Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce VAT on work to maintain and repair listed properties.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has no plans to reduce the VAT charged on work to maintain and repair listed properties.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax forecast to raise £171 billion in 2024/25. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services.
Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. In some cases, reliefs do not represent good value for money, as there is no guarantee that savings will be passed on to consumers.
To preserve heritage, restorative work carried out on listed buildings previously benefited from a zero rate of VAT. However, this relief was abolished in 2012, as it was primarily used to carry out extension work unnecessary for heritage purposes. Withdrawing this relief simplified VAT rules and also removed the scope for error when categorising construction work as either alteration or repair.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport administer the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. This provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship.
The Government keeps all tax policy under review, and any decisions on tax policy will be announced at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate the openness, efficiency and functioning of the insurance market relating to listed properties.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting the successful protection of our heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.
The UK’s home insurance market is competitive, with many providers offering a variety of insurance products. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of financial services, has a statutory objective to promote competition in the interests of consumers. FCA rules also require firms to offer products that deliver fair value to consumers. The FCA monitors firms to ensure they comply with its rules and has powers to take action if necessary.
As standard home insurance may not offer adequate cover for all listed buildings, the Government encourages consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price. It may be helpful to consult an insurance broker, who will be able to help search the market for specialist providers.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 13348 on Private Rented Housing: Rents, what her planned timetable is for introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets; and whether planning permission and licensing will have to have been secured for properties to be listed on the scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Parliament legislated for a registration scheme for short-term lets in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, and we are committed to introducing such a scheme as soon as possible. , We will soon publish the government’s response to the 2023 consultation including on the specific requirements for registration. The government is also considering what additional powers might be given to local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures that can be created by short-term lets.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions they are making for the red-listed category of cavity nesting birds which are reliant on buildings for suitable nesting cavities; and whether they intends to mandate the provision of swift bricks in new building projects.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to help birds reliant on buildings to breed, including how to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 support cavity-nesting birds on the Red List.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to help red-listed birds, including how to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
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 support leaseholders at Horizon Place in Borehamwood affected by cladding remediation issues.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Vistry Group has signed a developer remediation contract with government obligating Vistry Group to remediate or pay to remediate all life-critical fire safety defects in buildings listed in its contract, including Horizon Place, as quickly as reasonably practicable. This means that leaseholders will not pay for remediation. The contract requires developers to make sure that residents and leaseholders are kept up to date. The Ministry monitors developer performance and acts where a developer is failing to comply with its contractual obligations.
Work has been ongoing to bring about ways to reduce premiums for leaseholders, and the Government will review how to better protect leaseholders from costs and push for fair premiums for leaseholders in buildings with fire safety issues. Leaseholders wanting to sell their properties to buyers who require a mortgage, should be aware of the industry statement on cladding, signed by 10 lenders. It confirms that, even if a property has building safety issues, lenders will consider mortgage applications if the building has funding for works from government or the developer, as is the case at Horizon Wood, or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the service family accommodation housing stock is in Woolwich; and how many service family accommodation properties in Woolwich are listed to be disposed of.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
There are 261 Service Family Accommodation properties in Woolwich and 57 of those have been identified for disposal.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) heating and (b) hot water issues were reported in service family accommodation properties in each month in 2023.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The number of heating and hot water issues reported in Service Family Accommodation in each month since the new Future Defence Infrastructure Services Accommodation contracts came into service in April 2022 can be found in the table below. Information prior to April 2022 is not held:
Month | Heating | Hot Water |
Apr-22 | 1,463 | 251 |
May-22 | 1,147 | 397 |
Jun-22 | 848 | 397 |
Jul-22 | 752 | 470 |
Aug-22 | 644 | 551 |
Sep-22 | 1,354 | 622 |
Oct-22 | 1,793 | 517 |
Nov-22 | 2,957 | 332 |
Dec-22 | 3,690 | 247 |
Jan-23 | 3,148 | 235 |
Feb-23 | 2,098 | 208 |
Mar-23 | 2,026 | 231 |
Apr-23 | 1,500 | 272 |
May-23 | 951 | 366 |
Jun-23 | 720 | 401 |
Jul-23 | 724 | 503 |
Aug-23 | 792 | 568 |
Sep-23 | 1,038 | 626 |
Oct-23 | 2,548 | 795 |
Nov-23 | 3,316 | 285 |
Dec-23 | 2,516 | 407 |
The work orders listed in the table above include all repairs associated with heating such as condensate pipes freezing in extremely cold weather or a faulty single radiator valve and are not limited to total loss of heating. Similarly, those listed which relate to hot water include all associated repairs such as a lack of hot water to individual taps and are not limited to total hot water loss.
It remains the Department’s position that no home should be left without any form of heating or hot water for more than 24 hours. Where a fault with the permanent heating system cannot be rectified within this timeframe, alternative forms of heating and sources of hot water, or alternative accommodation, should be provided.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) heating and (b) hot water issues were reported in service family accommodation properties in each month in 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The number of heating and hot water issues reported in Service Family Accommodation in each month since the new Future Defence Infrastructure Services Accommodation contracts came into service in April 2022 can be found in the table below. Information prior to April 2022 is not held:
Month | Heating | Hot Water |
Apr-22 | 1,463 | 251 |
May-22 | 1,147 | 397 |
Jun-22 | 848 | 397 |
Jul-22 | 752 | 470 |
Aug-22 | 644 | 551 |
Sep-22 | 1,354 | 622 |
Oct-22 | 1,793 | 517 |
Nov-22 | 2,957 | 332 |
Dec-22 | 3,690 | 247 |
Jan-23 | 3,148 | 235 |
Feb-23 | 2,098 | 208 |
Mar-23 | 2,026 | 231 |
Apr-23 | 1,500 | 272 |
May-23 | 951 | 366 |
Jun-23 | 720 | 401 |
Jul-23 | 724 | 503 |
Aug-23 | 792 | 568 |
Sep-23 | 1,038 | 626 |
Oct-23 | 2,548 | 795 |
Nov-23 | 3,316 | 285 |
Dec-23 | 2,516 | 407 |
The work orders listed in the table above include all repairs associated with heating such as condensate pipes freezing in extremely cold weather or a faulty single radiator valve and are not limited to total loss of heating. Similarly, those listed which relate to hot water include all associated repairs such as a lack of hot water to individual taps and are not limited to total hot water loss.
It remains the Department’s position that no home should be left without any form of heating or hot water for more than 24 hours. Where a fault with the permanent heating system cannot be rectified within this timeframe, alternative forms of heating and sources of hot water, or alternative accommodation, should be provided.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern 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 provided recent guidance to local authorities on encouraging homeowners in conservation areas to (a) improve the energy-efficiency of their homes through retrofitting and (b) maintain the character of their properties.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government is fully committed to encouraging homeowners to incorporate energy efficiency measures in their properties in order to tackle climate change. Historic England, the Government’s adviser on heritage matters, publishes a range of advice on installing energy efficiency measures in historic buildings.
The Government has also recently undertaken a review of the practical planning barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency measures such as improved glazing, including in conservation areas and listed buildings. An announcement on the outcome of the review will be made in due course.