Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing independent Local Authority Designated Officers.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) plays a vital role in safeguarding children by overseeing the management of allegations made against adults who work with children in any capacity.

The department is aware of proposals to introduce independent LADOs, including a recommendation from the Children’s Commissioner in September 2025.

To ensure this vital role is delivered consistently and effectively across all local authorities, we continue to work with key stakeholders across the sector including the Office of the Children’s Commissioner on key policy developments and to explore how the role of LADO can be strengthened. Evidence and intelligence gathered through this engagement will be considered alongside wider stakeholder input to inform future policy development.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to question 98653, whether the Department will release the number of people with multiple sclerosis who are in the Work Related Activity Group.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There were fewer than five people with multiple sclerosis as their primary condition who were claiming contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) in May 2025. Statistical disclosure control has been applied by rounding to the nearest 10 to avoid the release of confidential data. People claiming income-related Employment and Support Allowance are currently moving across to Universal Credit.

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 holds data outlining the Local Government Finance Settlement allocations for individual councils discounting second home premium council tax projections.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

At the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29 on 17 December 2025, we set out the funding available to councils through the longstanding Core Spending Power measure, which was calculated in line with the approach used at previous Settlements. This means we assumed each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the five-year average annual growth in their council tax base. The inclusion of second homes premium income in Core Spending Power does not affect grant allocations, as it is excluded in the updated assessment of relative need and resources.

We are aware over two thirds of billing authorities introduced second homes premiums in 2025-26, and under our proposals this additional income would be accounted for in Core Spending Power, given it is an important part of the resources available to local authorities to deliver services. No council will lose grant and/or business rates through our assessment of authorities’ relative need and resources as a result of this approach and as part of the government’s policy to reward places for housebuilding.

The consultation on the provisional Settlement closed on 14 January. The government is now considering responses and will set out its position at the final Settlement in February.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data, analysis, and modelling did the Department use to determine the removal of the remoteness factor from the Area Cost Adjustment, and if the Government will publish or share this evidence with local authorities to demonstrate how the change accurately reflects differences in service delivery costs.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. In addition to including a remoteness adjustment in adult social care formulas, we are including a journey times adjustment, which aims to account for the impact of the difference in travel times to provide services on the cost of labour; including updated deprivation data to help ensure that deprivation in rural areas is captured more accurately; and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles

As set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0, the government believes that accounting for variations in cost between local authorities is important when determining funding allocations through the Local Government Finance Settlement. This ensures that all authorities receive funding which reflects their costs relative to others.

Following the Fair Funding Review consultation, the government has taken the decision to include a remoteness adjustment in the area cost adjustment applied to the adult social care formula, but not to other formulas. This is because the best evidence we have heard indicates that distance from a major market has an impact on the cost of delivering adult social care services.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to publish a revised local government finance settlement that excludes consideration of income received through second home council tax premiums.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

At the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29 on 17 December 2025, we set out the funding available to councils through the longstanding Core Spending Power measure, which was calculated in line with the approach used at previous Settlements. This means we assumed each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the five-year average annual growth in their council tax base. The inclusion of second homes premium income in Core Spending Power does not affect grant allocations, as it is excluded in the updated assessment of relative need and resources.

We are aware over two thirds of billing authorities introduced second homes premiums in 2025-26, and under our proposals this additional income would be accounted for in Core Spending Power, given it is an important part of the resources available to local authorities to deliver services. No council will lose grant and/or business rates through our assessment of authorities’ relative need and resources as a result of this approach and as part of the government’s policy to reward places for housebuilding.

The consultation on the provisional Settlement closed on 14 January. The government is now considering responses and will set out its position at the final Settlement in February.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish guidance for local authorities on the composition of Neighbourhood Area Committees.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill brings a new requirement for local authorities to make appropriate governance arrangements for any neighbourhood area. The government will publish guidance to support the local authorities in the implementation of this policy in due course.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of potential economic impact of the closure of small and medium-sized abattoirs on (a) farmers, (b) abattoir owners, (c) food producers and (d) consumers in the South East.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Small and medium abattoirs play an important role in supporting regional food systems, providing routes to market for local food producers, particularly for native and rare breeds, and sustaining diversity in the meat processing sector. The closure of several smaller abattoirs in recent years has resulted in some farmers having to find alternative slaughter facilities. This has not impacted national food security or food supply for consumers including those based in the South East of England. The national abattoir network remains resilient, continuing to deliver high-quality and safe meat products.

Defra works closely with industry stakeholders including farmers, abattoir owners and food producers through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These groups bring together government and industry representatives on a regular basis and provide a forum for identifying the challenges and opportunities the sector faces, and for collaborating on practical solutions.

World Cancer Day and breast cancer

St David’s Day (Dydd Gwyl Dewi)

Graduate driving licences

Role of the House of Lords in scrutinising legislation

Horse and rider road safety

Social media for under 16s

Nuclear Regulatory Review and habitats regulations

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Found: Q14 John Milne: Good morning.

Found: Torbay) Damien Egan (Labour; Bristol North East) Amanda Hack (Labour; North West Leicestershire) John Milne

Found: Chair); Rushanara Ali; David Baines; Lee Barron; Johanna Baxter; Mr Peter Bedford; Amanda Hack; John Milne

Members of the Education and Work and Pensions Select Committees have decided to undertake an inquiry that will consider how the Government can ensure it will deliver a successful Child Poverty Strategy.