Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the change to the Housing Ombudsman Service's level of fees on the financial burden on local authorities; and what steps he will take to encourage the Housing Ombudsman Service to consult in a more timely fashion with local authorities on potential changes to annual fees in the next financial year.

Following consultation, the Housing Ombudsman published its 2026-27 Business Plan on 15 April. Both the final Business Plan and a consultation response summary can be found on the Housing Ombudsman’s website here.

Fees will be increased to £9.64 per home in 2026-27 to deal with ongoing increases in demand.

The Business Plan also makes clear that in 2026-27 the Housing Ombudsman will undertake a discovery exercise on alternative fee models that recognise positive complaint handling to potentially replace the per home charge and will work with my Department to support an earlier consultation.