Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department with engage in a public consultation with the residents of South Kesteven before deciding which Local Government Reorganisation plan to approve.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.

Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will engage in a public consultation with the residents of Leicestershire prior to deciding which Local Government Reorganisation plans to approve.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.

Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what form consultation on local government reorganisation proposals will take.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.

Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will engage in a public consultation with residents of Rutland before deciding which Local Government Reorganisation plan to approve.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Following the commitment made in the English Devolution White Paper in December, all two-tier councils and their neighbouring small unitary councils were invited in February to make proposals for unitary local government. Proposals for unitary local government are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November for the two invitation areas of i) Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland and ii) Lincolnshire.

Following the submission of proposals, the Government will decide which, if any, to implement, following a statutory consultation, to which the Hon. Member’s constituents will be able to respond.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the offer of two seat convertible Mazda MX-5 cars as part of the Motability Scheme.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme.

As Motability is independent of government, the management of the scheme including the choice of vehicles rests with them and their respective Boards of Governors. We are however committed to ensuring that the Motability scheme is fair for both users of the scheme and the taxpayer.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether existing (a) district and (b) borough council area borders can be changed as part of local government reorganisation.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Final proposals for local government reorganisation must specify the area for any new unitary council(s). Boundary changes are possible, but existing district areas should be considered the building blocks for proposals. Where a final proposal includes a boundary change, that should be explained and mapped clearly.

More complex boundary changes will only be considered where there is a strong justification. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he will announce Government plans for community benefit funds for solar developments following the Community Benefits and Shared Ownership for Low Carbon Infrastructure consultation which closed in July 2025.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This government has made clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, we will ensure they benefit from it.

We are in the process of reviewing responses to our community benefits and shared ownership for low carbon energy infrastructure working paper and intend to publish a response setting out our next steps in due course.

In the meantime, Solar Energy UK, the industry trade body, are planning to publish a voluntary community benefit protocol later this year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing Statutory Maternity Pay to the level of the National Living Wage on women’s labour market (a) participation and (b) retention following childbirth.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government has committed to review the parental leave and pay system. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements are in scope of the Parental Leave and Pay Review.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating the level of remuneration for expert witnesses in family cases.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Between January 2023 and March 2025, the Ministry of Justice undertook a comprehensive review of civil legal aid. This included family legal aid. The evidence from the review indicated that the housing and debt, and immigration and asylum sectors face particularly acute challenges with service provision and high demand.

Following a consultation, we recently announced uplifts to housing and debt, and immigration and asylum legal aid fees, which will inject £20 million into the sector each year once fully implemented.

The Government keeps legal aid policy, including family legal aid and remuneration for expert witnesses, under review.