Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for how long will councillors elected in the local government elections confirmed for May 2027 serve in office.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State confirmed in her oral statement on 7 September 2026 that the plan is for local and regional elections scheduled for May 2027 to go ahead on existing boundaries. Councillors elected in May 2027 will serve for four years unless a structural changes Order is made and any change to terms of office will be set out in that Order. The Government is considering the next stages of the local government reorganisation programme and will set out next steps once that work has concluded.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which boundaries, regions and levels of local government will have elections in May 2027.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State confirmed in her oral statement on 7 September 2026 that the plan is for local and regional elections scheduled for May 2027 to go ahead on existing boundaries. Councillors elected in May 2027 will serve for four years unless a structural changes Order is made and any change to terms of office will be set out in that Order. The Government is considering the next stages of the local government reorganisation programme and will set out next steps once that work has concluded.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans her Department has to support at-home social care provisions in North East Hampshire constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026
The current system will be reviewed as part of that process, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate the Government has made of the number of adults who develop health conditions and who were identified as (a) high risk or (b) in need at (i) Reception age and (ii) Year 6.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested information is not centrally held.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of progress against the Environment Agency's leakage reduction targets of 17 per cent by 2030 and 50 per cent by 2050; and whether the planned reservoir, desalination and water recycling schemes are on schedule to deliver their expected contribution to closing the water supply shortfall by 2055.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water regulators monitor leakage against company commitments in Water Resources Management Plans. Latest data shows a 12% reduction from 2017/18 by June 2025. The Government is working to ensure that planned reservoir, desalination, and water efficiency deliver their expected contributions to the water supply shortfall by 2055.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of support available to patients awaiting kidney transplants and their families and of the pressures experienced by those awaiting transplantation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of young adults obtain their first job in (a) the hospitality sector, (b) the entertainment sector and (c) the service sector.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP does not hold the requested analysis on what proportion of young people obtain their first job in different industrial sectors.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a weekend service for families to obtain death certification.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to the Hon Member for Leeds North East on 8 July 2026 to Question 15264.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure the adequacy of employers' shared parental policies.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Shared Parental Leave and Pay gives parents flexibility to choose a caring arrangement that works for them in their child’s first year of life.
Employers may decide to offer more than the statutory entitlement, for instance by enhancing the statutory rate of pay, and we encourage them to do so whenever possible.
However, we recognise that more can be done to support working parents and to support employers understanding and implementation of parental leave entitlements. Last year the government launched the Parental Leave and Pay Review, which is considering all current entitlements. Findings are expected in early 2027.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of whether the current English Language GCSE adequately assesses the practical communication, comprehension and critical-thinking skills required by young people in further education, employment and everyday life.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In 2024, the government established the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review considered the extent to which the national curriculum and the assessment system in England are fit for purpose and meeting the needs of children and young people.
The Review’s final report recommended that the government makes significant changes to the key stage 4 English programme of study and the GCSE English language subject content, introducing greater clarity of purpose to focus English language more clearly on the nature and expression of language, and to support critical analysis of a wider variety of text types and genres. The Government accepted their recommendation that the government introduce an oracy framework to support practice and to complement the existing frameworks for reading and writing. We will be reforming the curriculum and GCSE English language and consulting on the content.