To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Housing: Leasehold
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the average value of residential properties with remaining leases of (a) 80 to 71, (b) 70 to 61, (c) 60 to 51, (d) 50 to 41, (e) 40 to 31, (f) 30 to 21, (g) 20 to 11 years and (h) 10 or fewer years.

Answered by Lee Rowley

The impact assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill can be found here. This includes an estimate of the impact of removing marriage value.

The impact assessment also contains information on estimates of the aggregate number of leases below 80 years.


Written Question
Leasehold: Reform
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of abolishing marriage value under schedule two of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill on the transfer of wealth overseas by freeholders.

Answered by Lee Rowley

The impact assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill can be found here. This includes an estimate of the impact of removing marriage value.

The impact assessment also contains information on estimates of the aggregate number of leases below 80 years.


Written Question
Leasehold: Reform
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of abolishing marriage value under schedule two of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill on the finances of freeholders.

Answered by Lee Rowley

The impact assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill can be found here. This includes an estimate of the impact of removing marriage value.

The impact assessment also contains information on estimates of the aggregate number of leases below 80 years.


Written Question
Renters (Reform) Bill
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Renters (Reform) Bill on (a) the number of landlords in the private rented sector and (b) levels of rents.

Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch

The green-rated Impact Assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill provides analysis of the impacts of reforms, including analysis on supply and rents.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the abolition of fixed term contracts on the private rented sector.

Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch

The green-rated Impact Assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill provides analysis of the impacts of reforms, including analysis on supply and rents.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of ending fixed-term rental contracts on (a) the number of houses available to rent and (b) trends in the level of rental costs.

Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch

The green-rated Impact Assessment for the Renters (Reform) Bill provides analysis of the impacts of reforms, including analysis on supply and rents.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Standards
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making changes to Section 30 of the Housing Act to give tenants more flexibility to leave tenancies in the case of poor living standards.

Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch

Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions cause tenants to feel insecure, unable to plan for the future or call where they live a home. Removing them is vital to improving tenant security - protecting their ability to stay in their homes, avoiding unwanted and expensive house moves, and enabling them to put down roots in their local communities. With the threat of retaliatory section 21 evictions removed, tenants will be better able to challenge landlords who provide unsafe housing.

Enabling tenants to leave poor quality properties is also a key part of delivering a fairer system for renters. The Renters (Reform) Bill will also abolish fixed terms and move to periodic tenancies, allowing renters to end tenancies at any point by giving a maximum of two months' notice. This will protect tenants from the injustice of being forced to pay for unsafe or non-decent homes.

Introducing a mechanism for tenants to end fixed terms, for instance where a property standards improvement notice is not complied with, could mean tenants are locked into paying the rent whilst a third party adjudicates. It would also hinder their ability to respond to other important changes in their circumstances, such as changing jobs or schools.


Written Question
Private Rented Housing: Reform
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions his Department has had with landlords on the Renters (Reform) Bill.

Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch

The Department has carried out extensive engagement with landlords and letting agents throughout the development of the White Paper, 'A Fairer Private Rented Sector', and the Renters (Reform) Bill.

Details of ministerial meetings are published on gov.uk.


Written Question
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Brexit
Wednesday 21st December 2022

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on their ability to deliver successful policy outcomes.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

Leaving the EU has provided the UK with the freedom to conceive and implement laws and policies that put the UK first and the opportunity to think boldly about how it regulates its economy for the good of the country as a whole.

At the start of this year, the Government set out its plans to maximise the benefits of Brexit across each major sector of the economy and transform the UK into the best regulated country in the world.

To seize the benefits of Brexit more quickly the Government is introducing the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which will enable the Government, via parliament, to remove years of burdensome EU regulation in favour of a more agile, home-grown regulatory approach that benefits the UK—to stimulate economic growth, innovation and job creation.

Departments will be able to use the powers within the Bill, to repeal, reform or preserve REUL, in the best interests of the United Kingdom.

The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is a central pillar of the UK Government’s ambitious Levelling Up agenda has been designed to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK

The EU had strict, rigid requirements on what money could and couldn’t be spent on, but our approach is more flexible, empowering local people who know best.


Written Question
Herefordshire Council: Finance
Thursday 15th April 2021

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding the Government allocated to Herefordshire Council in 2020.

Answered by Luke Hall

The Government publishes Core Spending Power (CSP) each year as a measure of the resources available to local authorities to fund service delivery


This year’s Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), with a breakdown of CSP for each local authority including Herefordshire Council going back to 2015/16, can be found in the supporting information document here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2021-to-2022

Core Spending Power was introduced in 2015. Comparisons before that date do not apply, because the system of local government finance changed, councils’ responsibilities changed and because grants have been incorporated into the annual Settlement over time.

CSP shows the funding provided through the Settlement, but councils will have access to a number of other grants provided by Government departments as well as other sources of income not in CSP such as from Sales, Fees, and Charges and commercial income.

Please find relevant links to previous LGFSs below:

Year

Link

2014/15

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2014-to-2015

2013/14

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140505104701/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/settle.htm

2012/13

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140505110056/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1213/grant.htm

2011/12

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140505110052/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1112/grant.htm#set

2010/11

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140505110048/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1011/grant.htm

2009/10

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140505110054/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0910/grant.htm