Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support is available for leaseholders in buildings under eleven metres in height impacted by building safety issues; and whether her Department plans to review the exclusion of such buildings from financial remediation schemes under the Building Safety Act 2022.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire risks from cladding are generally proportionate to building height. If remediation is required in buildings under 11 metres in height, the responsibility should rest with building owners. They should not pass these costs on to leaseholders but should seek to recover costs from those who were responsible for building unsafe homes.
The department announced targeted funding for multi-occupied residential buildings under 11 metres in the Remediation Acceleration Plan update. This funding will be available in exceptional cases, where there are life-critical fire safety risks from cladding and no alternative route to funding. This will protect leaseholders from unjust costs. Clear eligibility criteria which outline the application process for this exceptional funding will be published in due course.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to support women’s economic empowerment.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity for working people, driving up household income for everyone. A 5% increase in female employment could boost the UK economy by up to £125 billion every year; which is why women’s economic empowerment is so crucial.
Through the Employment Rights Bill, we are setting out the first steps towards requiring employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures; detailing the steps they are taking to narrow their gap and support employees during the menopause. We have already launched practical guidance to help employers to narrow their pay gap.
A number of other measures in the Bill will also support women’s economic empowerment; by increasing access to flexible working; improving protections for pregnant women and new mothers; and, strengthening protections against workplace sexual harassment.
We understand that the barriers women may face are diverse, whether it be access to investment to start or grow a business, to being able to receive timely healthcare in order to remain in work. This government recognises the varied challenges women face, and is committed to removing them.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the National Visitor Economy Strategy will include provisions to support areas with a majority of domestic tourism.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are in the process of developing a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy with the Visitor Economy Advisory Council and are happy to hear representations on what it should include, but we want to grow the tourism industry beyond London and champion visits to the British countryside and coastal areas to a worldwide and domestic audience.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Oral Statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 631, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in overseas development aid on local development service providers.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the government has taken the decision in the current fiscal and economic circumstances to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.
The impacts of reductions are being worked through, informed by equality impact assessments. Inevitably, reducing our ODA spend means that for some countries and themes there will be less to spend.
However, we are committed to transforming how we work in partnership with countries and organisations on development, reflecting the changing needs of our partners through four essential shifts. This includes moving from international intervention to local provision, working through local partners and civil society to deliver sustainable, locally-led solutions.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) local healthcare trusts and (b) ICBs on the specification for Neighbourhood Health Centres.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has set out its vision for Neighbourhood Health Centres in the 10-Year Health Plan, co-locating National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services and bring historically hospital-based services into the community. These should be part of a broader offer that is defined locally to meet the local population needs holistically, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
NHS England’s health building notes give best practice guidance on the design and planning of new healthcare buildings and on the adaption or extension of existing facilities, including for primary and community care services. These are available to both NHS trusts and integrated care boards, and are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/estates/health-building-notes/
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to give Community Land Trusts improved access to Registered Provider status.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Community Land Trusts and other community-based organisations can already apply to become registered providers of social housing. The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) sets registration criteria with respect to an applicant’s financial situation, constitution, or other arrangements for its management. Applicants who meet these criteria, regardless of the specific model of the provider, must be registered by law.
Being a registered provider brings significant responsibilities. RSH’s registration criteria are designed to ensure that, once registered, social landlords are capable of meeting ongoing regulatory requirements to provide safe, well-maintained homes through organisations that are well governed and financially viable.
The Regulator uses an outcomes-based approach to regulation; this also applies to the registrations process. This means that applicants have flexibility in how they demonstrate that they meet the criteria, allowing applicants with a range of business structures to have an approach that suits their needs.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote the separation of clean water from (a) sewage systems and (b) natural surface water drainage ponds in new housing developments.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is strongly committed to improving the implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and we are looking at what additional steps might be taken to support this. Better delivery of SuDS may be achieved by continuing to improve the current planning policy-based approach and looking at ways of improving the approach to adoption and maintenance, rather than commencing schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on this matter will be made in the coming months.
In June this year, the Government introduced new national standards, making clear that SuDS should be designed to cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits in the form of flood prevention and storm overflow reduction, offering reuse opportunities, reducing run off, and helping to improve water quality, amenity, and biodiversity.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to allocate fines to housebuilders from the Competition and Markets Authority to support the community land trust sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Seven housebuilders have agreed to pay a total of £100 million to affordable housing programmes across all four nations of the UK following a CMA investigation in response to concerns that they exchanged details about sales including pricing, number of property viewings and incentives offered to buyers.
The CMA is currently undertaking a consultation on how the money may be used. That consultation closes 24 July. Decisions on how the money is allocated will be made after the responses to the consultation have been analysed.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to increase the personal allowance in 2028-29.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to keeping taxes for working people as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) that victims of violent crime are promptly contacted by police and (b) that statements are taken without delay; and what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of police resourcing and funding to support timely investigations.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling violent crime and boosting public confidence in policing. Those are central ambitions within our Safer Streets mission.
In 2025-26 total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding.