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 discussions her Department has had with major letting agents regarding the implementation of the Renters' Rights Act.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including letting agents and their representative bodies, throughout the development of the Renters’ Rights Act and our implementation roadmap.
This included engagement on our guidance and communications campaign materials to ensure that they met the needs of letting agents.
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 reduce conveyancing delays during the process of buying and selling a home.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap which my Department published on 19 June. It can be found on gov.uk here.
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 is for publishing its response to the Enhanced protections for homeowners on freehold estates consultation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 8822 on 22 June 2026.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the financial and administrative barriers faced by UK modern languages students required to undertake a year abroad as part of their degree, including the costs and delays associated with obtaining student visas for EU countries; what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those barriers on students from lower-income backgrounds; and whether she has had discussions with universities and relevant European governments on reducing visa costs, simplifying application processes and improving support for students undertaking compulsory periods of study abroad.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to supporting the study of modern foreign languages.
The UK has taken the positive step to join Erasmus+ in 2027. This will increase opportunities for students to study, train and undertake work placements abroad, enabling more young people to gain valuable international experience and develop their language skills.
Erasmus+ also includes measures to make international mobility more accessible, providing additional funding and practical support to help people with fewer opportunities take part, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The British Council, which is set to become the National Agency for Erasmus+, will be able to provide practical support to students wishing to take part, along with the participating university.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timeline is for expanding the digital application option for Personal Independence Payment to all eligible claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Through the Health Transformation Programme, we are expanding digital services for Personal Independence Payment customers. Over 90% of those making new PIP applications can now submit their health information online after starting their claim by phone. This is benefitting customers by removing postage times and increasing accessibility. We are continuing to extend this option to all customers and, by the end of the Programme, customers will be able to view application progress and report a change of circumstances online, reducing their need to call the enquiry line.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of early deaths of care leavers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I commissioned the Review of Early Care Leaver Deaths because I wanted the whole country to see the tragedies that I read every fortnight. I want to thank Ashley John-Baptiste and Clare Chamberlain for their important work on this review.
Their central finding is the same as my core focus for care reform – too many care experienced people entering adulthood lonely, without a tribe.
That's why I have set out a comprehensive programme to make enduring relationships the obsession of the care system.
As part of this, we have confirmed over £25 million of funding this financial year alone, to continue the rollout of Staying Close.
For a young person that means keeping somewhere settled to live rather than being moved along at 18, and having a network of people around them as they move into adulthood.
Staying Close runs in 47 local areas now and will become a national duty for local areas and run everywhere.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training Jobcentre staff receive on Armed Forces Covenant obligations; and how compliance is monitored.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All Jobcentre Plus staff new to DWP receive mandatory learning to support customers which includes learning for armed forces leavers. The learning provides an overview of armed forces leavers and assists colleagues in understanding what help is available to them, their spouse/partner when resettling into civilian life.
Armed Forces Champions (AFCs) are provided with point of need learning which includes the Armed Forces Covenant to provide support for service leavers and their families together with signposting to specialist organisations and charities.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre districts (a) are without an operational Armed Forces Champion and (b) have been without one at any point in the last two years, and how long those districts did not have champions for.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department supports Armed Forces customers through a network of Armed Forces Champions operating across Jobcentre districts, groups and areas. Armed Forces Champion support is not always delivered through a dedicated resource in each district, with many areas receiving support through group or area-level arrangements covering multiple districts. As a result, a district with no locally recorded Armed Forces Champion resource may still have been receiving Armed Forces Champion support.
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 recourse is available for leaseholders in buildings with non-cladding defects where their developer has entered insolvency.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government expects responsible persons to make sure their buildings are safe and undertake remedial works where necessary. The Leaseholder Protections under the Building Safety Act protect holders of qualifying leases from the costs of remediating relevant non-cladding building safety defects above a capped contribution.
If the developer is insolvent, ‘interested persons’, which includes freeholders, leaseholders and regulators such as a local authority or fire and rescue service, can also apply to the Courts for: a Remediation Contribution Order to fund remedial works from a former owner, or company associated with either the owner or developer, or, where relevant; a Building Liability Order against a wider parent group.
If the insolvent developer is also the freeholder, the office-holders, i.e. liquidators or administrators, appointed to the insolvency may look to undertake remedial works on the freeholder’s behalf, subject to the restrictions of the insolvency, and/or may seek to find a buyer willing to take on the building and associated remedial works.
Where liabilities are relatively minor or circumstances allow, leaseholders may also choose to exercise their right of first refusal under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.
Leaseholders may wish to seek independent legal advice on whether to pursue the options available to them.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities and multi-academy trusts on verifying teachers’ qualified teacher status and completion of statutory induction; and what steps are recommended where official records conflict with documentary evidence held by a teacher or employer.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department's statutory safeguarding guidance, ’Keeping Children Safe in Education’, requires schools and colleges to carry out appropriate pre-appointment checks, including verifying Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and statutory induction where relevant. Local authorities and multi-academy trusts can use the department's Check a Teacher's Record service to verify QTS, induction status, prohibitions and other relevant details. The service is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-a-teachers-record.
Where there is a discrepancy with the department's records, employers or teachers should contact: [email protected] for QTS discrepancies, and: [email protected] for induction discrepancies.
Initial teacher training providers, appropriate bodies or local authorities that remain in operation may be able to provide evidence to support an amendment to a teacher's record. For historic cases, the department may undertake archive searches to identify supporting evidence and verify record details.