Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has any grant schemes which might be available to support efforts to increase general public awareness and understanding of Latin American communities in the UK.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government's vision is for a country where people live, work, learn and socialise together and share rights and responsibilities, whatever their background. The Government is committed to levelling up our country and strengthening communities to ensure everyone can progress, no matter their background. The Government is committed to strengthening community integration across the country and is running several programmes on improving access to education, jobs and other opportunities for communities across the country. The Department has discussions with communities across the United Kingdom and would welcome the opportunity to discuss how government and civil society can promote understanding of Latin American communities.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with bodies representing communities with Latin American heritage.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government's vision is for a country where people live, work, learn and socialise together and share rights and responsibilities, whatever their background. The Government is committed to levelling up our country and strengthening communities to ensure everyone can progress, no matter their background. The Government is committed to strengthening community integration across the country and is running several programmes on improving access to education, jobs and other opportunities for communities across the country. The Department has discussions with communities across the United Kingdom and would welcome the opportunity to discuss how government and civil society can promote understanding of Latin American communities.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effect of restricting ground rents, as proposed in the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill, on (a) the involvement of professionals in managing blocks of flats and (b) fire safety.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill’s provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders. Leaseholders pay ground rent on top of their property purchase price and service charges, yet there’s no clear service provided in return.
This will be the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. Our reforms to enfranchisement valuation ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.
The Ground Rent Bill is focused entirely on the issue of ground rents. Service and management charges are beyond the scope of this Bill. The role of ensuring that the fabric of the building is maintained and safe for residents is an essential part of the relationship between freeholder, leaseholder and in some cases a managing agent. The cost of complying with these obligations is usually recoverable from the leaseholders through the service charge fund. In most cases the lease will allow the freeholder to recover the actual costs of the works, and the freeholder may also pass on the cost of managing or overseeing the works.
The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest improvement in building and fire safety for a generation. The Building Safety Bill contains measures to protect leaseholders by providing a legal requirement for building owners to prove they have tried all routes to cover the cost of essential safety works, along with evidence that this has been done. If this does not happen, leaseholders will be able to challenge these costs in the courts.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an estimate of the financial value of the marriage value which will be removed from freeholders under the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill’s provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders. Leaseholders pay ground rent on top of their property purchase price and service charges, yet there’s no clear service provided in return.
This will be the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. Our reforms to enfranchisement valuation ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.
The Ground Rent Bill is focused entirely on the issue of ground rents. Service and management charges are beyond the scope of this Bill. The role of ensuring that the fabric of the building is maintained and safe for residents is an essential part of the relationship between freeholder, leaseholder and in some cases a managing agent. The cost of complying with these obligations is usually recoverable from the leaseholders through the service charge fund. In most cases the lease will allow the freeholder to recover the actual costs of the works, and the freeholder may also pass on the cost of managing or overseeing the works.
The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest improvement in building and fire safety for a generation. The Building Safety Bill contains measures to protect leaseholders by providing a legal requirement for building owners to prove they have tried all routes to cover the cost of essential safety works, along with evidence that this has been done. If this does not happen, leaseholders will be able to challenge these costs in the courts.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether freeholders will receive compensation for the loss of marriage value under the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill’s provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders. Leaseholders pay ground rent on top of their property purchase price and service charges, yet there’s no clear service provided in return.
This will be the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. Our reforms to enfranchisement valuation ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.
The Ground Rent Bill is focused entirely on the issue of ground rents. Service and management charges are beyond the scope of this Bill. The role of ensuring that the fabric of the building is maintained and safe for residents is an essential part of the relationship between freeholder, leaseholder and in some cases a managing agent. The cost of complying with these obligations is usually recoverable from the leaseholders through the service charge fund. In most cases the lease will allow the freeholder to recover the actual costs of the works, and the freeholder may also pass on the cost of managing or overseeing the works.
The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest improvement in building and fire safety for a generation. The Building Safety Bill contains measures to protect leaseholders by providing a legal requirement for building owners to prove they have tried all routes to cover the cost of essential safety works, along with evidence that this has been done. If this does not happen, leaseholders will be able to challenge these costs in the courts.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will amend covid-19 restrictions to permit congregations to sing hymns in churches.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Places of worship play an important role in providing spiritual leadership and bringing communities together, however their communal nature makes them particularly vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus.
Congregational singing is under restrictions due to the increased risk of transmission through small droplets and aerosols. This means that those partaking in these activities are at higher risk of transmitting the virus and thus, spreading infection even if the individual is vaccinated.
On 17 May we entered step 3 on the Prime Minister's roadmap, reintroducing indoor singing in a place of worship for a performance or rehearsal, for a group of up to 6 amateur signers. This is in line with all amateur choirs and singing groups. Outdoors, the congregation may join in with singing in multiple groups of up to 30. Congregation members should continue to follow social distancing rules.
There are currently no plans to allow congregational singing indoors, with or without masks, before Step 4 of the roadmap in England, which would be no earlier than 19 July.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
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 Government's press release of 10 February 2021, Government to bring an end to unsafe cladding with multi-billion pound intervention, when he plans to publish guidance on the 5-point plan to assist leaseholders living in buildings of 18 metres and over where fire safety concerns have been identified.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how his loan scheme for funding fire safety remediation works for buildings under 18 metres will operate in cases where the £50 per month payment by leaseholders will not meet the cost of the works needed even if it continues right up the end of the lease term.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government will fund the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18m. Buildings above 18m can be very high, some taller than 30m. We know as buildings get taller there is greater risk which is why, in line with longstanding expert advice, we are making sure that these buildings are remediated urgently.
In lower rise buildings, with a lower risk to safety, leaseholders will gain new protection from the costs of cladding removal through a financing scheme, so that leaseholders will never pay more than £50 a month. We will be publishing further details of the financing scheme.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
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 publish further details of the loan system to ensure that required fire safety remediation works can be carried out in buildings under 18 metres without leaseholders having to pay more than £50 per month.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
On 10 February, we announced a generous finance scheme, which will provide leaseholders in buildings of 11-18m with access to finance for cladding remediation costs, and a commitment that their monthly cladding repayment costs will not exceed £50 a month. Further details of the financing scheme will be made available as soon as we are able.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the rules which will allow 30 people to attend a funeral will also apply to the formal consecration of a tombstone as part of observance of Jewish faith traditions.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Roadmap out of lockdown published on 22 February set out the government’s four-step roadmap by which Covid-19 restrictions would be lifted. The Jewish Stone Setting ceremony comes under the rules governing wakes and other post funeral commemorative events. As such, six people are permitted to attend such a service at present. When we reach step 2 (not before 12 April) that limit will increase to 15, while at Step 3 (not before 17 May) it will rise again to 30.