Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in her Department was in each of the last three years; and what information she holds on the the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in local authorities in the same period.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, 100 (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) employees have taken paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child. The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below.
Calendar Year | AWDT |
2021 | 10 |
2022 | 11 |
2023 | 12 |
2024 (Jan to Oct) | 10 |
Staff employed in local authorities are subject to the pay terms and conditions for those organisations. This department does not keep a central record on employment data relating to these organisations.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to tackle unreasonable service charges for leaseholders.
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. These include measures that will make it easier for leaseholders to exercise their right to take over the management of their properties; enable the introduction of a new valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise, which includes the removal of the requirement for leaseholders to pay marriage value; and deliver reforms to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation needed to bring the Act into force. An impact assessment for the Act, including on the removal of marriage value, was published in December 2023 and received a green rating from the independent Regulatory Policy Committee.
Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure. The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Satvir Kaur (Labour - Southampton Test)
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 has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting (a) national and (b) regional targets to build social homes within the 1.5 million homes that have already been planned.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. Our aspiration is to ensure that, in the first full financial year of this Parliament (2025-26), the number of Social Rent homes is rising rather than falling. We will update Parliament on our progress.
We have therefore asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise the number of Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding.
My department published an update on targets in the 2021-26 Programme on 30 July 2024. We have also proposed a number of changes to national planning policy that are designed to support the delivery of Social Rent homes. We will bring forward details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing at the Spending Review.
Asked by: Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - North West Essex)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 23 September 2024, to Question 2981, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Civil Servants, if she will list the (a) Recruitment Principles exception and (b) job title of the position for each of the appointments made without open and fair competition from 4 July 2024 to date.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG made 47 appointments by exception to fair, open and merit-based recruitment principles from 1 July to 31 September 2024.
All appointments were at grades below the Senior Civil Service. We are unable to break this down further (ie grade level) as the numbers are too small to disclose.
Exception | Description | Number of appointments between 1st July – 31st September 2024 |
Exception 1 | Temporary appointments | 40 |
Exception 2 | Government employment programmes | 5 |
Exception 3 | Secondments | 2 |
The department publishes a senior and junior organogram biannually setting out job titles and salaries – Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk.
There are clear rules governing recruitment and appointment of civil service roles, which are regulated by the Civil Service Commission. It is the longstanding convention of government under successive administrations that we do not comment on matters relating to individual staff.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people have been appointed to civil service positions without open competition in her Department since the general election; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG made 47 appointments by exception to fair, open and merit-based recruitment principles from 1 July to 31 September 2024.
All appointments were at grades below the Senior Civil Service. We are unable to break this down further (ie grade level) as the numbers are too small to disclose.
Exception | Description | Number of appointments between 1st July – 31st September 2024 |
Exception 1 | Temporary appointments | 40 |
Exception 2 | Government employment programmes | 5 |
Exception 3 | Secondments | 2 |
The department publishes a senior and junior organogram biannually setting out job titles and salaries – Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk.
There are clear rules governing recruitment and appointment of civil service roles, which are regulated by the Civil Service Commission. It is the longstanding convention of government under successive administrations that we do not comment on matters relating to individual staff.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the average cost to leaseholders of marriage value in the last 12 months; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing marriage value.
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. These include measures that will make it easier for leaseholders to exercise their right to take over the management of their properties; enable the introduction of a new valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise, which includes the removal of the requirement for leaseholders to pay marriage value; and deliver reforms to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation needed to bring the Act into force. An impact assessment for the Act, including on the removal of marriage value, was published in December 2023 and received a green rating from the independent Regulatory Policy Committee.
Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure. The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving leaseholders more powers to establish their own management companies.
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. These include measures that will make it easier for leaseholders to exercise their right to take over the management of their properties; enable the introduction of a new valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise, which includes the removal of the requirement for leaseholders to pay marriage value; and deliver reforms to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation needed to bring the Act into force. An impact assessment for the Act, including on the removal of marriage value, was published in December 2023 and received a green rating from the independent Regulatory Policy Committee.
Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure. The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will include proposals to end the inclusion of financially burdensome terms in the deeds of (a) freeholds and (b) leaseholds in planned draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.
The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Joe Powell (Labour - Kensington and Bayswater)
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 plans to respond to the consultation entitled Modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases which closed on 17 January 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.
The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will take steps to replace the leasehold system with commonhold.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.
The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.