Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the current backlog of unresolved cases at the Housing Ombudsman is, and how that figure compares to each year since 2020.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The average waiting time for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five financial years is:
Determined Cases Average Months to Determine
2021/22 2,238 5
2022/23 2,371 6
2023/24 4,908 11
2024/25 6,115 7
2025/26 8,791 8
The current oldest case is 22 months since it formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation. The Service expects no case to be older than 18 months by 31st March 2027.
The caseworker-to-complaint ratio within the Housing Ombudsman service is 39:1.
The backlog of cases that exceed 12 months since they formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation is set out below.
Backlog of Unresolved Cases
2023/24 283
2024/25 0
2025/26 2,458
Current 2,235
The proportion of complaints which were resolved within target timeframes in each of the last five is below.
Determined Within: 6 Months 12 Months
2022/23 N/A 100%
2023/24 54% 87%
2023/24 18% 62%
2024/25 46% 89%
2025/26 53% 78%
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the longest recorded time is for a complaint currently being handled by the Housing Ombudsman.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The average waiting time for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five financial years is:
Determined Cases Average Months to Determine
2021/22 2,238 5
2022/23 2,371 6
2023/24 4,908 11
2024/25 6,115 7
2025/26 8,791 8
The current oldest case is 22 months since it formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation. The Service expects no case to be older than 18 months by 31st March 2027.
The caseworker-to-complaint ratio within the Housing Ombudsman service is 39:1.
The backlog of cases that exceed 12 months since they formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation is set out below.
Backlog of Unresolved Cases
2023/24 283
2024/25 0
2025/26 2,458
Current 2,235
The proportion of complaints which were resolved within target timeframes in each of the last five is below.
Determined Within: 6 Months 12 Months
2022/23 N/A 100%
2023/24 54% 87%
2023/24 18% 62%
2024/25 46% 89%
2025/26 53% 78%
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of complaints to the Housing Ombudsman were resolved within target timeframes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The average waiting time for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five financial years is:
Determined Cases Average Months to Determine
2021/22 2,238 5
2022/23 2,371 6
2023/24 4,908 11
2024/25 6,115 7
2025/26 8,791 8
The current oldest case is 22 months since it formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation. The Service expects no case to be older than 18 months by 31st March 2027.
The caseworker-to-complaint ratio within the Housing Ombudsman service is 39:1.
The backlog of cases that exceed 12 months since they formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation is set out below.
Backlog of Unresolved Cases
2023/24 283
2024/25 0
2025/26 2,458
Current 2,235
The proportion of complaints which were resolved within target timeframes in each of the last five is below.
Determined Within: 6 Months 12 Months
2022/23 N/A 100%
2023/24 54% 87%
2023/24 18% 62%
2024/25 46% 89%
2025/26 53% 78%
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the caseworker-to-complaint ratio is within the Housing Ombudsman service.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The average waiting time for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five financial years is:
Determined Cases Average Months to Determine
2021/22 2,238 5
2022/23 2,371 6
2023/24 4,908 11
2024/25 6,115 7
2025/26 8,791 8
The current oldest case is 22 months since it formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation. The Service expects no case to be older than 18 months by 31st March 2027.
The caseworker-to-complaint ratio within the Housing Ombudsman service is 39:1.
The backlog of cases that exceed 12 months since they formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation is set out below.
Backlog of Unresolved Cases
2023/24 283
2024/25 0
2025/26 2,458
Current 2,235
The proportion of complaints which were resolved within target timeframes in each of the last five is below.
Determined Within: 6 Months 12 Months
2022/23 N/A 100%
2023/24 54% 87%
2023/24 18% 62%
2024/25 46% 89%
2025/26 53% 78%
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average waiting time was for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The average waiting time for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five financial years is:
Determined Cases Average Months to Determine
2021/22 2,238 5
2022/23 2,371 6
2023/24 4,908 11
2024/25 6,115 7
2025/26 8,791 8
The current oldest case is 22 months since it formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation. The Service expects no case to be older than 18 months by 31st March 2027.
The caseworker-to-complaint ratio within the Housing Ombudsman service is 39:1.
The backlog of cases that exceed 12 months since they formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation is set out below.
Backlog of Unresolved Cases
2023/24 283
2024/25 0
2025/26 2,458
Current 2,235
The proportion of complaints which were resolved within target timeframes in each of the last five is below.
Determined Within: 6 Months 12 Months
2022/23 N/A 100%
2023/24 54% 87%
2023/24 18% 62%
2024/25 46% 89%
2025/26 53% 78%
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending permitted development rights for agricultural reservoirs.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Reservoirs are reasonably necessary for agricultural purposes and can already be developed under an existing Permitted Development Right. We recognise that navigating planning flexibilities can be challenging, therefore we intend to update the relevant Planning Practice Guidance in the coming months with additional guidance to make it easier for farmers to utilise the Permitted Development Right in practice.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of HM Revenue and Custom’s readiness to implement the vaping products duty stamp scheme on schedule.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps scheme to make vaping less accessible to young people and non-smokers, while raising revenue to support vital public services, including the NHS and smoking cessation initiatives. The Vaping Duty Stamps scheme will provide HMRC with greater oversight of the vaping market and strengthen its ability to target fraud and criminality.
HMRC remains confident that both the Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps scheme will go live on 1 October 2026.
However, recognising industry feedback that some businesses may struggle to implement all of the changes required by then, HMRC has recently decided to extend the "transitional stamp" arrangements of the scheme for an additional three months.
This means businesses who are not ready to use the full digital features of the scheme can instead use a highly secure stamp without digital elements until the end of the year. This will support legitimate businesses to meet their legal requirements. The full digital scheme will be in operation for businesses who are ready to integrate with it.
Every new vaping product must be duty paid and must carry either a transitional stamp or a digitally enhanced stamp from 1 October.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the establishment of additional Agricultural Water Abstractor groups.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government continues to encourage the establishment and strengthening of Water Abstractor Groups (WAGs). These groups bring together abstractors within a catchment to share information, coordinate abstraction and increase agriculture’s input into local, regional and national planning, in particular informing regional water resources groups’ planning. Funding from Defra for the Regional Groups to improve agricultural water resources planning has helped increase the number of WAGs from 8 to 14, with a further three forecast for 2026/27.
Defra & the Environment Agency have supported the production of booklets on how to form WAGs.
Defra Farming are also offering a new Farming Collaboration fund which is open to new and existing groups for funding to support sharing expertise, stronger bargaining power and better business resilience all of which are shared aims of WAGs.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to expand the use of dynamic abstraction licensing to support water resource management across catchments.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is taking steps to move towards a more dynamic abstraction licensing system.
The Environment Agency (EA) supports innovative approaches to abstraction that ensure the rights of other abstractors are protected, while safeguarding the environment. Defra and the EA are facilitating an MHCLG Cambridge Growth funded trial of smart agricultural abstraction in East Anglia this year. The trial will use new technologies to monitor water flows and abstraction, maximising water availability. The EA are also developing digital systems to enable more responsive abstraction management. The Government plans to bring abstraction and impoundment regulation into the Environmental Permitting Regulations, providing a more flexible legislative framework.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the duration of abstraction licences for farms.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Time limits are a legislative requirement for abstraction licences. The Environment Agency (EA) issues licences with time limits from 6 to 18 years in line with its approach to managing water abstraction. Applicants can apply for a long duration licence for up to 24 years. The EA are reviewing the criteria to make it easier to apply for a long duration licence. The Government plans to move abstraction and impoundment regulation into the Environmental Permitting Regulations to improve how we use water resources; new permits will be issued without time limits.