Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what written correspondence he has had with Birmingham City Council on proposed settlements to end the waste strike.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The ongoing waste dispute is damaging for the residents and reputation of the great city of Birmingham. We take the progress made across Birmingham City Council extremely seriously. A successful and prospering Birmingham is a high priority for this government, and the department regularly meets both the Council and Commissioners, alongside receiving regular updates on progress, including on the waste dispute and contingency arrangements. During the acute phase of the waste dispute last year, the government took decisive action in lock step with the Council to ensure waste in the city was safely and sustainably managed. The result was to establish a regular, reliable waste collection service despite industrial action. In relation to advice received on the waste dispute, internal government advice will not be published, in line with normal practice and convention.
Any allegation of bullying or harassment is a matter for the employer to deal with in the first instance. Birmingham City Council and their contracted agency are independent employers, and the ongoing disputes are a local issue. The government is not a party in the dispute and does not hold information about the allegations of bullying or harassment.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on allegations of bullying and harassment made by agency waste workers in Birmingham.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The ongoing waste dispute is damaging for the residents and reputation of the great city of Birmingham. We take the progress made across Birmingham City Council extremely seriously. A successful and prospering Birmingham is a high priority for this government, and the department regularly meets both the Council and Commissioners, alongside receiving regular updates on progress, including on the waste dispute and contingency arrangements. During the acute phase of the waste dispute last year, the government took decisive action in lock step with the Council to ensure waste in the city was safely and sustainably managed. The result was to establish a regular, reliable waste collection service despite industrial action. In relation to advice received on the waste dispute, internal government advice will not be published, in line with normal practice and convention.
Any allegation of bullying or harassment is a matter for the employer to deal with in the first instance. Birmingham City Council and their contracted agency are independent employers, and the ongoing disputes are a local issue. The government is not a party in the dispute and does not hold information about the allegations of bullying or harassment.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 publish advice he has received from commissioners and officials on the Birmingham waste dispute.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The ongoing waste dispute is damaging for the residents and reputation of the great city of Birmingham. We take the progress made across Birmingham City Council extremely seriously. A successful and prospering Birmingham is a high priority for this government, and the department regularly meets both the Council and Commissioners, alongside receiving regular updates on progress, including on the waste dispute and contingency arrangements. During the acute phase of the waste dispute last year, the government took decisive action in lock step with the Council to ensure waste in the city was safely and sustainably managed. The result was to establish a regular, reliable waste collection service despite industrial action. In relation to advice received on the waste dispute, internal government advice will not be published, in line with normal practice and convention.
Any allegation of bullying or harassment is a matter for the employer to deal with in the first instance. Birmingham City Council and their contracted agency are independent employers, and the ongoing disputes are a local issue. The government is not a party in the dispute and does not hold information about the allegations of bullying or harassment.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 Birmingham City Council on contingency arrangements to mitigate the impact of the waste strike on residents.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The ongoing waste dispute is damaging for the residents and reputation of the great city of Birmingham. We take the progress made across Birmingham City Council extremely seriously. A successful and prospering Birmingham is a high priority for this government, and the department regularly meets both the Council and Commissioners, alongside receiving regular updates on progress, including on the waste dispute and contingency arrangements. During the acute phase of the waste dispute last year, the government took decisive action in lock step with the Council to ensure waste in the city was safely and sustainably managed. The result was to establish a regular, reliable waste collection service despite industrial action. In relation to advice received on the waste dispute, internal government advice will not be published, in line with normal practice and convention.
Any allegation of bullying or harassment is a matter for the employer to deal with in the first instance. Birmingham City Council and their contracted agency are independent employers, and the ongoing disputes are a local issue. The government is not a party in the dispute and does not hold information about the allegations of bullying or harassment.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that council officers and councillors are held to account for significant public failings on the part of local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is committed to ensuring that local government is empowered, fully accountable and deserving of people’s trust and confidence.
Councils must fulfil the Best Value Duty when delivering their responsibilities. Government uses a range of statutory and non-statutory intervention models in cases of failure or risk of failure. In cases of Commissioner-led intervention, where appropriate, this can include powers to appoint and dismiss senior staff.
The Government Response to the Strengthen the Standards and Conduct Framework consultation for Local Authorities in England published on 11 November 2025 sets out our ambition to introduce a clearer and consistently applied conduct system that will help local elected members to hold themselves and their colleagues to account in meeting the high standards and conduct their roles demand and the public have a right to expect. We intend to legislate on local government standards reforms when parliamentary time allows.
Council officers and members may also be subject to investigation by relevant bodies if suspected of serious misconduct, including the police and Serious Fraud Office.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 26 January (HL Deb col 715), what assessment they have made of the ability of the 14 remaining areas to deliver local government reorganisation to the proposed timescale of 12 months less time than the six priority areas.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As I set out on 26 January, the remaining 14 local government reorganisation areas do not have 12 months less time than the other areas.
On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities in 21 areas and their neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local government. Following the submission of proposals, the Government has since announced two new unitary authorities in Surrey and concluded a statutory consultation on final proposals for a further six areas. Decisions on which proposals, if any, to implement for those six areas will be taken by March 2026. Following elections in 2027, the new unitary councils will go live in 2028.
For the remaining 14 areas, the Government launched a statutory consultation on 5 February, which will close on 26 March. Decisions on which proposals, if any, to implement will then be announced around the time of the Summer Recess in 2026. Following elections in 2027, the new unitary councils will go live in 2028.
My officials are in regular contact with councils to support them to undertake preparatory work to ensure readiness for any transition to new authorities.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential risk to public safety arising from the publication of sensitive information relating to the physical security of properties on local authority planning registers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of regulation of rented homes on landlords.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has already published impact assessments in respect of the Renters’ Rights Act; higher Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for the private rented sector; and the extension of our updated Decent Homes Standard to it.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG continually reviews the range of financial wellbeing support offered to our employees and does offer general payroll deduction facilities. Currently no specific credit union deduction arrangements are in place. Agency payroll operations are delegated to each individual organisation.
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 the statistics entitled Local authority Council Taxbase in England 2025 (revised), 21 January 2026, for what reason there are some exceptions where the premium is not applied to second homes even though the premium is in use by the authority.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognised that there were circumstances where it may not be appropriate for a premium to apply and introduced a number of mandatory exceptions to premiums. These exceptions include circumstances where the property is marketed for sale or let, has recently concluded probate or where it is undergoing major repairs for example.
The regulations underpinning the exceptions can be found here. The government’s guidance also sets out these exceptions.