Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, 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 Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost to the Department.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of fire and rescue services to respond to incidents involving lithium-ion batteries on strategic road networks.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is working closely with Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) and officials from other Government Departments to build an evidence base, share intelligence and develop mitigations to tackle the fire risks linked to lithium-ion batteries and personal light electric vehicles (PLEVs).
The department collects data on incidents attended by FRSs with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved lithium-ion batteries.
Our new Fire and Rescue Data Analysis Platform (FaRDAP) has been rolled out, and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect covering both the questions and answer categories to capture lithium-ion batteries, and their uses in vehicles like e-scooters and PLEVs.
National Operational Guidance has been developed for fires involving alternative fuel vehicles to support fire and rescue services when attending such incidents. It contains specific hazard guidance, including control measures on how to identify and immobilise the vehicle and how to isolate high-voltage systems.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2025, to Question 99923, on Retail Trade: Business Rates, what is the estimated number of hereditaments, and average Rateable Value, that will receive Retail Hospitality & Leisure (RHL) multiplier in 2026-27 that were otherwise at the £110,000 cap for RHL relief in 2025-26.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government publishes data on the cost of, and number of properties receiving, business rates relief. This data can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-2025-to-2026
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
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 MHCLG's Annual Report 2024/5, if he will publish a breakdown of the Gross Outturn and Income of CDEL in the Housing and Planning Estimate Line in FY 2024/5.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Please see table below for a breakdown of income and expenditure on the requested estimate rows and DEL control totals.
Estimate Row | Main Expenditure Streams | Gross | Income | Net |
Communities DEL Estimate Rows | 24/25 | £k | £k | £k |
B: Housing and Planning CDEL |
| 642,249 | - | 642,249 |
| 278,770 | - | 278,770 | |
| 199,897 | - | 199,897 | |
| 102,517 | - | 102,517 | |
| 63,781 | - | 63,781 | |
| 59,728 | - | 59,728 | |
| 711,000 | -711,000 | 0 | |
| 131,732 | -25,408 | 106,324 | |
Total | 2,189,675 | -736,408 | 1,453,267 | |
I: Housing and Planning (ALB)(Net) CDEL |
|
| 2,398,482 | |
|
| 847,683 | ||
|
| 298,720 | ||
|
| 150,599 | ||
|
| 18,197 | ||
Total |
| 3,713,681 | ||
C: Local Growth and Devolution RDEL Programme |
| 1,012,406 | - | 1,012,406 |
| 167,774 | - | 167,774 | |
| 101,533 | -101,755 | -222 | |
| 69,233 | - | 69,233 | |
| 36,891 | - | 36,891 | |
| 19,540 | - | 19,540 | |
| 59,509 | -387 | 59,122 | |
Total | 1,466,886 | -102,142 | 1,364,744 |
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for a breakdown of the programme spend and income of RDEL in the Local Growth and Devolution Estimate Line in FY 2024/5, with reference to MHCLG's Annual Report 2024/5, SoPS 1.1.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Please see table below for a breakdown of income and expenditure on the requested estimate rows and DEL control totals.
Estimate Row | Main Expenditure Streams | Gross | Income | Net |
Communities DEL Estimate Rows | 24/25 | £k | £k | £k |
B: Housing and Planning CDEL |
| 642,249 | - | 642,249 |
| 278,770 | - | 278,770 | |
| 199,897 | - | 199,897 | |
| 102,517 | - | 102,517 | |
| 63,781 | - | 63,781 | |
| 59,728 | - | 59,728 | |
| 711,000 | -711,000 | 0 | |
| 131,732 | -25,408 | 106,324 | |
Total | 2,189,675 | -736,408 | 1,453,267 | |
I: Housing and Planning (ALB)(Net) CDEL |
|
| 2,398,482 | |
|
| 847,683 | ||
|
| 298,720 | ||
|
| 150,599 | ||
|
| 18,197 | ||
Total |
| 3,713,681 | ||
C: Local Growth and Devolution RDEL Programme |
| 1,012,406 | - | 1,012,406 |
| 167,774 | - | 167,774 | |
| 101,533 | -101,755 | -222 | |
| 69,233 | - | 69,233 | |
| 36,891 | - | 36,891 | |
| 19,540 | - | 19,540 | |
| 59,509 | -387 | 59,122 | |
Total | 1,466,886 | -102,142 | 1,364,744 |
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of tokenised deposits and smart contracts on the mortgage market, including use in conveyancing, remortgaging and the reduction of intermediaries and transaction delays.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Decisions on the use of tokenised deposits and smart contracts in the mortgage market are independent commercial matters for lenders and property firms, within the regulatory framework overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, including the Consumer Duty and relevant mortgage conduct rules. However, the Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their business, including the evolution and integration of new technologies and their potential impact on the industry.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently undertaking a review of home buying and selling, which will consider how digital tools and emerging technologies could be used to improve property transaction processes. The Government has made clear its objectives that reform should support faster, more reliable transactions and reduced fall throughs and risks.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make additional funding available to open GP surgeries in areas designated for New Towns.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In May, we announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (UMF) to deliver upgrades to a thousand general practice (GP) surgeries across England this financial year. Building on this, the Government has committed £426 million of UMF funding over the next four years to continue upgrading the GP estate and to support refurbishing the existing estate to deliver neighbourhood health centres over this Parliament as part of the 10-Year Health Plan commitment.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning, including planning, securing, and monitoring GP services, within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including GPs, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes.
Whilst we have big ambitions to further boost house building, we recognise the challenges that significant housing and population growth can place on primary care infrastructure. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to determine how developer contributions from new housing developments can be better used towards local health services and infrastructure, including for new towns.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government reconsider the national concessionary fares scheme to reflect pressures on tourist areas like Bournemouth, where local authorities must fund concessionary travel for tourists who are eligible bus pass holders.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the statutory elements of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), Travel Concessionary Authorities (TCA) must reimburse bus operators for all concessionary journeys starting within their boundaries, irrespective of whether the concessionary passholder making the journey is resident in the TCA area. ENCTS funding is part of the non-ringfenced Local Government Finance Settlement provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. A daytime population metric, which includes domestic tourists, is included in the allocation formulae.
The ENCTS costs around £795 million annually in reimbursement costs to bus operators and any changes to the statutory obligations would need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
The Government is investing in bus services long-term and has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will be allocated £17 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £6 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including helping to fund concessionary travel locally.
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 Table 1 of the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s annual report 2024-25, published in December 2025, for what reason his Department took an average of 267 days to make a public appointment.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department is committed to continuing to uphold the highest standards of transparency and propriety in public appointments, in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. As the Commissioner’s 2024-25 annual report explains, the timeliness of public appointments campaigns were impacted by the 2024 General Election and panel member availability.
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 4 September 2025 to Question 69673 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Remote Working, what type of workplace attendance information is collated and held by his Department for its offices outside London.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department records workplace attendance data for staff based outside London and reviews this information on a quarterly basis.