Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the significance of a remoteness factor adjustment in the Fair Funding Review for rural areas.
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: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the weight given to deprivation within the proposed Foundation Formula in the Fair Funding Review; and how dispersed rural deprivation is accounted for.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - 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 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. We are including a journey times adjustment, which is within the area cost adjustment applied to our funding formulas, which accounts for the impact on the cost of labour of the difference in travel times to provide services. We are also including a remoteness adjustment within the adult social care formula and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles. In addition, we are using updated deprivation data in our assessment of need, to help ensure that deprivation in rural areas is captured more accurately.
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: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to reopen the Fair Funding Review following consultation responses.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - 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 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. We are including a journey times adjustment, which is within the area cost adjustment applied to our funding formulas, which accounts for the impact on the cost of labour of the difference in travel times to provide services. We are also including a remoteness adjustment within the adult social care formula and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles. In addition, we are using updated deprivation data in our assessment of need, to help ensure that deprivation in rural areas is captured more accurately.
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: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the costs for rural authorities of delivering services across large and dispersed communities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - 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 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. We are including a journey times adjustment, which is within the area cost adjustment applied to our funding formulas, which accounts for the impact on the cost of labour of the difference in travel times to provide services. We are also including a remoteness adjustment within the adult social care formula and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles. In addition, we are using updated deprivation data in our assessment of need, to help ensure that deprivation in rural areas is captured more accurately.
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: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many hectares of English countryside have been burnt by wildfires in the last twelve months; and what the cost was of (a) fighting the fires, (b) loss of economic activity, (c) restoring the landscape and (d) NHS treatment of the effects of smoke pollution from those wildfires.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) has responsibility for land management and environmental policy, which includes environmental restoration. As outlined in the departments’ response to the Member’s question UIN 95122 on 14 January 2026, Defra does not hold details on how many hectares of the English countryside have been burnt by wildfires in the last twelve months.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has made no assessment as to the total cost of wildfires in England over the last 12 months.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not made any estimates of deaths attributable to wildfire smoke in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years. While there is extensive evidence of health impacts from other countries linked to wildfires, there is relatively limited, but growing, evidence specific to the UK. The UKHSA monitors the broader impact of ambient air pollution on mortality in the UK.
Departments are working closely to develop the evidence base on wildfires, including assessing the risk and impacts. In 2025 Defra commissioned a two year research project, Wildfire and Peatland: Studies to Support Delivery of the Third National Adaptation Programme. The six sub-projects will address wildfire risks to English peatlands through evidence reviews, economic analysis, risk mapping, and stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
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 December to Question 95126, on Fire and Rescue Services: Workplace Pensions, whether his Department can provide a timeline of when constituents can expect to receive an update on the firefighters’ pension aggregation issue.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The firefighters’ pension aggregation issue remains subject to litigation, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 2026. While we are not yet able to provide a definitive timeline, we will update the sector as soon as we are in a position to do so.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made in resolving the pension aggregation issue affecting firefighters who transferred from retained to wholetime service following the 2018 legal judgment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My department understands that the delays in addressing pension aggregation for some scheme members with both retained and wholetime service may be frustrating. The matter is currently subject to litigation, and we will provide an update on the position as soon as we are able.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when Category 1 claimants of the Firefighters pension, who moved from retained to wholetime service between April 2000 and April 2006, can expect a final decision on pension aggregation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My department understands that the delays in addressing pension aggregation for some scheme members with both retained and wholetime service may be frustrating. The matter is currently subject to litigation, and we will provide an update on the position as soon as we are able.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to decrease levels of homelessness across the country.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 86837 on 10 November 2025.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impact of delays in resolving the firefighters’ pension aggregation issue on constituents in South Suffolk.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My department understands that the delays in addressing pension aggregation for some scheme members with both retained and wholetime service may be frustrating. The matter is currently subject to litigation, and we will provide an update on the position as soon as we are able.