Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 have discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on the potential impact of large estate management companies on (a) role of SMEs, (b) the ability of SMEs to expand in the estate management sector and (c) consumer choice for residents.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Managing agents are contracted by landlords to deliver services on their behalf. Details of services provided are usually set out in a management agreement between the agent and landlord.
The government’s response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into housebuilding, which included consideration of management on private estates and homeowner choice over their estate management company, was published on 22 October. It can be found on gov.uk here.
As set out in my Written Ministerial Statement to parliament of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government is clear that it is committed to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end and we will consult next year on the best way to achieve this.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 adequacy of competition in the (a) leasehold and (b) freehold estate management markets; and if she will take legislative steps to help increase competition in those sectors.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Managing agents are contracted by landlords to deliver services on their behalf. Details of services provided are usually set out in a management agreement between the agent and landlord.
The government’s response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into housebuilding, which included consideration of management on private estates and homeowner choice over their estate management company, was published on 22 October. It can be found on gov.uk here.
As set out in my Written Ministerial Statement to parliament of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government is clear that it is committed to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end and we will consult next year on the best way to achieve this.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of requiring all communications providers to issue automatic compensation for service outages.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Consumers should expect high-quality, reliable services. Operators have statutory obligations to keep services available and take all appropriate and proportionate measures to prepare for and minimise any disruption or outages.
In 2019, Ofcom - the independent regulator - worked with telecoms operators to introduce a voluntary, automatic compensation scheme for domestic broadband. 10 internet service providers are signatories to the scheme and collectively cover over 90% of home broadband consumers.
We will continue to work with Ofcom to monitor the market to ensure that consumers are receiving reliable services and recourse for when things go wrong.