Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to change the electoral qualification and disqualification provisions on whether Members of Parliament can (1) stand for election, and (2) continue to hold office, as (a) councillors, (b) council mayors, (c) Police and Crime Commissioners, and (d) combined authority mayors.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble Baroness to the response given to Question UIN 47703 on 30 April 2025. Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Mayors who hold the PCC function are disqualified from standing for election or continuing to hold office if they become Members of Parliament. Government has laid out proposals to extend similar arrangements to Mayors of a combined authority, combined county authority or the Greater London Authority who do not hold the PCC function. There are no plans to similarly change disqualification criteria for other elected mayors or councillors.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the best value inspection of Tower Hamlets Council in 2024, what assessment was made by the Commissioners of the standards of behaviour in council meetings.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Best Value Inspection of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets report was published on 12th November 2024. Inspectors found that “[council] meetings have, at times, been fractious, the tone has been occasionally aggressive and sometimes there has been filibustering… it is our view that this has, unfortunately, over-shadowed and impaired the quality of debate in the chamber.” (paragraph 3.42)
The Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution has appointed three Ministerial Envoys to work with the Council to address the issues found in the Inspection Report, and intends to publish their first report on the Council’s progress this summer.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister for Housing and Planning on 10 March (HCWS510), what is their timetable for the publication of the consultation on removing statutory consultees in the planning process; and which elements of the wider reform will be delivered through primary and secondary legislation.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have committed to consult this Spring on the impact of removing a limited number of statutory consultees. A publication date is yet to be confirmed.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter issued on 9 January to local authorities by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the indicative capital transitional costs for the introduction of weekly food waste collections, whether they have plans to defer the deadline of 19 January for local authorities to respond to the banking details request until after the Department has responded to the concerns of local authorities about the level of Government funding offered to cover the cost of these collections.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
So that we can provide funding this financial year, we have asked local authorities to provide bank details by 19 January. If local authorities have requested a review of their funding, then we will still need a record of their bank details.
If local authorities are undergoing a review process with our Defra team, we intend to still pay the funding indicated in their indicative letter. Subject to the result of the review, if a local authority requires further funding, then this will be provided separately.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of devolving fine-setting powers for fly-tipping and littering offences to local authorities.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Fixed penalties provide local authorities with an effective and visible way of quickly responding to environmental crimes, where prosecution may not be proportionate. Local authorities must set fixed penalties for litter and fly-tipping from within ranges specified in law. If a penalty level is not set by the authority then a default penalty level will apply.
We believe local authorities are best placed to select the appropriate level, to ensure it reflects local circumstances such as ability to pay. This flexibility is consistent with the responses we received to the consultation on introducing fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping.
Under the Prime Minister’s Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan, the first local authority fly-tipping enforcement league tables were published in August 2023. These show which councils are making good use of their powers to issue fixed penalties, encouraging both scrutiny and the sharing of best practice.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of (1) awarding local authorities five-year highways funding allocations, and (2) moving highways funding currently allocated to Transport for London towards London borough councils.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government agrees that there is a compelling case to provide local authorities with long-term funding certainty, enabling them to plan and carry out their highway maintenance responsibilities in the most efficient way.
On 4 October, the Prime Minister announced a long-term multi-year funding uplift of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance through the Network North plan, which will provide the long-term funding that local highway authorities need.
Further details were published on 17 November on https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8-billion-boost-to-repair-roads-and-back-drivers. A share of the £8.3 billion will go to London, and the Government intends to allocate this directly to both Transport for London and the individual London boroughs.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to encourage high street banks to work together to establish banking hubs to protect access to cash.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups.
The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities.
In the context of this legislation, the financial services sector is working together to develop and provide shared services, such as Banking Hubs. While Banking Hubs are a commercial initiative, the government encourages a swift rollout of these services. Cash Access UK, which delivers these services on behalf of participating retail banks, expects to deliver Banking Hub services in 30 communities by the end of the year, and open at least a further 60 Hubs in 2024.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Apprenticeship Levy funding is used in its entirety rather than being returned to His Majesty's Treasury.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. The levy is enabling the department to increase investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices.
In the last two financial years, on average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent. Where large employers do not make full use of their levy funds, the department reinvests this money to support apprenticeships in small and medium-sized employers who do not pay the levy. It is therefore important that the apprenticeships budget remains ring-fenced to support the demand by employers for high-quality apprenticeship training.
To make it easier for employers to make full use of their levy contributions, the department has created flexible training models, such as flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, to make apprenticeships more accessible for employers. The department has also improved the transfer system to make it easier for levy paying employers to find other employers who wish to take on new apprentices with transferred funds.
The department has worked with employers to develop over 680 high-quality apprenticeship standards, and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education will review the content of 100 apprenticeship standards in sectors like construction and healthcare by the end of December 2023, so they reflect the latest technological developments.
The department is also providing an additional £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access this provision, on top of its £8 million investment in 2022/23.
The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people in schools and further education colleges across the country through its Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, and UCAS are expanding its service to allowing students to search for and apply to apprenticeships alongside degrees.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that General Practitioner and Dentistry services are prepared for increased demand arising from future housing developments.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for planning and commissioning healthcare services which meet the reasonable needs of the people for whom they are responsible.
ICBs should evaluate the changing needs of the populations for which they are responsible and plan new service provision as required, including planning for future demand for General Practice and Dentistry as a result of new housing developments.
To support with pressure on primary care estates, particularly in areas of housing growth, the Government has committed to review the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and planning guidance to raise the priority of primary care infrastructure needed to support an increase in demand for services.
We continue to work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities to ensure these commitments are met through the latest NPPF refresh and negotiations on the future Infrastructure Levy following the passage of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act.