Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending council tax legislation so new owners bringing previously empty properties back into use are not required to pay a council tax premium while renovating the property for a period of time.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises there may be circumstances where it would not be appropriate for a council tax premium to apply. That is why this government introduced a number of exceptions to council tax premiums which came into effect from 1 April 2025. This includes an exception for up to 12-months for empty dwellings undergoing major repairs. The government has published guidance setting out when premiums and exceptions may apply. This is available here - Guidance on the implementation of the council tax premiums on long-term empty homes and second homes - GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of standardising the contribution that Housing Associations make to estate service management fees.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the implications of standardising the contribution that Housing Associations make to estate management fees.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that websites such as Checkatrade are vetting tradespeople appropriately to reduce the risk of fraud to platform users.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Checkatrade is a private company providing a UK-based online platform that connects homeowners with vetted and approved local tradespeople. Government is not directly involved in the vetting process or checks undertaken by Checkatrade.
TrustMark is a UK government-endorsed quality scheme that covers work carried out in or around the home. It was established to ensure that consumers can find reliable and trustworthy tradespeople for various home improvement and repair tasks. TrustMark operates under a Master Licence Agreement held by the Department for Business and Trade. Consumers seeking tradespeople to undertake work in their home should consider checking for TrustMark certification.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to (a) limit and (b) prohibit the use of joint and several liability contracts in student housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government does not intend to restrict or prohibit the use of joint and several liability contracts in the student housing market. This is a well-established practice in the sector, allowing groups of students to choose to live together with their friends.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Animal Welfare Committee’s December 2024 report recommendation to ban any further deliberate breeding of domestic cats with any non-domestic felid species.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government welcomes the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. We are carefully considering the Committee’s recommendations.