Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he consulted (a) Cabinet and (b) the Prime Minister prior to the decision to (i) postpone the 2026 local elections and (ii) reverse that postponement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February (HCWS1349). It is a longstanding principle that government does not comment on or publish legal advice.
Councils are being supported to deliver elections. The administration and cost of running local elections remain matters for local authorities, with wider costs handled in the usual way.
We are also making available up to £63 million in new capacity funding for areas undergoing reorganisation.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he sought legal advice prior to the decision to postpone the scheduled 2026 local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February (HCWS1349). It is a longstanding principle that government does not comment on or publish legal advice.
Councils are being supported to deliver elections. The administration and cost of running local elections remain matters for local authorities, with wider costs handled in the usual way.
We are also making available up to £63 million in new capacity funding for areas undergoing reorganisation.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to local authorities arising from the postponement of the 2026 local elections and the subsequent reversal of that decision; and whether those costs will be reimbursed.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February (HCWS1349). It is a longstanding principle that government does not comment on or publish legal advice.
Councils are being supported to deliver elections. The administration and cost of running local elections remain matters for local authorities, with wider costs handled in the usual way.
We are also making available up to £63 million in new capacity funding for areas undergoing reorganisation.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has paid for legal costs arising from proceedings concerning the proposed postponement of the 2026 local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February (HCWS1349). It is a longstanding principle that government does not comment on or publish legal advice.
Councils are being supported to deliver elections. The administration and cost of running local elections remain matters for local authorities, with wider costs handled in the usual way.
We are also making available up to £63 million in new capacity funding for areas undergoing reorganisation.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has produced a risk assessment on the ability of local authorities affected by the reversal of the 2026 local election postponement to deliver those elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February (HCWS1349). It is a longstanding principle that government does not comment on or publish legal advice.
Councils are being supported to deliver elections. The administration and cost of running local elections remain matters for local authorities, with wider costs handled in the usual way.
We are also making available up to £63 million in new capacity funding for areas undergoing reorganisation.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what operational guidance (including authorised professional practice, College of Policing guidance, National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance, or Home Office circulars) governs police involvement in safeguarding incidents where officers facilitate or endorse a material change in a child’s place of residence despite the refusal of a person with parental responsibility and without exercising section 46 of the Children Act 1989; and whether that guidance requires officers to (a) treat the arrangement as time-limited, (b) take steps to ensure the child is returned absent lawful authority, or (c) notify or refer the matter to the local authority and/or Family Court within a fixed timeframe, and what consequence applies if this does not occur.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The police play a vital role in safeguarding children and relevant guidance materials. This includes the College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and the statutory guidance for safeguarding partners Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023). Furthermore, the Home Office circular 017/2008 provides guidance on the duties and powers of the police under the Children Act 1989, and the Home Office Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit includes guidance on how and when police powers of protection of children can be used.
As outlined in these documents, the police have a power to remove a child to suitable accommodation under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989, if they have reasonable cause to believe that the child would otherwise be likely to suffer significant harm.
Where police powers are exercised, Section 46 puts an upper limit of 72 hours on the length of time a child may be kept in police protection. Once powers are exercised, officers are required to notify the relevant local authority and they should ensure the child is moved to accommodation provided by or on behalf of the local authority, or a refuge.
Police powers can help in emergency situations but should only be used were necessary, for example if is there is insufficient time for the local authority to seek an Emergency Protection Order (EPO), and decisions to remove a child from a parent or carer should be made by a court. Without use of Section 46, the police cannot change a child’s place of residence.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of use of Community Protection Warnings in cases involving people experiencing a mental health crisis; and what guidance exists on the use of those powers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, 2014 (‘the 2014 Act’) provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour. This includes Community Protection Warnings and Notices which can be used to stop a person aged 16 or over, business or organisation committing anti-social behaviour which spoils the community’s quality of life.
While the details of how the powers are used in individual cases are an operational matter, the Home Office provides statutory guidance to support local agencies in the use of the powers and tools in the 2014 Act. The guidance highlights the importance of considering the needs and circumstances of vulnerable perpetrators when applying the powers.
The Home Office does not currently collect data on the reasons why the ASB powers were issued.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that proposals in the SEND White Paper do not reduce the rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Guildford to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 98569.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to monitor and evaluate the adequacy of Legal Aid funding awarded under the Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) describes the civil services in scope of legal aid under s.9 LASPO.
In January 2023, the Ministry of Justice launched a comprehensive Review of Civil Legal Aid (RoCLA), to identify issues facing the system and improve its sustainability. The Review examined the civil legal aid system in its entirety, including how services are procured, how well the current system works for users and providers, and how civil legal aid impacts the wider justice system. The Review has now concluded, and all reports are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/civil-legal-aid-review.
The evidence from RoCLA indicated that the housing and immigration sectors face particularly acute challenges with service provision and high demand. In response, we are increasing fees for all housing and debt, and immigration and asylum legal aid work. This represents a significant investment – the first major increase in fees since 1996. Uplifts to fees for controlled immigration and housing work - generally early advice and some legal representation - came into effect on 22 December 2025, injecting an additional £18 million into the civil legal aid sector each year.
We will monitor and evaluate the impact of this fee increase through engagement with the sector and through provider numbers. We are in regular dialogue with representative bodies and our provider base more broadly about the health of the market, and several new research and evidence projects are underway that aim to improve our understanding about market capacity and demand.
RoCLA identified a range of issues – beyond fees – that make a difference to the profession. We are looking at other potential changes to support providers, for example contractual requirements that providers say are burdensome.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to prevent individuals subject to active civil court orders from receiving Legal Aid.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Anyone can receive civil legal aid, provided that their case is in scope of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) and they pass the applicable means and merits tests, along with any necessary evidence requirements.
Criminal legal aid may be granted to defendants in criminal cases if they pass the applicable means and merits (interests of justice) tests. It is an accepted principle under both domestic law and international human rights agreements, as a component of the right to a fair trial, that those charged with a criminal offence have the right to legal assistance if needed.
It is possible for individuals subject to active civil court orders to claim legal aid; the legal aid framework does not prevent this. To receive legal aid, the matter must fall within the scope of the legal aid scheme, and the applicant must pass both the means and merits tests. The tests only apply to the case for which legal aid is sought, assessing financial eligibility and merits eligibility including, in relation to domestic violence cases, prospects of success and proportionality. An individual being subject to an unrelated active civil court order would not impact that assessment.