Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current Service User Demand Plan target is for dispersed asylum accommodation in Fylde Borough; and how that target was calculated.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Accommodation Plans offer an evidence-based approach to procurement and delivery of asylum accommodation nationally, in a manner that is fair and equitable. Development of the Plans was informed by feedback provided by local authorities, Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) the Local Government Association as well as other Government Departments. Furthermore, the plans are underpinned by an indexing model which considers several social factors, including crime rates, levels of homelessness and availability of GPs and Dentists.
Details of the Asylum Accommodation Plans, including the Service User Demand Plans for specific Local Authorities, are not published. However, these details are shared with nominated local authority officials, including at Fylde Borough Council. Progress against the Asylum Accommodation Plans is routinely monitored within regular official forums jointly attended by Local Authority, Home Office, accommodation providers and SMPs colleagues.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled Over £17 million saved in past six months through government office closures, published on 23 February 2026, whether the estimated annual savings from closing three central London offices are net of (a) transition, (b) refit and (c) redundancy costs.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The savings from the three central London office closures relate to the annual property running costs. They have not been adjusted for any one-off transition, refit, or redundancy costs.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many child benefit enquiries were opened as a result of data-sharing between HMRC and Student Finance England to detect changes in the young person’s further education status; over what timeframe they were opened; and what the outcomes were.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
For 16–19-year-olds included on Child Benefit claims, eligibility is reliant on them being in full-time non-advanced education or approved training.
Data from Student Finance England helps HMRC identify when a young person included in a Child Benefit award may have moved into advanced education (degree level), where the claimant has not notified HMRC. In these circumstances, HMRC will conduct an enquiry with the customer to clarify their young person’s education status.
Based on operational management information, which is subject to change, HMRC conducted enquiries with around 3,000 Child Benefit claimants since late 2023/24, to clarify their child’s education status. Around 2,800 of the enquires resulted in decisions to end the Child Benefit award.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what conditions are attached to the Exceptional Financial Support granted to councils in 2026; and whether those conditions include requirements for (a) asset disposals, (b) service reductions and (c) workforce restructuring.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system.
On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. Full details of all support agreed under the Exceptional Financial Support process since 2020-21 are available on GOV.UK. As a requirement of support, the government will be seeking additional external assurance on all of these councils to support local improvement as well as provide an assessment on the actions each council is taking locally to manage its position.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have applied for Exceptional Financial Support in each financial year since 2020; and what the total value of support approved has been in each year.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system.
On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. Full details of all support agreed under the Exceptional Financial Support process since 2020-21 are available on GOV.UK. As a requirement of support, the government will be seeking additional external assurance on all of these councils to support local improvement as well as provide an assessment on the actions each council is taking locally to manage its position.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce (a) transitional protection and (b) retrospective corrective measures for NHS staff who took partial retirement before formal guidance on its impact on redundancy entitlement was issued.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to introduce transitional protections or retrospective corrective measures for National Health Service staff who took partial retirement before formal guidance on the impact of redundancy entitlement was issued.
Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the NHS terms and conditions of service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives.
Any future changes to the handbook, including this section, would require the department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will update Section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions Handbook to clarify the impact of partial retirement on redundancy entitlements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the National Health Service terms and conditions of service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives.
There are no plans to update the handbook.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will set out the specific data protection concerns cited by HM Courts & Tribunals Service in its November 2025 cessation notice to Courtsdesk; and what assessment he has made of the reasons that data protection concerns could not be resolved without requiring deletion of the archive.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The concerns which led to the cessation of data sharing with Courtsdesk were based on the unauthorised sharing of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) data with another party outside of the terms of the arrangement. Courtsdesk agreed under the terms of its pilot arrangement with HMCTS not to provide data to another company without notification to or authorisation by HMCTS. It acted outside the terms of that agreement by sharing data with a third-party AI company. The data provided to the other party without authorisation included sensitive, personally identifiable information of individuals involved in criminal cases, such as their full name, address and date of birth.
HMCTS takes seriously its responsibility to handle data safely to protect those people whose data it holds, and this left termination of the arrangement as the most appropriate course of action.
There has been no deletion of the archive
The Ministry of Justice is doing three things: first, we have launched a market engagement exercise for new providers to reuse our data under a new licensing regime (which would be open to Courtsdesk to apply for); second, in the interim, we have contacted Courtsdesk, and I have recently met with its CEO, with a view to potentially reestablishing their service provided they can demonstrate they will comply with our data protection requirements; third, by the end of March we will be expanding the Court and Tribunal Hearings (CaTH) service, an online portal which allows journalists and the public to access and search court-related information. By the end of March, CaTH will include Magistrates’ and Crown Court lists alongside the Civil, Family and Tribunal hearing lists already published.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure timely and accurate access to magistrates court listings and registers for the public and media following the deletion of the Courtsdesk archive.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The starting point is there has been no deletion of the Courtsdesk “archive”.
Magistrates’ court listing and registers data continues to be available online, by email, in courts, and over the phone.
Work is underway to improve the way in which Magistrates and Crown court lists are available. First, we have launched a market engagement exercise for new providers to reuse our data under a new licensing regime (which would be open to Courtsdesk to apply for); second, in the interim, we have contacted Courtsdesk, and I have met with its CEO, with a view to potentially reestablishing their service provided they can demonstrate they will comply with our data protection requirements; third, by the end of March we will be expanding the Court and Tribunal Hearings (CaTH) service, an online portal which allows journalists and the public to access and search court-related information. By the end of March, CaTH will include Magistrates’ and Crown Court lists alongside the Civil, Family and Tribunal hearing lists already published.
Court records have always been, and will remain, available through formal requests to the relevant court.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the decision to require the deletion of the Courtsdesk archive on the principle of open justice and transparency in the justice system.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There has been no deletion of the Courtsdesk “archive”. Under the terms of the agreement between HMCTS and Courtsdesk, Courtsdesk agreed that it would not hold any court data provided to it for more than 6 months. It acted outside the terms of that agreement. The nature of the “archive” it created does not relate to court records, as has been misreported. Courtsdesk has, essentially, created a historic database of court listing information. In any event, we are taking steps, in discussion with Courtsdesk, to resolve issues where possible whilst protect personal data. I met recently with the CEO of Courtsdesk.
Court records have always been, and will remain, available through formal request to the relevant court.