Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring all new build developments to include (a) solar panels, (b) heat pumps and (c) sufficient insulation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Future standards next year will set our new homes and buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and ensures they are fit for a net zero future. These homes and buildings will be future proofed with low carbon heating, such as heat pumps, and high levels of energy efficiency. We will take the opportunity, where appropriate, to encourage the fitting of solar panels on new homes and buildings.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a moratorium on evictions for mortgage prisoners.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government understands the challenges that mortgage prisoners face and will work with regulators and the industry to ensure that this issue is properly considered.
There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market, including mortgage prisoners. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.
The Government also has a number of measures in place to help people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit; the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS); and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to support mortgage prisoners.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government understands the challenges that mortgage prisoners face and will work with regulators and the industry to ensure that this issue is properly considered.
There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market, including mortgage prisoners. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.
The Government also has a number of measures in place to help people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit; the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS); and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on supporting the repair of potholes in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network. This Government has a manifesto commitment to enable local highway authorities to fix up to a million extra potholes a year, and it will say more on this in due course after the forthcoming Budget and Spending Review.
Cheshire West and Chester Council and Halton Council are the local highway authorities for different parts of the Runcorn and Helsby constituency, and they are therefore responsible for the condition and maintenance of their local road networks.
Cheshire West and Chester Council will receive £11.1 million from this Department during 2024/25 to help them carry out their local highway maintenance responsibilities, and it is their responsibility to decide how that funding is used, based on local needs and priorities.
Halton Council is a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA). LCRCA will receive £142.9 million from this Department during 2024/25 for investment in local transport networks in the Liverpool City Region as outlined in their programme business case and delivery plan. It is for LCRCA to decide how much of that funding is used for highway maintenance in Halton and its other five member authorities.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when her Department will enact the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Act 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government intend to act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation need to bring the Act into force.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to publish a draft of the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government intend to act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation need to bring the Act into force.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the average waiting time for podiatry appointments in (a) Halton' b) Cheshire West and (c) Cheshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Podiatry services are commissioned locally. The podiatry services catchment area for Halton, Cheshire West, and Cheshire is split between the Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the Cheshire and Wirrall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Both trusts record data in different ways, and as such there is no way to provide a consistent picture of waits across the area.
The Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides podiatry services in Halton. The average wait for podiatry services in Halton is 18 weeks. The Cheshire and Wirrall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides podiatry services in Cheshire West and Cheshire. The trust has advised that patients are waiting an average of six weeks for nail surgery, 15 weeks for podiatry biomechanics services, and for those patients that are high risk, with additional complex health needs like diabetes, the average wait is three weeks.