Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to take steps to help incentivise the temporary use of vacant commercial spaces for (a) community-based and (b) start-up projects.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to bringing empty buildings back into use. That’s why we introduced High Street Rental Auctions giving local authorities the power to auction the lease of persistently vacant commercial properties and make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for any organisation including start-up businesses and community groups.
Through the Pride in Place strategy, we are going further by giving communities extra tools to improve their high street, alongside up to £5 billion funding over ten years to 244 neighbourhoods experiencing some of the highest levels of disadvantage.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to help support bereaved families with council tax owed following the sale of a property.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When a property has been left empty following the death of its owner or occupant, it is exempt from council tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. Following a grant of probate (or the signing of letters of administration), a further six months exemption is possible, so long as the property remains unoccupied and has not been sold or transferred to someone else. Furthermore, this government has introduced an exception to any council tax premiums for up to 12 months after probate, provided the property has not been sold. The government does not currently have any plans to change this.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to consult neighbourhood groups on proposed noise reforms; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those reforms on local residents.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is exploring a range of reforms proposed by the recent Licensing Taskforce to support the hospitality industry and night-time economy. This includes considering whether the ‘agent of change’ principle should be strengthened in the licensing regime to better protect existing licensed premises and residents. We have launched a call for evidence, which will provide an opportunity for the public and a range of stakeholders – including neighbourhood groups – to shape any future changes. We also intend to explore how we can improve the implementation of the ‘agent of change’ principle as it applies in the planning system and will consult on a new set of national policies for decision-making later this year.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce council tax.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for individual local authorities to set their level of council tax, taking into account all relevant local factors. The government maintains a referendum threshold, and authorities who choose to increase their council tax above this must obtain the approval of voters. The government will set out its position on referendum principles for the next financial year at the local government finance settlement in the usual way.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 reviewed the level of fees charged by property management companies on the (a) sale and (b) remortgage of a home.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is unacceptable for property management companies to charge unreasonable fees before providing leaseholders with the information they need.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect leasehold homeowners, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a leasehold home is accessible at a reasonable cost.
We will be consulting on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on these measures in due course.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to publish the long-term housing strategy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to publish a long-term housing strategy later this year.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to ensure that the McCloud remedy is enacted for members of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Neither the policy responsibility nor administrative responsibility for the firefighters’ pension scheme falls to the Department of Work and Pensions. There have, therefore, been no such discussions.
The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Act 2022 provides that all eligible members will be given a choice to remedy the discrimination set out in the McCloud judgment. Implementation of McCloud remedy is an administrative matter, and the firefighters’ pension scheme is locally administered by each of the individual fire and rescue authorities in England. The government continues to work closely with the fire sector to support the effective implementation of the McCloud remedy for all affected individuals.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 help reduce the Land Registry’s backlog.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 23772 on 27 January 2025.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the newly built homes her Department is planning will be smaller than (a) three and (b) four bedrooms in the next four years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in Chapter 5 of the National Planning Policy Framework, it is for each local authority to assess the size, types and tenures of new housing needed for different groups in the community, and reflect this in their Local Plans.
As such, the size and type of new homes securing approval will depend on policies in the adopted Local Plan, and on the decisions the authority makes about individual planning proposals