Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
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 provide the basis on which his Department determined there was insufficient evidence of rurality and remoteness impacting the cost of service delivery in the provisional local government finance settlement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published the Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 and response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on Thursday 20 November, which set out the government's plans to introduce a fairer and evidence-led funding system. The government also published the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029 on Wednesday 17 December 2025. The government is committed to continuing to work closely with the sector. We have now consulted four times on our proposals for reform and we are grateful for the high-quality and constructive responses received from local authorities and sector groups.
The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Our updates will account for local circumstances, including the variation in cost of delivering services, such as between rural and urban areas. More detail can be found in the consultation response document here.
As part of this, the government is including a remoteness adjustment within the adult social care formula, as the best evidence we have heard indicates that distance from a major market has an impact on the cost of delivering social care services. We are also including a journey times adjustment, which is within the area cost adjustment applied to all our funding formulas, which accounts for the impact on the cost of labour of the difference in travel times to provide services; and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles, in recognition that the original distance cap would unfairly penalise authorities who have no choice but to place children further from home.
The government is considering the responses received following the consultation of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027 and will set out a position when the final Settlement is published in early February.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
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 adequacy of the weight given to deprivation within the proposed Foundation Formula in the Fair Funding Review; and how dispersed rural deprivation is accounted for.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published the Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 and response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on Thursday 20 November, which set out the government's plans to introduce a fairer and evidence-led funding system. The government also published the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029 on Wednesday 17 December 2025.
The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Our updates will account for local circumstances, including the variation in cost of delivering services, such as between rural and urban areas. We are including a journey times adjustment, which is within the area cost adjustment applied to our funding formulas, which accounts for the impact on the cost of labour of the difference in travel times to provide services. We are also including a remoteness adjustment within the adult social care formula and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles. In addition, we are using updated deprivation data in our assessment of need, to help ensure that deprivation in rural areas is captured more accurately.
The government is considering the responses received following the consultation of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027 and will set out a position when the final Settlement is published in early February.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data, analysis, and modelling did the Department use to determine the removal of the remoteness factor from the Area Cost Adjustment, and if the Government will publish or share this evidence with local authorities to demonstrate how the change accurately reflects differences in service delivery costs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. In addition to including a remoteness adjustment in adult social care formulas, we are including a journey times adjustment, which aims to account for the impact of the difference in travel times to provide services on the cost of labour; including updated deprivation data to help ensure that deprivation in rural areas is captured more accurately; and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles
As set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0, the government believes that accounting for variations in cost between local authorities is important when determining funding allocations through the Local Government Finance Settlement. This ensures that all authorities receive funding which reflects their costs relative to others.
Following the Fair Funding Review consultation, the government has taken the decision to include a remoteness adjustment in the area cost adjustment applied to the adult social care formula, but not to other formulas. This is because the best evidence we have heard indicates that distance from a major market has an impact on the cost of delivering adult social care services.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025, to Question, 90238, on Government Communications Service: Staff, if he will publish the number of (a) headcount and (b) FTE Government Communication Service staff in each government department, central public body and Arm’s Length Body, including NHS, according to information collated in the most recent Government Communications Service audit; and what are the aggregate figures.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Please see the table below that contains the full-time equivalent figures for departments. These figures incorporate the ALBs, which are grouped under their respective sponsoring organisations.
Sponsor Org | FTE |
Attorney General's Office | 97.72 |
Cabinet Office | 406.85 |
Department for Business & Trade | 348.06 |
Department for Culture, Media & Sport | 451.20 |
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs | 389.94 |
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero | 294.24 |
Department for Education | 285.90 |
Department for Transport | 630.47 |
Department of Health & Social Care | 772.76 |
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology | 333.67 |
Department for Work & Pensions | 239.39 |
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office | 149.12 |
HM Revenue & Customs | 294.10 |
HM Treasury | 84.35 |
Home Office | 197.44 |
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government | 124.15 |
Ministry of Defence | 501.54 |
Ministry of Justice | 285.96 |
Northern Ireland Office | 17.00 |
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | ≤5.00 |
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland | 16.00 |
UK Export Finance | 20.90 |
Office of the Secretary of State for Wales | 7.80 |
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of Government road maintenance funding has been allocated to (a) local and (b) non-strategic roads compared with the strategic road network since 2024; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funding in meeting local maintenance needs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In respect of local and non-strategic roads, the Department has allocated approximately £5.2 billion for local highways maintenance in England over the period 2023/24 to 2025/26. This comes from a wide range of sources including the Highways Maintenance Block, the Integrated Transport Block, Potholes Funding, Network North, the Local Transport Grant, and highways funding that has been consolidated into City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).
The figure does not include the baseline highways maintenance funding and Integrated Transport Block funding that has been consolidated into CRSTS funding for 2025/26. The Department has not split out how much of this funding is for highways maintenance as, by the nature of the funding, it is consolidated transport funding for local authorities to decide how best to use.
The £226 million Local Transport Grant of 2025/26 is for local transport and maintenance more widely. Integrated Transport Block funding is for local transport maintenance and enhancements.
The above figure includes the £500 million funding uplift for local highways maintenance in 2025/26 that the Government announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. This funding goes well beyond the government's manifesto pledge and is helping councils to fix the equivalent of 7 million extra potholes in 2025/26.
In respect of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), the Government provides National Highways with an overall funding settlement, which does not split out maintenance from other spending on their operations. However, National Highways reports that over the period 2023/24 to 2025/26, approximately £756 million of their funding settlement has been spent directly on the maintenance of the SRN. This figure excludes spend on the maintenance of sections of their network that are operated by Public Finance Initiatives (PFIs). These PFIs are paid a lump sum to maintain, operate and renew some sections of the strategic road network and maintenance costs are not split out.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will list the allocation of responsibilities of Ministers in the Department for Transport.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The responsibilities of Ministers in the Department for Transport can be found below:
The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for all Department for Transport business, including:
The Minister for Rail is responsible for:
The Minister for Roads and Buses is responsible for:
The Minister for Local Transport is responsible for:
The Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation is responsible for:
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide a breakdown of Government spending on advertising via social media platforms broken down by Department, over the last 12 months.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As with any media planning approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with relevant audiences in alignment with the government's strategic objectives.
The Cabinet Office is consistently tracking and reviewing spending on communications to ensure efficiency and that the appropriate strategy is implemented. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective and ensure best value for the taxpayer.
Please see the breakdown below of spend on social media broken down by department between 1st August 2024 and 31st July 2025.
Please note that this may not be the complete spend as the Cabinet Office does not centrally manage Departmental social media spend directly.
Department | Spend on social media platforms |
CABINET OFFICE | £917,392.78 |
DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS | £108,685.84 |
DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT | £55,776.43 |
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION | £5,790,404.71 |
DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT | £853,893.06 |
DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS | £1,174,253.06 |
DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND NET ZERO | £168,576.98 |
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS AND TRADE | £2,932,130.17 |
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY | £145,503.62 |
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE | £1,689,076.17 |
UK EXPORT FINANCE | £336,808.09 |
FOREIGN COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE | £455,653.02 |
HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS | £1,692,096.15 |
HOME OFFICE | £1,655,160.54 |
MINISTRY FOR HOUSING COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT | £528,370.47 |
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE | £1,605,710.08 |
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE | £5,938,304.99 |
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the weight of transport accessibility in allocating regional funding by including metrics such as (a) transport cost as a percentage of household income, (b) public-service frequency, (c) waiting time for buses, and (d) reliability and (e) time taken to travel to capture transport poverty’s multiplier effects.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is distributed through the Settlement Funding Assessment. This funding includes Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates.
The Settlement Funding Assessment uses a range of formulas to determine the relative funding need of areas, which when combined with a measure of tax base, determines their relative income. Further details on the current funding methodology can be found online, within the ‘Calculation of 2013/14 Formula Funding’ page, linked here.
The government recently published the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, which outlines proposals to update the distribution of funding within the Local Government Finance Settlement for the first time since 2013 – ensuring our approach uses the best available data and evidence. Our proposals include taking account of journey times when calculating the relative differences in cost local authorities face when delivering services to inform funding allocations.
We will publish further information in the government’s consultation response in the Autumn, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
The Department for Transport leads on all other wider public transport funding for local authorities.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58292 on Bus Services: North Shropshire, what metrics will be used to evaluate whether the £4.5 million allocated to Shropshire Council for financial year 2025/2026 is delivering improvements in bus service (a) accessibility, (b) frequency and (c) affordability.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government allocated £4.5 million to Shropshire Council in 2025/26 through the £712 million Local Authority Bus Grant to support and improve bus services. The government used a formula to determine Local Authority Bus Grant allocations in 2025/26 based on need, including population, the distance that buses travel, and the levels of deprivation. Under the formula, Shropshire Council has seen an increase in bus funding compared to 2024/25, when they were allocated £3.8 million.
While the Department closely monitors the finance and delivery performance of all Local Transport Authorities on a quarterly basis, LTAs can use their allocations in whichever way they wish provided this is consistent with the Department's guidance on Bus Service Improvement Plans. The Department encourages local authorities to focus their funding on the actions they and local bus operators believe will deliver the best overall outcomes in growing long-term patronage, revenues and therefore maintaining service levels, whilst maintaining essential social and economic connectivity for local communities.
In 2025/26 financial year, the Department will also introduce a pilot of an outcomes framework approach. The framework will play a vital role in driving up standards for passengers across England, including North Shropshire.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58292 on Bus Services: North Shropshire, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the £4.5 million allocated to Shropshire Council for financial year 2025/2026 in meeting the bus transport needs of North Shropshire constituents.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government allocated £4.5 million to Shropshire Council in 2025/26 through the £712 million Local Authority Bus Grant to support and improve bus services. The government used a formula to determine Local Authority Bus Grant allocations in 2025/26 based on need, including population, the distance that buses travel, and the levels of deprivation. Under the formula, Shropshire Council has seen an increase in bus funding compared to 2024/25, when they were allocated £3.8 million.
While the Department closely monitors the finance and delivery performance of all Local Transport Authorities on a quarterly basis, LTAs can use their allocations in whichever way they wish provided this is consistent with the Department's guidance on Bus Service Improvement Plans. The Department encourages local authorities to focus their funding on the actions they and local bus operators believe will deliver the best overall outcomes in growing long-term patronage, revenues and therefore maintaining service levels, whilst maintaining essential social and economic connectivity for local communities.
In 2025/26 financial year, the Department will also introduce a pilot of an outcomes framework approach. The framework will play a vital role in driving up standards for passengers across England, including North Shropshire.