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, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026, to Question 107026, on Asylum: Housing, what criteria was used to select the range of local authorities to engage with on the new model for asylum accommodation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has worked in close partnership with local authorities to develop a new, more sustainable model for asylum accommodation.
A cross-section of local authorities were selected across different geographies and political colours so that a range of perspectives could be considered throughout the development of the new model.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the devolved institutions on Local Growth Funds.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministers and officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly engage with counterparts in the devolved governments on matters relating to local and regional economic growth.
Engagement with devolved governments and the Offices for the Nations forms part of the work to develop and implement the Local Growth Fund in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This will ensure the funding fits the needs and circumstances of each nation, is spent on projects that matter to the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and drives productivity and growth across the UK.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Home Office on fire safety and the use of flammable materials in indoor entertainment venues.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
No such discussions have taken place. The Home Office is the department responsible for fire safety policy and the enforcement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which governs the safety of all non-domestic premises, including indoor entertainment venues. Building regulations regarding the use of materials are the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Royal Mail's on its ability to deliver outgoing and returned postal votes.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government meet regularly with the Royal Mail to discuss matters relating to elections including capacity, capability and contingency planning.
As part of the usual engagement ahead of the significant electoral events, Ministers and senior government officials have met with the Chief Executive and other senior representatives from Royal Mail and it is intended to do so again ahead of the May elections.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102765, on Planning: Publications, whether he intends to update any of the other Plain English guides published on gov.uk by his Department.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will continue to keep all guidance under review to update as necessary. Any new or updated guidance will be published in the usual way on gov.uk.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on whether current Police and Crime Commissioners in (a) England and (b) Wales will serve their full term in office before the positions are discontinued, where (i) there is a combined authority mayor for that police force and (ii) where there is no such mayor.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is the Government’s intention that the role of Police and Crime Commissioner will continue until May 2028.
At that point, subject to legislation, it is the Government’s intention to transfer policing functions to Strategic Authority Mayors wherever possible, or to elected council leaders through Policing and Crime Boards where it is not.
The exception is in Cumbria where, subject to their Statutory Instrument being made and the Combined Authority established, it is anticipated that the newly created Mayor will be responsible for the governance of policing when they are elected in May 2027. This is part of the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government’s Devolution Priority Programme.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether data recorded by the department classifies (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as religious or ethnic groups.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As is usual practice for public bodies, the data recorded by this department is in line with the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) harmonised standard and therefore classifies Sikhs and Jews as religious groups.
The ONS current harmonised standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group. The ONS, which produces official statistics independently, launched a consultation to gather views on whether additional response options should be included in a future version of the ethnicity standard. This consultation has now closed, and the responses will be considered carefully.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Local roads and highways, published on 12 January 2026, HCWS1232, what discussions she had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government before the publication of the statement.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department for Transport ministers and officials regularly engage with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues including in relation to local roads maintenance.
At the Autumn Budget, the government confirmed a record investment of £7.3 billion for local authorities over the next four years to repair and renew their roads and fix potholes. Earlier in January, the Department published a new traffic light rating system. Under this system, every local highway authority in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, the level of investment into maintaining roads, and whether they do so using best practice.
The ratings are designed to enable the public to gauge how well each council is maintaining its local roads. They also provide an incentive to local highway authorities to continue to adopt best practice and they enable the department to identify where councils need to improve and to support them to ensure road conditions improve nationwide.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many residential fires caused by lithium-ion battery failure were recorded by Fire and Rescue Services in 2025.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), including the cause of the fire and the source of the ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available on gov.uk here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by lithium-ion failures specifically.
We will keep the contents of these publications under review as part of the development of our recently rolled out Fire and Rescue Analysis Platform (FaRDaP).
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) conduct research into product safety risks associated with lithium-ion batteries and are working closely with MHCLG and other Government Departments to develop this knowledge base. A report from January 2025 by the OPSS that covers the root causes of fire incidents often associated with lithium-ion battery failures is available here.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional resources they will make available to fire services in England to tackle fires at battery storage plants.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Fires at battery storage plants are rare and government expects any related fire services costs to be resourced from overall budgets.
Last year the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities. These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities receiving an increase in core spending power of £69.1 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.