Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 information on (a) settlement payments and (b) legal costs incurred by local authorities in cases of staff misconduct is shared with (i) relevant board members and (ii) the public.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces and compliance with all relevant employment legislation. This includes responsibility for cases of staff misconduct.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 potential impact of levels of contested parish council elections on accountability in local government.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Contested town and parish elections strengthen local accountability, by encouraging broader representation and democratic engagement. Town and parish councils rely on individuals stepping forward to serve their communities, and a greater number of candidates increases the likelihood of contested elections. We continue to value the role of town and parish councils in driving forward community priorities and delivering effective local services.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to ensure that interim officers in local government are held accountable for decisions made during their tenure.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces, including holding interim officers to account. Ministers have little remit to intervene in employment issues within local authorities, except where specific provision has been made in legislation.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of collaboration between the National Crime Agency and local police forces in responding to cyber crime incidents.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to ensuring we have the workforce needed to tackle the threat of cyber crime and protect our people and businesses. Since 2017, in partnership with local Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Office has directly funded a national network of specialist officers trained to investigate cyber crime and support local communities in efforts to prevent crimes that occur online. In the financial year 2025/26, this has included funding of c.£30m.
Across England and Wales, Regional Cyber Crime Units (RCCUs) operate in the Metropolitan Police and each Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). Each of the 43 local police forces has a dedicated Force Cyber Crime Unit (FCCU). These teams have the specialist skills required to respond to cyber crime and are provided with ongoing training to ensure they can respond to the rapid pace of technological change and the increasingly complexity of cyber crime investigations.
Close collaboration between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and wider policing is vital in ensuring an effective response. The NCA play an important role in leading and coordinating the cyber crime network, supported in policing by the City of London Police as the Lead Force for fraud and cyber crime. The NCA’s operational leadership is driven by statutory national governance structures that drive strategic coordination of the law enforcement response and strengthen the relationship between the NCA and wider policing to effectively respond to cyber crime incidents.
The size of the cyber crime network is under constant review. The Home Office is currently in internal negotiations on the distribution of the departmental allocation provided as part of the recent Spending Review. As part of this process, we will consider the number of officers in policing required to tackle the challenge of cyber crime over the next three years.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to increase the number of police officers with expertise in tackling cyber crime in the next three years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to ensuring we have the workforce needed to tackle the threat of cyber crime and protect our people and businesses. Since 2017, in partnership with local Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Office has directly funded a national network of specialist officers trained to investigate cyber crime and support local communities in efforts to prevent crimes that occur online. In the financial year 2025/26, this has included funding of c.£30m.
Across England and Wales, Regional Cyber Crime Units (RCCUs) operate in the Metropolitan Police and each Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). Each of the 43 local police forces has a dedicated Force Cyber Crime Unit (FCCU). These teams have the specialist skills required to respond to cyber crime and are provided with ongoing training to ensure they can respond to the rapid pace of technological change and the increasingly complexity of cyber crime investigations.
Close collaboration between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and wider policing is vital in ensuring an effective response. The NCA play an important role in leading and coordinating the cyber crime network, supported in policing by the City of London Police as the Lead Force for fraud and cyber crime. The NCA’s operational leadership is driven by statutory national governance structures that drive strategic coordination of the law enforcement response and strengthen the relationship between the NCA and wider policing to effectively respond to cyber crime incidents.
The size of the cyber crime network is under constant review. The Home Office is currently in internal negotiations on the distribution of the departmental allocation provided as part of the recent Spending Review. As part of this process, we will consider the number of officers in policing required to tackle the challenge of cyber crime over the next three years.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that every police force has specialist officers trained to investigate cyber crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to ensuring we have the workforce needed to tackle the threat of cyber crime and protect our people and businesses. Since 2017, in partnership with local Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Office has directly funded a national network of specialist officers trained to investigate cyber crime and support local communities in efforts to prevent crimes that occur online. In the financial year 2025/26, this has included funding of c.£30m.
Across England and Wales, Regional Cyber Crime Units (RCCUs) operate in the Metropolitan Police and each Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). Each of the 43 local police forces has a dedicated Force Cyber Crime Unit (FCCU). These teams have the specialist skills required to respond to cyber crime and are provided with ongoing training to ensure they can respond to the rapid pace of technological change and the increasingly complexity of cyber crime investigations.
Close collaboration between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and wider policing is vital in ensuring an effective response. The NCA play an important role in leading and coordinating the cyber crime network, supported in policing by the City of London Police as the Lead Force for fraud and cyber crime. The NCA’s operational leadership is driven by statutory national governance structures that drive strategic coordination of the law enforcement response and strengthen the relationship between the NCA and wider policing to effectively respond to cyber crime incidents.
The size of the cyber crime network is under constant review. The Home Office is currently in internal negotiations on the distribution of the departmental allocation provided as part of the recent Spending Review. As part of this process, we will consider the number of officers in policing required to tackle the challenge of cyber crime over the next three years.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reintroducing mutual recognition of commercial pilot licences between the UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency; and what steps she is taking to help streamline the current licence conversion process for European Union Aviation Safety Agency-qualified pilots seeking to work in the UK.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Government has been clear that it will work to reset the relationship with Europe, to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to trade. Agreements on UK-EU licensing recognition must be established through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and agreed by the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety. The Government continues to seek expansions to the Aviation Safety Chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement where appropriate. An effective aviation licensing regime that supports UK aviation remains a priority, and the UK is keen to establish closer cooperation on personnel licensing where possible to ease the current burden on UK and EU personnel and industry.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding strategies his Department is considering to ensure hospices remain (a) competitive and (b) sustainable.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include the hospice services available within the ICB catchment.
As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end-of-life care services to support a reduction in variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support hospices to (a) attract and (b) retain their workforce.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. As independent organisations, charitable hospices are responsible for their own recruitment and employment terms. They are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate.
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. The funding will alleviate immediate pressures on hospice finances, enabling them to invest in infrastructure over the longer term. It will allow hospices to create an improved physical environment with enhanced facilities and will allow them to focus their attention and wider resources on providing the best quality care to patients.
Some hospices, however, are NHS services. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create an NHS workforce in England ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it. From now on, we will ensure that staff will be better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future, so they can achieve more.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an independent appeal or review mechanism for complainants who are dissatisfied with decisions made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman's decisions on complaints are typically final, and can only be challenged through the courts on points of law. The government has no plans to change this.