Oral Answers to Questions

Lincoln Jopp Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are tackling the injustice of leasehold and fixing building safety, as my hon. Friend rightly highlighted. I thank her for campaigning on this over many years. We are capping ground rents at £250 to cut costs for almost 4 million leasehold properties. We are investing over £5 billion to remove dangerous cladding, including over £1 billion for social housing. In Lewisham and across the country, I am determined that everyone should have a safe and secure home.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

Q8. Last Thursday, a man was arrested in Laleham in my constituency. He had been approaching children at the primary school, having been warned by the police not to do so. He was taken into police custody and, after further examination, detained under the Mental Health Act. Unbelievably, he was living in an unlicensed house in multiple occupation, supported by the Home Office, a stone’s throw from the primary school. What I would like to know, Prime Minister, is: who is responsible for the risk assessment that put him there? Was it the Home Office, or was it Spelthorne borough council? Who screwed up? Who can I hold accountable?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for his question. As he will appreciate, there is a live police investigation, and I know that the Minister for Border Security and Asylum is looking closely at the case; obviously, I can provide the hon. Member with any further information as that emerges. I reassure him that all accommodation must meet contractual standards, and the Home Office works with the police to manage all sites safely. Local authorities are consulted prior to any accommodation being procured and can object to any proposal. When there is strong evidence that a site is not suitable, it will not be proceeded with.