Commonhold and Leasehold Reform

Josh Dean Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

I can feel the glare of my private office as I agree to meetings across the House, but I am happy to do so. The matters that the hon. Lady addresses are in the consultation we brought forward last year. It is an incredibly technical consultation on standardising and making more transparent service charges across the country, which are not uniform in any way as things stand. However, as I have said, we want to introduce those protections as soon as possible.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

Today, I think of one of the very first constituents I saw at one of my surgeries, who was trying to sell one of her leasehold properties just to help fund the care of her mother. Will the Minister take this opportunity to reassure my constituent that this Labour Government are on her side and are doing all they can to free her and others from what has become a nightmare?

[Matthew Pennycook]

I say to my hon. Friend that we are on his constituent’s side. It is because so many leaseholders across the country are suffering from unjust and discriminatory practices that we have to overhaul and ultimately end this feudal system.

Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Dean Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

I am grateful for the opportunity to remind the House, and the hon. Gentleman and his Front-Bench colleagues, that they of course wanted the predecessor programme to the plan for neighbourhoods, but did not provide any money for it. That was a slight oversight, which we have been able to address in order to keep the promises that they made but would have had to break. On the point about trade union boards, I can understand why Opposition colleagues do not want the voices of millions of ordinary people in the room when decisions are made; they never do, and they never will. However, trade unions are not in competition with small businesses—far from it. There is room for both in the discussions, and both will add lots to those discussions.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

12. What recent progress her Department has made on supporting growth in local areas.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Alex Norris)]

We are giving local leaders the tools they need to deliver growth for their areas by devolving power and money from central Government to local communities. We are investing in programmes that drive growth, and we will set out our refreshed vision for local growth funding at the multi-year spending review.

[Josh Dean]

Local high streets such as those in Hertford and Stortford are the beating heart of our communities, and they power economic growth. I welcome the fact that the Government are already working with local authorities to implement high street rental auction powers, to breathe life back into high streets and ensure that vacant shops are occupied. Will the Minister set out in further detail how this will help to drive up occupancy rates on our high streets and drive growth in Hertford and Stortford?

[Alex Norris]

High street rental auctions are a great tool for enabling Hertford and Stortford and the rest of the country to take on persistent vacancy. We already have trailblazers that are moving forward at great pace to implement those auctions, but the powers and the extra resources we have provided are available for all councils, and we ask them to come forward, to designate those town centres and high streets, and to start those auctions.