Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings (a) she has and (b) Ministers in her Department have had with hon. Members from (i) her party and (ii) other parties on rail infrastructure projects in their constituencies.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ministers meet regularly with MPs of all parties to discuss rail infrastructure projects at surgeries.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to provide funding to Tavistock College under the school rebuilding programme.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

School buildings are integral to high and rising standards and need to be fit for the future. That is why we remain committed to improving the condition of the school estate, and the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) continues as part of that.

The department wrote to Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust in July 2023, to inform them that Tavistock College has been placed in Group 2 of the SRP. Projects have been prioritised according to the condition of their buildings and other relevant criteria. We anticipate that Tavistock College will commence with planning and feasibility work early in 2026. SRP projects typically take between two and five years to deliver.

Specific start dates will be communicated to the school and responsible body at least a month in advance of project start and, where possible, we will bring projects forward if we are able to do so. The scope of the works will be discussed with the school and responsible body once the project enters delivery.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will exclude (a) Dartmoor, (b) the Tamar Valley and (c) other environmentally protected and low-density settlement areas in West Devon from her Department’s methodology for determining the required number of new affordable homes; and if she will adopt the relevant local authority's baseline figure.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government implemented a new standard method for assessing housing need via the revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024. The revised method aligns with our ambition to deliver 1.5 million safe and decent homes this parliament and better directs new homes to where they are most needed and least affordable.

National policy is clear that the standard method should be used by local authorities to inform the preparation of their local plans. Once local housing need has been assessed, authorities should make an assessment of the amount of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability and constraints on development, such as National Landscapes, and any other relevant matters.

Planning Practice Guidance makes clear that where strategic policy-making authorities do not align with local authority boundaries, or where the data used in the method is not available, such as in National Parks, an alternative approach may have to be used. In these instances, authorities may continue to identify a housing need figure using a method determined locally.

Local authorities should also make their own assessment of size, type, and tenure of housing needed for different groups in their local communities, including those who require affordable housing, and reflect this in their planning policies. This can draw on locally held data such as the number of homeless households or those in temporary accommodation.

Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/contempt-parliament-vote-theresa-may- brexit-legal-advice-government-geoffrey-cox-a8667086