Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Renters' Rights Bill on renters in rent to rent schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tenants living under rent-to-rent arrangements should have legal protections and the same right to redress as other private renters.
Rent to rent arrangements can be abused to make it more difficult to identify landlords and hold them to account.
The Renters’ Rights Bill addresses this in several ways:
To improve enforcement against criminal rent to rent schemes, we are expanding rent repayment orders to cover superior landlords in rent-to-rent arrangements. This will mean all landlords involved can be held to account by tenants.
We are also extending liability for rent repayment orders to company directors. This will help to ensure that where the rent-to-rent company has committed an offence, the individuals behind it cannot escape liability.
Complex ownership arrangements for rent-to-rent agreements should not impede effective enforcement. We intend to pass secondary legislation which will require the details of others associated with the property, such as the owner or superior landlord, to be recorded on the Private Rented Sector Database.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy for contracts awarded to non-NHS providers to require those providers to provide pay and conditions on NHS Agenda for Change terms for staff that deliver such services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 allow for terms and conditions of service to be protected or frozen as they stand on the date of transfer to a non-National Health Service employer. This may also cover any pre-agreed contractual future entitlements if a deal is negotiated and agreed prior to the date of transfer.
However, this does not cover any future changes to NHS terms and conditions of service which may be negotiated under the collective bargaining process after the date of transfer, and where the employer receiving transferred staff is not a participant to the collective bargaining process. This includes annual pay increases under Agenda for Change. We would encourage employees to raise any issues relating to their terms and conditions directly with their employing organisation and/or trade union representative.
The Department and NHS England would expect any proposal to outsource work contracts such as the provision of facilities management services to be supported by a business case which, pursuant to the Government’s public interest test, should clearly demonstrate that the service is delivered in a way that improves quality, ensures greater stability and longer-term investment in the workforce; and delivers better value for money as part of the broader commitments on procurement, as set out in the ‘Make Work Pay’ programme. More information on the program is available at the following link:
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of combining City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements CRSTS 1 and 2.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Discussions are underway between the department and MCAs, including West of England, on how the transition between CRSTS 1 and CRSTS 2 can be delivered. Some MCAs are also moving towards Integrated Settlements which will enable greater flexibility for planning and decision making at a local level.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for (a) introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets, (b) removing the furnished holiday let rules to ensure all income from property will be treated the same for tax purposes and (c) concluding her consideration of what additional powers she might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government remains committed to introducing a national mandatory registration scheme for short-term lets. The initial phase of digital development is now complete, and public testing is planned to start in the next 12 months. Further details about the implementation of the scheme will be announced in due course.
The furnished holiday lettings rules cease to apply in tax years commencing on or after 6 April 2025 for Income Tax and for Capital Gains Tax, and 1 April 2025 for Corporation Tax and for Corporation Tax on chargeable gains. This was enacted by the Finance Act 2025.
We are considering what further powers we might give to local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by second homes and short-term lets. We will announce further details on this in due course.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the availability of (a) suitably skilled contractors and (b) materials to allow local authorities to meet the 31 March 2027 deadline for investing City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that investment in transport infrastructure is of critical importance to unlocking national growth and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) programme has a key role to play in continuing to transform local transport across the country. DfT is working closely with Local Authorities and other Government departments on understanding and mitigating any potential barriers to delivery, including supply chain or capacity constraints, as part of our ongoing Spending Review discussions.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for publishing finalised City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements 2.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Funding in future years is being considered as part of the current Spending Review, the outcome of which will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.62 of the Office for Budget Responsibility Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, CP 1289, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the estimated increase in the housing stock on private rents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The factors affecting affordability in the private rented sector are complex and difficult to disentangle. As well as the size of the total housing stock, they include the movement of tenants into homeownership and social rented housing, house prices, taxation policy, and interest rates.
While it is difficult to isolate the specific impact of each of these factors, the government recognises that boosting supply is critical to improving housing affordability. This is why we are committed to achieving our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take legislative steps to require independent schools to (a) identify SEND pupils and (b) provide support to those pupils in line with the (i) SEND Code of Practice and (ii) Children and Families Act 2014.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Independent schools are regulated against The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which set out the standards for the education, welfare and safety for pupils attending an independent school. These standards can be accessed at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283. The standards related to ‘quality of education provided’ (curriculum and teaching) require independent schools to ensure their written policy, plans and schemes of work take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all their pupils, including those with special educational needs.
Section 85 of the Equality Act 2010 prohibits schools, including independent schools, from discriminating against pupils with certain protected characteristics. This includes a requirement that schools must not discriminate in the way they provide education for pupils; the way they afford pupils access to benefits, facilities or services; or by not providing education for pupils.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to develop new country information for Syria; and when she plans to begin processing (a) asylum claims and (b) settlement cases.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions. However, we continue to register new claims from Syrians in the UK who wish to claim asylum.
The Country Policy and Information Team (CPIT) are continuing to monitor and review the situation in Syria. CPIT are gathering evidence from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The pause is being kept under constant review and when there is a clear basis upon which to make decisions, we will resume the processing of them.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to align with changes to the EU Honey Directive on labelling published on 14 May 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra, alongside the Food Standards Agency in Wales and Food Standards Scotland, are working together to assess and address issues arising from the EU’s recent amendments relating to the Honey Directive 2001/110/EC. Any decision on future policy will focus on maintaining our existing high food standards, protecting consumers, and supporting businesses and consumer choice.