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 his Department has made of the risks to leaseholders in circumstances where a freeholder becomes insolvent and building safety remediation costs remain outstanding or unfunded.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
The Department recognises the difficulties freeholder insolvency can cause for leaseholders, especially where building safety risks are present.
In 11m+ residential buildings, developers can still be held responsible via the developer remediation contract and both developers and former owners can be pursued through a remediation contribution order.
Government funding is provided for cladding remediation works and in some circumstances applications may be made for these funds even after a freeholder has become insolvent.
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 his Department has made of the potential impact of proposals to cap ground rents on the ability of professional freeholders to fund or oversee building safety remediation works.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278) and to Annex 5 of the Impact Assessment for the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill which can be found here.
The government is investing £5.2 billion to remove unsafe cladding, with industry funding the remainder through measures including the building safety levy.
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 his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposals in the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill on the delivery and funding of building safety remediation programmes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278) and to Annex 5 of the Impact Assessment for the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill which can be found here.
The government is investing £5.2 billion to remove unsafe cladding, with industry funding the remainder through measures including the building safety levy.
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, whether his Department has assessed the potential risks to leaseholders arising from freeholder insolvencies that may result from ground rent reform.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278) and to Annex 5 of the Impact Assessment for the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill which can be found here.
The government is investing £5.2 billion to remove unsafe cladding, with industry funding the remainder through measures including the building safety levy.
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 his Department has made of the potential risk that proposals to cap ground rents could contribute to freeholder insolvencies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278) and to Annex 5 of the Impact Assessment for the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill which can be found here.
The government is investing £5.2 billion to remove unsafe cladding, with industry funding the remainder through measures including the building safety levy.
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, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the adequacy of progress made in the disarming of Hamas under the terms of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting the implementation of the 20-point Gaza Peace Plan in full.
Alongside our international partners, we have been clear that Hamas must decommission its weaponry and must no longer be allowed to pose a threat to Israel’s security.
We will continue to support international efforts on a credible plan to achieve those goals, as part of the wider transition process set out in Phase 2 of the Peace Plan.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of not holding a public consultation specifically on the presumption of refusal for new gambling premises licences on local residents.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Gambling Impact Assessments (GIAs) have now been introduced in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, delivering on a commitment made in the 2023 gambling white paper. The gambling white paper followed a public call for evidence which received over 15,000 responses.
GIAs, formerly referred to as Cumulative Impact Assessments, will allow local authorities to create a presumption against granting new gambling premises licences in a specific area, where there is evidence that additional premises would undermine the gambling licensing objectives. The legislation requires that before publishing a GIA, licensing authorities must consult the persons mentioned in Section 349(3) of the Gambling Act 2005. This includes persons who represent the interests of those likely to be affected by the exercise of the authority’s functions, and persons who represent the interests of gambling businesses in the area.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92754, on Rents: Appeals, whether (a) suitable arrangements for monitoring data relating to rent increase challenges in the Residential Property Tribunal and (b) all other necessary work to prepare the justice system has been or will be completed prior to implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on 1 May 2026.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department continues to work closely with the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal Service to ensure that the justice system is well prepared for the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act, including the potential impact of the Act on the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
This includes ensuring that suitable arrangements are in place for monitoring data relating to rent increase challenges in the Residential Property Tribunal.
The justice system will be supported with appropriate funding to ensure that the courts and tribunals have the resources and capacity they need to handle the workload that implementation of the Act will generate.
All other necessary work to prepare the justice system is expected to be completed by 1 May 2026.
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, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure that Hamas is disarmed in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have always been clear that Hamas must disarm and have no role in the future governance of Gaza, and we are continuing to support international efforts towards that goal, as part of the wider transition process set out in Phase 2 of the Gaza Peace Plan.
We encourage all parties to work towards a stable and phased security transition including demilitarisation of armed groups, deployment of a new police force under the leadership of the Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 106177, on Rents: Appeals, whether any programmes of works detailed in that Answer are estimated not to be completed before the implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on 1 May 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All the programmes of work detailed in the answer to Question 106177 are expected to be completed by implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on 1 May 2026. This includes recruitment exercises for additional administrative staff, establishment of a centralised operational hub, updates to operational processes, availability of suitable estates capacity for hearings and enhancements to technology systems.
Recruitment of judges and members for the Property Chamber is ongoing, with further recruitment exercises planned throughout 2026.