Contributions
1,571 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFire Safety: Leaseholder BankruptciesMy Lords, I was asked to carry out a waking watch review on behalf of the Secretary of State some months ago. The noble Baroness is right that it is a significant cost for…24 May 2021HANSARDFire Safety: Leaseholder BankruptciesMy Lords, I will not pre-empt the publication of the building safety Bill, save to say that we recognise the importance of strengthening redress, otherwise the bill will fall…24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingMy Lords, I have already explained that the current programme looks to deliver far more socially rented homes. That definition of affordability takes into account relative county…24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingWe have confirmed £12 billion over the next five years, which will be the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes our new £11.5 billion affordable…24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingMy Lords, I have set out our programme, which is designed to increase the amount of social rented homes. I also point out that, over the last decade, the number of social homes…24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingIt is not all about demand-side subsidies. We have pointed out that the Government are committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing and are investing over £12 billion…24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingI agree with my noble friend that social mobility and social housing are critical, and that social housing can and should be a springboard into home ownership. We will look at…24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingMy Lords, I do not accept that characterisation of our planning reforms. They look to simplify the developer contribution through a new infrastructure levy that I am sure will…24 May 2021HANSARDLeasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill [HL]That the Bill be now read a second time.24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingMy Lords, I was very clear in my original reply that this programme will deliver approximately double the number of social rented homes, but there are also ways to provide…24 May 2021HANSARDLeasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill [HL]My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords for their very valuable contributions and for setting my expectations for the depth of scrutiny in Committee. It has been extremely…24 May 2021HANSARDSocial HousingMy Lords, I accept that this should not always be about a drive for volume and that we need quality, decent-sized family housing and to ensure that we have the homes we need for…24 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19I declare my residential and commercial property interests as set out in the register. The Government have provided an unprecedented £352 billion support package, keeping millions…20 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19My noble friend will be pleased to know that, to support landlords, mortgage lenders have agreed to offer payment holidays of up to six months, including for buy-to-let mortgages.…20 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19My Lords, we continue to survey this very carefully indeed. As I pointed out, although we have seen an increase, according to the survey, in the number of renters in arrears, the…20 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19My Lords, I am not aware of a pile-up in the courts. Indeed, we have actually seen a massive drop in the number of repossession cases. It decreased to 262 repossessions in January…20 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19My Lords, I restate the Government’s position that we are not looking to encourage further debt. I also point to the statistics regarding homelessness. We have seen a 40% decrease…20 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19My Lords, we continue to review other examples of support, including that in Spain, as well as those in the devolved Administrations in the United Kingdom. We will consider what…20 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19My noble friend is right that we have seen rents reduce as a result of the pandemic. All the schemes that we have designed cover rent at the level presented by the landlord.…20 May 2021HANSARDRent Arrears: Covid-19My Lords, we are aware of the exhortations from many organisations, but we consider that the increase in rent arrears is not statistically significant between the two surveys. It…20 May 2021