Written Statements

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

Monday 26 October 2026

Small Business Regulatory Taskforce

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment (Chris McDonald)]

My hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business and Enterprise (Lord Leong) made the following statement on Friday 23 October 2026:

Today, the Government are publishing their response to the small business regulatory taskforce’s report, setting out reforms to make regulation simpler, more proportionate and easier for small and medium-sized businesses to navigate.

Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the United Kingdom’s economy. They create jobs, drive innovation and support communities across the country. As the Government work to reindustrialise the economy and strengthen the UK’s industrial base, small and medium-sized enterprises will play a central role in driving investment, commercialising innovation and creating high-quality jobs. Yet too often they face a disproportionate burden from fragmented processes, repeated requests for the same information and guidance that is difficult to find or navigate.

The Government are committed to reducing the administrative cost of regulation to business by 25% over the course of this Parliament. As part of that commitment, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade established the small business regulatory taskforce to identify practical reforms that would improve the experience of regulation for smaller businesses.

The taskforce was a joint Government and industry initiative, co-chaired by the Minister for Small Business and Tina McKenzie MBE, national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses. I am grateful to its members, and to all the businesses and organisations that contributed evidence and insights to its work. The taskforce made 15 recommendations to the Government covering regulatory submissions, guidance, regulatory passporting, business capability and support, and the design and enforcement of regulation.

Our response sets out a substantial package of reforms to make regulation simpler, more proportionate and easier to navigate, while maintaining essential protections for consumers, workers, communities and the environment.

At the heart of the response is our ambition to develop a “Tell Government Once” approach. Businesses should not have to provide the same information repeatedly to different parts of Government. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade will work with the Government Digital Service, other Government Departments, regulators and businesses to explore options for a more joined-up service and, subject to future spending decisions, develop a road map following the next spending review.

The Government recognise the taskforce’s concerns about the administrative burden of companies having to file information separately at Companies House and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, resulting in duplicative filing requirements. In response to this, the Government have decided to pause implementing the profit and loss filing requirement for April 2028. In the meantime, options will be explored to address stakeholder concerns about filing information separately at Companies House and HMRC, through the “Tell Government Once” ambition. We remain committed to delivering our economic crime objectives whilst also reducing business burdens and improving filing processes. Other accounts reforms requirements, including mandatory software-only filing, will be implemented from April 2028 as planned.

We will make it easier for businesses to report burdensome, disproportionate or outdated regulation and to access appropriate support through www.gov.uk/business, and the Business Growth Service. A “no wrong door” approach will help ensure that concerns reach the right part of Government.

We will continue to develop reusable business credentials and more streamlined, secure and personalised digital interactions, including greater reuse of supplier information in procurement. Alongside these cross-Government reforms we will convene a joint working group to consider further support for small food and drink businesses in complying with regulatory requirements.

Small businesses will remain central to the Government’s wider regulatory reform programme. Through the forthcoming Regulating for Growth Bill, the Government plan to strengthen the existing growth duty. Sponsor Departments will be expected to consider small business growth priorities when developing the next round of regulator growth goals.

We will also strengthen support for company directors, particularly first-time directors, and continue work to modernise licensing. Early work to digitise temporary event notices indicates that redesigned processes can reduce administrative burdens significantly. We will extend this work to further local authorities and another type of licence.

Taken together, these 14 measures constitute a substantial response to the taskforce’s recommendations. They will reduce repeated form-filling, simplify business journeys and improve access to advice and support, reflecting a clear principle: Government should work around businesses, rather than expecting businesses to work around Government.

The Government accept all but one of the taskforce’s recommendations. They decline the recommendation to exempt small dormant and non-trading companies from filing an annual confirmation statement and paying the associated fee. While we understand the rationale behind the recommendation to remove the need to contact Companies House when there have been no changes, the confirmation statement provides an important annual checkpoint to maintain the accuracy of the companies register. The associated fee presents companies’ annual contribution towards the benefits of incorporated status, including limited liability, the total value of which is around £9.6 billion to companies with between zero and nine employees.

A copy of the Government’s response will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and made available on www.gov.uk.

[HCWS416]

National School of Government and Public Services

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mark Ferguson)]

I am today providing an update to the House to confirm the formal establishment of the National School of Government and Public Services, following the written ministerial statement made on 20 January 2026 [HCWS1260], which confirmed the Government’s intention to establish a new national school. This marks a significant step forward in providing world-class learning and development for civil servants, supporting public sector excellence and preparing our people for the future.

Reform of the civil service is central to delivering the Government’s priorities. Investing in the skills and capability of civil servants is important for improving delivery and delivering faster, higher-quality public services for the people who rely on them.

The national school brings civil service learning and development under one roof, creating a unified system designed and delivered by civil servants, for civil servants. It will deliver more learning and development in house, working in collaboration with external expertise where this genuinely adds value.

From day one, the national school provides a comprehensive learning and development offer built around six universal skills areas:

Leadership and management

Working in Government

Digital, data, innovation and AI

Personal effectiveness

Communication and collaboration

Strategy and critical thinking

The national school’s offer will include new modules covering AI, devolution, national security, leadership, and innovation, alongside an enhanced induction programme for the senior civil service. The national school will continue to deliver key talent schemes, including apprenticeships and the civil service fast stream.

The national school will operate in the areas where civil servants work around the country, at a dedicated residential campus at the Hawkhills in north Yorkshire, and through a single, easy access website.

Over time, the national school will expand its in-house course delivery, broaden its physical presence with regional sites across the UK, and deliver a high-quality digital learning experience. It will offer a range of support for leaders across the UK’s public services to inspire and enable collective public sector delivery, building on the national leadership forum and the public leaders programme with a new programme for deputy chief executive officer level leaders, and more regional and place-based events and networks. In addition, it will pilot the expansion of its programmes—including opening access to its accelerated development programmes for local and mayoral authority staff, and widening access to the fast stream, beginning with the launch of the Fast Stream Yorkshire and the Humber scheme.

Everything the national school delivers will be evidence-led and evaluated for real impact by the national school evidence centre. Three publications explaining the work of the national school evidence centre, how the national school will be evaluated, and the impact we expect the national school to have and how we will achieve it, will be deposited with the House Library today.

Over the years ahead, the national school will become a lasting institution that the civil service, and the wider public sector, can depend on, supporting public sector excellence that benefits citizens long into the future.

You can find out more about the national school at: www.nationalschool.gov.uk

[HCWS410]

Olympics and Paralympics: North of England Proposal

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (John Healey)]

The Government have today announced £7 million of funding for UK Sport to carry out a detailed feasibility study for a future bid to host an Olympic and Paralympic games in the north of England in the 2040s.

Major sporting events can bring significant economic, social and cultural benefits to the places that host them, and mayors and local leaders across the north have expressed strong support for bringing the games to the region. Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games in the UK could also bring communities together for a shared national moment and create a lasting legacy for people across the country.

UK Sport has completed initial work to map the infrastructure requirements, costs and potential benefits of a northern games. That work indicates that the proposal merits further examination before any decision is taken on a bid.

This funding will allow UK Sport to lead the study, working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, northern mayors, council leaders, the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association, the latter two of which would ultimately lead any such bid, to assess whether a games in the north would be deliverable, affordable and capable of delivering lasting benefits for the communities involved.

UK Sport will be expected to present findings to the Government in 2029. The Government will consider the assessment’s findings carefully and will update the House in due course.

[HCWS413]

AI: Economic Opportunities and Security

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (John Healey)]

Artificial intelligence is an age-defining technological change. The Government will ensure that AI is a force for good, strengthening the UK’s security and resilience and protecting it against emerging threats. This will ensure that the UK can shape the change that AI will bring, seize the opportunities it presents, and not be left vulnerable or dependent on other countries.

The economic opportunities from AI will only be realised if our critical infrastructure, public services and businesses are resilient to emerging threats. The Government will invest £165 million in a new national AI biosecurity initiative, including £100 million for an AI biosecurity lab and £65 million to strengthen bio-surveillance and develop medical countermeasures.

We will provide an additional £120 million for the AI Security Institute to strengthen its testing and research and develop technical standards to help mitigate AI risks. We will also invest £60 million in a national cyber-shield, including a £25 million challenge fund for UK AI and cyber-security innovators, and establish a £70 million national exposure and real-time vulnerability centre to identify cyber-vulnerabilities across our critical infrastructure and economy. A further £24 million investment will support the systematic hardening of the public sector technology estate.

Alongside protecting against emerging risks, the Government will strengthen the capabilities needed to ensure that Britain can shape its own economic future. We will provide an additional £60 million for the sovereign AI fund to invest in promising UK AI companies, including a new focus on physical and industrial AI; a further £60 million for the sovereign AI R&D procurement scheme; and £18 million for a new UK advanced chip design academy to strengthen advanced chip design capability.

Every part of the country must be able to benefit from AI. We will start by piloting local AI partnerships with mayoral strategic authorities, bringing together local leaders, businesses and education providers to pursue locally-led approaches to AI adoption. We will provide £15 million for an AI challenge prize to incentivise innovators to develop AI solutions to frontline public service challenges, with a first year’s focus on health, and £10 million per year for the AI Economics Institute to lead the UK’s work in understanding the evidence on AI’s impact on productivity, growth, jobs and living standards. The Government will also establish a new AI cyber-security centre of excellence in Manchester to train the next generation of cyber and AI experts.

Together, these measures will strengthen Britain’s security and resilience, build domestic capability and help ensure that people across the country benefit from AI.

[HCWS412]

Carbon Dioxide Stunning of Pigs: Consultation

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Stephen Morgan)]

As set out in the animal welfare strategy for England, the Government have committed to consulting on banning the use of carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs.

I can announce that this consultation launches today, 26 October 2026. The proposal being consulted on is the banning of the use of carbon dioxide to stun pigs in the UK, following an appropriate transition period to allow impacted slaughterhouses to convert to suitable alternative stunning systems.

The Government encourage the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter, and are committed to working closely with industry to support a sustainable future for British pig production. We want to ensure that animals receive the care, respect and protection that they deserve, while working with producers to maintain a resilient meat processing sector.

We wish to address the long-standing welfare concerns associated with the high-concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs. Evidence shows that exposure to this gas causes significant pain, fear and respiratory distress for pigs at the point of slaughter.

The Animal Welfare Committee provided an up-to-date animal welfare assessment of the evidence on this stunning method, and potential alternatives, in October 2025. The Committee recommended that high-concentration carbon dioxide, along with carbon dioxide in gas mixtures, should be removed from the list of approved pig stunning methods.

We believe that a transition away from carbon dioxide stunning of pigs would result in a significant improvement to pig welfare at the time of killing. This transition should be managed in a way that allows the industry to make the necessary technological changes and maintain economic viability.

The consultation will provide all stakeholders with the opportunity to share views and evidence on the proposal, including on costs, feasibility, welfare impacts and implementation considerations.

The consultation will be published on www.gov.uk and will be open until 21 December 2026.

[HCWS414]

Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Victim and Survivor Advisory Panel

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Satvir Kaur)]

I am today announcing the establishment of an advisory panel for adult victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation, fulfilling a commitment made by the former Home Secretary in 2025. The panel will be established independently by the office of the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, supported by up to £1 million of Home Office funding over the next three years.

Too often, victims and survivors tell us that policies are developed for them, rather than with them. This new advisory panel will help to change that by placing victim and survivor voices at the heart of the Government’s work to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. It will give victims and survivors living in England and Wales a stronger voice in shaping relevant policy, as well as the support they receive.

The panel will be established and operated independently by the office of the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales. The Victims’ Commissioner plays a crucial role in championing the interests of victims and witnesses across the criminal justice system. Locating the panel in the commissioner’s office will enable victims and survivors to contribute independently and share their views openly with Government and their partners. The office will use its position and influence to enable consistent and meaningful engagement between the panel and Government.

We have taken a thoughtful and considered approach to developing this panel because we recognise that participation must be safe, trauma-informed and shaped by people with lived experience. Victims and survivors have been involved in its development from the outset. It also draws on evidence from wider participation models, including those established by the Independent Inquiry into child sexual abuse, alongside expertise from the specialist child sexual abuse sector and relevant international practice.

I would like to thank each and every victim and survivor who has given their time and insight to help shape this panel, including those who contributed through the committee facilitated by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. We are committed to honouring the legacy of their work by carrying forward what they have shared and ensuring that their experiences, perspectives and recommendations continue to inform the development and future work of the new panel.

The panel will comprise a core group of members, and will be supported by wider routes for engagement, so that a broader range of victims and survivors can contribute to its work. This model recognises that no single group can reflect every experience of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and will help ensure that the panel’s advice is informed by diverse voices, perspectives and experiences.

The Victims’ Commissioner will lead the recruitment of panel members through a fair, transparent and trauma-informed process. Recruitment will open later this year, with the panel expected to begin its work in 2027. The Government will support the commissioner to publicise the opportunity widely, and will encourage applications from people with a broad range of experiences, perspectives and backgrounds.

Victims and survivors know better than anyone where systems fail and where they need to improve. Their insight can help us build services that respond more effectively to the needs of victims and survivors, both now and in the future. This Government are committed not only to listening carefully to the panel’s advice, but to ensuring that their advice meaningfully informs policies, services and outcomes for those affected by child sexual abuse and exploitation. Our ambition is that the panel will help turn that insight into lasting change.

[HCWS411]

Resilience Summit 2027

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)]

We have seen significant wildfire activity in 2026, with more than 1,300 wildfire incidents recorded in England by the end of August, including a number of major incidents requiring a significant multi-agency response. Following the wildfire at Stourbridge, the Prime Minister made clear the need to ensure that fire and rescue services are equipped to respond to the growing impacts of climate change and committed to using the wildfire summit to address this challenge.

On 23 October, the Prime Minister hosted England’s first wildfire summit, and I want to update the House on the steps this Government are taking to strengthen our preparedness for, and resilience to, the growing risk of wildfire.

The summit brought together Government, sector representatives and key partners to turn the lessons of this year’s wildfires into a programme of action to reduce wildfire risk, strengthen preparedness, enhance response capabilities, and support long-term recovery and adaptation.

Today, I want to set out how the Government will progress this work ahead of the next wildfire season and beyond.

Preventing wildfire risk and public preparedness

Preventing wildfires from starting and limiting their spread is fundamental to protecting communities, the natural environment and critical infrastructure. Improving public awareness is also essential to reducing preventable incidents during periods of heightened wildfire risk.

The Government are updating their capital offer through the environmental land management scheme to fund prevention measures, such as fire ponds, fire breaks, fuel management, grazing and scrub removal, enabling a more targeted, landscape-scale approach in high-risk areas.

In addition, the Government have announced it will invest an additional £25 million in peatland restoration grants to improve wildfire resilience.

The Government will also bolster measures to prevent ignitions. MHCLG and DEFRA will work together to co-ordinate the use of temporary powers to restrict open flames in high-risk landscapes during periods of elevated wildfire risk.

This will be supported by strengthened public communications on wildfire risk and prevention, informed by improved wildfire forecasting.

Enhancing frontline response capabilities

Firefighters worked tirelessly throughout the 2026 wildfire season to protect lives, homes, and critical infrastructure under exceptionally demanding conditions and we pay tribute to their service. The summit reinforced the importance of ensuring fire and rescue services have the capabilities and equipment needed to respond safely and effectively to major wildfires.

The Government will establish a nationally co-ordinated aerial firefighting capability. This will provide a co-ordinated mechanism for deploying aviation assets during major wildfire incidents, supporting Fire and Rescue Services to contain the spread, reduce duration and protect communities.

The Government will also invest in wildfire personal protective equipment for firefighters across England, improving their safety and protection when responding to incidents in the most demanding of conditions.

In addition, the Government will create a dedicated wildfires AI unit within Cobra’s National Situation Centre. Bringing together expertise from Government, academia, industry and international partners, the unit will use AI, satellite imagery and advanced data analysis to strengthen wildfire detection, forecasting and response. By sharing innovation and best practice with partners such as France, Spain and Australia, it will help frontline responders identify risks earlier, target support more effectively and better protect communities.

Recovery and adaptation

The summit also highlighted the importance of supporting communities following major wildfires and embedding wildfire resilience into long-term planning.

The Government will establish a new wildfire place-based project, working with 12 communities severely affected by wildfires this summer to develop local resilience plans and identify lessons for wider application.



The Government is also committing to review its approach to funding recovery in communities from major emergencies through future spending reviews.

We will work with our international partners on shared research initiatives and operational partnerships, including exploring opportunities to strengthen existing co-operation with partners such as Greece. We will also use international forums, including the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership and the Leaders’ summit on forests at COP31, to strengthen collaboration on wildfire resilience.

A long-term approach to wildfire resilience

These measures will be bought together through England’s first wildfire action plan, providing a framework for action across prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

We will also strengthen collaboration with the devolved Governments, supporting greater co-ordination, alignment and shared benefits across the UK.

Wildfire presents one of the most significant climate risks facing the country. Through targeted investment, stronger co-ordination and preparedness and prevention activity, the Government are taking practical action to protect and support frontline services and communities across the UK.

But wildfire is part of a much broader challenge. As Storm Boelo demonstrates, communities are increasingly having to contend with the impacts of extreme weather: from strong winds and heavy rainfall to flooding and drought. Building our resilience therefore means ensuring our emergency services are equipped and supported to respond to the full range of risks that extreme weather can bring.

Flooding is one of the most significant climate risks facing the UK. Fire and Rescue Services in England play a critical role when flooding threatens communities, including carrying out rescues from water. However, unlike in other areas across the UK, there is currently no explicit statutory duty on Fire and Rescues Services in England to undertake flood rescue.

The Government have therefore announced their intention to introduce a statutory flood rescue duty for Fire and Rescue Services in England. The detailed scope and implementation will be developed with the sector, national employers and key partners through a planned, wider role reform consultation taking place next year.

Taken together, the measures announced on Friday 23 October mark an important step towards strengthening our preparedness for future wildfire seasons, while ensuring Fire and Rescue Services are ready to meet the wider challenges posed by extreme weather and a changing climate.

[HCWS418]

“Good Growth in Every Postcode” Programme

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Jim McMahon)]

Good growth in every part of the country depends on local leaders being able to invest in their own places with certainty and over the long term. In the “Rewiring the State” Cabinet statement published on 31 July, the Government committed to support mayors to establish good growth funds across England, putting investment decisions in the hands of leaders who know their areas and answer to the people who live there. I am today informing the House of the first steps to deliver that commitment. The Chancellor will confirm these plans at the Budget.

Mayors and local leaders have long relied on a patchwork of fragmented funding pots held in central Government, each with their own bidding processes and conditions. That makes it harder to plan for the long term, to assemble the finance that complex schemes need, and to attract private investment alongside public money. Good growth funds will give local leaders across England the flexibility and authority to invest in the priorities that they judge will do most for growth in their area, without seeking permission from siloed Government Departments for individual investment decisions. That could mean new housing developments, the regeneration of town centres, new places for people to work, or the infrastructure that connects communities to one another and to jobs.

This approach has proved successful in Greater Manchester, using public investment to crowd in private finance behind housing, employment space and major infrastructure, and we will support local leaders to deliver a good growth fund that works for their region. As set out in the Cabinet statement, good growth funds will be backed by national public financial institutions and supported by the local government pension scheme as a key local investor, so that local leaders can invest for the long term in their local economies.

The fiscal devolution roadmap, to be published alongside the Budget, will set out how mayoral strategic authorities will benefit from much greater financial freedom in the years ahead, particularly once a share of income tax is assigned in 2028-29. The Government are, however, determined to help local leaders deliver good growth immediately and today we are confirming £285 million in 2027-28, comprising of mayoral funding for good growth funds and incubator capital funding for other areas transitioning towards mayoral devolution.



The Government will also work with mayors to design a new £1.5 billion borrowing facility available from 2028, giving them access to the financing they need to back the local priorities that will drive growth in their areas. That work will consider how the facility sits alongside the other sources of finance on which good growth funds will draw.

The Government will back this up and strengthen delivery by providing strategic authorities with an additional £150 million in 2027-28 to strengthen their capacity and capability as their range of powers and responsibilities grow. This funding will support mayors and strategic authorities in building the resource, expertise and institutional strength that these new functions and fiscal responsibilities require. It sits alongside the commitments in the Cabinet statement to a smaller and more strategic civil service, focused on the challenges that can best be dealt with at a national level. The Government will work with strategic authorities to undertake a fuller assessment of their capacity and capability, including new responsibilities, to inform funding baselines at the next spending review.

These measures are a first step. The fiscal devolution roadmap and the “Rewiring the State” delivery plan will further set out how good growth funds fit within our wider plans to give back control to local leaders, beginning with the retention of a share of business rates from April 2027 and income tax assignment for mayors from April 2028. I will update the House as this work progresses.

[HCWS420]

Rough Sleeping Programme

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)]

It is simply not acceptable that we have thousands of people rough sleeping on the streets as winter draws in.

The Prime Minister is clear that this is his priority. He launched a national effort to end rough sleeping. We are acting now to support people off the streets. I am pleased to say that the Chancellor will announce at Budget additional measures to provide further funding to help people off the streets now.

To deliver the Prime Minister’s mission to end rough sleeping and give everyone a route off the streets before Christmas, we are providing a further £432 million for the rough sleeping programme in 2027-28 and 2028-29, building on the £442 million already announced. This funding will help local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities to maintain support beyond this winter and ensure that people do not return to the streets. This funding sits alongside funding already announced to enable areas to expand settled accommodation, and intensive support to help people leave rough sleeping behind for good. Together, this takes total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to more than £4.4 billion.

Funding allocations and guidance will be confirmed in due course.

[HCWS419]

Housing: Shared Ownership

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

As a low-cost home ownership product, shared ownership has enabled hundreds of thousands of people to get on the property ladder who otherwise would not have been able to do so. However, despite improvements made to the model over recent years, the Government are fully aware that shared owners continue to struggle with a range of serious affordability, transparency, management, staircasing and resale challenges.

Some of these challenges are not unique to the shared ownership model but they frequently have a disproportionate impact on those who have purchased their homes using the product. For example, high and rising service charges are affecting residential long leaseholders across the country irrespective of their management or freehold structure. Yet, because shared ownership is explicitly aimed at those on lower-to-middle incomes, sharp increases in service charges often create acute financial pressures for shared owners despite the fact they only own a partial equity stake in their home.

While the Government remain committed to shared ownership as an important route into home ownership for those who cannot afford to buy on the open market, we are determined to ensure that the model is fair, transparent and affordable across its lifecycle. That is why, in addition to progressing an ambitious leasehold reform agenda and accelerating the remediation of unsafe buildings to the benefit of shared owners and other long leaseholders, we are taking forward a phased programme of targeted improvements to the shared ownership model to ensure it provides an effective and sustainable route into home ownership.

I am today updating the House on the progress made in phase one of our improvement programme and setting out our intentions in respect of phase two.

Phase one

The focus of the first phase of our improvement plan has been twofold: improving customer experience, and giving shared ownership providers greater certainty, stability and confidence to deliver new shared ownership homes.

In terms of customer experience, we made clear that we expect registered providers who secure grant funding through our social and affordable homes programme to make improvements, including through giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability, through increasing transparency and fairness on costs, and through giving customers the ability to opt out of fees for services that are optional.

We also specified that fees charged to shared ownership customers should not be used as a source of profit or a means by which to cross-subsidise other areas of work. These improvements have been reflected in capital funding guidance, found at www.gov.uk/guidance/capital-funding-guide/1-shared-ownership for providers, and the key information documents, found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/ahp-2021-to-2026-and-sahp-2026-to-2036-key-information-documents which are provided to prospective buyers of shared ownership homes.

In terms of supporting the delivery of new shared ownership homes, we have provided long-term certainty by confirming that, in the period to 2036, we will not change the provision in our model lease that permits rents to increase by CPI+1% each year. In addition, we have removed right to shared ownership as a contractual requirement of new grant funding and enabled providers to adjust initial shares to meet their target viability on shared ownership sites outside of London.

We have also acted to support shared owners to manage specific challenges, including those resulting from the building safety crisis. Recognising the plight of shared owners living in buildings that require remediation, many of whom are facing unaffordable costs and are more likely to experience failed property transactions, we made changes to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 to ensure that, subject to certain conditions, shared owners are exempt from the 12-month no re-let period and can return to subletting where an attempted sale falls through.

Finally, we have supported industry efforts to improve standards and consistency for shared ownership. We recognise the voluntary shared ownership code as a constructive, sector-led initiative to improve standards, transparency, and consumer protection for shared ownership buyers and owners.

Phase two

Work has now begun on the second phase of our improvement programme, focused on further steps to address specific barriers and difficulties experienced by shared owners. The work in this phase will be wide-ranging but will include, at a minimum, the following:

Considering measures to reduce existing barriers to staircasing such as up-front and ongoing transaction costs.

Exploring options to support resales, including an assessment of the efficacy and reasonableness of nomination periods and the fees charged by providers.

Developing better information and guidance to help existing shared owners understand and navigate the options available to them.

Undertaking a comprehensive review of the functioning of buy-backs—or leasehold repurchases—as an exit route for shared owners who, through no fault of their own, find themselves unable either to afford to remain in their home or to sell it.

To support our efforts in this phase of the improvement programme, we will take steps to significantly improve our data quality and collection so that we fully understand the experience of shared owners over time and build a fuller picture of pressures such as long-term affordability. As part of this, we will consider how we can increase compliance with the existing requirement for registered providers to submit data on shared ownership.

As we look to make these further improvements, we want to ensure that shared ownership remains accessible to households on lower-to-middle incomes. Household income eligibility caps for shared ownership have been frozen since 2016. In recognition of the impact of inflation and earnings growth in the period since, I am today announcing that the Government are raising them from £80,000 outside London and £90,000 in London to £90,000 outside London and £110,000 in London.

The new caps will take effect in the new year. For outside London, this change will be reflected in the Homes England capital funding guide, and for London it will be reflected in the next annual monitoring report for the London plan.

We look forward to working in partnership with shared owners, providers, lenders, consumer representatives and other interested parties as we continue our efforts to improve the shared ownership experience.

[HCWS417]

Benefits: DWP Eligibility Verification Measure

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lilian Greenwood)]

I am informing the House that the Department for Work and Pensions has issued the first eligibility verification notice under powers introduced by the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025, which amends the Social Security Administration Act 1992.

This marks an important step in the Department’s use of data to assist with identifying and preventing fraud and error, correcting inaccurate benefit payments sooner and helping prevent avoidable debt.

The eligibility verification measure is expected to save the taxpayer £1.2 billion over the next five years and will help ensure that people receive the support to which they are entitled, while protecting public money and addressing suspected fraud. Eligibility verification notices require banks and other financial institutions to check relevant accounts receiving specified benefit payments against eligibility indicators.

These indicators are criteria that can help DWP identify whether a specified benefit is, or has been, paid incorrectly, having regard to the benefit rules relating to a person’s capital or time spent abroad. Limited information is only returned where an account meets an eligibility indicator, indicating that a payment may be incorrect.

The information received will act only as a prompt for further checks. Information received through EVM will not, in isolation, imply that a person is guilty of any wrongdoing or that their benefit entitlement will change. DWP will have regard to all information relevant to a benefit decision, including information that was not obtained through EVM. Decisions will continue to be made by trained departmental staff through established processes.

Implementation will begin through a controlled test-and-learn phase so that systems, data quality, operational impacts and customer outcomes can be assessed before the measure is scaled up.

The measure contains a number of clear and vital safeguards. The legislation clearly sets out the benefits in scope, the purpose of the power and the type of information that can and cannot be shared under it, including a prohibition on financial institutions sharing transaction information or special category data, except for information indicating that an account is in receipt of a specified benefit. The Department will exercise these powers in accordance with the legislation and the statutory code of practice, issued and published on www.gov.uk in May 2026. Further information about the eligibility verification measure, including how the power will be used, accounts in scope and where relevant, other accounts linked to them can be found on www.gov.uk.

Independent oversight will be provided by an independent reviewer, appointed through an open, fair and transparent process, who will annually review the Department’s use of the power and produce reports, which will be laid in Parliament delivery of this vital new measure forms part of the Department’s strong response to fraud and error which has already saved £27 billion in 2025-26 using preventive frontline controls and detection by counter fraud teams.

[HCWS415]