Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's planned timetable for abolishing ground rents and implementing broader leasehold reforms is.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
On 31 January 2025, provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to remove the two-year qualifying period in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.
On 10 February, we laid regulations in Parliament to implement the reforms contained in the Act concerning the Right to Manage and these will come into force on Monday 3 March.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 tackle increases in building insurance premiums for leaseholders in high-risk buildings.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Buildings insurance premiums remain unacceptably high for many leaseholders in buildings with fire safety issues, who have been paying too much for too long.
My officials have already started working with the insurance industry, as announced in the Remediation Acceleration Plan, to consider whether, for the duration of remediation programmes, government might support industry to reduce fire related liabilities, in order to reduce the high insurance bills some leaseholders are facing.
We have also launched a public consultation on the introduction of a fair and transparent fee for leaseholders to pay to those who manage insurance for their buildings.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate co-operation under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 between local authorities in cases of domestic abuse.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and supporting victims of domestic abuse.
Since 2021, local authorities in England have had a duty to ensure that all victims and their children who need to flee their homes have access to support within safe accommodation when they need it.
MHCLG statutory guidance is clear that tier one local authorities should work collaboratively with tier two and neighbouring local authorities to develop a shared understanding of need, including for victims who need to flee their local area for their safety.
The government has raised total funding for this duty to £160 million in 2025/26, to enable local authorities in England to expand these essential services for victims of domestic abuse.
MHCLG regularly runs workshops with the Local Government Association to support local authorities to deliver their duties effectively. In addition, I am establishing a new Domestic Abuse Housing Group, co-chaired by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, to maintain oversight and ensure that councils have the support they need to deliver their duty requirements.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has for the future of community involvement schemes following the closure of the Community Ownership Fund.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government remains committed to the communities’ sector and to community empowerment.
The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December 2024, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment and there will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) social and (b) council housebuilding projects in Southampton are not delayed due to financial infeasibility.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 10272 on 28 October 2024.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of (a) social and (b) council housebuilding projects in Southampton which are delayed due to financial infeasibility.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
On 30 July we announced a number of changes in planning policy designed to support the delivery of affordable homes and also confirmed a range of new flexibilities for councils and housing associations, both within the Affordable Homes Programme and in relation to how councils can use their Right to Buy receipts.
At this week’s Budget, the Chancellor will set out details of an immediate one year cash injection of £500 million to top up the existing Affordable Homes Programme which will deliver up to 5,000 new social and affordable homes. This comes ahead of the multi-year Spending Review next spring, where the Government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.
The Chancellor will also confirm that councils will be able to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales. In addition, the Government will consult on a new 5-year social housing rent settlement to provide the sector with the certainty it needs to invest in new social housing.