Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to cap ground rents for leasehold properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 99005 on 5 January 2026.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to commence secondary legislation for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has already made significant progress when it comes to commencing provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024:
The government recognises the considerable financial strain that rising service charges place on leaseholders and tenants. The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building. By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Overcharging through service charges is completely unacceptable. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.
On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation, jointly with the Welsh Government, on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. The consultation included proposals to increase transparency over service charges and enhance access to redress through the relevant provisions in the Act. It also proposed new reforms the section 20 ‘major works’ procedure. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here. It closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses with a view to bringing the relevant measures into force as quickly as possible.
On 18 December 2025, the government launched a consultation on proposals to implement the Act’s new consumer protections for homeowners living on freehold estates. These include ensuring that homeowners who pay an estate management charge have better access to information they need to understand what they are paying for, the right to challenge the reasonableness at the First-tier Tribunal (in England), and to go to the tribunal to appoint a substitute manager. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 12 March 2026. We will look to bring these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter.
The Act also sets the method for calculating the price of a statutory lease extension or freehold acquisition, known as the valuation process. It removes the requirement for marriage value to be paid, caps the treatment of ground rents in the valuation calculation at 0.1% of the freehold value, and allows government to prescribe the rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium. Valuation rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium will be set by the Secretary of State in secondary legislation. We will consult on valuation rates and commence the relevant provisions as soon as possible. As per my Written Ministerial Statement of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), primary legislation will be required to rectify a small number of specific flaws in the 2024 Act before the Act’s enfranchisement provisions are commenced.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on publishing the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 102833 on 12 January 2026.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 equip local authorities to (a) identify and (b) appropriately respond to (i) United Front activity and (ii) transnational repression.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government works closely with law enforcement and other partners to continue to strengthen our understanding of reporting trends and methodologies of transnational repression to ensure sufficient safeguards and mitigations are in place to prevent, detect and counter the threat. Attempts by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will never be tolerated, irrespective of the perpetrating country.
I refer the hon Member to Written Statement HCWS632 made on 14 May 2025 by the Security Minister signalling the conclusion of the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s Transnational Repression Review.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of existing levels of central government funding for fire and rescue services.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 3 February, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities.
These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities receiving an increase in core spending power of £69.1 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25. Overall, fire and rescue authorities received around £2.87 billion in 2024/25.
In addition to settlement funding, the Government has provided Fire and Rescue Authorities with several grants intended for specific purposes, such as the Fire Pensions Grant and Protection Uplift Grant.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 made an estimate on the number of individual households who were in council tax arrears while also in receipt of Council Tax (a) support and (b) reduction, in each tax year since 2019.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Department does not collect data on the number of people or the number of households who are in council tax arrears. Therefore, the Department does not hold data with specific characteristics requested, including those in receipt of council tax support or reduction.
The Department only collects data on the level of arrears of council tax in England. The most recent data can be found here.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an estimate for the number of people who are in council tax arrears broken down by (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) age and (d) family composition in each tax year since 2019.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Department does not collect data on the number of people or the number of households who are in council tax arrears. Therefore, the Department does not hold data with specific characteristics requested, including those in receipt of council tax support or reduction.
The Department only collects data on the level of arrears of council tax in England. The most recent data can be found here.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using of Empty Dwelling Management Orders to help increase available housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities can use an Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMO) to increase available housing by bringing empty homes back into use.
Local authorities can apply for an EDMO when a property has been empty for more than two years. This is subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for the proposal. Local authorities publish local guidance on how they use them.
Local authorities have a range of wider powers and incentives to bring empty homes back into use, which include discretionary powers to charge council tax premiums on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years, and local authorities receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as they would for building a new one through the New Homes Bonus.
The government wants to support local authorities in bringing empty properties back into use and we outlined our intent to strengthen their ability to take over the management of vacant residential properties in the English Devolution White Paper.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many empty dwelling management orders were used in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not collect data on the number of Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMOs) that have been issued.
Local authorities can apply for an EDMO when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 tackle Islamophobia.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Islamophobia is completely abhorrent and has no place in our society. Rooting out this appalling form of hatred is a priority for this Government, and we have already taken a number of steps to achieve this.
The Government works closely with the police and community partners monitor and combat hate crime. This year, MHCLG has made over £1 million available to monitor incidents of Islamophobia and provide support to victims. We also fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report.
In response to public disorder in August which targeted Muslims and mosques, the Government introduced a rapid protective security response process for places of worship. We have provided security to more than 700 additional places of worship during this period. Protective security continues to be a priority, with up to £29.4 million per year being made available for protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools from 2024/25 to 2027/28.
We are finalising our renewed, more strategic approach to tackling Islamophobia, working in partnership with communities, and will provide further updates shortly.