Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what guidance he issues to Departments on whether they may decline to publish or signpost information which has otherwise been released to members of the public under Freedom of Information laws.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work), published by my office, sets out the government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for information through parliamentary questions and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. Paragraph 221 states that “if information would be released under FOI, it would also be released in response to a WPQ”.
I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks and Permanent Secretaries to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to WPQs.
In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee recently launched an inquiry into WPQs which is considering the interaction between WPQs and FOIs. I look forward to working with the Committee as this work progresses.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government whether officials or special advisers assign any marking, code or traffic light, other than date, to incoming parliamentary Written Questions to assess or advise how they may be answered.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The way in which departments triage incoming parliamentary questions is a matter for each individual department. There is no specific centralised guidance on assigning codes or traffic light ratings to questions.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households affected by the Local Housing Allowance freeze since its introduction.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
LHA rates are reviewed annually at Autumn Budget. The Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement that LHA rates would be maintained at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27.
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
The impact on private renters was considered alongside factors such as rent levels across Great Britain, the fiscal context and welfare priorities including the decision to remove the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.
Information on the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall (i.e. where contractual rent costs exceed LHA), is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall are published in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from local authorities. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). However, DWP would also point out that the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of LHA on homelessness are considered.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Local Housing Allowance freeze on homelessness.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
LHA rates are reviewed annually at Autumn Budget. The Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement that LHA rates would be maintained at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27.
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
The impact on private renters was considered alongside factors such as rent levels across Great Britain, the fiscal context and welfare priorities including the decision to remove the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.
Information on the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall (i.e. where contractual rent costs exceed LHA), is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall are published in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from local authorities. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). However, DWP would also point out that the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of LHA on homelessness are considered.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to review the current freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
LHA rates are reviewed annually at Autumn Budget. The Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement that LHA rates would be maintained at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27.
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
The impact on private renters was considered alongside factors such as rent levels across Great Britain, the fiscal context and welfare priorities including the decision to remove the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.
Information on the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall (i.e. where contractual rent costs exceed LHA), is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall are published in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from local authorities. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). However, DWP would also point out that the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of LHA on homelessness are considered.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance the Cabinet Office have issued to departments since the start of December 2025 about the approach to answering Written Questions about direct ministerial appointments; whether the Cabinet Office has made departments aware of expectation of transparency on direct ministerial appointments in the Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments, published October 2025; and what assessment they have made of compliance with that guidance of (1) the original, and (2) the corrected, Written Answer by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office on 7 January (HC98100).
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office wrote to departments when the Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments was published, highlighting the contents of the guidance. As the guidance sets out, the responsibility for the publication of information about direct ministerial appointments rests with individual departments.
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, how many hectares of English countryside have been burnt by wildfires in the last twelve months; and what the cost was of (a) fighting the fires, (b) loss of economic activity, (c) restoring the landscape and (d) NHS treatment of the effects of smoke pollution from those wildfires.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) has responsibility for land management and environmental policy, which includes environmental restoration. As outlined in the departments’ response to the Member’s question UIN 95122 on 14 January 2026, Defra does not hold details on how many hectares of the English countryside have been burnt by wildfires in the last twelve months.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has made no assessment as to the total cost of wildfires in England over the last 12 months.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not made any estimates of deaths attributable to wildfire smoke in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years. While there is extensive evidence of health impacts from other countries linked to wildfires, there is relatively limited, but growing, evidence specific to the UK. The UKHSA monitors the broader impact of ambient air pollution on mortality in the UK.
Departments are working closely to develop the evidence base on wildfires, including assessing the risk and impacts. In 2025 Defra commissioned a two year research project, Wildfire and Peatland: Studies to Support Delivery of the Third National Adaptation Programme. The six sub-projects will address wildfire risks to English peatlands through evidence reviews, economic analysis, risk mapping, and stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Leader of the House what plans she has to contact the Permanent Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to ask why they have not yet answered HL11657, tabled on 5 November but still awaiting an answer in December.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As Leader, I met Permanent Secretaries from across Government Departments in November this year. During the meeting I stressed the importance of responding to Questions for Written Answer within the 10 day target. Alongside this my office keeps close oversight of departments who have outstanding responses. I also regularly discuss parliamentary performance with Ministers in a group setting and individually.
This specific question HL11657 was answered on the 19th December.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what mechanisms are available to hon. Members to seek clarification or further information when a Department or public body is considered not to have provided a full or clear response to a Written Parliamentary Question.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Parliament has a right to scrutinise Ministers, and hold the Government and public bodies to account. I expect Hon. Members to receive both timely and helpful responses to their questions.
There are a number of mechanisms available to Members such as raising concerns on the floor of the House, including with myself at the weekly Business Question, or by writing to the relevant department or public body. I would also encourage Hon. Members to speak with myself or my office to further pursue these matters.
In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental performance in responding to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs). The Committee recently launched an inquiry into WPQs, and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps hon. Members can take to seek additional information from the Government in instances where a response to a written parliamentary question is considered incomplete or unclear.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Parliament has a right to scrutinise Ministers, and hold the Government and public bodies to account. I expect Hon. Members to receive both timely and helpful responses to their questions.
There are a number of mechanisms available to Members such as raising concerns on the floor of the House, including with myself at the weekly Business Question, or by writing to the relevant department or public body. I would also encourage Hon. Members to speak with myself or my office to further pursue these matters.
In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental performance in responding to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs). The Committee recently launched an inquiry into WPQs, and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.