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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to establish a financial support scheme for farmers, graziers and landowners impacted by major wildfires, equivalent to the Farming Recovery Fund available for flood events.

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

Through the Farming Recovery Fund, this Government provided an exceptional, one-off recovery payment to support farmers affected by Storms Babet, Henk and severe wet weather to help cover the uninsured costs of restoring farmland. The Government recognises the impacts of the changing climate and through the recently published Environmental Improvement Plan has committed to fund research to address the risk of wildfire. This will develop our understanding of actions we can take to naturally reduce the risk of wildfires. The Government is not considering introducing a specific fund targeting damages caused by wildfires at this stage.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is the (a) percentage and (b) cash terms increase in the average household water bills, including waste water, of a dwelling in the Thames Water area, in each year from 2025 onwards, for those not on a social tariff, over each year of the regulated period, according to information held by (i) his department and (ii) Ofwat.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This information is available on Ofwat’s website.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the (a) Mayor of London, (b) Greater London Authority and (c) Metropolitan Police on the decision to cancel the farmers’ tractor protest in Westminster on 26 November 2025.

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

This is an operational matter for the police. Defra has had no discussions with them about it.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Prime Minister plans to recuse himself from the appointments process for non-executive board members of the independent football regulator.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Football Governance Act 2025 is clear that decisions regarding the appointment of Non-Executive Members of the Independent Football Regulator are made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 90311 on Prime Minister: Conflict of Interests, whether the Prime Minister has recused himself from policies on football following advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer to Hon Member to the answer of 2 December 2025, Official Report, PQ 92608.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the presentations given at the cross-Government special advisers meeting in November 2025.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It would not be appropriate to publish presentations provided at internal meetings.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Prime Minister will make it his policy to appear before the Liaison Committee before Christmas recess.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon Member to the Liaison Committee's website, which has published that the Prime Minister is due to appear before the Committee on 15 December.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has issued recent guidance to Departments on the disclosure of political activity at the same time as the announcement of appointments.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

For public appointments, the Governance Code on Public Appointments requires that relevant political activity, as defined within the Code, should be publicly disclosed for successful candidates. This is expected to happen at the time that a department or appointing body announces the successful candidate. Or in the case of those appointments subject to pre-appointment hearing by a House of Commons select committee, the preferred candidate.

Direct ministerial appointments are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. This requires declaration of political activity where that is an actual or perceived conflict to their role. This is administered by the appointing body.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 122 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, if he will itemise the cost of Digital ID Cards in each of those three years.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The number was an initial, and early, estimate, spread over a number of years.

We do not recognise it as an accurate cost of the program. Any costs in this Spending Review period will be met within existing settlements. The Government will run a public consultation in the new year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Statement of 19 November 2025 on China Espionage: Government Security Response, Official Report, column 614, if she will set out the proposed changes to the security guidance for candidates in the devolved and local elections.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit develops and distributes candidate security guidance ahead of every election. This includes best practice on personal and physical security; information on the role of the police; cyber security; and routes for candidates to report online abuse. The refreshed guidance will be distributed in January.

The guidance will include a link to recently published NPSA guidance to protect democratic institutions from foreign interference and espionage threats.

Election preparedness is a priority for the Defending Democracy Taskforce which established the Joint Election Security and Preparedness (JESP) Unit as a permanent function which sits jointly between Cabinet Office and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). JESP is dedicated to protecting UK elections and referendums and coordinating work across government to respond to issues including foreign interference, protective security, and cyber threats as they emerge.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025, to Question 80915, on Women: Politics and Government, what plans she has to consult political parties on implementation of Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Government is committed to commencing Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections.

Office for Equality and Opportunity officials are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under Section 106, including the specifics with regards to data collection. Officials will consult with stakeholders, including political parties, in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives, published on 28 September 2023, and pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025, to Question 41063, on Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling and Marketing, whether the Government intends to publish a response to the 2023 consultation.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government has committed to exploring whether to raise the upper alcohol limit for drinks labelled as alcohol-free to 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) from 0.05% ABV, as set out in the current labelling guidance for no and low (NoLo) alcohol drink alternatives.

Department officials are progressing work to take forward this commitment, and we will update stakeholders in due course. The consultation referred to was undertaken by the previous administration. A decision on publishing a response will be made as part of determining the delivery timescales of the NoLo commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the written statement of 4 December 2025, HCWS1128, on Devolution Priority Programme, whether the Government consulted the Electoral Commission on the cancellation of the 2026 mayoral elections.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission was not consulted by the Government regarding the timing of mayoral elections in 2026.

The Commission’s view is that scheduled elections should only be postponed in exceptional circumstances. Voters must have a say on those that represent them at local government, and county council elections are still scheduled to take place in these areas in May 2026.

The Commission will work with the Government to better understand its plans for the polls so that it can support voters, campaigners and administrators to prepare.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department informed Westminster City Council that the Ministerial residence in Admiralty House occupied by the then Deputy Prime Minister should be billed for the second homes council tax premium.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Before the Second Home premium was introduced in Westminster, the Cabinet Office were aware that the former Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) was occupying Admiralty House (AH) as a second home and that council tax would therefore be payable by Government. In line with long standing precedent under successive administrations, as the property was a second residence the Government was responsible for paying the Council Tax on Admiralty House, not the former DPM. Similarly, the Cabinet Office is responsible for liaising with Westminster City Council (WCC) for matters concerning residency at Admiralty House.

WCC were notified at the beginning of May that the former DPM was occupying AH as a second home for council tax purposes, and details were provided for WCC to issue a bill accordingly.

The Government Property Agency wrote to WCC in June to confirm that the second home's premium applied. WCC issued an invoice in July which was paid the same day.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Direct Ministerial Appointments are in post across government; and how many are paid.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office does not hold data from across government on all direct ministerial appointments.

As set out in the recently published Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments, the Cabinet Office has recently made changes to its public appointments digital platform, which will allow departments to record and track their data on such appointments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any Ministers have unspent criminal records.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

There is an established process in place for the appointment of ministers. Any conversations held take place in confidence. All ministers are expected to adhere to the high standards of conduct set out in the Ministerial Code.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the name of each Mission Board is.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Mission Boards are:

• Growth Mission Board;

• Clean Energy Mission Board;

• Safer Streets Mission Board;

• Opportunities Mission Board; and

• Health Mission Board.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Statement of 19 November 2025 on China Espionage: Government Security Response, Official Report, column 614, if she will set out the proposed changes to the maximum penalties for election interference offences.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Foreign interference in British politics is a growing danger to our democracy, and it is imperative that we tackle this problem.

The changes announced in our Elections Strategy will keep our elections secure by boosting transparency and accountability in politics, closing down loopholes for foreign funding, and significantly increasing penalties by giving the Electoral Commission the power to impose fines up to £500,000 per offence.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to assist landowners in coordinating and accessing relevant grants and schemes for the long-term moorland restoration required following the Fylingdales Moor fire.

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

The Farming Advice Service (FAS) helps farmers navigate the range of grants and schemes to support increased productivity and managing land to benefit the environment and rural areas. Specifically, actions to support moorland restoration sit within the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. Natural England and Forestry Commission are providing pre-application advice and supporting customers with applications for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier. Where there has been an impact on an existing agreement, then we would advise agreement holders to contact the RPA or Natural England in the first instance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the economic impact of the Fylingdales Moor fire on businesses that were (a) evacuated and (b) made inaccessible due to road closures; and what financial support will be made available to them.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Flood Recovery Framework is unique to flooding and only activated in exceptional circumstances. No assessment has been made of the merits of establishing a similar scheme for wildfire incidents. There are a range of potential support mechanisms from across Government for local areas following significant emergency response incidents that are being explored.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a financial recovery framework for major wildfire incidents, equivalent to the Flood Recovery Framework, to provide (a) grants for affected businesses and (b) business rate relief.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Flood Recovery Framework is unique to flooding and only activated in exceptional circumstances. No assessment has been made of the merits of establishing a similar scheme for wildfire incidents. There are a range of potential support mechanisms from across Government for local areas following significant emergency response incidents that are being explored.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025, to Question 76604, on Water Charges: Social Tariffs, whether individual households can opt-out of water companies’ charging trials, or otherwise refuse consent to participate.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Companies can design their charges to provide benefits and incentives in a range of ways. Ofwat regulates charging trials by requiring companies to set fair charges for all customers, and ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025, to Question 76604, on Water Charges: Social Tariffs, what is the estimated cost to other customers, (a) in aggregate and (b) cross-subsidy per non-qualifying average household, of the price of social tariffs in each year of the 2025-30 period, (1) across England and (2) across each water company, according information held by (i) his department and (ii) Ofwat.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Companies decide, in consultation with their customers and organisations representing customers, which household customers fund social tariffs and how much they pay.

Several companies have committed to using funds from their own investors, shareholders or parent companies for their social tariffs and other financial support schemes (United Utilities, Dŵr Cymru, Yorkshire Water and SES Water).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Government action to protect children from abusive parents, published on 22 October 2025, how he plans to enact the repeal of the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989; and what his planned timetable is for that repeal.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government will repeal the presumption of parental involvement when Parliamentary time allows. Doing so requires amendments to the Children Act 1989 which will be taken forward once an appropriate legislative vehicle is identified. This remains a Ministerial priority, and we will announce further plans for implementation in due course.

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 written statement on 19 November 2025, HCWS1071, on Local Government Reorganisation, what is the timetable for the statutory consultation on other two-tier areas not listed in the statement, other than Surrey.

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

Following the statutory invitations issued on 5 February 2025 to two-tier authorities and neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local government, the Government received final proposals from the remaining 14 invitation areas on 28 November 2025. I expect to launch statutory consultations on these proposals in the new year.

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 24 October 2025 to Question 77559 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Aviation, what was the topic of the training course.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The topic of the course was risk management.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to amend electoral law to prevent British councillors standing for election in overseas countries.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 95058 on 4 December 2025 for councillors in England. Local government is devolved, and it is for devolved national governments to govern their own local government members.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Q260 of the oral evidence given by her Department's Permanent Secretary to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 3 November 2025, HC385, if he will publish Lord Mandelson’s form.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As explained in the response to Question 91401 on 25 November, it has not been the policy under any government to publish the employment forms relating to individual members of staff.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Information Commissioner decision notice of 29 October 2025, Ref IC-362303-N0J6, para 27, whether Lord Alli was on the list provided.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Yes. The UK’s constitutional arrangements require an immediate transition of power the day after a general election. A list of individuals is provided to the Cabinet Secretary’s Office by political parties, so that the incoming Prime Minister has the ability to begin work immediately.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to Cabinet Office Publication of Special Adviser Interests 2024-2025, published on 17 July 2025, what matters Varun Chandra is recused from.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2025, to Question 85501, on 11 Downing Street: Flats, to the answer of 21 October 2025, to Question 73315, on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, and to the answer of 20 November 2025, to Question 91457, on Written Questions: Government Responses, whether information on itemised spending on the Downing Streets flats has been released by the Cabinet Office under the Freedom of Information Act.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As was the case under successive administrations, an itemised list is not routinely published. Total expenditure from the Prime Minister’s allowance on their official residence is disclosed in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on future VCT fundraising by reducing upfront VCT Income Tax relief from 30% to 20% from April 2026; and when her Department will publish that impact assessment.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Budget, the government announced a comprehensive package of entrepreneurship tax measures designed to provide substantially enhanced support for scaling businesses across the UK. This includes doubling the maximum amount that a company can raise through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) scheme. These increases will lead to around £100 million per year of extra investment into the most successful scaling companies, supporting their further growth and development.

The Government recognises that there may be other ways we could support companies to scale in the UK. We have therefore launched a Call for Evidence on tax policy support for investment in high-growth UK companies to gather views and evidence from founders, entrepreneurs, scaling companies and investors. This will assess the impact, accessibility, and generosity of existing schemes, and explore potential policy options to go-further.

A Tax Information and Impact Note published at Budget outlines the policy rationale and impacts of these measures. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/enterprise-investment-scheme-eis-and-venture-capital-trusts-vct-changes/venture-capital-trusts-enterprise-investment-scheme-investment-limit-increase-and-restructure

The Policy Costings document contains further information on the costing methodology. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the letter from the Permanent Secretary to the hon. Member for Thirsk & Malton, dated 24 November 2025, on what dates Tim Allan met Tom Baldwin since Mr Allan's appointment, and whether Government business was discussed.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Special Adviser Code of Conduct sets out the categories of meetings, gifts and hospitality that are declared publicly. Any relevant meetings within this category will be published via this process in the normal way.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the letter from the Permanent Secretary to the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton, dated 24 November 2025, whether the measures allow Tim Allan to potentially benefit from a rise in the value of his shares in Strand Partners.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Before his appointment as a special adviser, Mr Allan sought and received advice on his interests. He has followed every element of the advice received.

Mr Allan has formally waived his rights as a shareholder over any matter requiring consent or approval of investors, as well as rights to receive shareholder information. He has also waived his rights to receive any dividend, and will not receive any share options. He agreed not to increase his shareholdings in Strand Partners during his time as a special adviser. Mr Allan has recused himself from engagement with Strand Partners in relation to the firm’s business, and from involvement in any procurement relating to Strand Partners during his period of employment. He retains an investment in the company.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Further to the DEFRA 2024-25 annual report and accounts, HC 1388, 12 November 2025, p.140, what was the title of the staff member who received the exit package of £300,000 to £350,000; what was the public body; on what date it was approved by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury; and what was the business case for the level of the exit payment.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The exit package relates to Flood Re.

Flood Re is a company limited by guarantee. It does not receive any grant funding from the Government. As such, no Government funding has been spent on exit packages at Flood Re.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 September 2025 to Question 74947 on Senior Civil Servants: Pay, when he plans to publish a high earner list.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Departments and their partner organisations are currently collecting the data for the next ‘high earner’ list. It will be published when the data set is complete and the personal information being released about individuals has been fully quality assured. As set out in my previous answer, salary information for the Senior Civil Service is already in the public domain.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who is responsible for paying the council tax surcharge on Chequers.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Chequers is owned by The Chequers Trust, and therefore payment of Council Tax is not a matter for the government.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of a pub vaping ban on the viability of local pubs which are designated as local community assets.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We plan to consult on making most indoor settings, that are subject to existing smoke-free legislation, vape-free. This would include inside pubs and other hospitality venues. Many businesses and enclosed public places, including pubs, already have voluntary schemes in place to prohibit vape usage inside their premises.

An impact assessment will be prepared and published in advance of secondary legislation, which will consider the economic impacts of the proposed regulations.

It is useful to note that the tobacco industry opposed previous indoor smoke-free legislation arguing that it would be disastrous for the hospitality industry. However, a year after implementing smoke-free places, 40% of businesses reported that the ban had a positive impact on their business, compared to only 3% reporting a negative impact. Office for National Statistics survey data shows that 69% of respondents visited pubs about as often as before, while 17% visited more often than before smoking restrictions.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85200 on Admiralty House: Valuation, whether a valuation has been undertaken in relation to Downing Street, including the two Downing Street flats.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Downing Street estate is held on the department’s fixed asset register for their service potential and are valued in line with their existing use value (EUV) as defined in the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Red Book.

Each property is revalued on a rotational basis on a five-year cycle commencing at the point of acquisition. A revaluation for the property as a whole was carried out in the 2022 to 2023 financial year. The flats are not valued individually.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2025, to Question 86773, on Ministers: Council Tax, whether Ministers who occupy a Ministerial residence as a second home are given a permanent key to the property in order for the council tax to be paid for by the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government does not disclose the security arrangements at official residences.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Further to the written statement of 4 December 2025, HCWS1128, on Devolution Priority Programme, whether the (a) Electoral Commission or (b) Labour Party were (1) consulted or (2) informed of the decision to cancel the scheduled mayoral elections in May 2026.

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

The Government has announced that it is minded to hold the inaugural mayoral elections for Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Greater Essex in May 2028, with areas completing the local government reorganisation process before Mayors take office. This decision has been taken because devolution is strongest when it is built on strong foundations. The Government intends to establish Mayoral Strategic Authorities via secondary legislation for all the Devolution Priority Programme areas as soon as possible, subject to the councils’ consent.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Further to the written statement of 4 December 2025, HCWS1128, on Devolution Priority Programme, what is the criteria that he will use to determine whether local council elections scheduled for 2026 are (a) held as currently scheduled, (b) postponed or (c) cancelled.

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

Our starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification otherwise.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 28 October 2025 to Question HL10808 on Official Residences, for what reason the Defence Secretary was allocated use of Flat 2 of Admiralty House.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government has a number of official residences that are allocated to ministers to support them to discharge their duties, or on the grounds of security.

Admiralty House has been used as an official residence under successive administrations.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 28 October 2025 to Question HL10808 on Official Residences, whether his Department paid council tax on the Ministerial residence in Admiralty House between 9 September and 4 November 2024.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government paid council tax on the Ministerial residence in Admiralty House between 9 September and 4 November 2024. In line with longstanding precedent, where a minister occupies an official residence as a second home, the responsibility for payment of council tax falls to the Government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85494 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, whether the Government Property Agency informed Westminster City Council that Admiralty House was occupied as a second home before 8 April 2025.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Before the Second Home premium was introduced in Westminster, the Cabinet Office was aware that the former Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) was occupying Admiralty House (AH) as a second home and that council tax would therefore be payable by Government. In line with long standing precedent under successive administrations, as the property was a second residence the Government was responsible for paying the Council Tax on Admiralty House, not the former DPM. The full amount of tax has been paid.

WCC were notified at the beginning of May that the former DPM was occupying AH as a second home for council tax purposes, and details were provided for WCC to issue a bill accordingly.

GPA wrote to WCC in June to confirm that the second homes premium applied. WCC issued an invoice in July which was paid the same day.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85200 on Admiralty House: Valuation, if he will place the valuation report in the Library.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The valuation report contains information that is commercially sensitive, and it is therefore not our policy to place such reports in the Library or share this information publicly.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 85827 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, for what reason the second homes council tax premium was billed in July 2025.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Before the Second Home premium was introduced in Westminster, the Cabinet Office were aware that the former Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) was occupying Admiralty House (AH) as a second home and that council tax would therefore be payable by Government. In line with long standing precedent under successive administrations, as the property was a second residence the Government was responsible for paying the Council Tax on Admiralty House, not the former DPM. Similarly, the Cabinet Office is responsible for liaising with Westminster City Council (WCC) for matters concerning residency at Admiralty House.

WCC were notified at the beginning of May that the former DPM was occupying AH as a second home for council tax purposes, and details were provided for WCC to issue a bill accordingly.

GPA wrote to WCC in June to confirm that the second homes premium applied. WCC issued an invoice in July which was paid the same day.

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 26 November 2025, to Question 92034, on Electoral Register: Absent Voting, whether his department has had discussions with the Parliamentary Parties Panel on this issue.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

An issue with the availability of information shared as part of the electoral register has been raised with the Government. As stated in the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92034 on Absent Voting, the Government has no plans to make changes to the information which is shared as part of the electoral register.

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 make it his policy to issue guidance to councils on protecting political free speech and freedom of association.

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

Local authorities are independent of central government. They must uphold their obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998 to ensure their actions are compatible with rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association. The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides guidance on these specific matters.