Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of complaints relating to private parking fines issued in Lincolnshire in the past five years.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not hold data on the number of complaints relating to private parking fines issued in Lincolnshire in the past five years.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department (a) uses and (b) is taking steps to install rooftop solar panels on its premises.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government occupies premises owned, leased, and managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA) who are responsible for building assets, including the installation and use of rooftop solar panels.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is engaging with GPA through its Net Zero Programme to track progress in this area and understands GPA intends to undertake feasibility studies and energy audits at a number of sites during this financial year to assess opportunities for rooftop solar panel installation.
Funding support for public bodies to install solar panels has been available through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) with a total of over £3 billion made available up 2028. Great British Energy (GBE) also supports public sector decarbonisation and the GBE Solar programme is investing £255 million to fund around 250 schools, around 260 NHS sites, and around 15 military sites to install solar panels across the country.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her department monitors how much food waste its offices generate each month.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG do not hold catering or waste disposal contracts. Further information should be sought from the Government Property Agency.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much her Department spent on activities relating to Pride Month 2026.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department spend for activities relating to Pride Month 2026 is zero pounds.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support fire and rescue workers in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We’re investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, part of which includes more specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters that can deploy nationally to support in wildfires across the country, including in Lincolnshire.
We also work closely with fire and rescue services to ensure they can prepare for and manage local risks. Decisions on how fire and rescue authorities use their resources and equipment to meet those risks are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.
Lincolnshire FRS is primarily funded by the Central Government and council tax precept via its parent authority, Lincolnshire County Council. In 2026/27 Lincolnshire County Council will have a core spending power of £813 million, an increase of 8.57% compared to 2025/26. Lincolnshire County Council is responsible for managing the allocation and use of these funds.
Fire and rescue workers play a vital role in keeping communities safe, and this government is committed to ensuring that fire and rescue services have a skilled, supported, and resilient workforce. We are taking forward reforms with partners to deliver on these objectives, including exploring changes to the role of the fire and rescue authority and service to support workforce development and aid productivity, and publishing a Concordat on Health and Wellbeing for firefighters in England and pursue improved health monitoring and research.
Fire and rescue authorities are the employers of fire and rescue service staff and are responsible for local workforce matters, including workforce wellbeing and employment arrangements.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has hired external public relations consultants since July 2024.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has not procured any consultancy relating to public relations since July 2024.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many agency staff were employed by his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
The Department publishes workforce information on a monthly basis that includes agency headcount. This can be found here for July 2024 onwards and here for the years prior.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, other than special advisers if his Department has appointed anyone from outside the civil service since July 2024.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
Since July 2024, the Department has appointed individuals from outside the Civil Service. Information on these appointments is published through the Public Appointments Service page and Direct Ministerial Appointments announcement portal, as appropriate.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many political appointees have been made by his Department since July 2024.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
We have taken ‘political appointees’ to mean special advisers. A list of special advisers by department is published each year in the Annual Report on Special Advisers which is laid in parliament. The Annual Report on Special Advisers 2026 will be published in due course.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department permits civil servants employed in the UK to work from overseas on a regular basis.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
While it is possible to support employees who want to work from outside of the UK there is no right to do so and in many cases support will be impossible. The department does not allow people to work from outside of the UK without assessing risk on a case-by-case basis. The country the employee is asking to work from, the location within the country, the working arrangements and nature of the work the employee would be doing are examples of relevant factors. If an employee needs to take a department device abroad or they want to access our systems when they are overseas, they must get approval first.
There are policy limits on the amount of time any employee may be allowed to work outside of the UK. This is currently 2 weeks at any one time unless the employee is accompanying a partner on an overseas civil service posting. The actual limit will vary according to the circumstances of the request. There is also an annual limit on the amount of time anyone can work outside of the UK of no more than 6 weeks in any 12 month period.