Question follow-through · 80729
Unitary Councils
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered reducing the desired population size for new unitary councils to 300,000 residents.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Tabled
- 10 Oct 2025
- Target answer date
- 14 Oct 2025
- Answer
- 21 Oct 2025 · 11 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
More questions by this MP on Communities and local government
- Housing: Liability · 16 Oct 2025
- Community Assets: Rural Areas · 11 Nov 2025
- Community Assets · 11 Nov 2025
- Local Government Finance: West Berkshire · 25 Nov 2025
- Local Government Finance · 25 Nov 2025
Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.
Recorded timeline
10 Oct 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered reducing the desired population size for new unitary councils to 300,000 residents.
14 Oct 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
21 Oct 2025
Answer published
New unitary councils must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.The 500,000 figure is a guiding principle, not a hard target. We understand the need for flexibility, especially given our ambition to bui...
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
Possible follow-up questions
Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.
Housing: Liability
16 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that all potential liabilities associated with unadopted assets in the housing sector are (a) identified and (b) accounted for.
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11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a rural community ownership fund.
Community Assets
11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed Community Right to Buy on the establishment of community owned businesses.
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Local Government Finance
25 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is considering a 4% minimum annual increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities.
Homelessness
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Renters' Rights Act 2025
5 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what metrics his Department will use to assess whether the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is achieving its stated objectives and its impact on the housing market more broadly.
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Social Rented Housing: Young People
17 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Centrepoint’s call to build 40,000 one-bedroom homes per year to address record levels of youth homelessness.
Supported Housing: Care Leavers
17 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the provision of stepping-stone accommodation to supporting care leavers into independent living.
Homelessness: Young People
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