whether former conservative Ministers were reappointed or, in the worst cases, forced to resign due to unacceptable behaviour. But I digress. Mr. speaker, unfortunately it is not clear from the question which aspect of the code the hon.

Member wishes to ask about. But for me, as for the Prime Minister, restoring public confidence and trust in this House and in the government across the country is a defining mission. We will continue to seek to uphold standards in public life as we deliver and serve

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this great country here. I thank the Minister for coming

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I thank the Minister for coming today and being. Here. Once again, I'm reminding Ministers of the requirements in the government's requirements in the government's own ministerial code that major announcements should be made in the House in the first instance and not House in the first instance and not the media. I understand that the media announcements must be managed media announcements must be managed carefully, as long as the expectations remain as they are in the ministerial code. And that is the ministerial code.

And that is the problem. It is the ministerial code that has been broken. I will code that has been broken. I will continue to uphold the rights of this House and its members to be treated with respect and to be treated with respect and to be first to hear any major announcements. And unfortunately, some Ministers decide to make comment. Last week when I also had to criticise where they said something about having a Bootle. something about having a Bootle. Well, the point is those Ministers need to learn.

Maybe they ought to learn the facts of the ministerial learn the facts of the ministerial code before they make comments in the media. Yes, Alex Burghart.

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the media. Yes, Alex Burghart. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for granting this urgent question. I mean, no offence
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Alex Burghart Portrait Alex Burghart MP (Brentwood and Ongar, Conservative)
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of the ministerial code. Ministers must ensure that no conflict of interest arises or could reasonably interest arises or could reasonably be perceived to arise. But in the case of David Kogan and the Prime Minister, it's clear that a Minister, it's clear that a perceived conflict has arisen. Mr. Kogan told Select Committee on the Kogan told Select Committee on the 7th of May that he donated money to the Prime Minister's leadership campaign, before the Prime Minister campaign, before the Prime Minister appointed him as football regular.

Surely, given the circumstances, full transparency is required. How full transparency is required. How much money did the Prime Minister receive from Mr. Kogan? We also had the absurd situation of the Prime the absurd situation of the Prime Minister clearing the culture secretary of wrongdoing in this case, despite the fact that the Prime Minister should have recused himself. How did this happen? Over the weekend, the Prime Minister said that Ministers know that if there's any issue, they must refer themselves to the independent adviser. Has the Prime Minister adviser.

Has the Prime Minister referred himself? If not, why not? Surely the House will see that this is pure hypocrisy. Otherwise. And is pure hypocrisy. Otherwise. And last, the Information Commissioner's Office has today said that Ministers criminal said that Ministers criminal convictions do not have to be disclosed to the public. This seems odd. Will the Minister reassure the odd. Will the Minister reassure the House that this government will reveal any criminal convictions that Ministers have? And is he able to confirm that no current Minister does have a criminal conviction?

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Yes, Minister. Well, can I thank the hon. Member opposite for his series of Member opposite for his series of questions connected, I think, by virtue of being in relation to the ministerial code, up to to separate us from them. Things happen in politics. Things go wrong and people misbehave. But the difference between us and them is that whenever something's come up, we have always followed processes and then acted. That's why the Prime Minister has strengthened the Prime Minister has strengthened the ministerial code and put public service at its heart.

And he has strengthened the role of the strengthened the role of the independent adviser. And I noticed that the hon. Member opposite is not joined by the Foreign Secretary, not joined by the Foreign Secretary, the shadow Foreign Secretary, who, when faced with bullying claims and having broken the ministerial code, having broken the ministerial code, the former Prime Minister, to whom he was a PPS, did not sack her. He made his independent adviser on standards quit instead. I notice he's also not joined by the shadow he's also not joined by the shadow housing secretary, who called a north east town not that far from me.

A. I won't repeat the word, so
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Josh Simons Portrait Josh Simons MP, The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Makerfield, Labour)
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me. A. I won't repeat the word, so we will not be taking lectures from the members opposite, who were roundly rejected by the public for having corroded trust in politics.

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Got it. Right. Phil Brickell speaker. May I commend the. Minister for saying quite

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Minister for saying quite clearly that it's right that we shouldn't be taking lessons from the party opposite. What more can he say about the reforms that will he say about the reforms that will come through following the establishment of the Ethics and Integrity Commission, to make sure that former Ministers are not able that former Ministers are not able to trade on their knowledge through the revolving door, because for once, we've seen actually that with once, we've seen actually that with the scrapping of Acoba, previously derided as a toothless regulator, that there are going to be far stronger safeguards on former Ministers and taking up jobs in the private sector.



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private sector. Yeah, Minister. Well, can I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I know he's done for his question. I know he's done a lot of work to look into and promote some of these important reforms. This was a manifesto promise that we made to establish promise that we made to establish the Ethics and Integrity Commission, and it is now a manifesto promise kept. We have abolished acoba, and kept. We have abolished acoba, and that means that there will be financial penalties for ex-ministers who are breaking any rules on jobs.

That is something the former Prime Minister opposite to whom the member asking the question today was a PPS will
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