Rewiring the State

Debate between Danny Kruger and Louise Haigh

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

I will ensure that the hon. Lady’s concerns are heard by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and I can confirm that the Communities Secretary will determine next steps on local government reform by the end of October 2026.

[Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire) (Reform)]

I want to be constructive because I welcome the creation of a stronger centre, with a proper political centre in No. 10 and a corporate HQ for the non-political functions. My question to the Minister is: what is the residual point of the Cabinet Office in this new structure? Some 12,000 people are currently employed in the Cabinet Office and all its quangos. Some of them will be redistributed, but what is the point of that office in future? Likewise, what is the point of the Cabinet Secretary’s post? How is anything going to change when the same people are working in the same buildings, under the same incentives?

[Louise Haigh]

The Cabinet Office supports the wider civil service and still fulfils a number of incredibly important functions, including cross co-ordination of governmental priorities. The Cabinet Secretary’s role is to run the civil service as a whole, and that role will always be required.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Danny Kruger and Louise Haigh

Thursday 21st November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right, and we were pleased to overturn the previous Government’s cuts to Active Travel England, ensuring that it can help authorities such as Bath scale up their capability and capacity and deliver those important active travel routes. As we look towards the second phase of the spending review, the ambition is absolutely to move to multi- year settlements, deliver that important consistency and sustainability for local authorities.

[Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire) (Con)]

I thank the Minister with responsibility for roads for meeting my right hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) and me last week to discuss the future of the A303 and the north-south routes through Wiltshire; village roads are clogged with heavy goods vehicle traffic. Seeing as the Government have scrapped the Stonehenge tunnel, saving billions of pounds, I implore the Minister, as she considers the road investment strategy for next year, to think about mitigation of the unsustainable traffic problems that we have in Wiltshire. We have been waiting years for improvements. Please could that be considered as part of the next RIS?

[Louise Haigh]

As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, the Minister has already asked National Highways to meet the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues to discuss those important issues. We will place statutory duties and stretching freight targets on Great British Railways to encourage freight off the roads and on to the railways, but we are absolutely considering the specific congestion issues in the south-west as we look towards the road investment strategy.