Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 20 June 2025 entitled Fair Funding Review 2.0 and Modernising and Improving the Administration of Council Tax, HCWS724, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that North Northamptonshire Council is adequately supported to implement the modernised council tax administration system.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has been clear in its council tax administration consultation, that it aims to strike a balance between delivering a fairer system for taxpayers and giving councils the tools to collect the council tax they require to deliver public services. The Government will engage directly with councils on how best to implement any changes in relation to council tax administration.
One element of supporting councils is changes to funding: At the 2025 Spending Review, the government committed a further £3.4 billion of grant funding to local government over the Spending Review period (2026-27 to 2028-29). Furthermore, the government’s Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation includes proposals which target funding where it’s needed most, this can be found here.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed consolidation of small grants into larger funding pots on North Northamptonshire Council.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is delivering its commitment to simplify the local government funding landscape by consolidating as much revenue funding as possible across departments into the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS). This will significantly streamline and rationalise local government funding, giving local authorities much greater certainty about their budgets in the coming years, allowing them to make more effective financial decisions.
The consolidation of grants will also reduce the resources that local authorities spend monitoring and reporting on grant conditions. This will free-up resources for public services and enable local authorities to decide the most effective way to spend money in their communities.
Further detail will be published at the provisional LGFS later this year.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 potential impact of the proposed Fair Funding Review 2.0 on the financial settlement for North Northamptonshire Council.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 20 June 2025, we launched the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation on proposals to update and reform the funding system through the 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement. Subject to consultation, our proposals will create a balanced, more transparent and simpler Settlement.
We will publish the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year, which will inform local authorities, including North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire Councils, of their provisional multi-year allocations, and allow authorities to make budget decisions and plan for the course of the multi-year Settlement.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 potential impact of the proposed Fair Funding Review 2.0 on the financial settlement for West Northamptonshire Council.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 20 June 2025, we launched the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation on proposals to update and reform the funding system through the 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement. Subject to consultation, our proposals will create a balanced, more transparent and simpler Settlement.
We will publish the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year, which will inform local authorities, including North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire Councils, of their provisional multi-year allocations, and allow authorities to make budget decisions and plan for the course of the multi-year Settlement.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 20 June 2025 entitled Fair Funding Review 2.0 and Modernising and Improving the Administration of Council Tax, HCWS724, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that West Northamptonshire Council is adequately supported to implement the modernised council tax administration system.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has been clear in its council tax administration consultation, that it aims to strike a balance between delivering a fairer system for taxpayers and giving councils the tools to collect the council tax they require to deliver public services. The Government will engage directly with councils on how best to implement any changes in relation to council tax administration.
One element of supporting councils is changes to funding: At the 2025 Spending Review, the government committed a further £3.4 billion of grant funding to local government over the Spending Review period (2026-27 to 2028-29). Furthermore, the government’s Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation includes proposals which target funding where it’s needed most, this can be found here.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed consolidation of small grants into larger funding pots on West Northamptonshire Council.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is delivering its commitment to simplify the local government funding landscape by consolidating as much revenue funding as possible across departments into the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS). This will significantly streamline and rationalise local government funding, giving local authorities much greater certainty about their budgets in the coming years, allowing them to make more effective financial decisions.
The consolidation of grants will also reduce the resources that local authorities spend monitoring and reporting on grant conditions. This will free-up resources for public services and enable local authorities to decide the most effective way to spend money in their communities.
Further detail will be published at the provisional LGFS later this year.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to standardise the approval process for battery safety management plans across local planning authorities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy and guidance clearly considers safety aspects of a proposed energy development, with expectations set out early for applicants to submit supporting information with their application for the proposed development.
The overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) sets out the role of the Health and Safety Executive as a statutory consultee in the planning system as well as how the Secretary of State should account for safety concerns in their decision making.
The government updated its Planning Practice Guidance (August 2023) to encourage battery storage developers to engage with Local Fire and Rescue Services before submitting a planning application. National Fire Chiefs guidance sets out how risks should be identified early on in the design process. Local authorities are consulted by applicants and can engage in the Development Consent Order process formally through relevant representations, local impact reports or through hearings at examination.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to review the development consent order process for solar projects to increase local authority input on battery storage safety.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy and guidance clearly considers safety aspects of a proposed energy development, with expectations set out early for applicants to submit supporting information with their application for the proposed development.
The overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) sets out the role of the Health and Safety Executive as a statutory consultee in the planning system as well as how the Secretary of State should account for safety concerns in their decision making.
The government updated its Planning Practice Guidance (August 2023) to encourage battery storage developers to engage with Local Fire and Rescue Services before submitting a planning application. National Fire Chiefs guidance sets out how risks should be identified early on in the design process. Local authorities are consulted by applicants and can engage in the Development Consent Order process formally through relevant representations, local impact reports or through hearings at examination.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) training and (b) resources her Department has provided to fire and rescue services to respond to battery energy storage system-related incidents.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the appropriate equipment and training to safely respond to the wide range of incidents that they attend.
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) also provides guidance to fire and rescue services to help keep firefighters and the public safe. In 2023, the NFCC published guidance on Battery Energy Storage System sites.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued to fire and rescue services on responding to incidents involving large-scale battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the appropriate equipment and training to safely respond to the wide range of incidents that they attend.
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) also provides guidance to fire and rescue services to help keep firefighters and the public safe. In 2023, the NFCC published guidance on Battery Energy Storage System sites.