Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his department has available on the time taken by local authorities to finalise infrastructure (S106) agreements for residential planning permissions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Research conducted under the previous government in 2019, which can be found on gov.uk here, found that the large majority of S106 agreements were agreed and signed immediately but that the main cause of delay related to S106 agreements was the time taken by legal teams acting for both the applicant and Local Planning Authority to review the S106 agreements to ensure they were robust, which took an average of four to five months.
As per the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1286), we want to simplify and strengthen the process for agreeing developer contributions through S106 agreements at the application stage of new developments. It is our intention to publish a template S106 agreement to speed up the process of drafting and concluding new S106 agreements.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
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 17 March 2026 to UIN 120030, how much of the £252m allocated to Vistry has been paid; and how many of the 3,758 homes have been delivered.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As of 31 March 2026, Vistry has received a total of £202 million from the allocated grant payments in question. As of the same date, Vistry had completed 2,569 homes of the 3,578 allocated with 3,486 homes started on site.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has produced guidance on whether the payment rules set out under Procurement Act 2025 will apply to Strategic Partners participating in the Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK government’s prompt payment policy aims to support UK economic growth and suppliers, including small and medium sized enterprises.
The Procurement Act 2023 mandates 30 day payment terms into all public contracts. Where the Affordable Homes Programme is covered by the Act, these terms are included automatically if not explicitly stated. Additionally, public sector buyers must ensure that this payment term is passed down their supply chain.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local election pilots in May 2026 will take place in any of the localities which had their May 2026 local elections postponed and then reinstated.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In August 2025, local authorities were invited to apply to pilot a range of flexible voting methods at the May 2026 elections in England, with a deadline of 22 September 2025.
In December 2025, council leaders in local government reorganisation areas were invited to make representations on the potential postponement of local elections and whether this would release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation, with a deadline of 15 January 2026.
Three local authorities that had submitted applications to pilot flexible voting methods for the May 2026 elections subsequently requested that their May 2026 polls be postponed. These authorities were Tamworth Borough Council, Stevenage Borough Council, and Redditch Borough Council. These three authorities are not taking part in the pilot scheme in May 2026.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Integrated Care Boards are required to (a) undertake and (b) publish (i) equality and (ii) patient impact assessments when commissioning decisions may result in reductions to (A) planned service activity and (B) access to care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Commissioners must comply with duties placed on them under the Equality Act 2010 regarding the public sector equality duty and the duty to reduce health inequalities, and to secure public involvement and consultation in the planning, development, and decisions about commissioning arrangements.
NHS England has published guidance to support commissioning decisions and the impact on service users forms a key part of the assurance process. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/planning-assuring-and-delivering-service-change-for-patients/
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Integrated Care Boards are required to publish the (a) evidence base, (b) modelling assumptions and (c) workforce capacity assessments used to determine commissioned elective activity levels against projected population demand.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no current requirement for integrated care boards (ICBs) to publish either the evidence base, modelling assumptions, or workforce capacity assessments used to determine commissioned elective activity levels against projected population demand.
National Health Service funding for local services, including elective activity, is allocated to ICBs using NHS England’s Fair Share model and the NHS resource allocation formula.
Medium Term Planning Framework has set clear expectations for improvements in access, levels of performance, and financial discipline. In 2026/27, every NHS trust must deliver a minimum 7% improvement in 18-week performance or be at a minimum of 65%, whichever is greater, to deliver national performance target of 70%. In line with this expectation, NHS England has engaged with systems on the development, assurance, and sign-off of ICB and NHS trust plans to ensure delivery of this ambition alongside the others set out in the planning framework.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
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 to EROs on accepting scanned copies of postal vote application forms.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
For elections taking place in England, or at a UK Parliamentary general election, the Electoral Commission’s guidance for Electoral Registration Officers sets out the number of ways voters can apply for a postal vote. Postal vote application forms are not prescribed, and a paper postal vote application can be in any format, including an email with a scanned attachment.
Postal vote applications must contain all the required information, and the applicant’s signature and date of birth must be presented in the prescribed format, for the voter’s identity to be verified and application confirmed.
The Commission publishes similar guidance for elections in Scotland and in Wales.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has issued updated guidance following the passage of the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
I refer the Hon. Gentleman to the answer provided to Question 116490 which explains that the Commission’s guidance was updated to reflect the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
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 to local authorities on the use of (a) churches, (b) synagogues and (c) mosques as polling stations.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Returning Officers are responsible for deciding where polling stations should be situated. The Commission provides guidance for Returning Officers on booking suitable polling stations. Returning Officers are often faced with limited options in selecting polling stations. The Commission’s guidance advises them to select a suitable venue based on size and accessibility.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
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 the language of imprints.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
There are no requirements in law on the language of imprints. The Electoral Commission’s guidance on print and digital imprints sets out the information that must be included in an imprint. Imprints must be legible or in the case of audio material, audible, no matter what device is used to access the information.
The purpose of an imprint is to ensure that voters know who is responsible for campaign material. Where material is published to target voters whose first language is not English, an imprint in the same language would be one way of ensuring that this is transparent to those voters.