Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she expects to publish the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 24890 on 29 January 2025.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) business rates on private schools and (b) VAT on school fees on economic growth.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Economic impacts of the policy to apply VAT to private school fees are covered in the tax information and impact note (TIIN) that the government has published on GOV.UK. The publication can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has introduced the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill to remove eligibility to business rates relief from private schools that are charities. MHCLG has published an impact note alongside the Bill, and this can be found at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0129/ImpactNote.pdf.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26149 on General Practitioners, if he will list the 200 GP surgeries being funded.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Primary Care Utilisation & Modernisation Fund was announced during the 2024 Spending Review and provides new capital funding of £102 million to support improvements in the primary care estate. We currently do not have a list of practices that will receive this funding; however, we anticipate the scheme will support approximately 200 practices.
Funding is being indicatively allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) on a weighted population basis as part of the national allocations planning process.
The Department and NHS England are working with ICBs to prioritise high-impact projects where investment can unlock significant productivity gains and additional usable space from existing buildings. Until this process is complete, we do not have a list of the approximately 200 practices which will be receiving this funding.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reaching his Department's target to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence in (a) 2030 and (b) 2032 on the effectiveness of the UK's defence capabilities.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To ensure the UK is prepared to deal with the changing threat, our Budget increased defence spending by £2.9 billion for next year and we are committed to setting a path to 2.5% of GDP on defence in the spring.
The Strategic Defence Review is wide-ranging, ensuring we look hard at the threats we face and the capabilities we need to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the New Towns Taskforce will publish a list of potential new towns.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per its Terms of Reference which can be found on gov.uk here, the New Towns Taskforce will submit a final report in summer 2025.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of GDP that will be spent on defence by 2030.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To ensure the UK is prepared to deal with the changing threat, our Budget increased defence spending by £2.9 billion for next year. The future spending envelope for Defence will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25793 on Local Government: Employers' Contribution, what methodology her Department used to determine that £515 million of additional support would be required.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Additional funding for employer NICs has been determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff. The grant distribution methodology has been published in an explanatory note on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-explanatory-note-on-the-employer-national-insurance-contribution-grant-2025-to-2026.
We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. That is why the government is providing an additional £2 billion of grant funding through the Settlement, which includes £502 million of additional grant funding to manage the impact of employer National Insurance Contributions changes on council budgets, and £13 million for combined authorities, totalling £515 million. The final Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of current planning permissions granted in areas highlighted in the NaFRA2 flood zone data as having a high (a) current and (b) future likelihood of surface water flooding in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework that was published on 12 December 2024 is clear that new housing, and most other forms of development, should not be permitted in functional flood plains.
Estimates have not been made of the number of homes which might, exceptionally, be built in areas at risk of flooding. However, development proposals would have to pass robust tests in order to proceed in such locations.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of houses built in areas highlighted the NaFRA2 flood zone data as having a high (a) current and (b) future likelihood of surface water flooding in Bedfordshire in the past ten years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework that was published on 12 December 2024 is clear that new housing, and most other forms of development, should not be permitted in functional flood plains.
Estimates have not been made of the number of homes which might, exceptionally, be built in areas at risk of flooding. However, development proposals would have to pass robust tests in order to proceed in such locations.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of houses in Local Plan sites highlighted in the NaFRA2 flood zone data as having a high (a) current and (b) future likelihood of surface water flooding in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework that was published on 12 December 2024 is clear that new housing, and most other forms of development, should not be permitted in functional flood plains.
Estimates have not been made of the number of homes which might, exceptionally, be built in areas at risk of flooding. However, development proposals would have to pass robust tests in order to proceed in such locations.