Contributions
2,217 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHome-ownership RatesMy Lords, since 2010, more than 2.5 million additional homes have been delivered and, since 2018, we have had four of the highest annual rates of housing supply of the last 30…06 Dec 2023HANSARDHome-ownership RatesMy Lords, the Government completely recognise the issue that my noble friend has set out. The mortgage guarantee scheme is relatively new; it opened in April 2021 and was recently…06 Dec 2023HANSARDHome-ownership RatesMy Lords, I have good news for the noble Lord on the first point. The mortgage guarantee scheme has been extended to June 2025 to allow more 95% mortgages to be available to…06 Dec 2023HANSARDHome-ownership RatesMy Lords, we consider all different routes to supporting young people into the housing market. One drawback may be that support is less targeted at those who face the greatest…06 Dec 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsI would be very happy to write to my noble friend but, as I said, in looking at the distinction between houses and flats, the majority of houses have always been provided as…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsMy Lords, I declare my interest as a leaseholder. The Government are extending the benefits of freehold ownership to more home owners. Reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsMy Lords, this Bill, and the other reforms that we have made in this space, are comprehensive and complex. We have taken time to look, consult and bring forward the proposals that…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsYes, the Autumn Statement set out the way forward we are going to take on that issue. We need proper financing to support our ambitions for more homebuilding. Some of that comes…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsI do not draw that conclusion. Leasehold reform is complex. We have consulted widely and are taking time to get things right. I understand the desirability of bringing forward…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsMy Lords, I have tried to learn not to be surprised by any amendments tabled to government Bills by your Lordships’ House, but I would like to reassure my noble friend that this…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsMy Lords, I can reassure noble Lords that it is the Government’s intention to bring forward clauses to ban the sale of new leasehold houses within this Bill. We intend to bring…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsI am sure that this House will communicate its views to the department as we progress the Bill throughout the scrutiny. It will go through the Commons first and I look forward to…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsMy Lords, the Government are absolutely committed to increasing supply. The noble Lord is right that that is part of the solution, particularly when we have in place the…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsMy Lords, as I have said, we believe that commonhold provides a potential way forward to move away from leasehold for flats, but there is reform of commonhold that needs to take…30 Nov 2023HANSARDResidential Leasehold for FlatsI can reassure the noble Lord that the Bill does contain provisions to bring greater transparency around how service charges are brought for leaseholders, so that there is greater…30 Nov 2023HANSARDGeneral Elections: Party-political SpendingI always enjoy reading articles by my noble friend and I will undertake to read that one.29 Nov 2023HANSARDGeneral Elections: Party-political SpendingIt has been a long time since campaign spending limits were last adjusted for inflation—some have not changed since 2000. This means that as prices rise over time the limits are,…29 Nov 2023HANSARDGeneral Elections: Party-political SpendingMy Lords, this is not an unusual exercise. In fact, uprating has been done under successive Administrations of all political colours and is done regularly for other matters too.…29 Nov 2023HANSARDGeneral Elections: Party-political SpendingI am not sure of exactly what my noble friend refers to. None the less, it sounds like a serious matter that I would want to speak to him about after this Question.29 Nov 2023HANSARDGeneral Elections: Party-political SpendingI completely reject the premise of the noble Lord’s question. We have transparency in our system so that people can see who donates to political parties. The alternative to…29 Nov 2023