David Simmonds MP: written questions
363 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Licensing LawsHome OfficeTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24507More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 15651 on Licensing Laws, whether she plans to reply to the alcohol easement consultation before the easement expires.
Answer: The Government is carefully considering the results of the recent consultation and will publish these shortly alongside next steps.
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordChinese Embassy: Planning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24506More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 19 December 2024 to Question 20231 and HL3240, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of involvement of the United
Answer: An appointed Inspector will hold a public inquiry which will hear a range of evidence for and against the proposals, after which a decision will be made by MHCLG ministers. As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be app...
Answered 24 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24505More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18555 on Asylum: Hotels, in what type of tenure and accommodation will the asylum seekers now be housed; how the accommodation will be procured;
Answer: This government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 4...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPolitical Parties: FinanceSpeaker's Committee on the Electoral CommissionTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24504More
Question: To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with the Government on reforms to regulation on political donations.
Answer: Since 2013, the Electoral Commission has recommended changes to strengthen the political finance regime, including changes that would improve the transparency and controls on donations. It has regular discussions with the Government on these proposals and...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPolitical Parties: FinanceSpeaker's Committee on the Electoral CommissionTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24503More
Question: To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued on political donations (a) from impermissible foreign donors and (b) funnelling mo
Answer: The Commission provides guidance and support for parties and campaigners to ensure they understand and comply with donation laws.Its guidance sets out the requirements and checks necessary when accepting donations. Parties and campaigners are responsible ...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Election 2024Speaker's Committee on the Electoral CommissionTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24502More
Question: To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the Electoral Commission's timetable is for the publication of third party data for the 2024 general election.
Answer: The Commission has recently published a range of data, including on the experiences of voters and candidates, from the 2024 general election as part of its statutory duty to report on elections.It also publishes spending and donations data from parties, c...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPolitical Parties: DonorsSpeaker's Committee on the Electoral CommissionTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24501More
Question: To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has produced guidance on how non-monetary donations in kind should be reported.
Answer: The Electoral Commission provides guidance on notional spending, which outlines the reporting requirements for services or goods provided for free or at a discount.The Elections Act 2022 changed the legal test for when a candidate must record notional spe...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPolitical Parties: FinanceSpeaker's Committee on the Electoral CommissionTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24500More
Question: To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has produced guidance on foreign donors channelling funds through UK-registered corporate bodies.
Answer: The Commission provides guidance and support for parties and campaigners on the donation laws, including the permissibility of donations given to UK-registered companies. The Commission has highlighted that the limitations of the current law mean it is po...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordSpeaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission: Social MediaSpeaker's Committee on the Electoral CommissionTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24499More
Question: To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has produced guidance on whether social media companies intentionally adjusting network algorithms
Answer: The Electoral Commission has not published specific guidance on network algorithms used by social media companies.Delibaretely adjusting an algorithm to favour specific candidates or parties may constitute a donation in kind, if this has been agreed with ...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ministers' Private OfficesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23920More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 9072 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ministers' Private Offices, if she will provide a breakdown o
Answer: Since the dissolution of the last Parliament, MHCLG has spent £13,938.05 on furniture and fittings, and a further £3,297.56 on electrical improvements in the Ministerial offices in 2 Marsham Street, the Department’s London HQWe spent no money on refurbish...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordRented Housing: AsylumMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23919More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18555 on Asylum: Hotels, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on the (a) first time buyer and (b
Answer: The government is determined to address the dire inheritance left by its predecessor and restore order to the asylum and immigration systems, delivering lower net migration.The Home Office has a set of Asylum Accommodation Plans which set out the approach...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Hubs: BirminghamMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23918More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 18376 on MHCLG: Birmingham, what other Government hubs operate in Birmingham; and whether she has made an assessment of the
Answer: Apart from our current location at 23 Stephenson Street, the department does not hold information on other Government hubs operating in or planned by the Government Property Agency for Birmingham. We made the decision to close our Birmingham office to con...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public ConsultationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23917More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) Freedom of Information and (b) Environmental Information Regulation responses her Department has issued to consultations in the last 36 months.
Answer: It is not normal practice to release individual consultation responses because of data protection considerations. Requesters are pointed instead to the Department's published summary response when that becomes available.
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Legal CostsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23916More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2024 to Question 2635 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Expenditure, if she will provide a breakdown of the £
Answer: The £5 million was a contingency in case an organisation or group named as “extremist” brought a successful defamation claim, obtaining damages and costs against the department. It was an overall figure so no further breakdown is available. As the departm...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordIslamophobiaMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23915More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2024 to Question 3829 on Islamophobia, whether she plans to undertake a formal consultation on the definition of Islamophobia.
Answer: The government engages regularly with faith communities to help foster strong working relationships. We are exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling racial and religious hatred, including Islamophobia, and further details will be set ...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: Foreign NationalsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23914More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, in what circumstances foreign nationals not eligible for social housing are eligible for Government funded (a) temporary and (b) permanent accommodation.
Answer: Eligibility for social housing and statutory homelessness assistance are both determined by immigration status. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they will not be eligible for statutory ...
Answered 16 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordChinese Embassy: Planning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23913More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 19356 on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, where the public hearings will take place for the public inquiry.
Answer: The venue for the public inquiry is Tower Hamlets Professional Development Centre, 229 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 6AB. These details are published at the following link.
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordSleeping RoughMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23912More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme 2021-24 is being allocated by bidding.
Answer: Bidding rounds for the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme ended in June 2022. Decisions on where to allocate funding were made by the previous government.
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCouncil Tax: PaymentsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23911More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many council tax payers pay over 12 months.
Answer: Council tax is usually paid in 10 instalments across the year. Households have a right to request to pay their council tax in 12 monthly instalments. The government has not collected data on how many households pay their council tax across 12 instalments ...
Answered 21 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPlanning: ReformMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23910More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will list the name of each organisation that responded to the National Planning Policy framework consultation excluding those who asked for their submission to be confiden
Answer: I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20653 on 24 December 2024.
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCouncil TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23909More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.1.6 of his Department’s policy paper entitled Local authority funding reform: objectives and principles, published on 18 December 2024, whether the
Answer: No. Average council tax will not be the assumed council tax metric in the proposed funding reforms. Rather, the consultation proposes the government will take into account the tax base in each authority (i.e. the number of dwellings liable for council tax...
Answered 21 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordIndustrial DisputesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23908More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of repealing the Trade Union Act 2016 on the use of leverage campaigns in industrial disputes.
Answer: The Government published an impact assessment on 21 October 2024, setting out its assessment of the expected impacts of the repeal of the Trade Union Act 2016 via the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: Foreign NationalsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 8 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22720More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 19776 on Affordable Housing, in what circumstances foreign nationals who are not eligible for social housing are eligible for
Answer: Eligibility for social housing and statutory homelessness assistance are both determined by immigration status. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they will not be eligible for statutory ...
Answered 16 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordChinese Embassy: Planning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 8 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22719More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the potential role of the United Front Work Department in relation to the planning
Answer: An appointed Inspector will hold a public inquiry which will hear a range of evidence for and against the proposals, after which a decision will be made by MHCLG ministers. As this case will come before ministers in MHCLG to determine, it would not be app...
Answered 31 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCouncil TaxMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 8 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22718More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.1.6 of the consultation entitled Local authority funding reform: objectives and principles, published on 18 December 2024, whether councils which ha
Answer: The government is inviting views on the objectives and principles of local authority funding reform, including on measuring differences in locally available resources such as council tax. Following this consultation, we will develop, publish and consult o...
Answered 17 Jan 2025
Original Parliament record
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