Blake Stephenson MP: written questions
1633 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Local Government: Digital TechnologyDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102054More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release entitled People across UK to benefit from easier access to local services as councils get digital boost, published on 22 November 2025, what proporti
Answer: GDS Local is a new unit within the Government Digital Service that brings central and local government together to improve how digital public services are designed and delivered.GDS Local has a mandate to support all councils and local authorities across ...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordArtificial Intelligence: Adult EducationDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102053More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential impact of the take-up of AI on adult education requirements.
Answer: Ministers in DSIT and DfE are working closely together to ensure adult education keeps pace with the rapid take-up of AI. As AI is increasingly adopted across the workplace, this will create a high demand for workers to have the skills to deploy AI. This ...
Answered 14 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordArtificial Intelligence: UnemploymentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102052More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the take-up of AI on unemployment.
Answer: We know that AI is transforming workplaces, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones, but its future scale remains uncertain. Government is planning against a range of plausible outcomes and monitoring data closely. Our goal is to ensure access to goo...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPrison Officers: Migrant WorkersMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102051More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison officers hold work visas.
Answer: The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102050More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities will have lower funding from Government grants in 2028-29 than 2024-25.
Answer: We are investing in local government. The Spending Review 2025 provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years, which includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding delivered through the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-27 ...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPlanning: Local GovernmentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102049More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities will receive powers to set planning fees locally for the 2026/27 financial year.
Answer: The Planning and Infrastructure Act provides the Secretary of State with the power to delegate the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities. The process for local fee setting will be set out in regulations this year. We will shortly also be ...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMayors and Police and Crime Commissioners: ElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102048More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the average cost per elector of elections for a) Police and Crime Commissioners and b) Mayors.
Answer: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishes detailed reports on the cost of running Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections, including the average cost per elector. These reports are available on gov.uk here. It is in...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPlanning: Nature ConservationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102047More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of his planning policies on nature.
Answer: The Environment Act 2021 requires Ministers to have 'due regard' to the policy statement on environmental principles when making policy. This is to ensure that environmental considerations are at the heart of policymaking across government. The National P...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMayors: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102046More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled More homes and improved high streets for new mayoral areas through 30-year funding package, published on 4 December 2025, whether add
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97367 on 11 December 2025. Decisions on future devolution areas beyond those in the Devolution Priority Programme, including Bedfordshire, have not yet been taken, but the Department will continu...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: PlanningMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102045More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who will adjudicate if neighbouring authorities cannot reach agreements on unmet housing need in the context of planning reforms.
Answer: Planning inspectors will examine new Spatial Development Strategies and will continue to examine plans in line with the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal PlansMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102044More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities who have begun local plans which will not be submitted by December 2026 should continue with those plans.
Answer: The latest available figures show that only 27% of local planning authorities have adopted a plan in the last five years. In order to deliver the homes and growth the country needs, we expect all local planning authorities to make every effort to get up-t...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPolice and Crime Commissioners: Operating CostsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102043More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the operational costs of a) Mayors and b) Council Leaders enacting Police and Crime Commissioner functions.
Answer: No overall assessment has been made yet of the full operational costs for Strategic and Local Authorities of taking on functions from Police and Crime Commissioners. We will be working with authorities to assess those costs as the details of the new syste...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMayors: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102042More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the a) creation of and b) ongoing operation of Mayoral authorities during this Parliament.
Answer: In my statement to parliament on the 4 December 2025, I confirmed that Investment Funds for the six areas on the Devolution Priority Programme will amount to close to £200 million collectively per year for 30 years, once Mayors are in post. I also confirm...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMayors: ElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102041More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost of elections for new Mayors during this Parliament.
Answer: No assessment has been made. Spend on council elections is a matter for local authorities and spend on mayoral elections for strategic authorities is a matter for those bodies.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102040More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of reserves held by local authorities over the last decade.
Answer: The government considers reserves to be an important part of the resources available to local authorities.We encourage local authorities to consider how they can use their reserves to maintain services in the face of pressures, taking account, of course, ...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Houses: Rural AreasMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102039More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Raising a glass: Beloved village pubs to be helped with new funding to broaden their services, published on 18 October 2025, whether
Answer: The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including policies which would give substantial weight to proposals that provide new or improved community facilities such as public houses and safeguards ...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government Pension Scheme: Councillors and MayorsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102038More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Mayors and councillors to access LGPS under reforms, published on 13 October 2025, whether he has made an estimate of the cost to the
Answer: As set out in the consultation on access to the LGPS for mayors and councillors, the Government Actuary’s Department has estimated the cost at £40-45 million per year.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHM Land Registry: StandardsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102037More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of service times at HM Land Registry.
Answer: Improving speed of service remains a top priority for HM Land Registry (HMLR). Plans to achieve this are set out in the Agency’s Strategy 2025+ which was published on 5 November 2025 and can be found on gov.uk here. As its sponsor department, the Ministry...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102036More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made against his house building targets.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal PlansMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102035More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have up-to-date Local Plans.
Answer: The latest available figures show that only 27% of local planning authorities have adopted a plan in the last five years. In order to deliver the homes and growth the country needs, we expect all local planning authorities to make every effort to get up-t...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102034More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many houses are planned to be built in the next five years in England.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: ReorganisationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102033More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered the potential implications for his policies of the County Councils Network report entitled Local Government Reorganisation: Analysing the impact on peop
Answer: In our invitation on 5 February 2025, we set out guidance to support councils as they develop reorganisation proposals that are in the best interests of their areas. This includes guidance on issues of size, sensible geographies, efficiencies and financia...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHomelessness: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102032More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled £84 million injection to tackle homelessness, updated on 10 October 2025, what the allocations are for each local authority.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 82789 on 27 October 2025.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: SalesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102031More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release Families to save hundreds of pounds in major homebuying overhaul, published on 5 October 2025, whether he has made an assessment of the potent
Answer: On 6 October, my Department published two consultations outlining reform proposals to transform home buying and selling. They can be found on gov.uk here and here. Final policy decisions as well as a refined analysis of the impact of the proposals in ques...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Government FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102030More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled £500 million for first ever fair pay agreement for care workers, published on 30 September 2025, whether he has made an assessment of
Answer: The £500 million funding for the Fair Pay Agreement is part of an increase of around £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028-29, compared to 2025-26, and is part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement pub...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →