Asked by: Alan Gemmell (Labour - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the UK's priorities are for its G20 leadership.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working closely with Commonwealth partners to ensure this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda addresses the challenges of today's world, in particular delivering increased intra-Commonwealth trade, investment and economic security, strengthening the Commonwealth's commitment to democracy, and deepening collaboration on protecting the environment.
We will set out our priorities for other future international meetings in the usual way in due course, including next year's G20 summit.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on preventing tenancy swaps.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Renters’ Rights Act does not alter how tenancy swaps work for assured periodic tenancies.
If all tenants and the landlord agree, then a tenant can be swapped for a new one. In such circumstances, the tenancy would continue on the same terms and conditions, without the need for the remaining tenants to vacate the property temporarily or undertake referencing checks for the remaining tenants again.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2026 on existing tenants whose fixed-term agreements were close to expiry when the Act came into force and of the potential merits of transitional protections for such tenants; and whether he plans to undertake a review of the financial impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2026.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Impact Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Act can be found here.
My Department continues to monitor trends across the private rented sector and is conducting a robust evaluation of the impact of the Renters' Rights Act. Evaluation reports will be published two and five years after implementation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of housing support available through Housing Benefit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Households in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS). In Northern Ireland, both the benefit cap and RSRS are mitigated.
In the private rented sector, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum levels of housing support for households claiming Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. LHA rates are reviewed annually, usually in the Autumn.
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions decided to maintain LHA rates at their current levels for 2026/27. Rent levels were considered alongside other factors, such as welfare priorities and support currently available within the challenging fiscal context.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there are additional sitting hours for first tier tribunals after 1 May 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice confirmed in February 2026 the sitting day allocations and funding envelope for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for the period 2025-26 to 2028-29, including high allocations for the First Tier Tribunals: Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Day Allocations - Hansard - UK Parliament.
The Ministry of Justice has and continues to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) has the capacity to manage demand following commencement of the Renters’ Rights Act on 1 May 2026. This includes provision of sufficient sitting days to deal with increased case volumes.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2026 to question 3663 on Liquefied Natural Gas: Russia, what specific Russian LNG has been permitted for maritime transportation on the spot market.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The LNG maritime services ban licence temporarily authorises UK service provision in relation to spot market trade (under contracts of less than a year) from Russian LNG projects Sakhalin-2 and Yamal until 1 January 2027. The licence does not authorise any activities not described in the licence that would otherwise be prohibited under the Russia Regulations. Any person who does not comply with the conditions of the licence may be committing an offence.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of reducing the qualification time for people to sit on a first tier tribunal.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Judges of the First-Tier Tribunal are required by statute (the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007) to have a specific legal qualification and appropriate legal experience. This must be five years’ post qualification experience (PQE), with a minimum of 20% of each year devoted to law-related activity. These statutory requirements help to safeguard judicial standards by ensuring that judges have the appropriate knowledge and skills to be able to apply the law fairly and effectively. Most candidates have significantly more than the minimum PQE when they apply.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the comparative effectiveness of insured and custodial tenancy deposit schemes in ensuring that tenants' deposits are fully protected and landlords remain compliant with statutory requirements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with stakeholders to discuss the operation and efficacy of the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) system.
This engagement includes gathering information about the difference in service quality between the two types of TDP schemes, and issues that service users may have with these schemes and how they can be addressed.
My Department also receives Key Performance Indicator data from all TDP providers across both types of schemes. Where reporting shows that there are performance issues, we actively escalate matters with the relevant scheme and require them to take corrective action if necessary.
Tenant representative groups consistently report low awareness of the difference between custodial and insured schemes. Under the insured model, tenants who dispute a landlord’s deduction can feel pressured to accept a deduction, rather than pursue Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Where ADR is used, feedback from tenant representative groups report that it operates effectively and the impartial service provided by TDP providers is valued.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has undertaken analysis of user experience differences between insured and custodial tenancy deposit schemes, including on (a) awareness of dispute rights and (b) ease of navigating end-of-tenancy processes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with stakeholders to discuss the operation and efficacy of the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) system.
This engagement includes gathering information about the difference in service quality between the two types of TDP schemes, and issues that service users may have with these schemes and how they can be addressed.
My Department also receives Key Performance Indicator data from all TDP providers across both types of schemes. Where reporting shows that there are performance issues, we actively escalate matters with the relevant scheme and require them to take corrective action if necessary.
Tenant representative groups consistently report low awareness of the difference between custodial and insured schemes. Under the insured model, tenants who dispute a landlord’s deduction can feel pressured to accept a deduction, rather than pursue Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Where ADR is used, feedback from tenant representative groups report that it operates effectively and the impartial service provided by TDP providers is valued.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has issued guidance to energy companies on engagement with local historians, museums, and independent researchers with specialist knowledge of wartime crash sites.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
When a developer applies for consent for a new development, the Planning Guidance is clear that they must do a thorough assessment of all likely impacts.
This will include talking to relevant bodies about specific issues. Relevant bodies may include Historic England and Historic Environment Scotland for military heritage issues.