Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 136 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government, whether he is taking legislative steps to help improve alignment between Section 66(3)(c) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and Section 21(1)(d) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, in the context of the (a) eligibility of candidates who have received a custodial sentence following a criminal conviction to stand to be Mayor of London and (b) eligibility requirements for other metro mayoralties.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what progress has he made on introducing a replacement to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the level of need to prioritise hospital helipad access in current planning considerations.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds information on the number of council houses in England and Wales allocated to current Hon Members.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the Barrow Transformation Fund will be funded by his Department.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, for what reason did Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority not qualify for the Mayoral Revolving Growth Fund.
The Mayoral Revolving Growth Fund's place selection methodology is available online: Mayoral Revolving Growth Fund: policy statement - GOV.UK. This sets out that places were selected based on:their growth potential using Gross Domestic Product per head to measure distance from UK average productivity; andstrategic, financial and risk management capability, evidenced by agreed shared Local Growth Plan priorities and readiness for an Integrated Settlement by 2026/27.Based on those criteria, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority did not qualify for the fund.
Communities and Local Government, how much funding from the Pride in Place programme will be allocated to Huntingdon constituency.
The Pride in Place programme specifically targets funding to communities with the poorest social and economic outcomes, identified using a composite measure of deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)) and community need (Community Needs Index (CNI)), which can be found here. Huntingdon was not one of the areas identified for inclusion in the Pride in Place programme through this methodology. However, every constituency benefits from our wider Pride in Place strategy which will equip neighbourhoods, like those in your constituency, with the tools to drive transformational change that reflects local priorities.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2026 to question 114906 on Police and Crime Commissioners: Elections, what is the total estimated cost of £87m set out in the relevant Charges Order comprised of.
The estimated £87 million represents the full range of necessary costs Returning Officers can claim for the efficient and effective delivery of the 2024 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, including staffing, polling stations, printing, postal voting, count operations, logistics and Returning Officer fees.
Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse is of a) reinstating and b) holding previously cancelled local elections in May 2026.
I refer the Rt hon. and hon. Members to the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement of 23 February 2026 (HCWS1349). It is a longstanding principle that Government does not comment on or publish legal advice. The Government has no plans to publish individual correspondence from councils. Councils are being supported to deliver elections. The administration and cost of running local elections remain matters for local authorities, with wider costs handled in the usual way. We are also making available up to £63 million in new capacity funding for reorganisation areas.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the need to introduce a legal requirement to consider access to hospital helipads in any planning application in the vicinity of a hospital.
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The proposed new Framework gives substantial weight to the benefits of providing new or improved public service infrastructure, including healthcare facilities of all types. The consultation also sets out updated policy to make clear that public services should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on their current or permitted operation as a result of development being approved after they were established. This means that development proposals should be capable of being integrated effectively with existing public service activities and infrastructure in their vicinity. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2026 to question 106657 on Secondary Education: Cambridgeshire, by which date the statutory consultation on local government reorganisation will launch.
As set out in my Written Ministerial Statement of 18 December (HCWS1215), I expect to launch the statutory consultation on proposals for the remaining local government reorganisation areas, including Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, in early February.
Communities and Local Government, what is the projected total cost of local government reorganisation in England.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77631 on 13 October 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what impact assessment he has conducted on the implementation of local government reorganisation.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77631 on 13 October 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what is the projected total cost of local government reorganisation in Cambridgeshire.
Exact costs and savings will vary by area, depending on proposals received and which proposals are implemented. It was for local areas to firstly submit proposals, including estimated costs/benefits of each proposal. We anticipate that we will launch a consultation in February on final proposals for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough that meet the terms of the invitation letter before deciding which, if any, to implement.
Communities and Local Government, what his Department's timetable is for publishing its response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation.
On Thursday 20 November 2025 the government published the response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 alongside the local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29. On Wednesday 17 December 2025 the government published the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029, with a 4-week consultation period, that is seeking views by 14 January 2026.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 49537 on Mayors: Disqualification, whether a criminal conviction for an imprisonable offence would disqualify a person from being appointed as a metro mayor in (a) London, (b) outside London and (c) where the mayoralty will have the police and crime commissioner responsibilities included within it.
The answer given to the hon. Member in Question UIN 49537 on 30 April 2025 provides the current disqualifications for being convicted of an imprisonable offence for mayors - this applies to metro mayors in and outside of London.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mitigating the financial risk of the removal of the statutory override from local authorities regarding the requirement to balance budgets in 2028.
At Autmn Budget 2025, the government clarified that ambitious Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform plans will be set out early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28. We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of historic and accruing DSG deficits on their accounts. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engages regularly with local authorities and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the impact of the deficits and the extent to which they are expected to grow. We will set out further details on our plans to support local authorities with their historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
Communities and Local Government, from which local authorities in Cambridgeshire he has received formal submissions for the proposed local government reorganisation.
My Department has received submissions from all councils in the invitation area of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the removal of the statutory override on local authority budgets by the end of the 2027-28 financial year.
At Autmn Budget 2025, the government clarified that ambitious Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform plans will be set out early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28. We recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of historic and accruing DSG deficits on their accounts. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government engages regularly with local authorities and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the impact of the deficits and the extent to which they are expected to grow. We will set out further details on our plans to support local authorities with their historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities which may need to issue Section 114s if required to recognise historic DSG deficits on their balance sheets, identified by the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic Financial Outlook, November 2025 (page 128).
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Office for Budget Responsibility gave an assessment of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits which are based on current Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) policy. This government has clarified that we will set out ambitious plans for reform of SEND provision early in the new year and that funding for SEND will be managed within the government’s overall departmental spending limits from 2028-29. Therefore, we do not expect local authorities to need to fund future SEND costs from general funds, once the DSG Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28. The government does not speculate on the number of local authorities that will need financial support, but we recognise that local authorities are continuing to face significant pressure from the impact of these deficits on their accounts. We will set out further details on our plans for support with historic and accruing deficits the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.