Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
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 engage with HM Courts & Tribunals Service to ensure central recording of the average time for the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber to consider, process and rule upon rent appeal cases brought by tenants, and to ensure this central recording will be in place prior to implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department continues to work closely with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the justice system is well prepared for our reforms, including ensuring that suitable arrangements are in place for monitoring data relating to rent increase challenges.
In the Property Chamber, work is progressing to increase capacity, as well as reviewing resource and working practices in readiness for any increase in demand. This includes work by HMCTS on plans for improvements to the data they capture and draw from supporting systems to the Tribunal.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that HM Courts & Tribunals Service centrally record the average time for the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber to consider, process and rule upon rent appeal cases brought by tenants; and whether this will be in place prior to implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is preparing the First -Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for the implementation of the measures in the Renters’ Right Act 2025. Work is ongoing to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet the anticipated additional demand.
HMCTS is working on plans for improvements to the data we capture and draw from the supporting systems for the Tribunal as part of our preparations for the Renters’ Rights Act.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rent appeal cases were brought to each English regional residential property First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber by tenants each year over the past three full years, and what was the average time for the Tribunal to consider, process, and rule upon those appeals.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not hold specific information for rent appeal cases. Published data is published on residential property, which will include rent appeal cases: Main_Tables_Q4_2024_25.ods.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the dates of each occasion that (a) ministers and (b) officials engaged with Tufan Erhurman in the previous 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I met Tufan Erhurman on 7 March and spoke to him by phone on 25 June this year, as set out in the department's quarterly transparency data, in relation to Cyprus settlement and the UN 5+1 talks.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
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 outcome of the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on the London Borough of Bromley.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has been listening closely to the views expressed by the public, local authorities and other stakeholder bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation.
No final decisions on the outcome of the review have yet been taken. However, the government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most. The vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information in the government’s consultation response in Autumn, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
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 outcome of the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on local authorities in London.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has been listening closely to the views expressed by the public, local authorities and other stakeholder bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation.
No final decisions on the outcome of the review have yet been taken. However, the government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most. The vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information in the government’s consultation response in Autumn, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of applying VAT to private hire journeys outside London on the private hire industry.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Private hire vehicle services provided by VAT-registered businesses are, and always have been, subject to VAT. The Government continues to take the issue of VAT treatment of private hire vehicle services seriously and recognises the importance of clarity to the sector. It is right, however, that decisions on tax policy are taken at fiscal events in the context of overall public finances. The Government will therefore publish a response to the consultation soon.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department's planned timetable is for publishing its response to the consultation entitled VAT Treatment of Private Hire Vehicles, which closed on 8 August 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Private hire vehicle services provided by VAT-registered businesses are, and always have been, subject to VAT. The Government continues to take the issue of VAT treatment of private hire vehicle services seriously and recognises the importance of clarity to the sector. It is right, however, that decisions on tax policy are taken at fiscal events in the context of overall public finances. The Government will therefore publish a response to the consultation soon.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) ports and (b) shipping companies to (i) cut emissions and (ii) transition to clean fuels.
Answered by Mike Kane
In March 2025, we published the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, setting out our plans for decarbonising the domestic maritime sector. Alongside the Strategy, we also published the Net Zero Ports call for evidence that explores the opportunities and barriers to reducing emissions at berth, with a focus on the role ports can play in enabling their tenants and the shipping sector to decarbonise. All policies will go through formal consultation before implementation, including with a formal consultation on fuel regulations next year.
The UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme in the Department for Transport provides Research and Development funding to accelerate the technologies necessary to decarbonise the UK maritime sector. Between April 2022 and March 2025, UK SHORE allocated over £200 million to more than 150 projects across the UK. In January 2025, UK SHORE announced a further £30 million funding for the current financial year (April 2025-March 2026) to continue to build on the success of UK SHORE.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds information on whether asylum (a) claimants and (b) applicants have previously successfully claimed asylum in an EU member state.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A proper account of a claimant’s immigration history is taken as part of the screening process, and during the substantive asylum interview where necessary, to fully understand the chronology and detail of how the person came to the UK, including the circumstances of their departure from their country of origin, their reasons for leaving apparently safe countries and, where relevant, the opportunity they had to claim asylum there and any reasons given for not doing so.