Oral Answers to Questions

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)]

4. What steps she is taking to ensure local authorities uphold the Nolan principles.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Jim McMahon)]

Standards in local government are important. The Localism Act 2011 requires every local authority in England to adopt a code of conduct that conforms to the Nolan principles. The Government are committed to a whole system reform of the local government standards framework to make it stronger and more efficient, including with stronger sanctions, and we will legislate when parliamentary time allows.

[Ben Goldsborough]

Despite concerns, Reform rushed through the appointment of Norfolk county council’s new CEO, Dennis Bacon. Thanks to Councillor Ben Weston, we now know that Mr Bacon hosted senior Reform councillors at his luxury B&B the day before job applications opened. Norfolk Reform has failed on three Nolan principles: selflessness, integrity and objectivity. Does my hon. Friend agree that a slap-up meal should not get someone a £215,000 job?

[Jim McMahon]

My hon. Friend raises concerning point. I thank my hon. Friend and Councillor Ben Weston too for highlighting the issue. I obviously cannot get into the specifics of the case—local authorities are independent employers, so individual employment decisions are a matter for them—but I am concerned that there is a pattern of conduct and behaviour in Reform councils that we would not usually find acceptable, and we should not allow it to be normalised.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)]

Kinver Business Solutions has secured more than £1 million in project management fees from Ashfield district council. It now turns out that one of the project managers is actually the son of the chief executive of Ashfield district council. I thank the Department for arranging an appointment this week, but does the Minister agree that it is time to send the commissioners in to Ashfield district council? There is not a minute to spare.

[Jim McMahon]

I know that the hon. Gentleman raised the same point at Prime Minister’s questions last week, and it is clearly concerning. There should not be that type of conflict. I have written to him today, and he should have a copy of the letter in his office. We take such matters seriously. I have asked the Department to conduct an urgent best-value assessment of the local authority. Meetings are taking place with officials and the council’s chief executive to find out exactly what is going on.

[Michelle Welsh (Sherwood Forest) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for the intervention that his Department has made with the rapid best-value assessment at Ashfield district council, in response to my representations over the past two months. These are extremely serious allegations, and my constituents in Hucknall have been let down badly by the council. Will the Minister confirm that urgent action is being taken? Can he say what more can be done to prevent further inappropriate decisions, especially on planning? Does he agree that the severity of the allegations warrants a referral to the police for an independent investigation?

[Jim McMahon]

My hon. Friend has raised this matter on a number of occasions, and I hope she received a copy of my letter on Friday after raising it further. The issue is very serious. In addition to the points I have made about the rapid best-value review and the conversations taking place with the council’s chief executive, I can also say that our officials will be contacting the external auditor to understand more details of the case.

[Suella Braverman (Fareham and Waterlooville) (Reform)]

The Prime Minister has made it clear that Labour councils should end their power-sharing agreements with local Green parties, following the disgracefully antisemitic motion passed by the national Green party that Zionism is racism. However, the Labour leader of Havant borough council has refused to condemn her Green party coalition partners for supporting that motion and has refused to withdraw from the coalition. Does the Minister agree that that is a breach of the Nolan principles, and will he clarify who is right: the Prime Minister, or the Labour leader of Havant borough council?

[Jim McMahon]

For the avoidance of doubt, I should point out that the Prime Minister is always right.

I will take no lectures from Reform on standards and conduct in local government. We hear repeated complaints about the conduct of Reform-led councils across the country—about the way in which they treat their staff, the way in which they treat each other, and the way in which, quite often, the toxicity that we see online is brought into council chambers.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

The first of the Nolan principles is selflessness—acting solely in the public interest—but, according to feedback from councillors throughout the country, during the botched local government reorganisation process they felt that they were under pressure to put political considerations first: pressure that came from the previous Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Streatham and Croydon North (Steve Reed). The new Secretary of State told the House recently that she could not say whether his decision making was even lawful. Can she now tell the House whether the pressure that was put on those councillors to submit to his reorganisation agenda left them at risk of breaching the Nolan principles as well as the law?

[Jim McMahon]

The only pressure on us is the pressure that we place on ourselves to do the job well. As I said in my statement last week, there are no easy decisions on local reorganisation, and there is no perfect solution for most counties in England. What the Government have to do is balance competing interests and ensure that we assess the evidence base objectively, that we challenge when there may be gaps in the information provided, and, ultimately, that we make the best possible decision, and that is what we are getting on with doing.

[Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of trends in the level of new housing in Chesterfield.

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[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

7. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Pride in Place programme on Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Jim McMahon)]

Twenty-two local authorities in Wales, including Monmouthshire, have received £34.5 million through the Pride in Place impact fund, resulting in over 200 projects to support high streets, public spaces and community facilities. The Pride in Place programme will also deliver £280 million to areas in Wales over the next 10 years, with local communities deciding how the money should be spent, helping to restore pride in local places.

[Catherine Fookes]

I thank the Minister for his answer and for the funding in Monmouthshire. Construction is beginning at Caldicot skate park, and I am delighted that it is just one of the projects that Monmouthshire county council is delivering. It has been made possible by Pride in Place funding from this Labour Government, and we are also going to see new public toilets with Changing Places facilities in Abergavenny and Usk, improvements to Monmouth bus station, and communal gardens at Thornwell in Chepstow. I want to see all Monmouthshire towns thrive, as I am sure the Minister does, and I really hope that this is only the beginning. When will Pride in Place funding be made available to Monmouthshire?

[Jim McMahon]

My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for her constituency, and she shows the difference a local MP can make when they have a real vision for their constituency and support local communities to realise their potential. The Government are committed to making sure that communities across the UK have the tools needed to get things done in their areas. In addition to the Pride in Place funding programme, we have announced a further £210 million package to support high streets and community assets. Although that relates to England, the Welsh Government also receive corresponding funding through the Barnett formula that they can allocate on their own priorities.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

8. What discussions her Department has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving access to suitable accommodation for vulnerable households.

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[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

11. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of powers available to councils to stop the opening of vape and barber shops on high streets.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Jim McMahon)]

We are giving local leaders and communities more control over their high street mix of shops and their high streets through the “Hope on the High Street” strategy, which the Secretary of State just referred to. We are also consulting on requiring planning permission for new vape shops and a new licensing regime for vape shops and tobacco retailers. The Budget confirmed that we will remove business rates relief from vape shops and adult gaming centres to better target that relief on businesses that support thriving high streets. Furthermore, we are investing £30 million per year in funding for agencies such as trading standards to tackle these dodgy shops.

[Robbie Moore]

This year alone West Yorkshire trading standards has raided 20 premises in Keighley, seizing illegal and counterfeit goods, and yet residents watch those same dodgy shops reopen within days. Our local trading standards has received well over 3,000 intelligence reports about dodgy shops such as minimarts, vape shops, takeaways and barbers, with reports linked to money laundering, drug supplying, modern slavery and illegal working—and that is just within Keighley. Despite the Government’s rhetoric of wanting to take a tough stance on this issue, why was West Yorkshire trading standards not included in the latest round of funding to support local trading standards with law enforcement action against organised criminal activity? Will the Minister look to resolve this issue?

[Jim McMahon]

The point the hon. Gentleman raises is exactly why the Government are taking action. People look at how our high streets and town centres have been transformed, and they see in plain sight that something just is not right. They see the type of convenience stores he is talking about, and the barber shops and the vape shops, and they know like we know that what is going on inside those premises is not lawful. The connection to human trafficking and other illegal activity is quite clear from the investigations that have taken place. The additional funding we have provided is about targeting it to where the assessed need is, but to be clear every police force and every trading standards department should be prioritising this matter as a matter of course.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

The Minister will be aware of my campaign, which has the support of over 60 MPs, to shut down dodgy shops. I am aware that the Government have taken steps to extend the powers available to local authorities, which have finally seen my local authority take steps to shut down one shop. There are many more that it can come for in the coming days. Interestingly, when the Conservatives were in power, they changed the rules to require trading standards to give 48 hours’ notice before visiting some premises. Are the Government looking at changing that rule, so that more activity can be taken by trading standards when shops have not prepared?

[Jim McMahon]

My hon. Friend raises a fair point. There is a world of difference between a routine trading standards visit, which is about assessing routine compliance, and not giving organised criminals a heads-up to clear the store out of any evidence, so I will certainly take away her point and confirm the next steps in writing. I put on record my thanks for the work she has been doing on this issue for a long time.

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[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

15. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for local authorities in rural areas.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Jim McMahon)]

Under this Labour Government, rural authorities in England will see a total increase in core spending power of £958 million from 2024-25 to 2028-29—an increase of 21.1%. As a result of the fair funding reforms, nine in 10 councils will receive funding that more broadly matches their assessed relative need by the end of the multi-year settlement, up from around a third before the reforms took place.

[Helen Morgan]

Shropshire council is in receipt of exceptional financial support following 16 years of disastrous Conservative mismanagement and a settlement from the Government that reduces its central allocation over the next three years. The issue for the council is that any council tax rises it opts for in future will cover only the repayment terms of that exceptional financial support, and will not allow for any financial restructuring. We are clearly in an unsustainable situation, so will the Minister meet me to discuss the terms of the exceptional financial support?

[Jim McMahon]

As I said, the average rural council will see an increase in core spending power of 21.1%; Shropshire itself will see an increase of 13.8%. I do understand that councils that find themselves in need of exceptional financial support are at the point at which they need the Government to stand behind them in one way or another. I would be very happy to meet the hon. Lady to talk in further detail about what more we can do.

[Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)]

In rural Cumbria, those without a car struggle to access education and jobs, which is why families on the lowest incomes prioritise car ownership. However, our councils lost out on significant financial support because funding formulas used car ownership as a determinant of income. Will the Secretary of State carry out a review of this approach, and perhaps ask whether civil servants who are privileged enough to travel to work on one of the world’s finest public transport systems are giving us duff advice?

[Jim McMahon]

The fair funding review deliberately took into account the different types of local authorities that were funded through the settlement, from London authorities and urban authorities to authorities for coastal or rural communities. For the first time we made sure that deprivation was picked up in the funding formula, and the level at which we did that was in the hundreds of households, not the thousands or tens of thousands of households. The idea behind that is to enable us to really home in on where deprivation exists across the country.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

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[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

T3. This Government are facilitating a property grab by allowing councils to seize properties that have been left vacant for as little as six months. Rather than stealing properties, would not the Secretary of State be better using the powers of state to cut regulation, cut taxes and get more houses built?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Jim McMahon)]

The fact is that there is not a community, high street or town centre in any part of the country that is not blighted by a building that stubbornly will not be brought back into use. It is right that if owners are not willing to take action, the Government will do.

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

T8. This summer’s wildfires showed us how incredible but stretched our firefighters are. Their ability to prepare for and confront fires and floods will match the ferocity of what they face only if we in this House do our part. Following the Budget and ahead of the spending review, will the Department make strong representations to the Treasury so that wildfire risk can be taken into account when fire and rescue budgets are set?

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

T4. Westmorland and Furness council is England’s most rural unitary authority, but the Government’s new formula has punished us for being rural with a crushing 31% cut in our funding, putting care homes, help for the homeless and support for schools at risk. Does the Secretary of State think that is fair? Will she revisit this travesty urgently and provide emergency support?

[Jim McMahon]

The hon. Member has raised that issue a number of times, and the answer is the same as before. The fair funding review, for the first time, took into account the assessed need in each area, the resource available to each council to meet that need, and where the Government had to act as an equaliser in the system. That is what we have done. If there are examples of where it is not quite working and its application is not as it should be, I am happy to receive representations, and I would be happy to meet him.

[Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)]

My constituent, Mr Welch, and his sister have been left completely trapped by the death of their mother last year. Despite slashing the price of her assisted living flat from £200,000 to £60,000, the flat remains unsellable because the market has collapsed, and the £1,300 a month service charge risks wiping out the estate. Will the Minister urgently review the guidance and support available to bereaved executors in this position, and meet me to discuss the recourse available to such families?

[Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) (LD)]

T5. Recently, I visited Standing Joint Command in Aldershot, which is responsible for co-ordinating military support to the civil power, working through local resilience forums and councils. What conversations has the Secretary of State had with the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence to ensure that devolution and local government reorganisation strengthen the country’s resilience rather than weaken it?

[Jim McMahon]

The Department will support local councils going through local government reorganisation to ensure that those partnerships are maintained. The Local Government Association has a good toolkit available for councils to help them ensure that the transition is managed in the way that he describes.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

For decades, Liverpool has lived with the consequences of Thatcher’s sell-off of council housing and the large-scale stock transfer of properties leaving too many families without secure and genuinely affordable homes. Mayor Steve Rotheram’s North Docks mayoral development corporation set out a bold vision, with strong public backing. Will the Minister back the work of the MDC to support large-scale council house building in order to reverse the legacy of the past and tackle the housing crisis?

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[Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)]

Since I last asked the Minister about the Liberal Democrats’ £620 million-worth of debt at Eastleigh borough council, it has got bigger, the external auditors have said that there have been financial misstatements and a lack of management financially, and the Government have now given it £150 million for social housing. What will it take for this Minister to come down on Eastleigh borough council and get that debt down?

[Jim McMahon]

We have an established best value regime that assesses all councils objectively, based on evidence, and of course we take the audit position very seriously. I will confirm in writing exactly where we are up to with that local authority, but to be clear, just because the status of the local authority is as the hon. Gentleman describes, that does not mean that the community it serves should be denied funding.

[Dr Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)]

For over a year, I have argued for changes to Sheffield’s local plan, with a fairer distribution of green-belt sites across the authority, greater use of brownfield sites, high streets and retail spaces, densification on transport routes, a better application of the Government’s golden rules, and strengthened powers to utilise long-term empty properties to ease the pressure on Grenoside, Chapeltown and Ecclesfield. Consequently, I am calling for a pause in the local plan process, especially in the light of new evidence demonstrating that all the green-belt parcels in my constituency are now assessed as containing our best agricultural land, including Town End farm. Will the Minister meet me and Sheffield colleagues to discuss the local plan, and to ensure that Sheffield builds more homes, especially the social and affordable homes that we need?

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[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

How does the abolition of a rural district council such as New Forest, and its absorption into a unitary authority dominated by an urban centre such as Southampton, increase devolution and local democracy?

[Jim McMahon]

Obviously, we take decisions on local reorganisation on a county-by-county basis. When we are in a position to issue a “minded to” notice, we explain at length how we will balance the competing interests to get the right balance, but I accept the right hon. Gentleman’s point. The identity of place matters, and places that are urban have quite a different character and economy from those that are rural. By and large, I think we try to strike that balance well in the decisions that are taken.

[Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)]

Earlier this year, a young puppy was found in South Derbyshire, and its suspected mother was discovered in squalid conditions on a farm in Derbyshire Dales, alongside numerous other dogs, some of which were dead. The conditions were so horrific that one environmental officer was physically sick. This incident has stayed with and haunted me and my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby), particularly given that the environmental team officers, after putting animal welfare first, were subsequently suspended and dismissed. Will the Minister meet us to discuss how we can empower local authorities to prioritise animal welfare without fear of jurisdictional disputes, conflicting local policies or the risk of prosecution failure?

[Jim McMahon]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the widely varied roles of local government and how connected local government is to communities. Many local authorities take pride in reaching the gold standard from animal welfare charities. I am happy to take up her point and perhaps respond in writing.

[Kit Malthouse (North West Hampshire) (Con)]

As the Housing and Planning Minister knows, a planning inspector has made some outrageous decisions regarding the national landscape in my constituency over the past few months. Will he therefore please confirm from the Dispatch Box, for the benefit of all the planning inspectors out there, that his intention is to strengthen protections for our national landscapes in the latest edition of the national planning policy framework?

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[Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)]

Suffolk county council is proposing significant cuts to its healthy child services. That is deeply worrying to new parents such as Chloe, who became a mother at 18 and, without the help of family, relied on the young parent pathway to develop the skills and knowledge to raise her baby boy. What assessment has the Department made of the positive impact of healthy child services, and will the Minister intervene to protect these vital services?

[Jim McMahon]

The Government do not intervene in local authorities’ individual budget-setting decisions. We also recognise that local authorities are doing their best to try to wrestle competing interests in areas in which there is huge demand, such as adult and children’s social care, special educational needs and disabilities, and temporary accommodation. However, the hon. Gentleman rightly points out the success of that programme, and I hope that all councils look to ensure that the community impact of budget decisions is being adequately managed.

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

Does the Minister share my disappointment that, because of political game playing by the leader of Central Bedfordshire council, Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire will have to wait to enjoy the benefits of devolution? Will she set out how this Government will work to ensure that constituencies such as mine will not miss out on the investment and opportunities that it promises?

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

West Surrey unitary authority wrote to the Secretary of State asking her to change the name of that authority to West Surrey and South Middlesex—a move that I thoroughly support. The local government Minister wrote back to them and said, “It’s nothing to do with me; just change your name yourself.” Will the Minister confirm what his spokesman said to the BBC, which was that,

“West Surrey Council has the power to change its own name to include Middlesex if it chooses to do so, and we’ve set this out in a letter to them”?

[Jim McMahon]

As explained in the letter, it is not for the Secretary of State to determine the names of local authorities; local authorities have the legal right and ability to change them themselves. My advice is to crack on with it.

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[Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)]

Birmingham city council is now officially out of bankruptcy, so will the Government remove the Government-appointed commissioners, who are costing taxpayers millions of pounds—money that could be better used elsewhere?

[Jim McMahon]

The involvement of commissioners in any local authority, or envoys for that matter, is a last resort after all else has failed, so no Government take such an intervention lightly. We also want to ensure that there is an exit for intervention. We have proven, in Liverpool and other places, that where the council shows sustained improvement, we are happy to review that. Although Birmingham has taken significant steps at improvement, there are still steps yet to take.

[Sean Woodcock (Banbury) (Lab)]

I welcome the news last week that local government reorganisation will finally take place in Oxfordshire and that the Thames valley will have devolution. Can the Minister confirm that it is the Government’s intention that these new authorities will all be in place by the end of this Parliament?

[Jim McMahon]

It is our intention that all the local government reorganisation areas will have an election in 2028 and a vesting day in April 2029.

[Marie Goldman (Chelmsford) (LD)]

The issue of restrictive covenants, raised so ably by the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan), is also affecting my constituents, some of whom have been extorted out of tens of thousands of pounds. Will the Government give any comfort to the residents who are campaigning so hard on this that the commonhold and leasehold reform Bill will contain provisions to stop this awful practice?

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[Jim McMahon]

Well, I would hope that the clue is in the name—a shop that primarily sells vapes.

[Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire) (Reform)]

Swindon and Wiltshire councils are building a lot of new housing, which is excellent, but the Government have now abolished an essential safeguard for communities against inappropriate planning, which is the power of councillors to call in applications. What steps are the Government taking to review that particular measure, and will they reconsider if it turns out that it is not working?

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is bringing out a short-term let registration scheme in March. Unfortunately, due to data protection rules, it cannot be more of a licensing scheme, so owners of properties will not be obliged to file liability insurance or fire safety documents. DCMS tells me that MHCLG is the Department that could set up such a licensing scheme. Is that something the Minister will consider?

[Jim McMahon]

We are bringing forward legislation for the overnight visitor levy, and an essential part of that is to ensure that all short-term lets are on the register and that we know who should pay that taxation in areas where the mayoral or foundation authority agrees to it. We are in conversation with DCMS about what implementation of the register needs to look like.

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

Now that the Government have withdrawn plans for local government reorganisation in Devon, the law still requires councils such as North Devon to change from a committee system to a cabinet system by June 2027. Six months have been lost and the Secretary of State can grant only a year’s extension. Can the Minister tell us whether councils such as North Devon will be given extra time or extra funding to help make that change?

[Jim McMahon]

We have agreed, as part of the transitional arrangements, that the committee system will be allowed to continue for an extra year in the way that my hon. Friend describes.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the announcement by the Chancellor last week on supporting our high streets, which is welcome. What conversations has the Minister had with Cabinet colleagues about the future of Poundland? We have two shops and one depot in Harlow, so this is hugely important for my constituency.

[Jim McMahon]

All of us are concerned about the announcement for Poundland and its 30,000 staff members. These are people in every one of our communities. I do not think there is a high street in the country that does not feature a Poundland. As confirmed this morning, the Government are in conversation with Poundland to ensure that it is supported where it can be, but I absolutely understand the community impact that my hon. Friend describes.

[Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)]

The Government have now baked the £20 million-a-year second homes council tax premium into their core funding; but business rates loopholes, which were increased in the recent Budget, make those payments easily avoidable, so that revenue cannot be relied on consistently. Will the Minister meet the six Cornish MPs to ensure that Cornwall benefits from the second home council tax premium?

[Jim McMahon]

There is definitely a pattern, particularly among short-term lets, of transferring to business rates to avoid paying council tax; that is why we need the short-term lets register that Members have spoken about today. I would be happy to meet Cornish MPs as a group to talk this through further.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Reform)]

Summer was a difficult time for Nottinghamshire fire service; it battled with wildfires and a lot of heat-related incidents. The firemen and women had to wear protective equipment and clothing in which it was simply unbearable to work in that type of heat. I know that the Secretary of State has made some funding available for this, but will she work to ensure that by next summer, if we have the same hot weather and wildfires, brave firemen and women will have the clothing and protective equipment that they need to work in those conditions?