Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what is the number of individual correspondence his department received from a) members of the public, b) voluntary groups and c) business representative organisations in favour of the re-organisation of local government in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay prior to the recent consultation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government anticipates an announcement before the summer recess on which, if any, proposal for unitary local government will be implemented in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. A summary of the consultation will be published at the time of the announcement. A range of views were expressed to the Department as proposals were developed, and local residents and groups have now been able to have their say through the consultation.
The Government provided £7.6million last year for councils in England with two-tier local government to develop proposals for unitary local government. This helped councils meet the cost of proposal development, including consultation and engagement with their local communities. All five proposals for local government in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay were consulted on via the recent statutory consultation.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he expects to publish the results of the consultation on local government reorganisation in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay which ended on 26th March 2026.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government anticipates an announcement before the summer recess on which, if any, proposal for unitary local government will be implemented in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. A summary of the consultation will be published at the time of the announcement. A range of views were expressed to the Department as proposals were developed, and local residents and groups have now been able to have their say through the consultation.
The Government provided £7.6million last year for councils in England with two-tier local government to develop proposals for unitary local government. This helped councils meet the cost of proposal development, including consultation and engagement with their local communities. All five proposals for local government in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay were consulted on via the recent statutory consultation.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
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 costs of conducting the consultation on local government re-organisation in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government anticipates an announcement before the summer recess on which, if any, proposal for unitary local government will be implemented in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. A summary of the consultation will be published at the time of the announcement. A range of views were expressed to the Department as proposals were developed, and local residents and groups have now been able to have their say through the consultation.
The Government provided £7.6million last year for councils in England with two-tier local government to develop proposals for unitary local government. This helped councils meet the cost of proposal development, including consultation and engagement with their local communities. All five proposals for local government in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay were consulted on via the recent statutory consultation.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
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 costs of implementing the re-organisation of local government in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay for each local authority and what funding will his department make available to meet them.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of the local government reorganisation process, councils were required to set out assessments of implementation and transition costs within their proposals. It is expected that councils will be able to meet these costs over time from existing budgets, including from the flexible use of capital receipts that can support authorities in taking forward transformation and invest-to-save projects.
Alongside this, the Government has announced up to £63 million in capacity funding to support councils going through local government reorganisation. At least £900,000 will be provided for each new unitary council to help with transition and set‑up costs.
The consultation for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay closed on the 26 March. The Secretary of State will now assess the proposals against the criteria, the consultation responses, and all other relevant information before deciding which, if any, proposal to implement.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support fire and rescue workers in Devon.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and rescue workers in Devon are employed by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority which is responsible for workforce wellbeing and operational deployment based on local risk.
Government supports fire and rescue services nationally through funding, policy and resilience arrangements, while operational and employment decisions remain a matter for local fire and rescue authorities, working with partners to respond to risks in their communities.
The 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement makes available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power for Fire and Rescue Authorities in England, representing an average increase of 4.71 per cent compared to 2025/26.
This is part of a multi‑year settlement which will deliver a 12.75 per cent increase in core spending power by the end of the period, alongside a further £15 million secured since the provisional settlement to support services to plan, invest and strengthen workforce health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many non-metropolitan county councils in England are supported housing providers.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This data is not collected centrally by the UK Government.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the level of proposed development on Green Belt land in the Epping Forest District, and what steps his Department is taking to protect the Green Belt.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to preserving Green Belts, which have served England’s towns and cities well over many decades. We have not changed the five purposes of the Green Belt set out in paragraph 143 of the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework still contains strong protections for the Green Belt, making it clear that inappropriate development should not be approved unless justified by very special circumstances.
It is for local planning authorities themselves, including Epping Forest District Council, to determine whether exceptional circumstances exist that justify the release of Green Belt, and we expect them to first demonstrate that they have examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting identified need for development – including making as much use as possible of suitable brownfield sites and underutilised land, optimising the density of development, and working with neighbouring authorities to assess whether identified need might be sensibly accommodated.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he a) intends to require Cornwall, Devon, Torbay and Plymouth separately or together, to be part of a combined directly elected mayoral authority to access the full range of devolved powers b) has set a deadline for implementing this policy and c) has made an estimate of the costs of this additional layer of government.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We want to see all of England access devolved powers as soon as possible by establishing Strategic Authorities that can make the key decisions to drive economic growth and celebrate local identities. We are continuing to engage in conversations with local authorities in Cornwall, Devon, Torbay and Plymouth, to take the next step in unlocking the powers and functions available through the Devolution Framework for these areas, at a pace and configuration to be agreed with local leaders.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 average time to complete the digital registration of property deeds by HM Land Registry.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103008 on 13 January 2026.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 of proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on the number of intensive livestock farms.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on the number of intensive livestock farms.