Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of accumulation of UK residential property by foreign investors; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the accumulation of residential property by foreign investors on the property market for UK buyers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has not conducted a specific assessment of trends in the level of residential property ownership by foreign investors in the UK.
Data on property ownership by overseas companies in England and Wales is published by HM Land Registry and is publicly available via the GOV.UK website.
We recognise concerns about the impact of overseas investment on housing affordability, particularly for first-time buyers. In response, and as part of this government’s commitment to supporting first-time buyers, we have introduced fiscal measures to level the playing field.
Non-UK residents already pay a 2% surcharge on top of the residential rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when purchasing a dwelling in England or Northern Ireland.
In addition, at the Autumn Budget 2024, the government increased the higher rates of SDLT by two percentage points from 3% to 5%. The higher rates are also paid by non-UK residents purchasing additional property.
Increasing the higher rates of SDLT helps to ensure that those looking to move home, or purchase their first property, have a greater advantage over second home buyers, landlords and companies purchasing residential property.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of working with private sector organisations to expand rent-to-buy schemes to support first-time buyers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Rent to Buy is funded through the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021 to 2026.
To own and manage rent to Buy homes funded through the AHP an organisation must be a Registered Provider with the Regulator of Social Housing.
Some private sector organisations also offer rent-to-buy schemes funded by other means. The government has not made any assessment of such schemes.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State fir Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of property aggregation by wealth funds on the affordability of housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly engages with other government departments on matters relating to housing affordability.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a banded tax on landlord profits.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
If landlords own properties directly, they are taxed at their marginal rate under income tax rules, and profits made on the sale of properties are charged to capital gains tax.
Where landlords operate through a company, the company will have to pay corporation tax on its profits and the owners will also pay income tax on dividends they receive. Profits made on the sale of properties are also liable for corporation tax.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set out a timeline for bringing forward guidance to bring the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 into force.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are going further than ever before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to tackle violence against women and girls, which will be underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published this year.
Public sexual harassment is a crime that often leaves victims feeling unsafe on their own streets. That is why tackling that criminal behaviour will form an important part of our mission to halve VAWG within a decade.
We will confirm next steps on implementation of the Protection from Sex Based Harassment in Public Act at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of appeals against decisions on NHS Continuing Healthcare funding by integrated care boards were upheld in favour of the applicant in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
If an individual disagrees with the outcome of an NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessment, they may apply to the integrated care board (ICB) for a Local Resolution procedure. Where it has not been possible to resolve the matter through the Local Resolution procedure, the individual may apply to NHS England for an Independent Review of the decision.
We have interpreted ‘appeals against decisions’ as a request for Local Resolution or Independent Review of CHC eligibility decision requests, and ‘were upheld in favour of the applicant’ to mean the number of these found eligible. The following table, provided by NHS England, shows the number of Local Resolution requests to review a CHC eligibility decision completed by ICBs, and the number and percentage of those found eligible, from Quarter four of 2023/24 to Quarter three of 2024/25, for England:
Number of Local Resolution requests completed by ICBs | Number found eligible | Percentage eligible |
2,453 | 376 | 15% |
In addition, the following table show the number of Independent Review requests to review a CHC eligibility decision carried out by NHS England, and the number and percentage found eligible, from Quarter four of 2023/24 to Quarter three of 2024/25, for England:
Number of Independent Review Panels carried out by NHS England | Number found eligible | Percentage eligible |
476 | 116 | 24% |
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the benefits of regulating private-owned retirement residential services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In November 2024, the Government published the independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce report, originally commissioned prior to the July 2024 General Election. The Taskforce undertook an assessment of public and private specialised and supported older people’s housing, with a particular focus on the private market for those on middle incomes, and explored options for the provision of greater choice, quality and security of housing for older people. The full report and recommendations alongside two pieces of research undertaken for the Taskforce are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-older-peoples-housing-taskforce-report
The Government is currently considering the recommendations set out in the report and remain fully committed to providing homeowners with greater rights, powers and protections over their homes by quickly implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Council of Europe.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary had discussions with the former Council of Europe Secretary General at the European Political Community (EPC) Summit last July. The Prime Minister met with the current Secretary General at the Budapest EPC Summit in November 2024. The Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General have both attended recent Council of Europe events in Vilnius and Strasbourg respectively.
I have regularly engaged with our Ambassador to the Council of Europe on a range of matters, and recently met with members of the UK delegation.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to support prison officers working in HMP Drake Hall in Stafford.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
HMP Drake Hall provides early days support for new Officers to ensure they are well informed pre-start date. The New Colleague Mentor supports staff in their first year along with an assigned mentor in addition to their Line Manager.
Line Mangers support staff through the Staff Wellbeing Offer, with referrals to Occupational Health and workplace adjustments passports if required. Staff Support networks are promoted to all staff. Onsite Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) practitioners and Care Team members are available. Staff are also able to access the Mental Health Allies service and Employee Assistance Programme.
Furthermore, Officers are allocated to training to support working with women and have touchpoint meetings with their Line Managers to aid their development and wellbeing. They have the opportunity to take part in various development schemes to help their career progression.
I recognise that prison officers work in difficult environments every day and I want to thank all prison officers for the important job they do in keeping the public safe.
The previous Government left our hardworking staff to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put the safety and security of staff at risk. I know that a well-staffed and skilled HM Prison Service is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes and we are determined to improve their safety at work and ensure they get a fair pay reward.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to provide information for Gurkha personnel at recruitment and transition about their rights and entitlements.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government greatly values the Service of the Gurkhas who have a long and distinguished history of service to the UK, both at home and overseas. We take the welfare of our Gurkha personnel extremely seriously and remain committed to supporting them and their families during and after their Service with the British Army.
All Gurkha personnel are briefed and provided with access to information on their rights and entitlements at every stage throughout their career, in the British Army and beyond, from the initial recruitment phase through to post-service.
During the recruitment phase, information regarding rights and entitlements is passed to all candidates through both written and verbal communications, including providing forums for candidates to ask questions. During Resettlement and Transition, all Gurkha personnel have access to Resettlement training to ensure a successful transition to civilian life in the UK or overseas.