Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, Electoral Reviews: Technical Guidance, updated June 2023, if she will make it her policy to ensure that any new wards or divisions created through unitary local government restructure do not have an electoral imbalance of more than 10% from the average ratio for that new unitary authority.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 29 October, the Government announced that the first phase of its review of local government reorganisation had concluded. The review confirmed that the basis of the programme remains robust and that the existing criteria continue to support the Government’s priorities.
The Government has set out minded-to positions in five areas, which remain subject to further representations and final decisions. The remaining 15 areas require further consideration.
Subject to final decisions, elections to new councils will take place in May 2028, followed by vesting on 1 April 2029 across the programme, apart from Surrey.
The Government continues to engage with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England on matters relating to local government reorganisation and electoral arrangements and will continue to do so as the programme progresses.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 the Answer of 1 September 2026 to Question HL2288 on Affordable Housing: Construction, if she will set out the number of council housebuilding and the time period underpinning the stated pledge to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 1 September 2026 (HCWS299).
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 4 September 2026 to Question 20481 on Local Government: Workplace Pensions, and with reference to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' Oral Statement of 8 September 2026 on Israel and Palestine, Official Report, column 879-884, what plans her Department has to allow councils, and local government pension schemes and pools to divest in firms based in the occupied territories in relation to the provision of (a) goods and (b) services; and what steps are being taken to prevent municipal policies being adopted which seek to divest or boycott (i) Israel as a whole and (ii) kosher foods.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
UK foreign policy is a matter for the national government and not for local government. The Department published updated statutory guidance on local government pension scheme (LGPS) investment strategy statements on 29th June 2026, which can be found here.
Administering authorities of LGPS funds are responsible for setting their investment strategy statement, which must include their approach to responsible investment. As statutory guidance set out, "strategies should not set exclusions for investments in individual countries, investment styles or companies". Asset pools are responsible for delivering the high-level investment strategies set by their partner funds.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 8 September 2026, to Question 20488, on Combined authorities: council tax, if she will make it her policy to extend councils’ powers to levy (a) council tax discounts and (b) business rate discounts, to combined authority and county combined authority mayors.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 33350 on 3 November.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans for shadow unitary authorities to have the power to create new town and parish councils before the unitary is vested.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
During the transition to new unitary arrangements, existing councils retain responsibility for undertaking Community Governance Reviews, with shadow councils having a role in the final decision on whether to create new town or parish councils.
The precise powers of a shadow council before vesting day are set out in the relevant Structural Changes Order for the area and in generic legislation applying to all areas undergoing reorganisation.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 her Oral Statement of 7 September 2026 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report, columns 667-669, whether it is her policy to abolish district and county councils where such councils do not support being abolished.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 29 October 2026 on local government reorganisation
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 4 September 2026, to Question 20241, on West Surrey Council, what is the timetable for the consideration of the request to name the council as West Surrey and South Middlesex, and whether the council requires the permission of the Secretary of State to rename itself once it is vested.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I wrote to the Leader of West Surrey Council on 30 October setting out that amending a Structural Changes Order was not an appropriate route for changing a council’s name, and that West Surrey Council may wish to take legal advice on the scope of any power under the Local Government Act 1972 to change its name of its own accord.
More broadly, section 74 of the Local Government Act 1972 does not require the permission of the Secretary of State in providing that a council may change its name with the support of not less than two-thirds of members voting at a meeting convened specifically for the purpose. The Act also sets out that notice of any change of name must be sent to the relevant Minister and other bodies specified in the legislation.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Electoral Commission on whether proposed changes in national party spending limits will be retrospective; and whether it would apply to parties that had already spent up to the proposed new limit in the 12 months prior.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Secretary of State has written to the independent Electoral Commission asking it to review registered political party, third-party campaigner and candidate spending limits, with recommendations requested by July 2027. As that review is ongoing, no decisions have yet been taken on revised national party spending limits or the treatment of expenditure incurred before any changes take effect.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 has advised local authorities in two-tier areas to keep to the local government restructuring timetable with unitary local elections in May 2027.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 7 September 2026, the Secretary of State announced a review of the local government reorganisation programme and confirmed that elections scheduled for May 2027 would go ahead to existing councils.
The first phase of the review has now concluded that the programme remains robust and continues to support the priorities of the new administration. On 29 October, I wrote to councils setting out that, subject to final decisions, elections to new councils will take place in May 2028, followed by vesting on 1 April 2029.