Asked by: Andy MacNae (Labour - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the requirement for a national insurance number on postal vote registration forms.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The requirement to provide a National Insurance Number when applying for a postal vote acts to ensure that the person making the application is the same individual entitled to apply for the postal vote and mirrors the longstanding practice when registering to vote. There are no plans to change the requirements for an absent vote application.
Asked by: Andy MacNae (Labour - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing protections for buyers in the final stages of purchasing a home whereby the formal acceptance of an offer creates a legally binding contract between buyer and seller.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise that the home buying and selling process in England and Wales is inefficient and costly for consumers and professionals with one in three property transactions falling through. We continue to review evidence from other jurisdictions, including on protections such as reservation agreements, as we consider next steps.