Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will reimburse local authorities for costs they have incurred in connection with local government reorganisation in Devon.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government understands that areas will have incurred costs associated with local government reorganisation in good faith. £63 million in capacity funding was previously announced to support places going through the LGR process, allocated on the basis of £900,000 per new unitary, reflective of the now-withdrawn decisions made earlier in the year.
The previous decision for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay has been withdrawn for further consideration. All options and proposals remain under consideration.
All areas will receive half of the transition funding previously due - £450,000 per previously announced new unitary. These guaranteed payments will be made in the coming weeks regardless of the review’s outcome.
Once final decisions are made, areas will receive any remaining balance of the £900,000 transition support per new unitary, taking account of funding already provided, alongside £150,000 per new unitary for leadership capacity and continuity in Children’s Services, Adult Social Care and Public Health. Different decisions may be made from those made earlier in the year, in which case payments due will be re-calculated.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 July 2026 on Annual Statement on National Resilience, HCWS244, whether it remains her Department's intention to launch the National Resilience Public Engagement Campaign by the end of 2026.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government launched the GOV.UK/BeReady website on Thursday 22 October 2026, alongside a Written Ministerial Statement, “Strengthening community resilience across the UK.”
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 July 2026 on Annual Statement on National Resilience, HCWS244, when she plans to launch the National Resilience Public Engagement Campaign.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government launched the GOV.UK/BeReady website on Thursday 22 October 2026, alongside a Written Ministerial Statement, “Strengthening community resilience across the UK.”
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 September 2026 to Question 27196, on National Security: Publicity, whether the planned national resilience public awareness campaign has materially changed since that Answer.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The National Resilience Public Awareness Campaign is a Cabinet Office-led programme of public engagement delivered as part of the Home Defence Programme. The detail provided within the answer to Question 27196 remains extant. The launch of the campaign on 22/10/2026 does not change the answer.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the updated GOV.UK Prepare guidance announced on 22 October 2026, whether that guidance is the national resilience public awareness campaign set out in the Written Statement of 14 July 2026 on the Annual Statement on National Resilience, HCWS244.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The National Resilience Public Awareness Campaign is a Cabinet Office-led programme of public engagement delivered as part of the Home Defence Programme. The written Ministerial statement laid by the Security Minister yesterday was the formal mechanism to Parliament launching the campaign.
This campaign reflects the Government’s commitment to strengthening resilience across society and ensuring that individuals, communities, businesses and public services all play their part in national preparedness.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the next Spending Review; and how many financial years that Review will cover.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government will confirm its plans for the next Spending Review in due course.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2026 to Question 32741 on Veterans: Mental Health Services, whether he will meet with me to discuss funding for veterans’ support schemes that fall outside the scope of VALOUR Development Funding.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
Yes, I should be delighted to meet the hon. Member.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 61-086-20250616 of the Planning Practice Guidance, what criteria local planning authorities and Planning Inspectors are expected to apply in determining whether the content of an emerging local plan has "changed significantly from the one presented at the initial Regulation 19 stage" for the purposes of Annex 1 of the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024; whether those criteria include any quantitative threshold; and what guidance has been issued to the Planning Inspectorate on applying that paragraph.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are no set criteria for determining whether a version of a local development plan has changed significantly from the one presented at initial Regulation 19 stage.
No specific guidance on paragraph 61-086-20250616 of the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) has been issued to the Planning Inspectorate.
In interpreting the PPG in question, the position on each plan should be considered on its individual merits.
Whether the removal of a housing allocation or a reduction in the number of homes allocated in a plan constitutes a significant change should be determined in respect of each individual case.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 61-086-20250616 of the Planning Practice Guidance, whether the removal of a housing allocation, or a reduction in the number of homes allocated, following an initial Regulation 19 consultation constitutes a significant change to the content of a plan, such that the plan is treated as having reached Regulation 19 on the date a subsequent consultation commenced for the purposes of Annex 1 of the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are no set criteria for determining whether a version of a local development plan has changed significantly from the one presented at initial Regulation 19 stage.
No specific guidance on paragraph 61-086-20250616 of the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) has been issued to the Planning Inspectorate.
In interpreting the PPG in question, the position on each plan should be considered on its individual merits.
Whether the removal of a housing allocation or a reduction in the number of homes allocated in a plan constitutes a significant change should be determined in respect of each individual case.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department provides to those veterans’ organisations that fell outside the scope of VALOUR Development Funding.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
In March, the government announced the first 14 lead organisations under VALOUR, which is currently operating 21 VALOUR Recognised Centres (VRC), backed by over £13 million of government funding. The centres span the whole of the country, including centres in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and across England.
A second round for organisations and consortia to bid for funding closed in August, I will make a final decision on which organisations have been successful, and the results will be announced soon.
Alongside this, the VALOUR Campaign Site has launched to help veterans and their families find their nearest VRC, access MOD Veterans Services, and explain the breadth of support available across the UK.
A new digital service will also be introduced for VALOUR, aiming to offer as many options as possible to help veterans and their families find the right support, especially for those unable to travel to a VRC.