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 assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of housing investment announced in the Spending Review 2025 on (a) the protection of Green Belt land and (b) new housing starts in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has not made any such assessment.
The allocation of housing investment announced at the Spending Review will depend on the bids received from registered providers.
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, whether her Department is taking steps to address variation between local authorities in the application of discretionary business rates relief for not-for-profit organisations.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 provides billing authorities with discretionary powers to award business rates reliefs to properties within their area. This is a local decision for individual billing authorities.
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 recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of high annual ground rents on the ability of leaseholders to sell their properties in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department is aware that some leaseholders may be experiencing problems with mortgaging or selling a property because of their ground rent terms.
The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of transport infrastructure investment announced in the Spending Review 2025 on Surrey.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are yet to announce the regional allocations for the majority of the transport funding announced in the Spending Review. This will be announced in due course. We have informed Surrey County Council of their allocation of the Local Transport Grant which is £38.19 million for the period from April 2026 to April 2030 for local transport improvements.
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 steps her Department is taking to ensure new housing developments are supported by (a) physical and (b) social infrastructure in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 26106 on 5 February 2025.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support deaf athletes in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to making sport across the country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people.
Our Arm's Length Body, Sport England, has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of replacing landlines with digital voice services in areas with (a) poor mobile signal and (b) unreliable broadband in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks arising from the industry-led migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for all customers across the UK. VoIP requires a minimum connection speed of just 0.5Mbps, and for current landline-only customers it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a general internet connection. In November 2024, all major communication providers agreed to additional safeguards to protect vulnerable customers, including those who are landline-dependent due to poor mobile coverage.
We are committed to ensuring at least 99% of premises receive gigabit broadband coverage, which we expect to happen by 2032. More than 99% of UK premises, and more than 95% of the UK’s landmass, have 4G coverage from at least one mobile operator. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including the Surrey Heath constituency, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to having the right policy and regulatory framework to support this.