Every parliamentary written question tabled by Lee Dillon this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 521–540 of 741 · this parliament
What steps his Department is taking with businesses to help ensure that staff working in high street businesses have adequate safety measures in place when working alone on the shop floor.
I refer the Honourable Member to the previous answer 71094
If he will make it his policy to amend the NHS dental contract to prevent NHS patients from being required to pay the full cost of treatment at the time of booking an appointment.
The dental contract does not provide any legal basis for a dental practice to take payment for National Health Service dental work before a course of treatment has been delivered. An NHS dentist or dental professional should not charge a deposit before assessing a patient’s mouth and teeth or checking their symptoms. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/what-happens-when-you-visit-the-dentist/Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, and for determining the priorities for investment, in order to meet the needs of the local populations. If dental practices are operating outside of their contract, the ICB will be able to engage with the practice to resolve this issue.
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.
My Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential liabilities associated with unadopted assets in the housing sector.An overview of the government’s plans in respect of private and mixed-tenure housing estates can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of the Environment Agency’s new flood warning service for older people.
The Get flood warnings service was designed with input from many users including older adults and those with access needs to ensure good accessibility for all. Their feedback led to improvements like clearer navigation, screen reader compatibility and combining flood alerts and warnings onto one page. Older people can still use the 24-hour Floodline helpline, which offers general support and an accessible route for people who prefer not to go online. Floodline staff can help users sign up and manage their accounts, and people can nominate a friend or family member to receive warnings on their behalf. The service meets the GOV.UK Service Standard, meaning it is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the public receive (a) timely and (b) relevant information on flood risks.
The Environment Agency (EA) aims to issue flood alerts and warnings 30 minutes to 12 hours before flooding. The EA regularly reviews and improves its warning service, including better forecast models, adjusted thresholds for triggering alerts and warnings, and faster digital processing. This autumn, the EA will update the ‘Get flood warnings’ service to make it easier to use, more flexible, and more reliable, with clearer and more consistent messaging. The EA is also exploring artificial intelligence to deliver quicker, more accurate warnings and improve how flood risks are communicated to help people prepare.
Food and Rural Affairs, what flood (a) protection, (b) mitigation and (c) response measures are in place in Newbury constituency.
In Newbury constituency there are a variety of flood defences that benefit communities. These have been delivered by organisations including the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, West Berkshire Council and the Environment Agency (EA). A full list of flood Alleviation schemes that have been delivered in this constituency is below: Newbury Flood Alleviation Scheme (FAS) - 2013Winterbourne FAS - 2014Thatcham (seven individual projects) – 2014-2025Eastbury FAS - 2015Great Shefford FAS – 2025 The EA has a variety of support available in Newbury constituency to support communities to be aware of their flood risk. This includes online risk maps (Check the long term flood risk for an area in England - GOV.UK), free flood warnings for the River Kennet, Lambourn and groundwater (in some areas). The relevant Risk Management Authority also provides advice and guidance regarding personal and community flood plans and engages with communities via the Lambourn Valley and Newbury Flood & Drainage Forums.
What assessment he has made of the suitability of current Seasonal Coefficient of Performance thresholds for high temperature heat pumps.
The current product standards regulations do not set distinct performance thresholds for high temperature heat pumps. The ecodesign heat pump efficiency standard applies to all heat pumps other than low temperature models. However, the government consulted in December 2024 on proposals for ‘raising product standards for space heating’. These included introducing a definition and standards for high temperature heat pumps. Under the proposals, this would be defined as any heat pump operating at 65°C flow temperature. The government will publish a response to that consultation in due course.
What steps his Department is taking to support the large scale retrofitting of heating systems in social housing.
We have committed £13.2bn in the Warm Homes Plan up to 2030, in line with our Manifesto commitment. This will support investment in low carbon heating, solar, batteries and insulation to up to 5 million homes across England. Within Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, which launched earlier this year, in addition to targeted off-grid, low-carbon heating grant funding there is a new optional low-carbon heating funding incentive for homes on the gas grid. Up to 10% of on-grid homes in an application can access a £20,000 grant per home to install low-carbon heating measures.
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme regulations for heat pumps operating at flow temperatures between 65°C and 75°C.
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) stipulates that all heat pumps operating at flow temperatures above 35°C are required to be tested and meet a Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) of 2.8. Therefore, MCS holds heat pumps operating between 65 and 75°C to the same standards as other heat pumps. DESNZ consulted in December 2024 on “Raising product standards for space heating” which would introduce a definition and standards for high temperature heat pumps. This would be defined as any heat pump operating at 65°C. A Government Response will be issued in due course.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to take steps to avoid postponement of scheduled local elections during future reorganisation processes.
The Government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification. The Government will work with areas to hold elections for new unitary councils as soon as possible, as is the usual arrangement in the process of local government reorganisation. Legislation to implement proposals for unitary councils replaces any planned elections with elections for the new councils. This avoid the cost and disruption of elections to short-term posts in councils which will shortly be abolished.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of undertaking a public consultation on the reorganisation of local government.
As set out in the English Devolution White Paper we are ending the two-tier system of local government and establishing single tier councils everywhere. Two tier local government slows down decision making and delivery. It leads to fragmented public services, wastes money on duplication, and is confusing about who is responsible for what.We have invited proposals for unitary councils from councils in the 21 two-tier areas in England. There is a requirement for the Secretary of State to consult with affected councils and such other persons as he considers appropriate before implementing a proposal.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to require registered providers of social housing to provide data on (a) the number and (b) location of all market sales over the past five years and the (i) value, (ii) age, (iii) condition and (iv) other information on stock in the forthcoming housing strategy.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) sets out when it must be notified if a private registered provider disposes of homes – including where these might be disposed of by market sale.RSH sets out different requirements dependent on the nature of the disposal but requires providers that are selling homes out of the regulated sector to identify the location and number of homes sold. The relevant RSH guidance can be found on gov.uk here.RSH publishes a range of statistics, including on sector and provider-level number of sales. These are available on gov.uk here.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of requiring councils to adopt a cabinet model of governance under proposed legislation.
Requiring all councils in England to operate an executive model of governance will simplify local authority governance arrangements and provide clearer, more easily understood decision-making structures. The vast majority of councils already operate a cabinet model of governance and will not be affected by the requirement.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered reducing the desired population size for new unitary councils to 300,000 residents.
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 build out devolution and take account of housing growth alongside local government reorganisation.All proposals – whether they are at, above, or below the guided level – should clearly set out the rationale for the proposed approach. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to review the criteria for designating Assets of Community Value to consider environmental benefit as a qualifying factor.
The new community right to buy, which we are introducing through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, will give communities stronger powers to take ownership of assets that are important to them and save them for future community use. Communities will be able to nominate any asset that furthers the social or economic wellbeing of the community, which will include a range of environmental assets, and purchase these if they are put up for sale.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Single Transferable Vote system in elections for newly established unitary councils.
Elections for existing unitary councils are held under the First Past the Post system. There are no plans to change the voting system for local council elections in England and elections for newly established unitary councils will also be held under this voting system.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure that young people living in supported accommodation are not financially disadvantaged when increasing their working hours.
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for young people living in supported and temporary accommodation, including the different income tapers used by each benefit. We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. As funding is required to allow a change, any future decisions will take account of the current fiscal context. It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) trends in the number of firefighters and (b) levels of funding for fire and rescue services on public safety.
On 3 February, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities. These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities receiving an increase in core spending power of £69.1 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25. In addition to settlement funding, the Government has provided Fire and Rescue Authorities with several grants intended for specific purposes, such as the Fire Pensions Grant and Protection Uplift Grant Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each Fire and Rescue Authority. FRSs employed 30,769 full-time equivalent (FTE) firefighters on 31 March 2024. This is virtually unchanged compared with the previous year (30,723).
Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps with local authorities to end the use of (a) hotels, (b) bed and breakfasts and (c) hostels for homeless (i) single adults and (ii) families.
Homelessness levels are far too high. The Government is looking at the issue carefully and is developing a new cross-Government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness. We have already taken the first steps to getting back on track to ending homelessness, including making a £1 billion investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year, a £233 million increase on the previous year and the largest-ever cash boost in homelessness prevention services. The 2025 Spending Review protected this level of investment until 2028/29 and provided £100 million additional funding, including from the Transformation Fund, to fund increased homelessness prevention activity. Where homelessness cannot be prevented, any temporary accommodation provided must be suitable for the needs of the household. The Homelessness Code of Guidance for local authorities sets out the factors to be taken into account when determining the suitability of accommodation.
What steps her Department is taking to review the financial support available to kinship carers.
There is a duty on children’s services to arrange special guardianship support services in the local areas. Under section 14F of the Children Act 1989, “each local authority must make arrangements for the provision within their area of special guardianship support services, which includes financial support.”The department is going further to increase the level of support offered to kinship carers through the trial of a new kinship allowance to support with the costs of raising a child.At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced £40 million to pilot a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, to support up to 5,000 eligible children in kinship care.As this is a pilot scheme, the allowance will not be universal at this stage. It is important that robust evidence underpins any future national rollout to ensure the best outcomes for children and families and value for money for the taxpayer.