Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the outstanding issues delaying full implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 18875 on 16 December 2024.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide details of their proposals, including timetables, for the implementation of each of the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As outlined in the King’s Speech, the Government will implement the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 so that leaseholders can benefit from more rights, power and protections over their homes. A small number of provisions came into force on 24 July, two months after Royal Assent, relating to rentcharge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners. The implementation of many of the reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will require a programme of secondary legislation. Any reforms to leasehold law are highly complex, and the Government will take the time required to get those changes right.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to request property developers to reimburse leaseholders for any increase in buildings insurance premiums as a result of developers' failures to meet the necessary building and fire safety regulations.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is examining what more can be done to protect leaseholders from unnecessary costs. Regarding building insurance, we continue to press insurers to provide market solutions that enable customers to be able to find affordable premiums. Specific insurers have engaged with me over recent months and whilst these have been useful, we believe insurers could be more open to offering cover for new business.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Building Safety Fund applies only to buildings over 18 metres in height but not to those which are six stories high.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Building Safety Fund height eligibility should be measured as 18m or above using the approach set out in Annex A of the prospectus. The measurement should be taken from the lowest ground level to the finished floor level of the top occupied storey. This is consistent with the guidance to the buildings regulations with regards to fire safety and the height threshold used for the combustible materials ban, the basis of the height eligibility criteria for this fund.
For the purposes of the fund, we are allowing a tolerance of 30cm to this measurement so any building with appropriate evidence that their building measures 17.7m or above will be eligible to proceed to application stage.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) action they take, and (2) sanctions are available, to ensure that local authorities meet their responsibility for the public inspection of financial records under section 26 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
We expect all local authorities to fulfil their legal duties for the public inspection of financial records under Section 26 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Responsibility for compliance with statutory duties sits with councils.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the National Audit Office and Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd in protecting the interests of council tax payers and improving value for money in local authorities.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The National Audit Office (NAO) is independent of government and directly accountable to Parliament, therefore, it would not be appropriate for a government department to review their effectiveness.
Through the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (the 2014 Act), both the NAO and Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd (PSAA) have roles relating to the audit arrangements for local public bodies in England.
The Redmond Review, which is due to report in Spring 2020, will consider important aspects of the local audit and accountability framework and how the various elements of the framework interrelate, including PSAA’s role as the specified audit procurement body and the NAO’s role in relation to the Code and guidance for local auditors. But the NAO’s general role and wider powers, including its value for money studies, are outside the scope of the Redmond Review.
Audit is only part of the wider assurance and accountability system that protects the interests of tax payers. This includes clarity about who is responsible for resources; statutory codes and rules which require councils to act prudently in their spending; a framework of internal and external checks and balances including audit and whistleblowing; transparency and publication of data; and requirements to have strategies and action plans on fraud.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to encourage private and social landlords to allow tenants to have pets, in order to avoid the separation of pets from their owners.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
There are properties in both the social and private rented sectors where pets are allowed. In the case of social landlords, it would be set out in the tenancy agreement whether pets are allowed and this is at the discretion of the landlord. Similarly, in the private rented sector, it is a matter for landlords to agree with their tenants as to whether pets are permitted. The government recognises that not all properties may be suitable for tenants with pets but encourages landlords to offer flexibility where possible.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last undertook an assessment of the long-term educational and welfare needs of Travellers and Gypsies in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Both the Department for Education and Ofsted have commissioned and published a number of studies over the past six years that focus on how to improve the education of Gypsy and Traveller children. These include:
Improving the outcomes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils: final report and literature review (Department for Education, October 2010, attached).https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-the-outcomes-for-gypsy-roma-and-traveller-pupils-final-report; as well as case studies of schools showing successful practice in improving the attendance and attainment of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma pupils. These are available (attached) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/gypsy-roma-and-traveller-pupils-supporting-access-to-education and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ofsted-examples-of-good-practice-in-schools#gypsy-traveller-and-roma-children.
The Department for Education regularly publishes and monitors data on the educational progress and achievement of pupils from Gypsy and Irish Traveller backgrounds attending schools in England. This data includes annual statistics on the attainment of pupils from these groups in the year 1 phonics screening check; teacher assessments at the end of key stage 1 and national assessments at the end of key stages 2 and 4; and on levels of pupil attendance at, and exclusion from, school. Inspection reports published by Ofsted include commentary where appropriate on the quality of school provision for Gypsy and Traveller pupils and their progress and attainment.
The previous Government’s Ministerial Working Group on Gypsy and Traveller inequalities published a report in April 2012, which included 28 commitments from across Government to help reduce the inequalities experienced by Gypsies and Travellers. The document can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-inequalities-for-gypsies-and-travellers-progress-report
The 28 commitments have since been taken forward by the relevant Government departments and a table setting out progress against those commitments as at October 2014 was deposited in the House of Lords library. This is available at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2014-10-29/HL2504/
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of Gypsies and Travellers in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In the 2011 census, 63,500 people in the United Kingdom identified their ethnic group as Gypsy or Traveller.