Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing transparency in property management fee increases, including appointing a body responsible for monitoring the justification for those increases.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to require publicly accessible listings of property management details for residential blocks.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing regulation of property managing agents.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a cap on property management fees.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of clarifying the responsibilities of developers and property management companies in new-build and mixed-tenure developments.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 80700 on 20 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help remove barriers preventing leaseholders from exercising the Right to Manage, including ensuring ease of contact between leaseholders within a building.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 90259 on 21 November 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to prevent landlords from imposing additional fees on leaseholders for profit without adequate scrutiny or regulation.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to require managing agents to provide leaseholders with monthly service charge and expenditure accounts, with a comprehensive breakdown of charges.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 89138 answered on 21 November 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide long-term support and advice for leaseholders on maintenance and dispute processes.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Leaseholders involved in disputes can contact the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) which provides free initial legal advice and information on leasehold, building safety, commonhold and park home issues for consumers.

More than 1.5 million consumers visit the LEASE website each year and access its comprehensive resources. LEASE also offers bespoke advice from its legally trained advisers.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of public information on leaseholders’ legal rights.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Leaseholders involved in disputes can contact the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) which provides free initial legal advice and information on leasehold, building safety, commonhold and park home issues for consumers.

More than 1.5 million consumers visit the LEASE website each year and access its comprehensive resources. LEASE also offers bespoke advice from its legally trained advisers.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to prevent landlords from imposing additional fees on leaseholders without adequate (a) scrutiny and (b) regulation.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 89138 answered on 21 November 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how they plan to encourage developers to include swift bricks in new buildings.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that swift bricks are a vital means of addressing the long-term decline of the breeding swift population. While swift brick coverage is increasing, we made clear during the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that we were committed to doing more to drive up swift brick installation.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including a new policy that would require all developments to include swift bricks into their construction unless compelling technical reasons would prevent their use or make them ineffective.

This is a significant strengthening of expectations already in place and we expect the end result to be at least one swift brick in every new brick built house unless there are legitimate reasons why installation would not be appropriate.

The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Water Reform White Paper will include consideration for linking better access to blue spaces with improving their water quality.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has set out its intention to respond to the recommendations published in the final report of the Independent Water Commission through a White Paper, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and deliver the change the public expects. These reforms will form the basis of a new water reform bill to be introduced during this parliament.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken within the last 5 years to assess the compliance of water companies and the Environment Agency against their obligations under the Water and Sewerage (Conservation, Access and Recreation) (Code of Practice) Order 2000.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is water companies’ and the Environment Agency’s responsibility to comply with their respective obligations under the Code of Practice on Conservation, Access and Recreation.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to improve the water quality in blue spaces used recreationally for activities such as paddle boarding, canoeing and kayaking.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department is working on a response to the Independent Water Commission’s final recommendations through a White Paper and a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability. The recommendations intend to cut pollution and restore our rivers, lakes and seas, including those used recreationally, to good health for future generations.

The Environment Agency also has an active Research and Development programme exploring innovative contamination detection at bathing waters. It also participates with other UK and international agencies on the development of analytical techniques, with the aim of improving water quality in blue spaces.

In the November – December 2024 consultation on bathing water reforms, we asked respondents about wider reforms including the expansion of the definition of ‘bathers’ to include other water users.

The Government’s response, published in March 2025, noted a clear majority of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal to expand the definition, with many suggesting which water users to include.

The Department is now exploring how to gather evidence to deliver this reform, considering which users to include and how to set safe classification levels for all. The timeline for detailed policy development will depend on this scoping work. Defra will engage with local and national stakeholders as work progresses and welcomes any information they can provide.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to broaden the definition of bathers within the relevant regulations to include a broader range of recreational water users.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department is working on a response to the Independent Water Commission’s final recommendations through a White Paper and a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability. The recommendations intend to cut pollution and restore our rivers, lakes and seas, including those used recreationally, to good health for future generations.

The Environment Agency also has an active Research and Development programme exploring innovative contamination detection at bathing waters. It also participates with other UK and international agencies on the development of analytical techniques, with the aim of improving water quality in blue spaces.

In the November – December 2024 consultation on bathing water reforms, we asked respondents about wider reforms including the expansion of the definition of ‘bathers’ to include other water users.

The Government’s response, published in March 2025, noted a clear majority of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal to expand the definition, with many suggesting which water users to include.

The Department is now exploring how to gather evidence to deliver this reform, considering which users to include and how to set safe classification levels for all. The timeline for detailed policy development will depend on this scoping work. Defra will engage with local and national stakeholders as work progresses and welcomes any information they can provide.

US military attack on Venezuela

Funding for medical students in their final years of study

Parliamentary screening of The Removed and historic forced adoptions

Hunger strike by pro-Palestinian activists

Found: Chair); Fleur Anderson; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden; Richard Foord; Uma Kumaran; Abtisam Mohamed

Found: Chair); Fleur Anderson; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden; Richard Foord; Uma Kumaran; Abtisam Mohamed

Found: Chair); Fleur Anderson; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden; Richard Foord; Uma Kumaran; Abtisam Mohamed