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, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of previous local government restructuring on costs from pension strain in the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have made no such assessment. As I stated in my answer to UIN 52862, local government reorganisation will have impacts on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). We expect councils to work with relevant administering authorities on any implications of restructuring on the LGPS. The cost of any restructuring, including pensions, will depend on locally made decisions and the demographics and pension service of any staff leaving post.
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 (a) her Department and (b) local government improvement bodies financed through departmental funding centrally (i) collate and (ii) monitor the practice or frequency of local authorities operating four day weeks on full pay.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are independent employers responsible for the management of their own workforces. While it is not government policy to support a four-day working week in local authorities, the government will not be micromanaging them on this and does not collect data on this working practice.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality includes gifts that have been (a) returned and (b) reimbursed to the original donor.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality is a declaration of hospitality received and gifts given and received in a ministerial capacity, in line with ministers’ obligations under the Ministerial Code.
The Cabinet Office publishes guidance setting out the process that departments should follow to complete the publication of the Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality:
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has received recent representations from London boroughs on the provision of additional funding to house asylum seekers following the reduction in hotel accommodation for asylum seekers around Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders and consider a range of options to fulfil its legal obligations and deliver upon the commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, and to end the use of hotels over time.
Current accommodation funding arrangements are published on GOV.UK: Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reduction in hotel accommodation for asylum seekers around Heathrow Airport on neighbouring local authorities.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders and consider a range of options to fulfil its legal obligations and deliver upon the commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, and to end the use of hotels over time.
Current accommodation funding arrangements are published on GOV.UK: Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what her Department's policy is on the Rooney Rule when drawing up shortlists for employing staff.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) is aware of what has come to be known as the Rooney Rule, but this is a US initiative and we have not adopted a policy on it.
As both employer and custodian of the policy as set out in the Equality Act 2010 (The Act), OEO is familiar with the positive action provisions in the Act. These provisions enable employers to deploy positive measures in recruitment where certain groups are under-represented in the workforce, whether as a whole or in more senior positions. Candidates from the under-represented group must be equally qualified for the role alongside other candidates before they can be considered for selection. In other words positive discrimination, which disregards merit, is unlawful under the Act..
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 13 January 2025 to Question 21626 on Renters' Rights Bill, for what reason the Impact Assessment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill was not published in a timely manner.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department aims to publish Impact Assessments in a timely manner, in line with the ‘Better Regulation Framework’ guidance, which states that an Impact Assessment ‘should be published alongside relevant legislation when it is laid before Parliament.’
In exceptional circumstances this may not be possible, for example, where the legislation is urgent, further work is needed following concerns expressed by the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) or where the assessment is with RPC for review. In those circumstances, the Department works with the RPC to ensure the Bill Impact Assessment and RPC opinion is published as soon as possible.
The Impact Assessment for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill was published 6 May 2025 ahead of the Bill’s Commons committee stage.
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 is funding the Tell MAMA service in Q1 and Q2 of 2025-26.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We thank Tell MAMA for their many years of work in monitoring anti-Muslim hatred and supporting victims. We offered Tell MAMA funding for Q1 and Q2 of 2025-26 – and are disappointed that they have declined this offer.
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 attended her Ministerial offices in Marsham Street in person on (a) 22, (b) 23, (c) 24 and (d) 25 April 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The DPM works across multiple locations each week, including 2 Marsham Street and 70 Whitehall. The details of ministerial routines are not shared for security reasons.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2025 to Question 47267 on Cambridgeshire Constabulary: Domestic Visits, whether special advisers in her Department wrote her speech at this event.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
No.