Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 6 June 2025 to Question 58020 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission and further to the correspondence from the MHCLG Planning Casework Unit to DP9 of 6 August 2025, for what reason the unredacted drawings were not requested from the applicant until 6 August 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspector's Report was received by the Department on 10 June. Following careful analysis of the report, the Secretary of State referred back to parties on a number of matters, including the redacted drawings, on 6 August.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether trade envoys are permitted to visit northern Cyprus.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While carrying out official duties Trade Envoys are representatives of Government and are therefore expected to follow Government policy. The Government’s long-standing position of not recognising the self-declared ‘Turkish Republic of North Cyprus’ remains unchanged.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to amend the (a) funding and (b) qualifying spending for Party Political Conference Security Grants.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Party Political Conference Security Grants funding arrangements were outlined in 2016 by the Home Office for the party in power and the main opposition party. These principles have been adhered to since and the Home Office has regular engagement with parties about security planning for party conferences.
The UK government’s security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, including disclosure of costs, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect future security operations.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was given to the Labour Party for Party Political Conference Security Grant in each year since 2019.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Party Political Conference Security Grants funding arrangements were outlined in 2016 by the Home Office for the party in power and the main opposition party. These principles have been adhered to since and the Home Office has regular engagement with parties about security planning for party conferences.
The UK government’s security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, including disclosure of costs, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect future security operations.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 121 of the policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, what criteria her Department plans use to determine the certain political entities that will be required to include (a) information about party affiliation or (b) a statement of independence in their campaigning materials.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under the current imprint regime, campaigners are required to include an imprint with their name and address on printed and digital campaigning material.
While these rules have improved transparency, there remain cases both in digital and print formats where campaigning material has been designed to mislead, such as by mimicking local newspapers or using branding designed to obscure a candidate’s true party affiliation. In such cases, the current rules have not always provided voters with sufficient clarity about who is behind the material or the purpose it serves.
We intend to address this by requiring campaigning material promoted by or on behalf of candidates and elected office holders to include information about party affiliation – or a statement of independence where applicable. This additional transparency will help voters better understand the origin and intent of the material they see, enabling them to make political choices with greater confidence.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) EU nationals and (b) Commonwealth citizens who do not qualify as electors are not automatically included on the electoral roll.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to upholding the integrity of electoral registers. We are exploring a wide range of more automated approaches to enable improvements in both the completeness and accuracy of electoral registers, including making greater use of public sector data and digital services. Any new approaches to registration will be tested to ensure they make improvements and do not undermine the existing system, including the rules about who is eligible to register.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the former Minister for Homelessness and Democracy has been given a Ministerial severance payment.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The former Minister has chosen not to accept the ministerial severance pay.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether there is a budget for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Expenditure for the former Deputy Prime Minister was part of MHCLG budgets, which will be reported and published in the normal way.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued on whether an elector can vote in three different localities.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission's guidance for Electoral Registration Officer's (EROs) sets out that someone may be eligible to register and to vote at more than one address if the ERO finds they meet the residency requirements, alongside the other usual registration conditions.
For local, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and mayoral elections, some voters may be entitled to vote in more than one area, provided the addresses are in different council, PCC or mayoral areas. This only applies to voters who have permanent residence in more than one location, for example students and those with multiple homes. In each case, voters may be able to demonsrate the extent to which the address is their permanent address. It is an offence for someone to cast more than one vote on their own behalf in a UK Parliamentary general election or referendum.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many uncovered auctions there have been for Government gilts since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 4 July 2024 to the date of this response, there have been no uncovered auctions for gilts. The results of all gilt auctions are published on the UK Debt Management Office website.