Lewis Cocking

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has provided advice and guidance to local authorities to support them in their work to develop interim electoral arrangements for submission to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. This has included making available its electoral review guidance which sets out the criteria used for determining ward boundaries during a normal review.

The Commission has made clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, have regard to the criteria that would inform an electoral review - electoral equality, community identity and interests, and effective and convenient local government – in developing their interim electoral arrangements.

The Commission will undertake a full electoral review of all newly-formed authorities before their subsequent elections.

Customers with telecare equipment are not required to use BT landline services only and can use any communications provider.

In November 2024 and March 2026, the industry agreed safeguards with Government to protect consumers, in particular vulnerable people and telecare users, during the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration to modern digital networks. The Government regularly engages with the providers to monitor the PSTN migration.

The National Audit Office has not assessed the adequacy of local authority audit in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The audit of such bodies is conducted under devolved audit arrangements in accordance with relevant statute, and the NAO has no remit to assess its adequacy.

Electoral law does not dictate the legal structure of a party. Parties can be registered with a range of structures, including unincorporated associations, limited or unlimited companies.

If a party includes company arrangements, the Commission expects this to be reflected in party documents such as their constitution and financial scheme. The Commission has issued guidance on what a constitution should include.

This Government’s Safer Streets Mission will drive forward the change we need to crack down on shoplifting – a crime that is blighting our communities.

As Solicitor General, I superintend the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which prosecutes shoplifting and attempted shoplifting in England and Wales.

The CPS increased prosecutions for shoplifting and attempted shoplifting in 2024. In 2024, the CPS prosecuted 113,624 cases of shoplifting, up from 56,986 in 2022. In 2024, the CPS prosecuted 2,025 cases of attempted shoplifting, up from 1,074 in 2022.

However, more needs to be done.

Under the previous government, shoplifting hit a record high, with more and more offenders using appalling violence and abuse against shopworkers.

This Government will not stand for that level of lawlessness and criminality. New money will be invested in prevention, training the police and retailers on specific retail crime tactics to stop crime before it happens.

We’re also putting a stop to the effective immunity for shoplifting of goods below £200 and bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect those who face unacceptable abuse in their roles serving the public.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 9th October is attached.

No10 North exists to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, including the constituency of Broxbourne.

It is central to the Prime Minister’s commitment to spread growth and opportunity across the UK, to drive our devolution agenda, and to bring Government closer to the communities it serves.

The Annual Report for Special Advisers releases salary information for individuals in post as at 31 March 2025. We do not release salary details outside of this publication.

In line with the Model Contract for Special Advisers which is published online and details the circumstances in which severance is payable, Baroness Gray was not eligible for a severance payment, therefore no such payment was made.

Costs for equality, diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service have recently been published on Gov.uk. See the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Review and Civil Service 2024/2025 External Expenditure on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

The Government currently has no plans to consider regulating pub owning companies with less than 500 tied tenants, or to regulate breweries. Pub owning businesses that don’t meet the qualifying threshold for the Pubs Code can, however, join a voluntary scheme administered by the Pub Governing Body. This scheme, also known as the Voluntary Pubs Code, provides signatories with a dispute resolution service and fair methods of determining rent by an independent expert.

The third statutory review covering the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2025 is in progress and the government’s report will be published as soon as practicable. My officials are currently analysing the evidence collected from last year’s call for evidence and from other publicly available sources. Stakeholder responses to the call for evidence have greatly assisted my officials in identifying emerging themes and are further informing the review’s content. I am grateful for the helpful input provided by stakeholders and will continue to engage with them in taking forward the conclusions to the review.

The Government will publish a Small Business Strategy Paper later this year.

This will set out the Government’s vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy, across key policy areas such as creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

The paper will complement the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy.

Our forthcoming Small Business Strategy will reaffirm our long-term support for small businesses and outline our vision for boosting scale-ups and helping all types of business to thrive and grow. This strategy will empower business owners and entrepreneurs to innovate, export, and create jobs across their regions.

In addition, as confirmed in the autumn Budget the Government has taken steps to protect small businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This measure will help small businesses in particular - in 2024 small businesses (with 0-49 employees) make up 99.2% of the total business population.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets and is committed to championing sufficient access for all.

We have committed to work closely with banks to roll out at least 350 banking hubs. That rollout is overseen by Cash Access UK (CAUK). LINK (the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network) assesses a community’s needs for access to cash in the event of the closure of a core cash service or if LINK receives a request directly from a community.

The transition to net zero will support both energy security and industrial competitiveness.

Switching to homegrown clean energy, including renewables and other clean technologies, offers security that fossil fuels simply cannot provide. And our Clean Power 2030 target is the key to long-term sustainable price reductions. Clean, homegrown energy is the best way to protect billpayers and boost Britain's energy independence.

The Government recognises the challenges in moving away from fossil fuels but is confident security of supply can be maintained throughout this transition. The recently published Clean Power 2030 Action Plan sets out our plans to secure critical supply chains in clean energy and foundational industries, such as steel and concrete.

Alongside measures to support the growth of these sectors, we are bringing energy costs for UK industries closer in line with other major economies, including through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. This will slash industrial electricity prices by around 20-25% from 2027, which could benefit over 7,000 manufacturing businesses, including carmakers and defence manufacturers – which employ over 300,000 skilled workers.

The Government will publish its updated carbon budget plan by October. This will set out the policy package to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors of the economy, and will include consideration of energy security and industrial competitiveness.

The net zero transition will not only be the economic opportunity of the century, but it will also support the creation of hundreds of thousands of good jobs across the UK, protect our economy from future price shocks that reliance on fossil fuels create, while delivering a range of social and health benefits. The Warm Homes Plan, for example, will transform homes across the country, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps, helping households make their homes cleaner and cheaper to run.

As the OBR has noted [July 2021 Fiscal Risks Report], the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.

This Government has made funds available to support UK manufacture of medicines and medical technology products, including up to £520 million to the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund and £50 million to the pilot Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment fund. These funds are open to applicants looking to establish, expand or improve UK based manufacturing of treatments for glioblastoma and other cancers, as well as a wider range of capabilities that improve UK health resilience.

Those who cannot use digital technologies are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finance. That’s why tackling digital exclusion, which disproportionately impacts certain demographics including older people, is a priority for Government.

In February we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion.

One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, including older people.

Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications, estimates that there are 48,000 premises without access to decent broadband – i.e. at least 10Mbit/s download and 1Mbit/s upload speed - in the UK. We do not have sufficient data to estimate how many of these premises have occupants over the age of 75.

Through Project Gigabit, we are delivering future-proofed, gigabit-capable connections nationwide, to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans, including to premises in rural areas.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding into grassroots sport across England, including providing support for England Hockey.

We are also investing £98 million into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26. Projects funded through the programme include new artificial multi-sport grass pitches, changing pavilions and floodlights. At least 40% of funded projects have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to participate in a wider variety of sports.

£85 million will be invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities across the UK in 2026/27, with £68.35 million to be invested in England. An additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding into grassroots sport across England, including providing support for England Hockey.

We are also investing £98 million into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26. Projects funded through the programme include new artificial multi-sport grass pitches, changing pavilions and floodlights. At least 40% of funded projects have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to participate in a wider variety of sports.

£85 million will be invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities across the UK in 2026/27, with £68.35 million to be invested in England. An additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

That is why we provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and exchequer funding.

Under its Royal Charter, the BBC has a duty to deliver impartial and accurate news coverage and content, and the Government expects the BBC to uphold these standards. However, the government has not made an assessment of BBC impartiality as it is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of the BBC, to hold the BBC to account on this duty.

Higher education (HE) providers are independent, and as such the government is not involved in negotiations regarding workforce issues. Nevertheless, we recognise the detrimental impact that marking and assessment boycotts can have on students and therefore urge all parties to work together towards a fair, reasonable, and sustainable resolution that minimises disruption.

The government continues to engage regularly with the sector, unions and employer bodies to better understand the issues affecting HE providers.

Higher education (HE) providers are independent, and as such the government is not involved in negotiations regarding workforce issues. Nevertheless, we recognise the detrimental impact that marking and assessment boycotts can have on students and therefore urge all parties to work together towards a fair, reasonable, and sustainable resolution that minimises disruption.

The government continues to engage regularly with the sector, unions and employer bodies to better understand the issues affecting HE providers.

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations by financial year are available at the following:

• 2026/27 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2026-to-2027.
• 2025/26 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2025-to-2026.
• 2024/25 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2024-to-2025.
• 2023/24financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2023-to-2024.
• 2022/23 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2022-to-2023.
• 2021/22financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2021-to-2022.

The total High Needs Block allocation for each local authority can be found in the ‘Allocations_summary’ sheet, in the column ‘High needs block (£s)’.

The allocations for 2026/27 are subject to further updates later this year.

Local authorities hold the statutory place planning function, ensuring there are sufficient schools in their area to meet the needs of pupils. It is for local authorities, in collaboration with academy trusts and other local partners, to balance the supply and demand of school places.

The department recognises the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. The lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels, and is particularly important in giving schools with falling rolls time to re-organise their staffing and costs.

Where falling pupil numbers results in spare space becoming available, primary schools have been able to apply for capital funding to create or expand school-based nurseries. We have just announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, on top of the £740 million this year, to create special educational needs units and resourced provision, including where there is spare space, and to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of the school environment.

Schools attract additional funding through the English as an additional language (EAL) factor in the schools national funding formula (NFF), for pupils recorded as having entered state education in England during the last three years, and whose first language is not English.

The below table sets out the proportion of funding provided through the EAL factor in the NFF from 2023/24 financial year to 2025/26 financial year.

The NFF is used to allocate funding to local authorities. How much individual schools receive depends on their local authority’s local funding formula.

4 of the 22 members of the Panel for the Formation of Reference Committees are former employees of the Forestry Commission, including individuals who worked for Forestry Commission Wales before 2013 and Forestry Commission Scotland before 1^st April 2019.

The Government will bring forward legislation through the Clean Water Bill, announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May, to deliver major reforms to the water system.

Public health will be at the heart of these reforms, alongside measures to strengthen regulation, improve water quality and tackle pollution at source, as set out in the Water White Paper.

Targeted engagement is already taking place with stakeholders across the water sector to support policy development.

Defra has conducted a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles used by suspected fly-tippers, and we are working to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool. Defra is exploring options and intend to bring forward best practice guidance shortly.

While no recent assessment has been made, we appreciate the difficulty that illegal waste dumping and fly-tipping poses to rural communities. We work with a wide range of parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, which involves the Environment Agency (EA) and National Farmers Union, to promote and disseminate good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land.

We are making policy and regulatory reforms to close loopholes exploited by criminals - fundamentally reforming the waste carriers, brokers and dealers system, tightening waste permit exemptions and introducing digital waste tracking. We have increased EA’s budget for waste crime enforcement by over 50% this year to £15.6m enabling the EA to increase its frontline criminal enforcement resource in the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and area environmental crime teams by the equivalent of 43 full-time staff.

We encourage local authorities to make good use of their enforcement powers which include prosecution. On conviction, a cost order can be made by the court so that a landowner’s costs can be recovered from the perpetrator. We are also reviewing local authority powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

No, expenditure on swift bricks cannot be counted towards biodiversity net gain (BNG) units which must be calculated using the main Statutory Biodiversity Net Gain metric or the small sites version of it.