Hunch. On 29 October Jim McMahon promised updates on outcomes for "another set of areas" by Christmas but did not name them, so a timetable alone could fill the promise.
The Christmas market resolves YES if by the end of 24 December 2026, UK time, the government announces in the Commons or on GOV.UK a minded-to or final decision for at least one of the 15 undecided council areas, from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to West Sussex. Final decisions for the five areas already minded-to, and statements only about a timetable or progress, do not count, and BBC News and The Guardian settle it if GOV.UK is silent.
We looked for cases where a UK minister promised MPs, in one statement, decisions on several areas or projects by a date the government set itself. We found four such promises since 2021, two of them from this same council programme. Each time at least one area or project got its decision on time. Only in 2021 did all of them.