Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Fair Funding Review will ensure that the most deprived areas of the country will receive the biggest increases in funding.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published the local government finance policy statement Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 - GOV.UK and government response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on Thursday 20 November which set out the government’s plans to introduce a fairer and evidence-led system, that will realign funding with need and deprivation.
The government has used the most robust and up to date evidence available. On this basis, we are now using data from the recently published 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation in our assessment of need.
We expect that by 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived authorities will see a significant increase in their Core Spending Power per head, compared to the least deprived.
We will publish provisional local authority allocations at the upcoming provisional multi-year Settlement in December. Proposals and allocations will be subject to consultation and the usual Parliamentary process.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what amount of financial savings the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army, and (c) Royal Air Force have been asked to make in (i) 2025-26 and (ii) 2026-27.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence applies in-year controls across the Department to manage performance against the Defence budget and these controls are subject to continuous review.
This approach is part of normal good financial management and ensures that resources are allocated effectively to meet operational priorities.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what date he expects to have a full fleet of Ajax armoured vehicles.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On current plans, Full Operating Capability for the Armoured Cavalry Programme is expected to be achieved by the end of 2029.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, How many housing development applications refused by local authorities have had decisions subsequently been overturned by planning inspectors in each year since 2015.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The table below shows housing development applications refused by local planning authorities and subsequently overturned on appeal, as well as total housing development appeal decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate between the years 2015 and 2025:
Year | Total overturned | Housing development decisions |
2015 | 1,977 | 6,793 |
2016 | 2,621 | 9,063 |
2017 | 2,192 | 7,928 |
2018 | 2,018 | 7,256 |
2019 | 2,091 | 8,625 |
2020 | 1,466 | 6,618 |
2021 | 1,443 | 5,933 |
2022 | 1,392 | 5,492 |
2023 | 1,480 | 5,847 |
2024 | 1,561 | 6,353 |
2025 | 1,243 | 4,532 |
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to make any changes to the existing bespoke distribution method for the Recovery Grant.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The local government finance settlement for 2024 to 2025 introduced the Recovery Grant, worth £600 million. This was distributed to places with greater need and demand for services (using deprivation as a proxy), and which are least able to fund their own services locally.
The grant laid the foundations for funding reform, ahead of our commitment to bringing forward the Fair Funding Review 2.0 from 2026-27.
We consulted on the Fair Funding Review 2.0 over the summer, and we will confirm final details of our proposals through a comprehensive policy statement later in the autumn, followed by a consultation for the provisional local government finance settlement, as usual, later in the year.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 78005 on Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash, tabled on 10 October 2025 by the hon. Member for Widnes and Halewood.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
A response has been issued here.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, was China officially designated as a threat to national security by the UK Government when (a) the alleged offences of Christopher Berry and Chris Cash for spying for China took place and (b) when the CPS made a decision to prosecute.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The policy of the previous Government during the periods in question was set out in the Integrated Review (March 2021) and the Integrated Review Refresh (March 2023). The previous Government described China as an “epoch defining and systemic challenge”.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many businesses were (a) fined and (b) prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants each year since 2015.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In 2015, 2206 civil penalties were issued for illegal working. Information on illegal working civil penalty statistics has been published since 2016 as part of the Home Office Immigration Transparency Data and can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68a3015732d2c63f8693437d/immigration-enforcement-data-apr-jun-2025.ods on tab CP02.
The data reflects the total number of penalties issued, rather than the number of businesses affected, as fines have been imposed on both sole traders and limited companies.
The below table provides the number of convictions for employing illegal workers since 2015. Prosecution is targeted at the most persistent offenders.
Year | Individuals convicted for employing illegal workers |
2015 | 4 |
2016 | 8 |
2017 | 4 |
2024 | 1 |
Total | 17 |
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2025 to Question 61488 on Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Radiology, what the requirement for radiographers is at Warrington and Halton University Hospitals Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about staffing levels are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their workforce planning and recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. The Department does not hold data on the planned radiographer workforce at the Warrington and Halton University Hospitals Trust.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many consultant posts are vacant in the each of the acute hospital trusts in the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of consultant vacancies at hospitals in the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board. NHS England publishes regular high-level statistics on vacancies across National Health Service trusts, which are available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey