Contributions
2,217 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHousing: Section 21 EvictionsMy Lords, the Question was about our plans to bring forward the end of Section 21 evictions. The noble Lord is absolutely right that there are a number of different dynamics in…20 Feb 2024HANSARDHousing: Section 21 EvictionsMy Lords, the Renters (Reform) Bill is progressing through Parliament. The Bill will bring an end to Section 21 evictions, and our priority is to pass this vital legislation…20 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesMy Lords, I declare my interest as a leaseholder. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will make long-term changes to improve home ownership for millions of leaseholders in…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesThe Bill contains both a time limit and cost limit for the provision of information from freeholders to leaseholders when they are seeking to sell their properties. I do not know…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesI am afraid I have to disagree with the noble Lord’s assessment of the Bill. I can set out a number of ways in which the Bill will improve the position of leaseholders regarding…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesMy Lords, the Government believe that forfeiture is an extreme measure and should be used only as a last resort. In practice, it happens very rarely and is subject to the right to…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesMy Lords, the Bill aims to grant freehold homeowners on private or mixed-tenure estates the same rights of redress as leaseholders in this area—equivalent rights to transparency…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesI can. The Government have consulted on a range of options to reform existing ground rents, having legislated in 2022 to set all new ground rents at a peppercorn rate. Following…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesFollowing previous Questions I looked at the example of Scotland, which we do seek to learn from, but the circumstances there are significantly different. At the time, there were…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesI welcome the work of the noble Lord on this issue, and I know that your Lordships will be looking at it further in Committee. It is already a legal requirement for property…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLeasehold: Property Management CompaniesLeaseholders wishing to take forward the right to manage claim will need to obtain the title documents of their building from His Majesty’s Land Registry. Those will contain the…19 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingThe Government regularly engage with local authorities. We understand that they, as well as the wider planning sector, face capacity and capability challenges that have resulted…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingMy Lords, we think that the staffing in local planning authorities needs to increase. We have provided several routes for that to happen, including the planning skills delivery…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingMy Lords, we recognise this as a source of delays. In addition to the planning skills delivery fund, we have put in place the “planning super-squad”, backed by £13 million of…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingMy Lords, one of the things we have done in our recent changes is make provision for the indexing of planning fees going forward. That will ensure not only that local authorities…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingMy Lords, as noble Lords will know, the Government had a proposed solution on nutrient neutrality that was rejected by this House, including by the Front Bench opposite, holding…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingMy Lords, the Government are focused on the recruitment pipeline of planners and offering increased skills training to them. We have two schemes providing bursaries for master’s…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingPlanning authorities still have an obligation to produce an up-to-date local plan, setting out how they plan to build the houses that their local areas need. The Government are…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingAs I have already said, we are putting funding and resources into increasing the skills of planners in the pipeline for master’s-level qualifications. The point about beauty was…12 Feb 2024HANSARDLocal Planning Authorities: StaffingMy Lords, we want to proceed in a measured way, providing additional resourcing without disproportionately impacting businesses and householders. Full cost recovery now could…12 Feb 2024