Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
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 provide the basis on which his Department determined there was insufficient evidence of rurality and remoteness impacting the cost of service delivery in the provisional local government finance settlement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published the Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 and response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on Thursday 20 November, which set out the government's plans to introduce a fairer and evidence-led funding system. The government also published the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029 on Wednesday 17 December 2025. The government is committed to continuing to work closely with the sector. We have now consulted four times on our proposals for reform and we are grateful for the high-quality and constructive responses received from local authorities and sector groups.
The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Our updates will account for local circumstances, including the variation in cost of delivering services, such as between rural and urban areas. More detail can be found in the consultation response document here.
As part of this, the government is including a remoteness adjustment within the adult social care formula, as the best evidence we have heard indicates that distance from a major market has an impact on the cost of delivering social care services. We are also including a journey times adjustment, which is within the area cost adjustment applied to all our funding formulas, which accounts for the impact on the cost of labour of the difference in travel times to provide services; and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles, in recognition that the original distance cap would unfairly penalise authorities who have no choice but to place children further from home.
The government is considering the responses received following the consultation of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027 and will set out a position when the final Settlement is published in early February.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements.
We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements.
We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements. We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The scope of the digital identification scheme is still in development, therefore detailed design, implementation, and operational information is not available.
The Cabinet Office will soon launch a public consultation to give everyone the opportunity to learn more and share their views.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Digital identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this spending review period will be met within the existing spending review settlements.
We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Delivery of the National Digital ID scheme is currently being led by the Cabinet Office, with input from Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Home Office and other government departments.
The Cabinet Office, in collaboration with the Home Office and other government departments, is currently in the process of working through the policy and design decisions that will underpin the Digital ID. Whilst this activity is underway, it is not currently possible to finalise cost estimations and the impact these will have on the Home Office’s budget.
The Cabinet Office will launch a public consultation and has already started engaging key groups. The eventual total cost will also depend on the outcomes of this exercise.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals. Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements. We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements.
We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.