Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026, to Question 20451, how many working class civil servants have been recruited under the scheme.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Civil Service (CS) Masterclasses received accreditation as a formal life chances scheme at the end of January 2025. The CS Masterclasses offers a 2-week face to face programme for individuals from areas of lower social mobility. The scheme is designed to recruit individuals who would typically face barriers when applying for Civil Service roles and focuses on enhancing social mobility for the Civil Service.
Since then, we have run 15 cohorts; 10 in Liverpool City Region and 5 in Greater Manchester.
359 people who completed the CS Masterclass are now either in a Civil Service post (301) or currently being onboarded into the Civil Service (58). The departments who have recruited through this scheme are DBS, DWP, HMCTS, Home Office, and MHCLG.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2026 to Question 27853 on Islam: Radicalism, whether there is a consolidated list of the groups and individuals which are subject to a policy of non-engagement, where the Department has taken a decision that it is in the public interest to name them.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Home Office does not hold a list of organisations that are subject to a policy of non-engagement.
Decisions on engagement are taken on a case-by-case basis, informed by appropriate due diligence. If asked, we will advise and share information to help others inform their decisions.
In a small number of cases, the Government has made the decision to not engage with certain organisations whose actions or positions conflict with our fundamental values, lack sufficient transparency or meet the definition of extremism as set out on gov.uk.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 20414 on Religious Buildings: Registration, what is the change in the number of certified places of worship from (a) June 2024 to (b) the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
On 12 October 2026 there were 29,324 buildings certified as a place of worship, compared with 29,400 on 30 June 2024.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 August 2026 to Question 18483 on Recreation Spaces, whether the request for views on the public recreational green spaces review will be published on gov.uk; and what is the timetable for the contribution of views.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The review of existing protections of recreational green spaces will examine the fragmented and outdated nature of current legislative protections for public recreational green spaces. It is not a public consultation.
The survey has been distributed to stakeholders in the green spaces, local government and the development sectors. These organisations have been selected based on their expertise and have agreed to share the survey across their networks.
The survey and associated request for views will not be published. However, the final findings of the review will be published. It is expected that the findings will be published by Spring 2027. Details of how and where the findings will be made available, including whether they will be published on gov.uk, will be confirmed once the review has concluded.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 policy of her Department on recognising the new name of a local authority if it changes its name by resolution after vesting.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities can change their name under Section 74 of the Local Government Act 1972 if they conduct a council meeting specially convened for the purpose of deciding on the name and if no less than two-thirds of the members vote for it at said meeting. The legislation also sets out that notice of any change of name shall be sent to the relevant Minister at the Department, the Director General of the Ordnance Survey and to the Registrar General.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to her oral statement of 7 September 2026, Official Report, on local government reorganisation, what is the latest timetable for shadow unitary council elections to be held.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We want to pause and reflect on the local government reorganisation programme as a whole before implementing final decisions. We recognise the need for clarity; extended delay is in no-one’s interest. We will set out next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the overnight visitor levy will apply to (a) commercial accommodation provided at music festivals and (b) private tents erected by individuals at such festivals.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The visitor levy will apply to short-term, commercially let overnight accommodation. Local leaders will decide whether a levy is the right choice for their area and, if so, how revenue should be invested to make their regions better for people to visit and enjoy. Strategic authorities will also have the option to exempt certain types of accommodation in their areas, such as tent pitches.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2026 to Question 22095 on Urban Areas: Planning Permission, what is the criteria that will be used to assess whether a business is making a positive contribution.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has announced it will review business rates reliefs for businesses not making a positive contribution to local communities, such as vape shops. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to her oral statement of 7 September 2026, Official Report, on local government reorganisation, whether she has a current policy on the recommended population size or population range of a new unitary council, and whether this will be part of the review.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The criteria set for Local Government Reorganisation took into account a range of important considerations which local leaders and government itself used to inform the process, including on population size. The programme allowed for councils to make the case for new unitary authorities either larger, or smaller than the 500,000-population guide, if they believed it was right for their area. The submissions received reflected this.
On the wider question of the review currently being undertaken, we want to pause and reflect on the local government reorganisation programme as a whole before implementing final decisions. We recognise the need for clarity; extended delay is in no-one’s interest. We will set out next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to her oral statement of 7 September 2026, Official Report, on local government reorganisation, whether her Department has formally responded to the proposal from the leader of City of Lincoln council on basing council ward sizes according to the Index of Deprivation, and what is her policy on the issue.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is undertaking a review of the local government reorganisation programme. It has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas, including Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, while the review is undertaken. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.