Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on proposals to (a) protect and (b) improve the rights of leaseholders in England and Wales.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is committed to reforming the leasehold system to ensure fairness and transparency for leaseholders. Last year, we consulted on implementing the ban on new leasehold houses and restricting ground rents on future leases to zero financial value, and will provide a government response in due course.
We are working with the Law Commission, who are taking forward a programme of work and recently consulted on:
The Law Commission are now analysing responses and will report back to the Government with recommendations later this year.
In addition, the Government has established a working group chaired by Lord Best to raise standards across the property management sector. This group will consider the transparency of service charges, and how they should be presented to consumers, and the best means for challenging unjustified fees. The group is instructed to report back in 2019 and the Government will consider its recommendations. We are also ensuring all landlord freeholders belong to a redress scheme and giving freeholders on private or mixed use estates equivalent rights to leaseholders to challenge communal costs.
The Government recently announced an industry led Pledge so that leaseholders with 10 or 15 year doubling ground rents can have their lease terms amended voluntarily. We have also said that we will be clamping down on unjustified legal costs for leaseholders, we will implement the majority of the Law Commission's recommendations on 'event fees' in the retirement sector.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of charging full rates on vacant business premises in economically deprived areas.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
No assessment has been undertaken on the effect of charging full rates on vacant business premises in economically deprived areas. However, regulations made under the Local Government Finance Act 1988, provide exemptions from empty property rates if a property is unoccupied for 3 or (6 months if it qualifies as an industrial property).
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to provide further details of the proposed new standardised formula to calculate the number of new homes required in any local area.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
A consultation will commence in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the rate of suicide among members of the fire service; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce such numbers.
Answered by Greg Clark
We do not hold information on the rate of deaths by suicide of firefighters. Individual fire and rescue authorities as employers are responsible for the health and welfare of firefighters, including their mental health. In October last year the Government announced the allocation of nearly £10 million to help support 200,000 emergency services personnel and volunteers, funded through LIBOR fines. Of this funding up to £4 million was allocated to mental health charity MIND to develop a programme of targeted mental health support and information for all emergency services personnel across England. The programme includes an anti-stigma campaign, a confidential advice line for emergency service staff, training for leaders and line managers, peer learning events and resources to promote better mental health in the work place. I encourage fire and rescue authorities to engage with this important programme.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the rate of suicide among members of the fire service; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce such numbers.
Answered by Greg Clark
We do not hold information on the rate of deaths by suicide of firefighters. Individual fire and rescue authorities as employers are responsible for the health and welfare of firefighters, including their mental health. In October last year the Government announced the allocation of nearly £10 million to help support 200,000 emergency services personnel and volunteers, funded through LIBOR fines. Of this funding up to £4 million was allocated to mental health charity MIND to develop a programme of targeted mental health support and information for all emergency services personnel across England. The programme includes an anti-stigma campaign, a confidential advice line for emergency service staff, training for leaders and line managers, peer learning events and resources to promote better mental health in the work place. I encourage fire and rescue authorities to engage with this important programme.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent comparative assessment he has made of (a) the level of funding for and (b) the costs of local authorities.
Answered by Mark Francois
My Department publishes figures on spending power for all local authorities each year, which includes both central government and locally-raised funding.
Together with other Departments we are using the Spending Review to consider the level of funding for local government and have invited representations from interest groups including local authorities.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his most recent assessment is of the success of the zero carbon homes policy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stephen Williams
Budget 2014 reaffirmed the Government's commitment to implement zero carbon homes from 2016. In Growth Review 2011 we set out a fair, practical and cost effective approach to zero carbon homes. This made house builders responsible for abating the carbon from energy use from systems which they can control – heating and hot water systems and building services - not the energy use from appliances which they cannot be expected to control. We are taking forward the zero carbon homes policy through a staged approach of steadily strengthening the energy performance requirements in the Building Regulations and through the introduction of cost-effective options for off-site carbon reductions – ‘Allowable Solutions'. Under this Government the energy performance requirements for new homes, the latest of which come into force on 6 April 2014, have been strengthened by around 30% from the previous 2006 standard saving house holder's fuel bills and cutting carbon emissions.