Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 119316 on Strategic Migration Partnerships: Finance, for what reason the amount of funding given to Strategic Migration Partnerships is deemed to be sensitive; and how this differs from funding given to local authorities on Prevent.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Funding is allocated individually to each SMP and vary according to local operational pressures, delivery requirements, and regional arrangements. As these agreements are bespoke and subject to individual arrangements between the Home Office and the recipient organisation, details of specific funding allocations are not routinely shared beyond the individual recipient organisations.
In the majority of local authorities, Prevent is delivered through existing local authority budgets, however since 2015 the Home Office has provided additional funding to areas where the risk is highest to support them with Prevent delivery.
The Prevent statutory duty requires local authorities to demonstrate an understanding of the risk of radicalisation in their area; work in partnership with the police and other local institutions; and train staff to identify and support vulnerable/susceptible individuals.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 10 April 2026 to Question 122681 on Radicalism, if he will list the key partners who are assisting the review of the engagement principles.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This review is ongoing. As publicly set out in Protecting What Matters, published on 9th March 2026, we are consulting with other government departments and key partners relevant to counter-extremism work.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many places of worship are currently certified under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 according to records held by the Registrar General; whether there is breakdown the number of premises registered by organisation or denomination; and whether the information held includes the address of each registered premises.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are currently 29340 places certified as a Place of Religious Worship in England and Wales in the records held by the Registrar General.
The information held by the Registrar General is published on the government website and includes the denomination and address of each religious building.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 118523 on Council Tax: Valuation, whether new DwellingHouseCodes were added by the Valuation Office to assist the council tax revaluation in Wales.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
For the Council Tax revaluation in Wales, the Valuation Office has not collected additional DwellingHouse Codes over and above those already used within England and Wales.
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 Surrey County Council paper, "Implementation Programme Update Report, Annex 3 – Draft Illustrative Financial Baseline", of April 2026, what assessment has his department made of whether the estimated West Surrey Council (a) net borrowing of £3.841 billion and (b) gross financing cost of £319.5 million a year, and (c) a gross financing cost as percentage of net revenue budget of 39.9%, is financially sustainable for the new unitary council.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Multi-year allocations for all councils, including those which have been invited to undergo reorganisation, were set out in the final Local Government Finance Settlement. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities. For Surrey County Council, the multi-year Settlement makes available up to £1,275.2 million in Core Spending Power by 2028-29, an increase of 6.9% compared to 2024-25, equivalent to £82.6 million.
The local government reorganisation in Surrey is a critical intervention to improve the financial viability of the area’s councils. Putting Surrey’s local authorities on a more sustainable footing is vital to safeguarding the services its residents rely on, as well as investing in their futures. In general, as with previous restructures, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation.
The government has committed to unprecedented debt repayment support for Woking Borough Council ahead of their inclusion in the new West Surrey Council, given the significant and exceptional unsupported debt at the council linked to historic capital practices. Further to this unprecedented commitment to repay in-principle an initial £500m of Woking Borough Council’s debt in 2026-27, we are committed to providing interim financial support to the new council until a final decision is made. It is crucial that any debt support must consider value for money for local and national taxpayers.
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 the new unitary councils will be required to give 12 months notice to apply the second homes or empty homes council tax premium in their unitary council area, if (a) some and (b) all of their predecessor councils did not levy such premiums.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Restructured councils must make a determination to introduce the second homes premium at least 12 months before the financial year in which it will be charged in a predecessor area for the first time. The government has recently made The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Finance) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 to clarify this.
Restructured councils are not required to make a determination at least 12 months in advance before applying the empty home premium in a predecessor area for the first time. They must make a determination prior to the start of the financial year in which it will be charged.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 27 April 2026, to Question 126743, on Home Office: Greenpeace, when the Home Office last engaged with Greenpeace; and whether it is subject to a formal policy of non-engagement under the engagement principles.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is no standing policy of non-engagement with Greenpeace. Ministerial engagements with external stakeholders are published and available online.
Home Office: ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings - GOV.UK
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 guidance has been given to the London Assembly on whether Assembly Members in council tax arrears may vote on the setting of the Greater London Authority’s council tax precept.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No specific government guidance has been issued to the London Assembly in relation to whether Assembly Members in council tax arrears may vote on council tax requirements arising from the Mayor of London’s annual budget proposals.
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 his Department has published any guidance on the operation of Section 9I of the Localism Act 2011.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Section 9I is a provision of the Local Government Act 2000. The Department has not published specific guidance on this provision.
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, further to the High Court Consent Order in relation to Nair v London Borough of Tower Hamlets of March 2024, whether Ministerial Envoys in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have assessed the conduct of licensing councillors on that council.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministerial Envoys do not take, or assess the impact of, individual funding and regulatory decisions by the authority; the responsibility for which remains with the Council. As part of the statutory intervention in Tower Hamlets, the Envoys are supporting the Council on their improvement journey which includes political culture.
In addition to this, as set out in the Ministerial Directions of 17 March 2026, the Envoys are conducting a ‘deep dive’ into allegations of misconduct in identified council functions, which include the allocation of resources, such as community assets and community grants, and licensing decisions. The Envoys will report their findings to the Secretary of State in due course.