Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the value for money delivered through the 2003 - 2005 redevelopment of 2 Marsham Street.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has not undertaken a dedicated, standalone assessment of the value for money delivered specifically through the 2003–2005 redevelopment of 2 Marsham Street. However, the National Audit Office reviewed the associated Private Finance Initiative arrangements for the new Home Office headquarters in 2003. The NAO concluded that the Home Office had secured a good price through a well‑run competition, with risks appropriately allocated and favourable financing obtained. The report indicated that the project was expected to deliver value for money, provided the remaining accommodation and property‑related risks were managed effectively.
The Public Accounts Committee’s Eighteenth Report (2003–04) further found that commissioning a new building rather than refurbishing the three former Marsham Towers offered better value for money, avoided the business disruption and costs of temporary accommodation, and supported the consolidation of government estate functions. The Committee noted that the redevelopment contract, valued at £311 million (net present cost), was selected as the most cost‑effective option following full competition.
These independent assessments confirmed that the redevelopment represented value for money for the taxpayer at the point the investment decision was taken. The Treasury has made no subsequent assessment that contradicts these findings.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help reduce delays to approvals from the Building Safety Regulator to applications to double glaze windows.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are aware of challenges in the system and delays to approvals of building control applications, and work is underway to address this issue.
On the 27 January, the BSR became a standalone organisation under MHCLG, marking a major step towards creating a single construction regulator. Under new leadership, enhanced operating models are delivering significant progress.
BSR continues to make strong headway tackling new build cases already in the system with only the most complex cases remaining. The Innovation Unit has dramatically reduced processing time for new build applications, with the highest quality applications approved within the 12-week target.
We must go further and build on the progress already made in operations and through the launch of the new body for the BSR. We are undertaking a programme of work to review the proportionality of the higher-risk building control regime, with a view to making targeted changes to the regime to improve proportionality whilst upholding safety aims. In particular, we are focusing on proposals to review the procedural requirements of the regime for high-volume, low complexity, routine works.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 proportionality of the requirement for planning permission to install double glazing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not undertaken such an assessment, as in most cases the replacement of windows of similar appearance can be undertaken without the need for a planning application.
However, there may be some local exceptions, and other consents such as listed building consent may be required.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of specialist modern slavery coordinators within local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the vital work done by Moden Slavery Coordinators working within local authorities.
Local authorities are independent employers. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the value for money review of homelessness services announced in the Budget 2025 policy paper, (a) when this review is expected to begin and conclude and (b) what consultation will take place with voluntary-sector organisations delivering homelessness services.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The review will commence in 2026, with the outputs considered as part of the Spending Review 2027.
The review will be a collaborative effort across government departments and external expertise will also be used to inform a comprehensive assessment of homelessness services. This will include expertise from frontline services, local government, and other voluntary and charity sector organisations.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the performance of South Western Railway.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The new Managing Director of South Western Railway (SWR), Lawrence Bowman, is responsible for both the infrastructure and operations of the SWR network. The new integrated team is working hard to address the issues inherited from the previous private sector operator. Officials are supporting SWR in the delivery of these improvements.
Performance is still below the level that passengers should expect but progress is being made. The number of Arterio trains in service has more than quadrupled under public ownership and SWR has accelerated the recruitment of drivers to address traincrew shortages. Also, over £2 billion of works is being delivered in the current five-year control period to help improve the resilience of railway infrastructure.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to help ensure that GPs are not replaced with Physician Associates.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are clear that physician assistants, still legally known as physician associates, are there to support doctors, not replace them. Professor Leng’s recent review findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.
We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play and are committed to addressing the issues they face. Since October 2024 we have funded primary care networks with an additional £160 million to recruit recently qualified GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. Over 2,900 individual GPs have now been recruited, preventing them graduating into unemployment. This measure was introduced in response to feedback from the profession and to help solve an immediate issue of GP unemployment.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what governance arrangements his Department has considered for the future Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are considering a range of operating models for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and will ensure that there are robust governance arrangements in place which are appropriate to the chosen model.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on people responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 11 June to Question 57613.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the guidance entitled Access to Work: staff guide, published on 1 September 2025, on levels of support provided to successful applicants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The externally published staff guide replicates the internal guidance with some redactions, eg fraud referrals and any internal business processes. This is updated incrementally to mirror any changes to the internal guidance. The guidance published on 1 September was merely updating/clarifying information and reflecting minor changes to procedures, so would be considered to have little or no overall impact on the scheme.