Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what will happen to the Best Value interventions in Surrey when the district councils are abolished; and whether there will be any central government monitoring or intervention in the new unitary councils in relation to the legacy issues.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The current Best Value arrangements for Woking and Spelthorne Borough Councils will lapse on West Surrey’s vesting day, due in April 2027, as these councils will be abolished. Commissioners are developing robust handover plans to facilitate a smooth transition into West Surrey. We are working with Commissioners and local stakeholders to consider how the new Council can effectively manage legacy issues moving forward, and what support it will need to deliver for its residents.
We are clear that Woking Borough Council’s debt cannot be managed in full locally. Further to our unprecedented commitment to repay in-principle an initial £500m of Woking Borough Council’s debt in 2026-27, we are committed to providing interim financial support to the new council until a final decision is made. It is crucial that any debt support must consider value for money for local and national taxpayers.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the contribution of littering from vehicles to roadside litter; and what consideration her Department has given to the adequacy of (a) the level of fines for littering offences committed from vehicles, (b) funding available to councils and National Highways for addressing roadside litter, and (c) public awareness initiatives relating to the environmental and social impacts of littering.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made of the contribution of littering from vehicles to roadside litter.
Local councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders who litter from vehicles. Anyone caught littering from a vehicle may be prosecuted in a magistrates’ court, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of up to £500. District councils outside of London have powers to issue a civil penalty to the registered keeper of a vehicle from which litter is thrown.
To support local councils to make good use of their fixed penalty powers for littering and related offences I have laid new Statutory Guidance, “Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them” in Parliament. Local authorities will need to have regard to this guidance when using their powers. The guidance is available here: Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them - GOV.UK.
Funding for roadside litter removal is provided through retained penalty receipts and enforcement. National Highways funds maintenance from existing budgets, more information can be found on: Highways maintenance block: formula allocations 2026 to 2030 - GOV.UK Designated Funds - National Highways
We have been proud to support and endorse national clean-up initiatives such as the Great British Spring Clean, and the Great British Beach Clean, and we will continue to use our influence to encourage as many people and businesses as possible to participate in these types of events again.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 written statement of 2 March 2026, HCWS1375, on Flexible Voting Pilots, and with reference to the list of councils with elections in the Cabinet Office purdah guidance published on 2 March 2026, when will North Hertfordshire District Council hold its next local election.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
North Hertfordshire District Council elections are not listed in the Cabinet Office pre-election period guidance because they do not have scheduled elections in 2026. The government remains committed to the indicative timetable for local government reorganisation set out in July 2025, including for Hertfordshire, with elections to the new councils scheduled for May 2027.
In addition, for the 2026 parish council elections, the Hertfordshire parishes of Codicote, Kimpton, Knebworth and Royston will take part in the flexible voting scheme for polls on 7 May 2026.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people used the Tell Us Once Service in 2025 in (a) North East Somerset and Hanham constituency, (b) the West of England and (c) England.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The following data has been taken from the Tell Us Once (TUO) Change Reporting System:
a) The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
b) 169,063 citizens used the service in the West of England. We have utilised Office for National Statistics (ONS) coverage to ascertain which areas are regarded as the West of England (See Appendix A). The calculations include all councils, which ONS states are within North West England, Southwest England and the West Midlands.
)
c) 445,884 citizens used the service in England. Due to the TUO weekly reporting period, there is a variance of several days in yearly total. The calculation is from 30/12/2024 – 28/12/2025.
Appendix A - (Local Authority District (April 2023) to LAU1 to ITL3 to ITL2 to ITL1 (January 2021) Lookup in the UK - data.gov.uk
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of local government reorganisation on the (a) implementation of transport infrastructure projects and (b) strategic planning.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the lead department for the planning system, and the Department for Transport works with it closely on the impacts of local government reorganisation.
Existing district councils have responsibilities for taxi licencing and spatial planning, but transport infrastructure is generally delivered by county and unitary authorities. New unitary authorities formed by local government reorganisation should have appropriate scale to effectively deliver transport infrastructure projects and, outside of Strategic Authorities, to undertake their local transport authority responsibilities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities including (a) Thurrock, (b) Basildon, and (c) Essex councils on bringing wildlife restoration projects into suburban and rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Essex has a wealth of wildlife and holds a wide variety of nature-rich habitats, including some that are unique to this part of England.
As one of 48 Responsible Authorities appointed by the Secretary of State, Essex County Council published its Local Nature Recovery Strategy in July 2025. These strategies propose actions to improve, expand and connect nature, in both rural and urban areas. Natural England has a statutory role, providing bespoke advice and quality assurance to each LNRS, and continues to support Essex County Council as this strategy now moves into a planning and delivery phase.
The proposed actions and priorities for improving and connecting nature and greenspace in urban areas, both for the benefit of wildlife and for communities, are set out in chapters 6 and 9 of the Essex Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
The development of Essex’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy has been supported by 14 Borough and District Councils which have contributed local data and expertise, including local wildlife site data and species records. These Supporting Authorities include Thurrock Council, Basildon Borough Council, Southend-on-Sea, Chelmsford and Colchester.
In the Thurrock area Natural England has been advising and engaging with a number of stakeholders including Thurrock Council, major infrastructure projects and other developers on how to secure long-term thriving nature alongside economic growth opportunities.
Natural England’s Sustainable Development leads are advising 14 local authorities across Essex on nature and green space through the Local Plan process, including both Basildon and Thurrock. Essex County Council has developed a Green Infrastructure Strategy which provides guidance for Planning Authorities within the county. Colchester and Southend-on-Sea are both prioritising Green Infrastructure within their Local Plans. Green Infrastructure is the term for multi-functional green spaces such as parks, gardens, wildlife areas, waterways and drainage systems which can deliver benefits for nature, for people and economic prosperity.
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 23 January 2026, to Question 106112, on Local Government: Elections, and with reference to his letter to local authorities of 22 January 2026, on what evidential basis district councils have the capacity to organise (a) county and (b) town and parish elections but not district elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt.hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February (HCWS1349).
All local elections will go ahead in May 2026.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 9 February 2026 to Question 110704, whether the answer provided also applies to (a) Thurrock council and (b) other unitary authority councils.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 110704 on 9 February 2026, which applies to all councils. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 specifies the type of councils which may resolve to move from holding whole council elections to electing by thirds, namely non-metropolitan district that have previously held elections by thirds.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help (a) tackle and (b) prevent organised crime networks involved in fly-tipping in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to tackling waste crime from the fly-tippers who blight our towns and villages to the serious and organised crime groups who are exploiting the waste sector. We are making policy and regulatory reforms to close loopholes exploited by criminals and have increased the Environment Agency’s (EA’s) budget for waste crime enforcement by over 50% this year to £15.6 million. The Government also works with a wide range of interested parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG) to promote good practice, including advice on preventing fly-tipping on private land.
The EA focuses on tackling large-scale waste crime, often linked to organised criminal activity while fly-tipping is managed by local authorities. The greatest crossover with the EA and councils is where Organised Crime Groups are operating or linked to illegal or permitted waste sites, rather than fly tipping. Local EA Officers have established working relationships with Surrey Council County and district councils, including Surrey Heath. Information is routinely shared and joint site visits undertaken to ensure collective efforts across the organisations is targeted where each can have the most impact.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities will have discretion following the implementation of electoral boundary changes to determine whether elections are held by thirds, halves, or all-out elections without further primary or secondary legislation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The legislation governing councils’ power to choose its own scheme of elections is set out in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The legislation permits non-metropolitan district councils to choose to move to electing by thirds or halves where they have previously held elections by thirds or halves.