Written Question
Friday 14th February 2020
Asked by:
Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question
to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his department has to publish a response to the Law Commission report on leasehold enfranchisement with reference to ground rent.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is looking to standardise the enfranchisement process and asked the Law Commission to review current arrangements to make them easier, faster, fairer and cheaper. The Law Commission has now published its first report to Government, on the valuation aspects of enfranchisement. The report, which follows a consultation by the Law Commission, sets out a number of options relating to valuation, including purchasing a freehold and extending the lease of a house or flat. We expect the Law Commission will report on the remaining aspects of enfranchisement later in the spring.??The Government will carefully consider the?proposals outlined in the Law Commission’s report and set out?its?preferred way forward in due course.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 12 Feb 2020
Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill
"I am grateful to the Minister for those indications about sentencing. Does he agree that the review needs to consider all terrorist offences, including relatively minor ones—such as offences under sections 57 and 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 relating to possession of materials—that might in and of themselves not …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
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Written Question
Friday 7th February 2020
Asked by:
Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
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 merits of implementing a requirement for assisted living spaces to be provided in new housing developments.
Answered by Luke Hall
The Government recognises the importance of meeting the housing needs of disabled, older and other vulnerable people including those with autism, and we keep under regular review how we can achieve this.
We have strengthened the revised National Planning Policy Framework so that local planning authorities are expected to have planning policies which identify the size, type and tenure of homes required for different groups in the community including disabled and older people, and we will shortly be consulting on improving accessibility standards for new homes.
We are also working with the social housing sector to boost new supply of much needed supported accommodation for disabled and older people.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 28 Jan 2020
Criminal Law
"I understand entirely the logic behind these proposals, but what analysis has been made of the impact on the prison population and how many further places, if any, will be required?..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 20 Jan 2020
Building Safety
"I am grateful to the Secretary of State for the urgency with which he has approached this issue. Employers who employ people in unsafe conditions could be liable to prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and there is a parallel with this issue. Does the …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
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Written Question
Tuesday 5th November 2019
Asked by:
Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question
to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of its decision to ban gas central heating for new-build houses from 2025 on the UK's carbon emissions.
Answered by Esther McVey
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 11 Jul 2019
Leasehold Reform
"There is a similar situation in Cheltenham where a freehold has been passed on. The freeholder then completely goes to ground, so when my constituents try to make contact with the company, they cannot get hold of it and are unable to sell their properties. It is an appalling situation. …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Leasehold Reform
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 24 Apr 2019
Local Government and Social Care Funding
"Does my right hon. Friend agree that as part of the process of increasing the funding that is available, we should increase the practice of business rates retention as a way of incentivising local innovation and enterprise? In places like Cheltenham, it provides an incentive to build out things like …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Local Government and Social Care Funding
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 28 Mar 2019
Housing
"In Cheltenham, the overwhelming majority of the house building taking place in the town centre is for retirement apartments. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we want to maintain the culture, vitality and vibrancy, we have to ensure that young people can afford to live there as well? Will …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 04 Mar 2019
Stronger Towns Fund
"Cheltenham has areas of relative affluence but also pockets of intense deprivation. Does my right hon. Friend agree that any applications must be assessed against the circumstances that prevail in individual neighbourhoods, rather than the town overall, which might lead to an artificial assessment?..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Stronger Towns Fund