Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 potential merits of extending capitalisation flexibilities to police forces.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Police and Crime Commissioners already fall under the definition of local authorities in the relevant parts of the Local Government Act 2003, under which the Secretary of State may grant capitalisation flexibilities to local authorities.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many lower-layer super output areas are within Telford constituency; how those areas are ranked by top (a) 1%, (b) 5% and (c) 10% in the index of multiple deprivation; and what impact that data has on the allocation of funding by her Department.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) are publicly available, including information about the lower super output areas.
The government has consulted on updating the distribution of local government finance in the Fair Funding Review 2.0. This includes proposals for a 'Foundation Formula' to assess relative demand for most non-social care services. More detail about the formula, including how it incorporates IMD data, can be found in the consultation document.
The consultation has now closed and the government is considering the comments received.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (a) wards and (b) super output areas are within the top (i) 1%, (ii) 5% and (iii) 10% for deprivation in Telford constituency.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government uses the English Indices of Deprivation, most recently published in 2019, to assess relative levels of deprivation across small areas in England. These indices are based on Lower-layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs), which are statistical geographies designed to improve the reporting of small area statistics typically containing between 400 and 1,200 households.
According to the latest available data:
In the Telford constituency, there are:
The government continues to work with local partners to address deprivation and support communities through targeted investment and regeneration programmes.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the criteria by which communities may qualify for capital grants from upper tier local authorities for physical and social regeneration funding.
Answered by Jim McMahon
At Spending Review, we announced support for up to 350 deprived communities, which includes the 75 places named in the Plan for Neighbourhoods in March 2025. The investment will support communities to drive forward the changes they want to see in their neighbourhoods, championing local leadership, fostering community engagement and strengthening social cohesion. Further details will be published in due course.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to enable upper-tier councils to increase council tax bills by a set amount rather than a fixed percentage through future reviews of local government funding.
Answered by Jim McMahon
As an important part of local democracy and accountability, it is for individual councils to set their own level of council tax. The Spending Review assumed 5% council tax increases over the period made up of a 3% core referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept. The final set of referendum principles will be set out each year as part of the local government final settlement in the usual way.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with social housing providers on (a) the Decent Homes Standard and (b) the provision of furnished tenancies in social housing in relation to levels of furniture poverty.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages actively with registered providers of social housing on all issues facing social housing tenants.
We will be consulting this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
People in need may be able to get help for essential furniture from their local council through the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 has set a deadline for councils to publish their (a) local growth plans and (b) local housing development plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will include a degradation factor for new builds that applies to loft insulation over time in her Department's proposed Future Homes Standard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024; a government response has not yet been issued.
Government fully supports the need for low carbon homes and buildings, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation, including those on loft insulation, and will publish the Government response in due course.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in her Department was in each of the last three years; and what information she holds on the the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in local authorities in the same period.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, 100 (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) employees have taken paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child. The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below.
Calendar Year | AWDT |
2021 | 10 |
2022 | 11 |
2023 | 12 |
2024 (Jan to Oct) | 10 |
Staff employed in local authorities are subject to the pay terms and conditions for those organisations. This department does not keep a central record on employment data relating to these organisations.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) economic growth, (b) new homes and (c) new jobs that will be delivered by the Telford Land Deal; and whether her Department will take steps to extend the scope of the deal to other Government-owned land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department and Homes England are working with Telford and Wrekin Council through the Telford Land Deal and Funding and Co-operation Agreement to deliver up to 2,800 homes as well as 8,500 jobs and 300,000 sqm of employment floorspace. Homes England continues to engage with Telford and Wrekin Council and other councils across England on opportunities in their areas.