David Simmonds MP: written questions 2026
460 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Asylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6870More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 10 April 2026 to Question 123202 on Asylum: Housing, if she will set out the timetable for selecting the local authorities to take place in the council-led asylum accom
Answer: We have committed to closing every asylum hotel, and work is well underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities. The Home Office are working with MHCLG to explore a model of asylum acco...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRadicalismHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6869More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 10 April 2026 to Question 122681 on Radicalism, if he will list the key partners who are assisting the review of the engagement principles.
Answer: This review is ongoing. As publicly set out in Protecting What Matters, published on 9th March 2026, we are consulting with other government departments and key partners relevant to counter-extremism work.
Answered 9 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigration: CostsHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6868More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Home Secretary's speech on immigration, published on 5 March 2026, if she will publish the (a) evidential basis and (b) breakdown of the costs of the £10 billion estimate for the
Answer: The methodology behind the figures cited in the Home Secretaries speech were published 5 March 2026, see here: Estimated lifetime net fiscal costs for care workers and their adult dependants - GOV.UK.Proposals for introducing an earned settlement model, a...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordReligious Buildings: RegistrationHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6867More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many places of worship are currently certified under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 according to records held by the Registrar General; whether there is breakdown the number of premis
Answer: There are currently 29340 places certified as a Place of Religious Worship in England and Wales in the records held by the Registrar General.The information held by the Registrar General is published on the government website and includes the denomination...
Answered 9 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Order and Hate Crime Legislation ReviewHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6866More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2026 to Question 119311 on Public Order and Hate Crime Legislation Review, what information her Department holds on the number of Government-commissioned indep
Answer: It is up to each department to carry out due diligence when choosing to engage with any organisation or individual and, if asked, we will advise and share information to help others inform their decisions. As announced in the Protecting What Matters publi...
Answered 19 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6865More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 21 April 2026 to Question 124784 on Housing: Asylum, if he will place a copy of the expression of interest document in the Library.
Answer: We have committed to closing every asylum hotel, and work is well underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities. The Home Office are working with MHCLG to explore a model of asylum acco...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6864More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any local authorities are currently participating in the local authority asylum accommodation pilot scheme.
Answer: We have committed to closing every asylum hotel, and work is well underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities. The Home Office are working with MHCLG to explore a model of asylum acco...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6863More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 21 April 2026, to Question 124784, on Housing: Asylum, whether funding for the pilots has now been (a) allocated or (b) provided to specific local authorities.
Answer: We have committed to closing every asylum hotel, and work is well underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities. The Home Office are working with MHCLG to explore a model of asylum acco...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6862More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 21 April 2026, to Question 124784, on Housing: Asylum, whether council participation in the pilots requires approval of councillors.
Answer: We have committed to closing every asylum hotel, and work is well underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities. The Home Office are working with MHCLG to explore a model of asylum acco...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6861More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 21 April 2026, to Question 124784, on Housing: Asylum, how many local authorities replied to the expression of interest on the new asylum accommodation models.
Answer: We have committed to closing every asylum hotel, and work is well underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on communities. The Home Office are working with MHCLG to explore a model of asylum acco...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HotelsHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6860More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Home Office press release, 15 April 2026, on Asylum hotels close as government scales up use of large sites, what recent statistics her department has collated and now holds on (
Answer: This Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. We have already reduced the number of asylum seekers in asylum hotels by 35% in the past year (to the end of March 2026) and overall asylum...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HotelsHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6859More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average number of asylum seekers accommodated in an asylum hotel in each year from 2020.
Answer: The Home Office publishes statistics on a quarterly basis detailing the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated including numbers accommodated in hotels. These statistics can be found in at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK Asylum...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordChina: EspionageCabinet OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6858More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral statement of 18 November 2025, Official Report, Column 613, on China Espionage: Government Security Response, whether there is a published document for the Counter Political Interferen
Answer: No, the Counter-Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan has not been published.
Answered 24 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAnti-Muslim HostilityMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6857More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2026, to Question 199, whether the National Crime Agency will be adopting the anti-Muslim hostility definition.
Answer: The government encourages the adoption of the definition across the public, private and third sectors, and them to consider how this definition applies in their contexts. The government will refer to the definition when developing and revising relevant po...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: FinanceHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6856More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 16 April 2026, to Question 125400, on Asylum: Finance, and the statement that the grant is not intended to meet full costs, whether an assessment has been made of what
Answer: The Asylum Dispersal Grant supports local authorities with a contribution to the costs and pressures of accommodating asylum seekers across all eligible accommodation types in their area. The grant is not intended to meet full costs, but to provide a cont...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: FinanceHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6855More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the answer of 16 April 2026 to Question 125400, on Asylum: Finance, whether it is her Department's policy that some of the costs of asylum seekers should be met from council taxpayer
Answer: The Asylum Dispersal Grant supports local authorities with a contribution to the costs and pressures of accommodating asylum seekers across all eligible accommodation types in their area. The grant is not intended to meet full costs, but to provide a cont...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordHome Office: Public ConsultationHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6854More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy of on considering written representations to its consultations or calls for evidence from an individual or organisation subject to a policy of non-engagement under the 202
Answer: It is up to each department to carry out due diligence when choosing to engage with any organisation or individual and, if asked, we will advise and share information to help others inform their decisions. As announced in the Protecting What Matters publi...
Answered 19 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HillingdonHome OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6853More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2026 to Question 441 on Asylum: Hillingdon, how much funding is being allocated to Hillingdon for 2026-27.
Answer: The Cabinet Office publish annual grant funding data (Government Grants Data and Statistics) where you can find details of grant levels by local authority area broken down per year once available. The Home Office does not publish any additional informatio...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil Tax: ValuationTreasuryTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 460More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 118523 on Council Tax: Valuation, whether new DwellingHouseCodes were added by the Valuation Office to assist the council tax revaluation in Wales.
Answer: For the Council Tax revaluation in Wales, the Valuation Office has not collected additional DwellingHouse Codes over and above those already used within England and Wales.
Answered 22 May 2026
Original Parliament recordKing Charles III: ArtworksCabinet OfficeTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 459More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the London Borough of Tower Hamlets accepted the free portrait of the Sovereign offered by the Cabinet Office to all local authorities.
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to the information published on GOV.UK on 28 November 2024 which provided a summary of the His Majesty The King Official Portrait Scheme, including the number of portraits provided and the total cost of the scheme: https://ww...
Answered 19 May 2026
Original Parliament recordTravellers: Caravan SitesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 458More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) planning applications for traveller sites and (b) retrospective planning permission for unauthorised sites will be a matter for a Planning Committee.
Answer: Between 26 March and 23 April 2026, the government consulted on the draft Regulations and guidance underpinning the government’s planning committee reforms from the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.We are ...
Answered 18 May 2026
Original Parliament recordLicensing LawsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 457More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the press release, Red tape slashed to revamp high streets with new cafes and bars, of 26 July 2025, whether (a) combined authority mayors and (b) the Greater London A
Answer: Through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, the Government has conferred new licensing functions on the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority. This is to enable a more coherent, city-wide approach to licensing decisions a...
Answered 21 May 2026
Original Parliament recordTower Hamlets CouncilMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 456More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the High Court Consent Order in relation to Nair v London Borough of Tower Hamlets of March 2024, whether Ministerial Envoys in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets hav
Answer: Ministerial Envoys do not take, or assess the impact of, individual funding and regulatory decisions by the authority; the responsibility for which remains with the Council. As part of the statutory intervention in Tower Hamlets, the Envoys are supporting...
Answered 21 May 2026
Original Parliament recordPolitical Parties: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 455More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how the proposed ban on crypto-donations and overseas donations over £100,000 will apply to hon. Members.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 124668 on 20 April 2026.
Answered 21 May 2026
Original Parliament recordCouncil TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 454More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the new unitary councils will be required to give 12 months notice to apply the second homes or empty homes council tax premium in their unitary council area, if (a) some
Answer: Restructured councils must make a determination to introduce the second homes premium at least 12 months before the financial year in which it will be charged in a predecessor area for the first time. The government has recently made The Local Government ...
Answered 22 May 2026
Original Parliament record
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