David Simmonds

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have set out that the interim electoral arrangements - which will be used at the first elections to the new unitary authorities established under local government reorganisation - can be created using any combination of existing boundaries, whether that be parish, district, county or unitary wards or divisions.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has provided advice and guidance to local authorities to support them in their work to develop interim electoral arrangements. This has included making available its electoral review guidance which sets out the criteria that it takes into account in determining ward boundaries during a normal review.

The Commission has made clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, have regard to the criteria that would inform an electoral review - electoral equality, community identity and interests, and effective and convenient local government – in developing their interim electoral arrangements.

The Commission will undertake a full electoral review of all newly-formed authorities before their subsequent elections.

The Electoral Commission has not made an assessment on the average cost of holding and administering elections, as it is not responsible for funding elections. The UK Government, through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, provides funding for the administration of parliamentary by-elections. The Combined authority and local authority will fund the cost of running their own by-elections respectively.

The Commission’s guidance for Electoral Registration Officers in England, Scotland and Wales sets out eligibility requirements.

A person must be resident at the address at which they want to be registered. Residence has a particular meaning in electoral law and is not equivalent to residence for other purposes. Normally, a person is resident at an address for electoral purposes if it is their permanent home address.

When making a determination on someone’s residence, Electoral Registration Officers will need to consider the circumstances of the applicant, including the purpose they are present at a particular address.

The Electoral Commission outlines the disqualification criteria at each relevant election in its guidance for candidates and agents. Due to the complexity of the rules, it does not provide direct advice on whether someone is qualified or disqualified from standing. Instead it recommends that candidates seek their own legal advice if in doubt about their eligibility.

In its role supporting Returning Officers to deliver well-run elections, it has advised them to raise any queries about the matter with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

In this instance the Hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner will need to consult the Diocesan Registrar or Diocesan Secretary of the Diocese of London as this is a matter for the relations and discussions between a local authority and the diocesan authorities. The contact details for the Registrar and Diocesan Secretary are available on the London Diocese website

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 the maintenance of a closed churchyard may be taken over by a relevant local authority. Should the local authority assess that they require the authorisation of a faculty to undertake a particular step, they should contact the diocesan registry team and the diocesan advisory commission. Should a faculty application be required, any fees which may be chargeable are set out in statutory fees orders which are approved by the General Synod and laid before Parliament and will be available from the diocesan registry on request. The Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2015 (as amended) specify some works which don’t require a faculty in which case those fees are not payable. The Rules can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1568/contents

No, the Counter-Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan has not been published.

I refer the Honourable Member to the information published on GOV.UK on 28 November 2024 which provided a summary of the His Majesty The King Official Portrait Scheme, including the number of portraits provided and the total cost of the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme

Public Digital are a commercial partner to the Test, Learn and Grow programme, led by the Cabinet Office, and their staff are now secondees.

The guidance on conduct for civil servants in relation to the May 2026 elections makes clear that civil servants - including special advisers - should not use official resources for party political purposes. This guidance is available on gov.uk. The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the rules for special advisers in relation to local political activity. This is also available on gov.uk.

This Government has strengthened the Ministerial Code. Decisions relating to recusals are made with advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Any relevant ministerial interests are published in the quarterly ‘List of Ministers’ Interests’. All tax decisions are taken by the Chancellor.

The Government has accepted the recommendation of the independent Rycroft Review for a moratorium on the use of crypto assets as political donations to safeguard the integrity of our political finance system from foreign interference.

Payments into trade union political funds are administered by trade unions in accordance with their own rules and are subject to separate statutory requirements under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Donations to political parties and other regulated recipients from a trade union via their political fund, are regulated in the same way as other political donations.

An assessment of the changes to Employers' National Insurance has been published by HMRC in their Tax Information and Impact Note, including impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, and businesses including civil society organisations, alongside details on monitoring and evaluation.

The Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper which will be published later this year. Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

Across Government, Ministers and officials meet with a range of retailers to understand the challenges they face. I have met with the Retail Sector Council where I heard members’ views about the impact of the Budget. More recently, I attended a roundtable organised by the British Retail Consortium, attended by CEOs and Senior Executives from leading retailers, with discussion points including the impact of the Budget and Business Rates.

More broadly, HMT are conducting engagement on future business rate reform and are open to receiving written evidence from stakeholders on the priority areas, prior to March 2025. This will provide retail businesses of any size the opportunity to share their concerns directly with HMT.

UK law requires metric units to be used for all trade purposes, including in retail and hospitality settings, with only limited exceptions. While imperial units can be used alongside metric units, the imperial markings must not be larger or more prominent than the metric ones. Imperial units can only be used on their own (without metric units) for certain products, such as the pint for sales of draught beer, cider and milk in returnable containers.

We have no plans to change this policy.

The Government published an impact assessment on 21 October 2024, setting out its assessment of the expected impacts of the repeal of the Trade Union Act 2016 via the Employment Rights Bill.

The Government’s position on supporting owner occupiers remains as was set out in the Answer to Question 1331. The Government has since published separate proposals to raise minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes in England and Wales by 2030. Proposals in this consultation do not restrict the selling or purchase of private properties.

Our position on owner occupied homes remains unchanged from our Answer to Question 1331.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

Local content requirements are not permitted within the UK’s international trade agreements, however, the Government does offer incentives to invest in supply chains: the Clean Industry Bonus (CIB) as part of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme will reward fixed and floating offshore wind developers who choose to invest in the UK’s poorest communities, or in cleaner manufacturing facilities. The initial budget for CIBs is £27m per GW of capacity that applies for the bonus in Allocation Round 7. An amount within the CIB budget will be reserved for investments in the floating offshore wind supply chain.

The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We will set out full details in due course.

The Government recognises EPCs as crucial for informing consumers about energy costs, emissions, and supporting Net Zero goals. An updated assessment methodology, RdSAP 10, will be introduced in early 2025. Developed with the EPC industry, this update aims to enhance the accuracy of energy performance evaluations by including detailed measurements like window sizes and battery storage. These changes ensure EPCs better reflect actual energy performance, aiding consumers in making informed decisions. The revised methodology will offer more reliable energy ratings and a clearer understanding of home efficiency.

The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) is operational now, and in January 2026 all of its core functionality for use in street works will be in place. Development and continuous improvement will continue beyond this point, informed by user feedback. NUAR has been developed to give undertakers standardised, efficient access to asset information for carrying out street works. Feedback from users demonstrate that NUAR already delivers major improvements over existing processes for gathering information about buried utilities. No centralised risk assessment has been delivered as each organisation remains responsible for determining how NUAR fits into its safe working practices and for conducting any necessary risk assessments and ensuring that relevant guidance is adhered to. We will be carrying out a robust programme of monitoring and evaluation which will review multiple indicators to understand the impact of NUAR on safe working practices.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not currently hold data on asset strikes, including in areas where NUAR has been operational. It is important to note that, over the past five years, NUAR has progressed through several delivery phases across different regions, starting as a pilot in Northeast England and Greater London and moving to public beta in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in June 2025, and up to this date, user access was restricted to manage demand as the service evolved.

An impact assessment was published on 24 October 2024 as part of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. This included estimates of NUAR’s effect on strike rates and was rated as fit for purpose by the Regulatory Policy Committee.

We have conducted a discovery project and testing phase to investigate the potential to broaden access to information held in NUAR, and through other channels, including via third-party access. The outputs of this will be communicated to the sector in due course, and we remain committed to ensuring that this information remains secure and available free at the point of use for authorised street works users.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for the delivery of the short-term let registration scheme. The register is national and will be accessed online. The department has carried out multiple rounds of testing with potential users across England including hosts and management agents to ensure the registration service is accessible, user-friendly and reliable. User testing is ongoing.

DCMS will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers. Further changes will require primary legislation and are subject to parliamentary timetables.

The Charity Commission has a range of powers at its disposal to take action against abuse of charitable status, including freezing bank accounts, directing trustees to take corrective action, or disqualifying trustees. DCMS keeps the Charity Commission’s powers and charity law under regular review and is actively seeking to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers.

As set out by the Security Minister in Parliament on 4 March, under the counter-political interference and espionage plan, officials are developing a programme of work to engage with the UK’s think-tanks and non-profit sector to discuss the threats that they face from foreign interference.

DCMS will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers. Further changes will require primary legislation and are subject to parliamentary timetables.

The Charity Commission has a range of powers at its disposal to take action against abuse of charitable status, including freezing bank accounts, directing trustees to take corrective action, or disqualifying trustees. DCMS keeps the Charity Commission’s powers and charity law under regular review and is actively seeking to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers.

As set out by the Security Minister in Parliament on 4 March, under the counter-political interference and espionage plan, officials are developing a programme of work to engage with the UK’s think-tanks and non-profit sector to discuss the threats that they face from foreign interference.