Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Local roads and highways, published on 12 January 2026, HCWS1232, whether she plans to respond to the letter sent to her Department by the Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; and whether she plans to publish further information on how the ratings were determined.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A reply to the letter from the Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea will be sent in due course.
The full methodology and data sources used to produce the ratings has been published online, at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-road-maintenance-ratings/local-road-maintenance-ratings-2025-to-2026.
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 core spending power figures of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027, published on 17 December 2025, for what reason his Department assessed Manchester City Council's council tax requirement will rise by 31% between 2024-25 and 2028-29; and what proportion of this is based on changes in the level of housebuilding.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of the government’s calculation of Core Spending Power we assume each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the average annual growth in their council tax base between 2021-22 and 2025-26. This is in line with the approach in previous Local Government Finance Settlements. We published details of this approach in an explanatory note. In line with usual practice and in recognition of the views raised in response to this consultation, the government will continue to keep its methodology for calculating the Core Spending Power of local government under review in future years.
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 oral statement of 22 January 2026, Official Report, Col. 486, on Local government reorganisation, what is the status of the one further representation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A summary of the decision was provided through the Written Ministerial Statement and the letter sent to council leaders, both of which are publicly available. The Government has no plans to publish the names of respondents who made representations.
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 written statement of 22 January 2026, HCWS1270, on Local government reorganisation, if he will list the names of the 350 respondents.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A summary of the decision was provided through the Written Ministerial Statement and the letter sent to council leaders, both of which are publicly available. The Government has no plans to publish the names of respondents who made representations.
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 he received representations on delaying local elections from Labour (a) MPs, (b) councillors and (c) council groups that were separate from formal representations from the local authority.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Representations were received from councils with elections scheduled in May, including from councillors and political groups, and from other councils, interested organisations, Member of Parliament, and members of the public.
The Secretary of State ran a locally led process and it was for councils to make representations and assess their capacity to conduct a safe and smooth transition to new authorities at the same time as holding elections.
In reaching his decisions, the Secretary of State carefully considered all the representations made alongside departmental advice on those representations.
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 undertook verification of local authorities’ representations which noted insufficient capacity because of the scheduled May 2026 elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Representations were received from councils with elections scheduled in May, including from councillors and political groups, and from other councils, interested organisations, Member of Parliament, and members of the public.
The Secretary of State ran a locally led process and it was for councils to make representations and assess their capacity to conduct a safe and smooth transition to new authorities at the same time as holding elections.
In reaching his decisions, the Secretary of State carefully considered all the representations made alongside departmental advice on those representations.
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 Rt Hon Member for Ashton-under-Lyne has an official car provided.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rt Hon Member for Ashton-under-Lyne is not provided with an official government car.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his assessment is of the effectiveness of Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The UK fully supports the operation of the international treaties which enable the cross-border enforcement of maintenance decisions. Children have a right to care and support, and parents have a responsibility to provide it. That responsibility endures regardless of family separation and includes situations where the paying parent and the child are living in different countries.
The effectiveness of reciprocal enforcement depends on how national governments operate the procedures required under the different treaties. The administration of the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance procedures in England and Wales is kept under continuous review and officials work to address any issues arising.
Regular discussions take place between UK officials and officials from other countries.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the business rate information letter, 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027, whether the new relief is subject to a state aid cap for chain pubs; and whether it will apply to venues subject to the high value multiplier.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years.
Final costings will be confirmed at a fiscal event in the usual way.
The retail and hospitality sectors will continue to benefit from the £4.3 billion support package announced at Budget. This support package means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with her Polish counterparts on Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
There have been no recent discussions on Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders between the Secretary of State for Justice and Polish Ministers. Regular discussions take place between UK and Polish officials.