Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what relationship the National Security Assessment on biodiversity will have with the work of the recently announced Climate Security Taskforce.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Security Assessment on biodiversity and the Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss are mutually reinforcing. The Assessment provides the evidence base, and the Taskforce, co-chaired with the Minister for Security, will provide advice to help translate that analysis into practical action across Government.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the ongoing First Time Buyer ISA consultation, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of improving the Lifetime ISA product rather than creating a new product.
Answered by Rachel Blake
On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the First-Time Buyer ISA (FTB ISA), further details of which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/first-time-buyer-isa-consultation. The consultation sets out why we are looking to replace the Lifetime ISA (LISA), citing evidence from HMRC’s own publicly available figures and research as well as from the Treasury Select Committee’s report on the LISA.
The consultation also confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a LISA, and that existing LISA holders will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules.
Individuals will be able to hold both the new FTB ISA and an existing LISA, but will only be able to save into one in the same tax year. To ensure that current holders of the LISA do not lose out, LISA holders will be able to use any funds in their existing LISA and those in the new FTB ISA for the same purchase.
The property price cap, bonus level and subscription limit of the new First Time Buyer ISA will be set at a future fiscal event. Regardless of where the property price cap is set, the FTB ISA, LISA and Help to Buy ISA cap will be aligned so that no account holders will lose out.
Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except London, where the average price paid is affected by some boroughs with very high property values. This does not exclude prospective purchasers, who are still able to use the LISA on homes within the price cap. The Treasury Select Committee has said that the property price cap of £450,000 on the LISA ensures that the support goes to people who need it most.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Audit Office report into shared ownership (25 March 2026), what steps the Government is taking to improve affordability of shared ownership properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that some shared ownership leaseholders face difficulties selling their homes, especially where building safety issues are present.
We have taken steps to support shared owners who find themselves in such a position, including making clear that where building safety issues exist, subletting should always be permitted by the landlord.
Landlords have the option to buy back homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues, and they can use their own resource or Recycled Capital Grant Funding to do so.
Shared ownership providers are independent bodies, and decisions about the management, sale or repurchase of individual homes sit with them.
While buyback provisions already apply in some limited circumstances, such as in Designated Protected Areas or where providers offer discretionary support in exceptional cases, the government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory buyback scheme for all shared ownership homes.
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme places new expectations on shared ownership providers to improve customer experience. These include giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability and increasing transparency and fairness on costs.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to support those in shared ownership properties who are unable to sell their property.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that some shared ownership leaseholders face difficulties selling their homes, especially where building safety issues are present.
We have taken steps to support shared owners who find themselves in such a position, including making clear that where building safety issues exist, subletting should always be permitted by the landlord.
Landlords have the option to buy back homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues, and they can use their own resource or Recycled Capital Grant Funding to do so.
Shared ownership providers are independent bodies, and decisions about the management, sale or repurchase of individual homes sit with them.
While buyback provisions already apply in some limited circumstances, such as in Designated Protected Areas or where providers offer discretionary support in exceptional cases, the government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory buyback scheme for all shared ownership homes.
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme places new expectations on shared ownership providers to improve customer experience. These include giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability and increasing transparency and fairness on costs.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 introducing a statutory right to a buyback for all existing shared owners.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that some shared ownership leaseholders face difficulties selling their homes, especially where building safety issues are present.
We have taken steps to support shared owners who find themselves in such a position, including making clear that where building safety issues exist, subletting should always be permitted by the landlord.
Landlords have the option to buy back homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues, and they can use their own resource or Recycled Capital Grant Funding to do so.
Shared ownership providers are independent bodies, and decisions about the management, sale or repurchase of individual homes sit with them.
While buyback provisions already apply in some limited circumstances, such as in Designated Protected Areas or where providers offer discretionary support in exceptional cases, the government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory buyback scheme for all shared ownership homes.
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme places new expectations on shared ownership providers to improve customer experience. These include giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability and increasing transparency and fairness on costs.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Home Secretary on taking steps to reduce barriers to the recruitment and retention of international teachers in shortage subjects, including Modern Foreign Languages.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child. While our focus is on increasing the number of high-quality domestic teachers, international teachers make a valuable contribution to the teacher workforce in many subjects, including modern foreign languages. This is reflected in visa arrangements, where international teachers can qualify for a skilled worker visa if they are paid in line with teachers’ national pay scales, rather than the higher salary threshold which applies to most occupations.
To support schools in recruiting the teachers they need, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Home Office and the British Council.
Guidance on recruiting and retaining international teachers is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had discussions with the British Council on supporting the recruitment and retention of international teachers, including through improvements to visa sponsorship, induction and professional development.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child. While our focus is on increasing the number of high-quality domestic teachers, international teachers make a valuable contribution to the teacher workforce in many subjects, including modern foreign languages. This is reflected in visa arrangements, where international teachers can qualify for a skilled worker visa if they are paid in line with teachers’ national pay scales, rather than the higher salary threshold which applies to most occupations.
To support schools in recruiting the teachers they need, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Home Office and the British Council.
Guidance on recruiting and retaining international teachers is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many expressions of interest her Department has received in the Places of Worship Renewal Fund.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The first funding round of the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund closed on Sunday and Historic England received 1041 expressions of interest. The Fund is part of our wider Arts Everywhere package and will enable churches and other places of worship to carry out urgent repairs and essential upgrades. We will target funding towards the areas that need it most with high levels of deprivation and low levels of community infrastructure.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protections where rogue traders use a limited company to avoid liability.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The law protects consumers when they buy goods, services or digital content remotely or in person. Consumer protections apply regardless of how a business is set up and are designed to help when consumers are treated unfairly or when things go wrong. These protections apply alongside other aspects of the law including the legal framework for incorporating, managing, and winding up companies. Companies House, HMRC and the Insolvency Service have developed a three-way partnership to help protect the public by tackling rogue directors who try to avoid liabilities through abuse of the insolvency regime.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Places of Worship Renewal Fund to allow for VAT costs on repairs and maintenance to be reclaimed.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Places of Worship Renewal Fund opened in May 2026 and awards grants for capital works, rather than just the VAT element of a project. Where capital grants have been awarded, VAT on eligible works and costs can be covered by the grant funding if it cannot be reclaimed.
The Department’s evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which allowed for VAT costs on repairs and maintenance to listed places of worship to be reclaimed, showed that 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. The new scheme adopts a more targeted approach to those places that most need support.