Leasehold Reform

Debate between Justin Madders and Rachel Maclean

Tuesday 23rd May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Maclean]

If Members will forgive me, I am attempting to answer the questions they have already asked me, but I will give way briefly to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Justin Madders).

[Justin Madders]

In her opening comments, the Minister referred to the reason why this motion has been tabled, which is media speculation that there is some backtracking from the Government’s commitments on this issue. The motion very clearly says that the Secretary of State should give an oral statement in one month’s time, and the fact that he is not here today sends a terrible message about his and the Government’s priorities. Surely, in the absence of the Secretary of State, the answer is to support the motion.

[Rachel Maclean]

If the hon. Member will allow me to answer the questions I have been asked, I will come to his points in my remarks.

We are making significant progress to afford real relief to leaseholders, which everyone in the Chamber is calling for, while reforming the system for the better. However, the questions facing leasehold tenure are not simply about money—important though those are—but also include, “Who decides?” For people living in a leasehold home today, we are going to make it easier and cheaper for them to take charge of their building, whether by taking advantage of our reforms to the right to manage or by going all the way and buying out their freeholds following our planned enfranchisement reforms. Both offer to put owners in the driving seat over the decisions that affect them.

In the case of new homes, our ground rent Act has cut off a key source of revenue for freehold landlords. Without strong economic reasons for developers to hold on to, or sell on, the freeholds of other people’s homes, we have created a powerful incentive for builders to put buyers in charge of their new homes from the outset. We know there is more to be done, which is why we are taking two key further steps on new homes.

First, we have made great strides in tackling the needless practice of selling new houses as leasehold. Our actions, including prohibiting Government programmes such as Help to Buy from funding new leasehold houses, have seen the share of new houses sold as leasehold cut from over 15% in 2016 to less than 2% today. But we are clear in our intention to go even further, which means that soon, other than in the most exceptional of circumstances, the selling of new leasehold houses will be banned altogether.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justin Madders and Rachel Maclean

Monday 28th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Maclean]

My hon. Friend will no doubt be aware of the robust and sweeping action that we have taken to tackle drug use, which is led by my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and the Minister for Crime and Policing. The 10-year drugs plan sets out how we will eradicate drug taking from our country. Let me also highlight the work that we have done on county lines, which is a hideous scourge that affects many young people. Funded by Government, some of the work that has taken place has closed down county lines programmes—more than 1,500 lines—made more than 7,400 arrests and seized £4.3 million in cash.

[Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

11. What assessment she has made of the accessibility of police (a) stations and (b) services.

HEALTH PROTECTION (CORONAVIRUS, WEARING OF FACE COVERINGS IN A RELEVANT PLACE AND ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT) (ENGLAND) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 3) REGULATIONS 2020 HEALTH PROTECTION (CORONAVIRUS, WEARING OF FACE COVERINGS IN A RELEVANT PLACE) (ENGLAND) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 3) REGULATIONS 2020 HEALTH PROTECTION (CORONAVIRUS, WEARING OF FACE COVERINGS IN A RELEVANT PLACE AND ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT) (ENGLAND) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) REGULATIONS 2020

Debate between Justin Madders and Rachel Maclean

Monday 12th October 2020 General Committees

[Rachel Maclean]

It is a great pleasure to respond to the questions put to me by the Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston. I thank him for his detailed questions and will of course address the points he made.

The hon. Gentleman spoke about the urgency with which we brought in the regulations. He will know that the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 provides powers for us to make a statutory instrument in exactly these circumstances. We face an unprecedented global health emergency. We must act with speed and we cannot hold up urgent regulations that are needed to save lives. We have been clear at every step that we will consult Parliament and hold votes where possible. In addition, the Government provide regular opportunities to question Government scientific advisors, and Members are given opportunities to access data about their own constituencies. The hon. Gentleman will also know that the Health Secretary has made a commitment that, for significant national measures that affect the whole of England or the UK, we will consult Parliament, where possible, and hold votes.

[Justin Madders]

I appreciate what the Minister says, and of course I have no difficulty with certain regulations being introduced in this way, but I asked specifically about increasing the level of fines from previous regulations. What was so urgent about that that it needed to be done without following proper parliamentary processes?

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Maclean]

I am happy to come on to that. I have listed the hon. Gentleman’s points in the order he put them, and I will come on to it in due course.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the high level of deaths among car, van and taxi drivers. He will know that when we first began to bring in regulations about the transport system and face coverings, we provided guidance to the taxi sector. Many people were of course already wearing face coverings when taking taxis, and many drivers were also doing so. Many operators had a “no face covering, no ride” policy, to keep their passengers safe. Further engagement with the sector made it clear that it was requesting greater certainty. The amending SI has therefore been introduced to create a legal requirement for passengers, in line with the majority of the public transport network.

The hon. Gentleman asked why staff in hospitality settings were not originally included. The rising rate of infection has meant that the Government have had to consider additional measures. All measures are kept under review, as he knows. As for the premises he asks about, I assure him that post offices, banks, building societies, high street solicitors, accountants, credit unions, short-term loan providers, saving clubs and money service businesses are included in the regulations, as are estate agents and letting agents.

The wearing of face masks on the premises of the House of Commons and in the House is not in the scope of this debate. It is a matter for Mr Speaker, who I understand has strongly recommended that we wear face coverings while we are on the estate.

[Justin Madders]

I think the Minister has misunderstood the scope of my question. It was actually about Members’ constituency offices, which is obviously slightly different from the parliamentary estate.

[Rachel Maclean]

Forgive me. That is not a matter for this debate, but it may be of interest to each individual Member of Parliament that they are required to follow the covid-secure guidelines within those premises, as are other businesses. That guidance is set out clearly. The hon. Gentleman asked whether it is planned to extend the provisions to other workplaces. Again, that is not in the scope of the debate, so I shall not comment on it now.

Before I go on to talk about fines, I want to make the point that most people are following the rules, and we are extremely grateful. We know that there are very high levels of compliance up and down the country in every constituency. It is obviously a challenge for people to comply with the rules, but we know that they are making those sacrifices to keep their communities safe.

On the enforcement regime, which the hon. Gentleman mentioned, we are making the penalty more stringent. Again, we know that most people will comply, but we are seeing a rising rate of infection. It is important that we tackle this now so that we are able to keep the hospitality sector open in places where social distancing might be more difficult in all scenarios. The number of fixed penalty notices does not reflect a lack of enforcement, because the police, as I mentioned, use the four Es approach. A fine will always be a last resort after all other measures have failed.

I can provide the hon. Gentleman with some data on the fines. As of 1 October 2020, officers stopped 159,286 people and prevented 7,526 passengers from boarding public transport services owing to non-compliance with face-covering regulations; 5,677 people have been ejected from services or directed to leave, and 533 fixed penalty notices were reported.

Finally, on the equality impact assessment, the Government have taken steps with every single regulation that has been brought in to ensure that the equality impacts have been considered. With that, Dr Huq, I thank hon. Members for their contributions to this important debate.

The Government have always been clear that their highest priority in managing this national crisis is protecting our public and saving lives. I am satisfied that the requirements imposed by the regulations as amended and the enforcement powers given to the police and Transport for London are necessary, reasonable and proportionate, given the urgent need to minimise the spread of the virus and offer maximum protection to members of the public and staff. Our guidance has consistently set out to the public that to protect themselves they must continue to follow social distancing measures, wash their hands regularly, and adhere to the isolation guidance.

Current Government guidance states that people should also wear a face covering in enclosed public spaces, where social distancing is more difficult to maintain, and where people might come into contact with others they do not normally meet. The debate today has provided an opportunity for us in the Government—

[Justin Madders]

I do not think the Minister has addressed the question about why an increase in the level of fines had to be introduced in an urgent way. What necessitated such action?

[Rachel Maclean]

In line with all our policies and decisions, a decision was taken to protect public health and to maintain the balance between protecting public health, allowing enforcement measures to be introduced and allowing some of the hospitality venues and the transport system to stay open. I am grateful for the contributions that have been made during this debate. Parliamentary scrutiny is a vital part of the regulation-making process. I am pleased to have been able to set out the content for these amending regulations to the Committee. I hope the Committee has found the debate informative and that it will join me in supporting the amending regulations.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That the Cttee has considered the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 1026).

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020

Resolved,

That the Cttee has considered the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 1028).—(Rachel Maclean.)

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Resolved,

That the Cttee has considered the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 1021).—(Rachel Maclean.)