As set out in the answer to Question UIN 113737 on 2 March 2026, to calculate their Core Spending Power, we assume City of Westminster, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, City of London, and Windsor and Maidenhead increase their council tax by 5% in 2026-27. We also assume they will increase their Band D council tax by 5% plus £150 in 2027-28 and 2028-29. As Band H levels are fixed at double the rate of band D, a £150 increase on Band D would equate to a £300 increase on Band H.

The actual level of council tax remains a local decision for individual councils, taking into consideration a range of local factors including the impact on taxpayers.

Government does not intend to set referendum principles for six authorities in 2027-28 and 2028-29 including City of Westminster and Wandsworth. Within our modelling, we made an assumption that these authorities increase their council tax by 5% plus an additional £150 in each of 2027-28 and 2028-29 for the purposes of calculating their funding floor allocations in these years. Decisions on council tax levels in these areas remain a matter for the individual local authorities.

The Local Government Finance Settlement ensured these councils were funded according to their needs, taking into account their ability to raise council tax, assuming 5% plus £150 in each of 2027-28 and 2028-29. We monitor the financial health of councils on a regular basis using a range of data as well as through extensive direct engagement. While councils are responsible for their own financial management, any council that has concerns about its ability to set or maintain a balanced budget should approach the department in the first instance where we will treat all discussions in confidence.

The Department engages regularly with London local highway authorities on matters related to their local highways networks.

Any recent discussions about the future of any of the named bridges has been under the auspices of the structures fund where authorities have been encouraged to submit applications in line with the principles of the fund.

The technical advisory body (to the fund) is, of course, having conversations on behalf of the Department about the future of bridges that local highway authorities have put forward to the structures fund; including those in London.

It is for individual councils to decide their level of council tax, taking into consideration a range of local factors, including impact on taxpayers. Westminster’s band D council tax level in 2025-26 is £529 and Wandsworth’s is £507. The government’s estimate of Core Spending Power for these councils, assumes that they will increase these band D council tax levels by 5% in 2026-27 and by 5% plus an additional £150 in both 2027-28 and 2028-29.

The government believes it is right to continue to calculate Core Spending Power in line with the approach used at previous Settlements. This includes an assumption that authorities increase their Band D council tax by the maximum allowed within any council tax referendum principles set for them.

To increase fairness for taxpayers, provide better value for money and enable the rebalancing of disparities in council tax levels, the government intends not to set referendum principles in 2027-28 and 2028-29 for six upper-tier authorities with the lowest council tax levels receiving 95% income protection. Removing referendum principles in these areas will enable the government to allocate over £250 million more funding for public services in places with higher need instead of subsidising very low bills for 500,000 households in these councils.

To calculate their Core Spending Power, we assume City of Westminster, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, City of London, and Windsor and Maidenhead increase their council tax by 5% in 2026-27. We also assume they will increase their council tax by 5% plus £150 in 2027-28 and 2028-29, which is closer to the average council tax increase across the country.

The actual level of council tax remains a local decision for individual councils, taking into consideration a range of local factors including the impact on taxpayers.

It is for individual councils to decide their level of council tax, taking into consideration a range of local factors, including the impact on taxpayers. As has been standard practise with previous governments, the government’s estimate of core spending power, for these councils, assumes that they will increase by 5% in 2026-27 and by 5% plus an additional £150 in both2027-28 and 2028-29.

Removing referendum principles in these areas will enable the government to allocate over £250 million more funding for public services in places with higher need instead of subsidising very low bills for 500,000 households in these councils.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 106139 on 20 January 2026. The provisional local government Settlement, published on 17 December 2025, sets out individual funding allocations for local authorities.

The government consulted on the provisional Settlement and the consultation closed on 14 January 2026.

We will publish our response to the consultation in February, alongside the publication of the final Local Government Finance Settlement.

The provisional Settlement 2026–27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power (CSP) for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025–26. CSP allocations for individual local authorities through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 can be found here. CSP allocations for individual local authorities for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2024-25 and 2025-26 can be found here and here respectively.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning continence services in their areas. These services include assessment, treatment, and, where clinically appropriate, the supply of continence products. Decisions on the type and quantity of products are made by clinicians following individual assessment, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on urinary and faecal incontinence and professional standards.

NHS Supply Chain supports trusts with the procurement of continence products through value-based procurement initiatives to ensure products are safe, effective, and cost-efficient. Local continence services in Wandsworth are delivered by community providers such as the Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, which offers specialist assessment and management for housebound patients and those in care settings. Further information on continence commissioning is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/continence/

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.

The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.

Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Wandsworth County Court is part of the London Civil and Family Cluster. Performance is discussed weekly, and the cluster priorities agreed. Work is moved around the cluster to ensure that the quickest possible service is delivered. Continuous Improvement exercises continue to be undertaken to ensure the best customer service.

Over the last 12 months, overall workload in the cluster has reduced by 30%, and in Wandsworth by 20%. This has been achieved by sharing work with other courts, additional judicial recruitment, sitting days and digitalisation of online money claims.

While there have been significant recruitment and retention issues at Wandsworth in the past, we have now filled all vacancies following a targeted recruitment campaign.

There were 145 cases awaiting listing for a hearing and 4479 cases already listed at the week commencing 2 June 2025.

Information is not held centrally on funding for the expansion of autism services in Wandsworth. South West London Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been allocated £107,000 in 2023/24 from the national £4.2 million service development funding for autism, to improve the local autism assessment pathway for children and young people and to continue the Autism in Schools Programme. In 2022/23 the ICB received £97,000 from the broader £2.5 million service development funding for autism, to improve the local autism assessment pathway.

These service development funding allocations are in addition to the funding that South West London ICB spends on autism services from its core funding allocations.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a biannual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

These data are collected by PFA only, and lower levels of geography, such as London Boroughs are not collected. Data on the number of police officers and Police Community Support Officers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as at 31 March each year, from 2007 to 2022, on a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093587/open-data-table-police-workforce-270722.ods

While the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office publishes a quarterly update on the number of police officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. The latest data as at 31 March 2023 are available here: Police Officer Uplift, quarterly update to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The latest data from the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistics shows, as at 31 March 2023, across England and Wales, there are 149,572 police officers, the highest number of police officers on record, surpassing the previous peak in March 2010 by 3,542 officers.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.

These data are collected by PFA only, and lower levels of geography, such as London Boroughs are not collected. Data on the number of police officers and Police Community Support Officers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as at 31 March and 30 September each year, on a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, accessed here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

While the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office publishes a quarterly update on the number of police officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. They can be accessed here: Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The latest data from the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistics shows, as at 31 March 2023, across England and Wales, there are 149,572 police officers, the highest number of police officers on record, surpassing the previous peak in March 2010 by 3,542 officers.