Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to local authorities on taking into account the provision of Motability Scheme transport to parents when considering requests for the provision of home to school transport for a SEND child.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department issues statutory guidance for local authorities on travel to school for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16. This explains that a child’s eligibility for free travel is not affected by any further benefits or allowances a parent may receive, including the higher rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance which may (but need not) be used to lease a vehicle through the Motability Scheme.
For young people in post-16 education, it is for local authorities to make decisions about whether to take into account the provision of Motability Scheme transport when considering requests for transport to education or training for a young person with special educational needs and disabilities.
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 much funding was allocated for English for Speakers of Other Languages provision by her Department in 2024-25; what the budget is for 2025-26; and what proportion in each case was allocated as grants to local authorities.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Please refer to the 4th of July response from the former Minister for Children and Families, Janet Daby MP, for more detail on how ESOL is funded [UIN 63247].
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 implications for her policies of trends in the level of criminal activity linked to candy retail stores.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring high street businesses such as candy retail stores are not exploited by criminals conducting illicit activity such as money laundering or tax evasion.
The Government’s approach to tackling money laundering is set out in the Economic Crime Plan 2 which includes action to disrupt cash-based money laundering and strengthen system wide coordination. The Government, working in partnership with law enforcement and other agencies, is closely monitoring the level of illicit activity in the high street and actively considering whether further systemic interventions are needed to tackle this threat.
Operationally, in March 2025, the National Economic Crime Centre in the National Crime Agency, coordinated a three-week crackdown against barbershops and other cash intensive businesses involving 19 different police forces and Regional Organised Crime Units, as well as national agencies including HMRC, Trading Standards and Home Office Immigration Enforcement. In total, 380 premises were visited across the three-week operation, with officers securing freezing orders over bank accounts totalling more than £1m, executing 84 warrants and arrested 35 individuals. Officers also seized more than £40,000 in cash, 200,000 cigarettes, 7,000 packs of tobacco, over 8,000 illegal vapes and two vehicles.
This is the first phase of targeted action against criminals and organised crime groups who use high-street businesses to launder criminal monies.
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 items from the Government Art Collection have been (a) installed and (b) deinstalled in (i) her office in Marsham Street, (ii) her office in Whitehall and (iii) Admiralty House by (A) title, (B) artist and (C) reference number since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This information is not held by MHCLG. The Government Art Collection is administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
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 plans to narrow the definition of family member in relation to immigration and asylum policy.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Statement made to the House by the Home Secretary on 1 September 2025.
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 page 234 of the Home Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, HC1133, how much the UK (a) contributes to and (b) receives from the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The United Kingdom no longer participates in the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
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 30 April 2025 to Question 46900 on Asylum: Housing, how many dwellings have been procured via Cushman and Wakefield across England since July 2024; and what the total number of leasehold and freehold properties which are part of the Home Office landholdings is.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish information on the location of asylum accommodation sites for safety and security reasons. The Home Office continues to work with Cushman and Wakefield to identify potential sites for Home Office acquisition as part of the Asylum Accommodation Programme.
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 page 75 of the Home Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published in July 2025, HC1133, how many (a) contracted asylum hotels, (b) people residing in asylum hotels, (c) people residing in a individual asylum hotel on average there were in (i) 2023-24 and (ii) 2024-25.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since coming into office this Government is delivering on its pledge to close asylum hotels; drastically reducing taxpayer costs and giving control back to local communities. This Government is committed to ending the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of the Parliament.
Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - 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, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 35311 on Asylum: Health Services, whether any local authorities have commissioned independent health sector providers to provide health care to asylum seekers using central government funding in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold this information.
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 planning appeal decisions the Planning Inspectorate has made in relation to Grey Belt land since December 2024 by (a) reference number and (b) local authority.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspectorate does not hold the requested information in a readily searchable way, and planning appeals do not have a marker for Grey Belt. As such, it is not possible to identify planning appeal decisions relating to grey belt land since December 2024 in the time available.