Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protections for older people buying leasehold properties in retirement homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 22 June 2026 (HCWS132) and the answer given to Question UIN 4726 on 8 June 2026.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the information provided by a) Housing Associations and b) retirement homes to individuals who are purchasing leasehold flats.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 22 June 2026 (HCWS132) and the answer given to Question UIN 4726 on 8 June 2026.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of leaseholders over the age of 80 who hold the lease on properties in a) England and b) London.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department publishes a release entitled ‘Leasehold Dwellings’ which includes statistics on the number of leasehold dwellings in England by tenure, dwelling type, and region.
Statistics from 2024-25 can be found on gov.uk here. Annex table 2.4 shows that in 2024-25 there were 750,000 owner occupier leasehold households where the household reference person was aged 65 or over, the closest age group for which data is available.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many A.) prosecutions B.) convictions have been made since 2006 under Section 26(2) of the Firearms Act 1968 in relation to individuals purchasing firearms or ammunition with a false certificate.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
Section 26(2) does not create an offence relating to the purchase or acquisition of firearms using a false certificate. The offence most closely associated with such conduct is section 3(5) of the Firearms Act (FA) 1968, where it is an offence to produce a false certificate with the view of purchasing or acquiring any firearm or ammunition. Depending on the facts of the case, however, the CPS may charge these cases as a possession offence under section 1 or section 5 FA 1968. There may also be other offences considered depending on what the individual who purchases the firearms does with it.
The CPS holds management information which shows the number of offences charged by way of Section 3(5), Section 1 and Section 5 FA 1968 in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of offences charged by Act and Section in which a prosecution commenced between 2006 and 2025. The CPS is unable to differentiate whether the offences charged under section 1 or section 5 FA 1968 involved the individual using a false certificate; therefore, the information in the table below is for all offences charged under those sections of the FA 1968.
| Section 1 FA 1968 | Section 5 FA 1968 | Section 5(1A) FA 1968 | Section 5(2A) FA 1968 | Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and section 5 FA 1968 | Section 3(5) FA1968 |
2006 | 967 | 2,100 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2007 | 1,054 | 2,698 | 102 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2008 | 1,107 | 2,775 | 115 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2009 | 1,091 | 2,747 | 146 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2010 | 942 | 2,543 | 137 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2011 | 987 | 2,638 | 169 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2012 | 891 | 2,219 | 134 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2013 | 739 | 1,912 | 168 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2014 | 660 | 1,874 | 227 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2015 | 718 | 1,927 | 265 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
2016 | 647 | 1,959 | 420 | 25 | 1 | 0 |
2017 | 781 | 1,792 | 364 | 55 | 1 | 0 |
2018 | 788 | 1,733 | 326 | 61 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | 627 | 1,878 | 287 | 44 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 451 | 1,613 | 118 | 51 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 702 | 2,188 | 108 | 63 | 0 | 4 |
2022 | 687 | 1,695 | 54 | 90 | 2 | 1 |
2023 | 766 | 1,612 | 41 | 57 | 1 | 0 |
2024 | 890 | 1,712 | 57 | 80 | 0 | 1 |
2025 | 813 | 1,551 | 45 | 66 | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 16,308 | 41,166 | 3,373 | 595 | 9 | 6 |
The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants prosecuted. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data is held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.
The CPS does not hold management information on convictions by Act and Section and is therefore unable to provide the requested conviction figures.