Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with refence to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report col 1132, what measures will be in place to ensure that council areas undergoing reorganisation do not overspend due to their debts being inherited by a new council area.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On the management of debt, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77936 on 13 October 2025. It is the responsibility of councils to manage their budgets, and it is standard for councils to borrow and to hold debt, which they will do in the normal course of business. Local government reorganisation does not change this.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, whether his Department plans to change rules for the establishment and disestablishment of parish councils.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that local authorities undergoing Local Government Reorganisation may wish to establish new town and parish councils through the separate Community Governance Review process. In doing so, they should show how these will contribute to reorganisation’s overall goal of creating simpler structures that deliver high quality and sustainable public services to citizens.
The government views the existing Community Governance Review process as suitable in ensuring that parishing arrangements reflect the needs and wishes of local communities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with refence to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report col 1130, whether his Department have any plans to set a per-capita upper limit for debt inheritance for reorganised councils in Essex.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On the management of debt, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77936 on 13 October 2025. It is the responsibility of councils to manage their budgets, and it is standard for councils to borrow and to hold debt, which they will do in the normal course of business. Local government reorganisation does not change this.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 21 July 2025, to Question 66951, on Environment Protection: Public Bodies, and with reference to paragraphs 211, 233 and 234 of the Cabinet Office's Guide to Parliamentary Work, if he will publish the disclosed information or provide a relevant hyperlink to the information.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 66951 on 21 July 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how learning from serious incidents involving accidental Clozapine withdrawal is being recorded and shared nationally across NHS mental health services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Clozapine is used to treat people with schizophrenia in whom other medicines have not worked. It is also used to treat severe disturbances in the thoughts, emotions, and behaviour of people with Parkinson’s disease in whom other medicines have not worked.
The known side effects of clozapine are outlined in the product information, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for healthcare professionals, and the Patient Information Leaflet which is provided in each pack of the medicine. The SPC states that clozapine should be stopped in a number of clinical situations including after developing a low white blood cell count, fever above 38oC, high blood glucose, also known as hyperglycaemia, as well as jaundice or clinically relevant increases in liver enzymes. If clozapine is restarted it must be carefully titrated and monitoring requirements followed.
Inadvertent withdrawal of clozapine is an issue that is included in the National Health Service’s Time Critical Medicines Safety Improvement Programme, with further information avaiable at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/safer-use-of-time-critical-medicines-programme/
The programme is supporting over 50 NHS hospitals to improve the reliability of administration of Time Critical Medicines such as clozapine.
In July 2024 a thematic review of clozapine safety conducted in the North West of England was shared with the NHS England National Medication Safety Officer Network. This included a range of clozapine safety resources published online, such as:
- Managing the risks associated with patients prescribed clozapine, which is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/managing-the-risks-associated-with-patients-prescribed-clozapine/;
- Clinical considerations for patients prescribed clozapine, which is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/clinical-considerations-for-patients-prescribed-clozapine/;
- Managing constipation in people taking clozapine, which is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/managing-constipation-in-people-taking-clozapine/;
- Clozapine use in adults with swallowing difficulties, which is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/clozapine-use-in-adults-with-swallowing-difficulties/;
- Managing specific interactions with smoking, which is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/managing-specific-interactions-with-smoking/; and
- Managing complexities of medication use across care boundaries, which includes a podcast on clozapine safety and which is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/managing-complexities-of-medication-use-across-care-boundaries/.
As with all medicines, the safety of clozapine is kept under continual review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) using a number of data sources. The MHRA is currently reviewing the blood monitoring requirements associated with clozapine.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s annual report 2024-25, published December 2025, page 17, what is the timetable for the Cabinet Office publishing a Senior Independent Panel Member list.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Senior Independent Panel Member list referred to in the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s annual report 2024-25 is not intended for public disclosure. The list, which is under development, will be an internal register available for departmental officials to access in the public appointments digital service, to support the efficient and effective running of public appointment campaigns.
The composition of an advisory assessment panel is provided in the advertisement for each campaign, including the Senior Independent Panel Member.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 99536 on Ministers: Public Appointments, what is an internal desk note; and what legal or constitutional status do they hold.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There is no formal definition of what constitutes an internal desk note, but it is generally considered to mean a document containing internal procedural advice on the technical and policy considerations that should be taken into account by officials when implementing an area of policy. Such documents offer guidance on good practice, sometimes in interpreting legislative responsibilities, but do not in themselves hold any legal status.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026, to Question 99531, on Government Departments: Advertising, how much has been spent on (a) digital, (b) out of home, (c) press, (d) radio and (e) television since July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The total spend figures across central departments since July 2024 is £214,900,056.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department will consider increasing funding to improve the (a) security and (b) enforcement of vehicle registration marks.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 7 January 2026, the Government published its Road Safety Strategy, which sets out plans to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Great Britain’s roads, including through a focus on robust enforcement.
The Strategy also sets out the Government’s intention to consult on addressing the growing problem of illegal number plates, including ‘ghost’ number plates. The Department for Transport has published a consultation on proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences, including the use of illegal number plates designed to evade detection. Separately, the DVLA has been engaged in work to strengthen the relevant number plate standard and officials are considering options to support more robust application and audit processes for number plate suppliers.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Ministers in his Department authorised the recall of National Archives papers due for release in December 2025 in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As a matter of routine and under the terms of the Public Records Act redactions are made to government documents where FOI exemptions that persist for historic records apply. Closures are approved by the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives before transfer to The National Archives. Any release is subject to an extensive review process, including engaging expert stakeholders and no list should be considered final until it is released to the public.