Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 introducing a cap on private rents for residential properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures. We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to raise the Local Housing Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed annually, usually at an Autumn fiscal event.
At last year’s Autumn Budget, the Secretary of State’s decision to maintain LHA at current levels for 2025/26 was taken after a range of factors were considered, including rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, rate increases in April 2024, and the wider fiscal context. The April 2024 one-year LHA increase cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25, and approximately £7bn over 5 years.
Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the fiscal context.
For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will ensure that time spent in Gibraltar does not reduce the time British citizens can spend in Schengen countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To unlock the benefits of a fluid border, all individuals arriving at Gibraltar's airport will undergo dual immigration controls allowing them to move freely into the EU if they wish to. As visitors will be free to cross into Spain without checks, time spent in Gibraltar will count towards the EU's 90 in 180 requirement. This agreement provides a solution to the unique situation in Gibraltar, ensuring a fluid border and delivering certainty for Gibraltar's people and businesses.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether time spent in Gibraltar by UK citizens will count against the 90-day allowance for stays in Schengen countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Non-resident British nationals can currently visit Gibraltar for up to 90 days. The same will be the case under this agreement. As visitors will be free to cross into Spain without checks, time spent in Gibraltar will count towards the EU's 90 in 180 requirement. Immigration into Gibraltar is, and will remain, the responsibility of the Government of Gibraltar.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to review the (a) eligibility requirements for, (b) age threshold for, (c) tapering the earnings threshold for, (d) time spent caring condition for and (e) level of the Carers Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government keeps all aspects of Carer’s Allowance under review to see if it is meeting its objectives. It is not means-tested, but is subject to a weekly earnings limit. This was increased by a record amount in April 2025, which will benefit at least 60,000 unpaid carers between 2025/26 and 2029/30. The Government is also considering the possibility of introducing an earnings taper in the longer term.
Carer’s Allowance may be supplemented for those on low incomes through Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These are paid at a higher rate for carers through the Universal Credit carer element of £201.68 per monthly assessment period, paid in addition to the Standard Allowance; or the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit of £46.40 a week, paid in addition to the Standard Minimum Guarantee.
The Government has no plans to make Carer’s Allowance available to those aged under 16, or to change the requirement to be caring for at least 35 hours a week for someone in receipt of a “trigger” disability benefit.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of private landlords that have issued Section 21 notices to their tenants since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on Section 21 evictions issued by landlords.
However, the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 indicated that Section 21 notices are the most common way landlords evict tenants, and we know that chronic insecurity in the private rented sector has real-life consequences for individuals and families.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including the long-delayed abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.
The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, if she will make it her policy to include consideration of the social contribution of social care workers when determining points-based contributions to reducing the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward a consultation on fox hunting.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As per our manifesto, this Government will ban trail hunting. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to introduce AI integration and camera use in family law proceedings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. Within the Ministry of Justice, we are testing and adopting AI to improve the experience and efficiency within our courts.
AI has the potential to enable service improvements across HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and we are exploring how it can be applied responsibly to our operations and services, including to support document processing, transcription, summarisation and translation. The use of AI in the courts and tribunals will be focused on accelerating and assisting people’s work, not automating decisions.
All use of artificial intelligence in the Ministry of Justice is aligned with the AI Playbook for the UK Government and the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard. The Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals issued AI Guidance for the judiciary in December 2023.
There are currently no live AI or predictive analytics systems in use in the Family Courts.
We are running early-stage discovery and proof of concept projects to test the potential value of AI in the Family Courts as follows:
Remote hearings in family proceedings, often conducted via telephone or video conferencing, are already regularly used where the judge with conduct of the case feels it is appropriate.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to maintain the differential between the levels of the (a) new state pension and (b) lower personal tax allowance.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners benefitted from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast.
The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.