David Simmonds MP: written questions
1010 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Unitary CouncilsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86781More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to allow unitary councils to expand their size into current two-tier areas.
Answer: The Government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament. On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities and their neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local governme...
Answered 10 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCity Hall Developer Investment FundMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86780More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 October 2025 on Housing Delivery, HCWS991, whether the £322 million City Hall Developer Investment Fund is additional government fun
Answer: The initial allocation of £322 million to establish the City Hall Developer Investment Fund comes from capital grant funding for land and infrastructure delivered through the new National Housing Delivery Fund announced at the June 2025 Spending Review. T...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordChinese Embassy: Planning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86779More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56831 on Planning Permission, and to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question HL8773, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if
Answer: Post-inquiry representations are routinely listed at the end of the final decision letter and are available on request once the decision letter has issued.
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordSecond Homes: Council TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86778More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the (a) civil and (b) criminal penalties for avoidance of paying the second homes council tax premium.
Answer: Councils have a range of powers available to them to recover any type of unpaid council tax, including council tax premiums. The government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax which seeks views on how coun...
Answered 10 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDeputy Prime Minister: Admiralty HouseMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86777More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 74185 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, whether the Government Property Agency intends to claim back the over-paid
Answer: No overpayment has been made. Westminster City Council has determined that a premium is due regardless of the change in occupancy.
Answered 1 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordRetail Trade: Urban AreasMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86776More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Communities to seize control over high streets and restore pride, by what mechanism will his Department block (a) vapes
Answer: The Government’s Pride in Place strategy sets out how we are giving communities the tools to drive improvements on their high streets. These include powers to auction leases of long-term vacant properties, which will provide opportunities for councils to ...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: ConstituenciesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86775More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether Local Government Boundary Commission boundary reviews have been (a) paused and (b) terminated because of potential unitary local government restructuring.
Answer: The Government is committed to ending two-tier local government in England in this Parliament. On 5 February 2025, the Government invited two-tier authorities and their neighbouring small unitary authorities to develop proposals for unitary local governme...
Answered 10 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: AsylumMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86774More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 78206 on Housing: Asylum, over what period of time the £500 million is allocated; and whether the basic alternative accommod
Answer: I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 78206 on 23 October 2025 and the answer to Question UIN 78187 on 20 October 2025. We continue to engage with local government on options for design of the fund and the best way to deliver this acc...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordMinisters: Council TaxCabinet OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86773More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Minister who occupy Ministerial residences as second homes and have council tax paid (a) have restrictions on the number of days that they can occupy the property each week.
Answer: There are no such restrictions imposed.
Answered 13 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86772More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 63031 on Asylum: Private Rented Housing, if she will publish her Department's (a) policies and (b) internal guidance on assessing the suitability of a
Answer: Dispersed Accommodation is procured under the Accommodation and Support Contracts (AASC). The AASC are published and set out our requirements for the sourcing and procurement of accommodation, including how providers should work and consult with local aut...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCommunity Development: English LanguageHome OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86771More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75606 on Community Development: English Language, what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department for providing English language suppor
Answer: The Home Office has invested in programmes to facilitate refugees’ access to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.The ESOL Childcare Fund provided support for individuals resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens ...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86770More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to its contractors on the methdology that should be used to determine the number of bedrooms that should be provided to asylum seekers with children.
Answer: The Home Office expects the highest standards from accommodation providers. A detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by accommodation providers and the standards we expect can be found in the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services C...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HotelsHome OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86769More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish all the written evidence submitted by the Government to the court on the Epping Forest Bell Hotel hearings.
Answer: No, the Secretary of State will not publish written evidence submitted by the Government in the hearing relating to the Bell Inn Hotel, Epping. The Secretary of State’s evidence was presented to the court during the trial. After the trial, non-parties may...
Answered 6 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRadicalism: ExpenditureHome OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86768More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025to Question 69855 on Radicalism, how much was allocated from the Preventing Radicalisation Fund in 2024-25 (a) in total and (b) to each local authority which
Answer: It is vital that Prevent is well-equipped to counter the threats that we face and the ideologies that underpin them.Prevent provides funding for all local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland to address radicalisation risks through targeted projects...
Answered 14 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCounter-terrorism: ExpenditureHome OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86767More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69855 on Radicalism, if she will list the 28 highest threat areas in England and Wales; and how much Prevent funding was provided to each local a
Answer: In 2024/25, the Home Office allocated dedicated Prevent funds to the 30 highest threat local authorities. These are listed below, along with the amount of Prevent funding that was provided to each local authority during this time. The number of local auth...
Answered 14 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAdmiralty House: Council TaxCabinet OfficeTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86766More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025, to Question 78294 on Admiralty House: Council Tax, what council tax (a) discounts, (b) premiums, (c) exemptions and (d) disregards, were claimed for and applied to each
Answer: Council tax discount, exemption, disregard and premiums billing for Admiralty House are determined by the Local Authority. In this instance, this would be Westminster City Council.
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 29 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86342More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter from the Minister for Border Security & Asylum to the Home Affairs Select Committee, if she will publish a copy of the accommodation strategy that is now in the delivery p
Answer: This Government have committed to exit hotels as soon as possible and by the end of this Parliament. We are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so we can reduce the impact on commu...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Multiple OccupationHome OfficeTabled 29 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86341More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77304 on Multiple Occupation: Migrants, how many asylum seekers have been moved from hotels to houses of multiple occupation in the last year.
Answer: The Home Office does not publish data on moves within the asylum accommodation estate.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most rece...
Answered 4 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 29 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86340More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2025 to Question 71464 on Asylum: Housing, if she will publish the amount allocated to each individual local authority from (a) Grant 7 and (b) Grant 6 programme
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 71464.
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2025, to Question 71461, on Asylum: Housing, what steps do (a) her Department and (b) its contractors follow if a local authority objects to specific asylum accom
Answer: Our contracted providers consult with local authorities on every Dispersal Accommodation bedspace before it is procured with the relevant local authority. If the local authority and provider do not agree, the Home Office reviews it and considers the evide...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCounter-terrorism: FinanceHome OfficeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85953More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71459 on Counter-terrorism: Finance, how much was allocated to each local authority in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial years.
Answer: All Local Authorities in England, Scotland and Wales receive dedicated support from the Home Office to deliver the Prevent duty effectively and in proportion to the risk and threat.This support includes expertise from a network of region-based Home Office...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85952More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter from the Minister for Border Security & Asylum to the Home Affairs Select Committee of 8 October 2025, if she will publish each Service User Demand Plan.
Answer: The Service User Demand Plans are not published. The Home Office publishes information about asylum seekers across the UK quarterly here Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Answered 4 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Dental ServicesHome OfficeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85951More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on dental care for asylum seekers in hotels in the last year; and whether asylum seekers have access to free dental care.
Answer: Information on asylum expenditure is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.
Answered 4 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of local authorities provide (a) private and (b) social housing for asylum seekers.
Answer: The Home Office continues to work closely with local authorities to manage all the pressures arising from the provision of asylum accommodation including the impact on wider LA obligations and plans.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported as...
Answered 4 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85949More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter from the Minister for Border Security & Asylum to the Home Affairs Select Committee of 8 October 2025, if she will publish the full specification and services offered unde
Answer: Simply Active Group CIC (formerly Changing Lives Limited) is contracted to deliver a structured programme of recreational activities for Service Users at Wethersfield. These activities include three days of on-site sports provision between the hours of 11...
Answered 4 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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