Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 17 October 2025 to Question 77561 on MHCLG: Aviation, if he will list the (a) diplomatic, (b) humanitarian meetings and (c) visits that the Minister undertook on his visit to Pakistan.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per the Guidance on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance#annex-b-ministers-meetings-with-external-individuals-and-organisations-including-meetings-with-newspaper-and-other-media-proprietors-editors-and-senior-executives), details of meetings with foreign governments, and details of visits, are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of (a) trends in the level of (i) delays and (ii) backlogs in the Planning Court and (b) the implications for his policies of the time taken to enforce a temporary stop notice.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Temporary Stop Notice (TSN) is a planning enforcement tool available to local planning authorities to halt breaches of planning control on a temporary basis while they consider whether more substantive enforcement action is required.
While the initial stages of Planning Court proceedings are generally within expected timeframes, delays persist at later stages, and substantive hearings continue to experience backlogs. The number of live cases has gradually increased over the past year.
The time taken to enforce a temporary stop notice has implications for the effectiveness of planning enforcement policy. These notices are intended to provide swift intervention to prevent unauthorised development, but delays in judicial processes can weaken their deterrent effect and undermine confidence in the planning system. Prolonged enforcement proceedings may increase costs for local authorities and frustrate wider policy objectives on development control.
The Government is working with HM Courts & Tribunals Service and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure enforcement tools remain robust and planning policy continues to operate effectively.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled Record funding to protect Jewish communities, published on 16 October 2025, over what period is the up to £10 million of funding to be allocated; and through which mechanisms will the funding be allocated.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Following the horrific terrorist attack at Heaton Park Synagogue, the Prime Minister announced £10 million of emergency funding on 16 October as part of a wider package of measures to combat antisemitism in the UK.
The funding will be provided to the Community Security Trust (CST) through the Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant and is intended to be used within this financial year. The funding brings the total allocated through the JCPS Grant in 2025/26 to £28 million.
The additional funding will support increased security staffing and enhanced protective measures around Jewish sites, including synagogues, schools, and community centres. These measures include security personnel, CCTV, alarm systems, and floodlights.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled £10 million boost to protect Muslim communities, published on 23 October 2025, over how many financial years the funding will be allocated; and whether it will be subject to a bidding mechanism.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
In 2025/26, £29.4 million is available through the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and for security at Muslim faith schools. In addition, up to £10 million of emergency funding has been made available for Muslim communities to further strengthen security measures at their places of worship and other community sites.
This additional funding is available for financial year 2025/26 only.
Mosques and associated Muslim community centres where regular worship takes place are eligible to apply for the scheme through the application form on gov.uk. The Protective Security for Mosques Scheme provides protective security measures such as security personnel services, CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 16 September 2025 to Question 75606 on Community Development: English Language, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing English language support in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the cost of providing English language interpretation and translation services for the 2024/25 financial year and the 2025/26 financial year to date:
Financial year | Amount |
2024/25 | £9,834 |
2025/26 | £28,619 |
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75606 on Community Development: English Language, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of providing English language support in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language. Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
The services provided under the Ministry of Justice’s contracts include face-to-face, video, and telephone interpretation for spoken foreign languages, as well as written translation and transcription.
In financial year 2024/25, the Ministry of Justice spent £36,920,721 providing these services via contract.
To date, in financial year 2025/26, the Ministry of Justice spent £20,478,950 providing these services via contract. Expenditure to date is comparable with the same point as last financial year, so we anticipate that overall spend for 2025–26 will be broadly consistent with expenditure in the previous financial year.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 82043 on City of Sanctuary UK, if she will publish the minutes of the three meetings.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Officials routinely engage with a range of different organisations.
The department does not usually publish minutes between officials and stakeholders.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance has her Department been to local highways authorities on the use of pesticides to ensure that pavements are safe and accessible for pedestrians.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is a legal requirement to minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public. It is for each Local Authority to decide the best way of delivering cost-effective weed control in its operations while protecting people and the environment.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on which local authorities have introduced (a) three-weekly and (b) monthly residual household rubbish collections.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, on 20 December 2024, PQ UIN 19914.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has issued guidance on council farms.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recently published the 74th annual report to Parliament on smallholdings in England. The report indicated that council farms continue to play an important role in the tenanted agricultural sector across England.