Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to support wards receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme in (a) Telford, (b) West Midlands and (c) England.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 25 September, the Government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities.
The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March.
The neighbourhoods selected to receive funding and support from the Pride in Place Programme include Woodside in Telford and 28 places in the West Midlands. In addition, 7 local authorities across the West Midlands have been awarded funding through the Pride in Place Impact Fund, with each receiving up to £1.5m over two years. In total, the Government is investing up to £570.5 million across the West Midlands through the Pride in Place Programme and the Pride in Place Impact Fund.
Each area selected through the Pride in Place Programme will receive dedicated delivery support from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure the successful delivery of the programme. This support will be provided by the Communities Delivery Unit, which will work in partnership with Neighbourhood Boards and local authorities, and will include access to place-specific data, guidance and capability support tailored to local needs.
The Communities Delivery Unit will establish a Network for Neighbourhoods across the UK to build connection and learning between community leaders, convene the partners that support and strengthen community organisations, groups and social clubs, and embed participatory approaches in how local decisions are made. With the Pride in Place Programme at its heart, the Network will share learning and best practice across the Neighbourhood Boards and beyond, to support strong, capable and empowered communities to lead change locally.
The Communities Delivery Unit in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government will also work with other government departments to identify relevant programmes, data and support that Pride in Place neighbourhoods can draw on as they develop their local plans.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 cost to councils in the mayoral areas of Greater Essex, Norfolk & Suffolk, Hampshire & the Solent, and Sussex & Brighton for election preparations which have now been cancelled; and if he will reimburse these costs in full.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We remain committed to the long-term funding offer to all Devolution Priority Programme areas announced on 4 December. We will provide £1 million mayoral capacity funding for all areas following the laying of the secondary legislation, and a minimum of £3 million over the following three financial years. Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent and Sussex and Brighton will receive a third of their annual investment funds in both 2026 and 2027, and receive their full annual allocations thereafter.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he will commit to laying before the House of Commons the Structural Change Order for local government reorganisation in Surrey.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I am happy to repeat the commitment from the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 October (HCWS998) that we will bring to the House, for approval, a Structural Changes Order to implement the proposal for two new unitary councils – East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to add chalk streams to the National Planning Policy Framework as an irreplaceable habitat.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 94314 on 3 December 2025.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact on West Midlands local authorities of the Government’s decision in the Autumn Budget to transfer full responsibility for funding Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision to central government from 2028-29; and whether his Department has modelled the financial implications for Walsall Council, in particular the treatment of existing Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At Autmn Budget 2025, the government clarified that ambitious Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform plans will be set out early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28.
We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of historic and accruing DSG deficits on their accounts. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engages regularly with local authorities and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the impact of the deficits and the extent to which they are expected to grow. We will set out further details on our plans to support local authorities with their historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
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 assessment he has made of the OBR’s conclusion that cumulative local authority SEND deficits may reach £14 billion by 2027-28, and what implications this has for the financial sustainability of councils in the West Midlands, including Walsall, once the statutory override on DSG deficits expires in 2028.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At Autmn Budget 2025, the government clarified that ambitious Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform plans will be set out early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28.
We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of historic and accruing DSG deficits on their accounts. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engages regularly with local authorities and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the impact of the deficits and the extent to which they are expected to grow. We will set out further details on our plans to support local authorities with their historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities which may need to issue Section 114s if required to recognise historic DSG deficits on their balance sheets, identified by the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic Financial Outlook, November 2025 (page 128).
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Office for Budget Responsibility gave an assessment of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits which are based on current Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) policy. This government has clarified that we will set out ambitious plans for reform of SEND provision early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the DSG Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28.
The government does not speculate on the number of local authorities that will need financial support, but we recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of these deficits on their accounts. We will set out further details on our plans for support with historic and accruing deficits the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to review the legislation governing Class F council tax exemptions, specifically the treatment of inherited properties that were occupied at the time of death and vacated more than six weeks later; and whether he will consider extending exemptions to cover the probate process and up to 12 months after probate is granted, regardless of occupancy status at the time of death.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Properties which are unoccupied because the occupant has passed away, and probate has been granted on their estate, are exempt from council tax from the point of death until six months after the grant of probate or the signing of letters of administration (a class F exemption). Where the property remains occupied by another person, it is liable for council tax in the same way as any other property. The Government has no plans to amend class F council tax exemption.
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 the interim Combined County Authority will be responsible for determining the allocation of initial funding in the context of the cancellation of the 2026 mayoral election in Greater Essex.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have written to the leaders of all areas on the Devolution Priority Programme, including Greater Essex, confirming that we will ensure the new institutions are able to start investing in local growth priorities prior to the inaugural mayoral election. As set out in the written ministerial statement, each area will receive an investment fund which can be used for local growth initiatives.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to implement remote electronic voting for (a) UK and (b) local elections.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are no plans to introduce remote electronic voting for UK or local elections.