Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Government assesses qualification for funding projects against receipt of other funding received in the locality.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Departments are required to follow the Green Book and accompanying business case guidance when developing spending proposals.
In developing a business case, departments may take account of other public funding already received in an area where it is relevant to the proposal.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the National Wealth Fund spent on trade union facility time in the 2024-25 financial year; how many FTE staff were funded by facility time, and if this included paid time for trade union activities.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As set out in the National Wealth Fund’s Annual Report and Accounts for the 2024-25 financial year, no expenditure was incurred.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 48 of the Autumn Budget HC1492, published on 26 November 2025, if she will publish the monetary savings in each year on which the 16% back-office administrative costs figure is based.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
These are published in Table 1.1 of the Spending Review 2025 (page 13).
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The information requested is not held as we do not track costs in this way.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 Local authority capital expenditure and receipts in England: 2024 to 2025 final outturn, Published 6 November 2025, what proportion of the £3.0 billion of total capital receipts in 2024-25 was subject to the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts direction that allows such receipts to spent on revenue expenditure.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Flexible Use of Capital Receipts general direction was introduced in 2016 by the previous government and remains substantively unchanged.
The total value of capital receipts received by local authorities in 2024-25 was £4.3 billion, as reported on gov.uk here.
This government has not changed the rules on use of capital receipts; not all capital receipts are eligible for use under the general flexibility. For example, under the direction, eligible capital receipts must be genuine disposals outside of the local authorities’ group structure. Nor does the flexibility override any statutory restrictions that may exist on certain types of assets. The government does not collect specific data on eligible capital receipts held by local authorities.
Use of the flexibility is at the discretion of local authorities but must be compliant with the conditions of the general flexibility and their wider statutory duties. The government is clear that its use should represent value for money and be in the best interests of local residents.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how is she ensuring funding into services for people with gambling and gaming dependencies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In April 2025, the statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm. In its first year, the levy has raised just under £120 million, 50% of which is allocated to NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to deliver treatment and support services, with 30% allocated to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission prevention activity across Great Britain.
NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities are working collaboratively on the development of their respective gambling treatment and prevention programmes during this period of transition to the new levy system. NHS England continues to work at pace to take on commissioning responsibility for the full treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare from 1 April 2026.
NHS England currently funds a National Centre for Gaming Disorders, offering help and support for people in England aged 13 years old and over, who have difficulty controlling their gaming and the impact it has on their lives. NHS England is currently considering the future approach to gaming services.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Government funding to (a) local authorities in Yorkshire and (b) York Central constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade.
The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For York Council we are making available up to £198 million in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of 7.7% compared to 2024-25.
Core Spending Power allocations for individual local authorities through the provisional Local Government Financial Settlement 2026-27, including those in the Yorkshire region can be found here.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any gifts or hospitality given to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in a Ministerial capacity since July 2024 by Lord Alli have been returned or refunded.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has not received any gifts or hospitality from Lord Alli since July 2024.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of levels of Local Housing Allowance rates on households in the private rented sector following the removal of the two-child limit; and whether he has plans to review LHA levels, in the context of recent trends in the cost of renting.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State reviews LHA rates annually and rates were reviewed in November at Autumn Budget. A decision was made to maintain LHA rates at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27.
A range of factors were considered, including rent levels across Great Britain, the wider fiscal context and welfare priorities. This included the decision to remove the two child limit, which will lift 450k children out of poverty.
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Discretionary Housing Payments are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures are being taken to manage pressure on NHS services by improving outcomes for patients with chronic musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving the health and work outcomes for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions will help deliver the Government's mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future.
To manage pressure on NHS services, we are working to deliver the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, which are the highest of all community waits, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.
Patients with MSK conditions will also soon be able to bypass their general practitioners (GPs) and directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management, and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions including arthritis, backpain, and joint pain, while enabling GPs to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up GPs.