Written questions by Reynolds.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the lease extension premium formula on leaseholders with short leases; and whether he plans to bring forward proposals to reform the reversion value calculation under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, how the rental period of converted assured periodic tenancies is determined for the purposes of a tenant's notice to quit in cases where rent was paid in advance under the previous tenancy in instalments covering periods other than one month; and whether his Department plans to issue guidance on the basis on which a landlord may (a) set and (b) revise payment dates following the commencement date.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to deliver Disabled Facilities Grant adaptations where the property requiring adaptation is owned by a social landlord but communal (a) grounds, (b) footpaths and (c) parking areas are held by (i) private developers and (ii) managing agents.

The government recognises the importance of timely Disabled Facilities Grant adaptations to help disabled people live independently and safely. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations to eligible people, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this £723 million will be available for the Disabled Facilities Grant in 2026-27, an increase of £12 million on 2024–25. The government’s Disabled Facilities Grant guidance, which can be found on gov.uk here, encourages local authorities to work closely with landlords and other relevant parties such as private developers and managing agents, and work towards good practice timescales to reduce delays in the delivery of adaptations. MHCLG funds a national body, currently, Foundations, to support local authorities with delivery of Disabled Facilities Grants. Foundations can provide advice, including on complex cases involving communal areas and multiple owners, to help local authorities deliver adaptations efficiently and on time. Further information is available on their website: https://www.foundations.uk.com.

Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library of the House a breakdown of leasehold properties in England and Wales by remaining lease term, using data held by HM Land Registry; and whether that data can be disaggregated to constituency level.

HM Land Registry publishes a Registered Leases dataset which is updated monthly. It can be found on gov.uk here. The dataset provides information on land and property in England and Wales with registered leases, including lease start dates and durations.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to communicate to mortgage lenders the Government's guidance that buildings under 11 metres in height do not require an EWS1 form.

Officials in my department have regular engagement with financial sector stakeholders. Lenders have been encouraged to move away from the use of EWS1 forms for buildings of all heights, and instead to rely on a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW). An EWS1 form is not a government, legal or regulatory requirement. Not all lenders ask for an EWS1, but whether they do, remains a commercial decision.

Communities and Local Government, whether HM Land Registry's leasehold dataset contains structured data fields for service charge blocks.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) manages a Registered Leases dataset which can be found on gov.uk here. This brings together legal, geographic and transactional information for leases that are registered at HMLR.The dataset includes structured address data, along with information on lease details including dates, terms, registration order and property descriptions, and links to unique land identifiers, Unique Property Reference Numbers, and historic information on price paid data. By combining register data with address and location references, HMLR’s dataset supports analysis of leasehold structures, land tenure patterns and property relationships. The dataset was designed and developed for professionals to use for large scale analysis. Leaseholders can access meaningful information about their properties through HMLR Land and Property Information service, which can be found on gov.uk here, where they can also order official copies of the Title Register and Lease document. HM Land Registry’s ambitions to improve the structure and accessibility of its data are set out in its ‘Strategy 2025+’, which can be found on gov.uk here, which commits to aligning data to the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles. The forthcoming HM Land Registry Business Plan 2026+ will set out how this ambition will be taken forward during the current Spending Review period.

Communities and Local Government, what steps are being taken to make the Land Registry Leaseholds Dataset machine-readable, including by structuring data fields such as address, lease start date and lease duration.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) manages a Registered Leases dataset which can be found on gov.uk here. This brings together legal, geographic and transactional information for leases that are registered at HMLR.The dataset includes structured address data, along with information on lease details including dates, terms, registration order and property descriptions, and links to unique land identifiers, Unique Property Reference Numbers, and historic information on price paid data. By combining register data with address and location references, HMLR’s dataset supports analysis of leasehold structures, land tenure patterns and property relationships. The dataset was designed and developed for professionals to use for large scale analysis. Leaseholders can access meaningful information about their properties through HMLR Land and Property Information service, which can be found on gov.uk here, where they can also order official copies of the Title Register and Lease document. HM Land Registry’s ambitions to improve the structure and accessibility of its data are set out in its ‘Strategy 2025+’, which can be found on gov.uk here, which commits to aligning data to the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles. The forthcoming HM Land Registry Business Plan 2026+ will set out how this ambition will be taken forward during the current Spending Review period.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of staff required to make HM Land Registry's leasehold dataset (a) accessible and (b) usable for individual leaseholders.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) manages a Registered Leases dataset which can be found on gov.uk here. This brings together legal, geographic and transactional information for leases that are registered at HMLR.The dataset includes structured address data, along with information on lease details including dates, terms, registration order and property descriptions, and links to unique land identifiers, Unique Property Reference Numbers, and historic information on price paid data. By combining register data with address and location references, HMLR’s dataset supports analysis of leasehold structures, land tenure patterns and property relationships. The dataset was designed and developed for professionals to use for large scale analysis. Leaseholders can access meaningful information about their properties through HMLR Land and Property Information service, which can be found on gov.uk here, where they can also order official copies of the Title Register and Lease document. HM Land Registry’s ambitions to improve the structure and accessibility of its data are set out in its ‘Strategy 2025+’, which can be found on gov.uk here, which commits to aligning data to the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles. The forthcoming HM Land Registry Business Plan 2026+ will set out how this ambition will be taken forward during the current Spending Review period.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to add fields for property type, freehold title number, service charge and ground rent to the Land Registry Leaseholds Dataset.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) manages a Registered Leases dataset which can be found on gov.uk here. This brings together legal, geographic and transactional information for leases that are registered at HMLR.The dataset includes structured address data, along with information on lease details including dates, terms, registration order and property descriptions, and links to unique land identifiers, Unique Property Reference Numbers, and historic information on price paid data. By combining register data with address and location references, HMLR’s dataset supports analysis of leasehold structures, land tenure patterns and property relationships. The dataset was designed and developed for professionals to use for large scale analysis. Leaseholders can access meaningful information about their properties through HMLR Land and Property Information service, which can be found on gov.uk here, where they can also order official copies of the Title Register and Lease document. HM Land Registry’s ambitions to improve the structure and accessibility of its data are set out in its ‘Strategy 2025+’, which can be found on gov.uk here, which commits to aligning data to the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles. The forthcoming HM Land Registry Business Plan 2026+ will set out how this ambition will be taken forward during the current Spending Review period.

Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff are assigned to leasehold reform implementation in HM Land Registry.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) does not assign a specific number or proportion of full-time equivalent staff assigned to leasehold reform implementation. HMLR flexibly resources all elements of leasehold reform, appropriate to the stage of each part of the reform, to meet changing demand over time.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the data structure of HM Land Registry's leasehold dataset for enabling leaseholders to access meaningful information about their properties.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) manages a Registered Leases dataset which can be found on gov.uk here. This brings together legal, geographic and transactional information for leases that are registered at HMLR.The dataset includes structured address data, along with information on lease details including dates, terms, registration order and property descriptions, and links to unique land identifiers, Unique Property Reference Numbers, and historic information on price paid data. By combining register data with address and location references, HMLR’s dataset supports analysis of leasehold structures, land tenure patterns and property relationships. The dataset was designed and developed for professionals to use for large scale analysis. Leaseholders can access meaningful information about their properties through HMLR Land and Property Information service, which can be found on gov.uk here, where they can also order official copies of the Title Register and Lease document. HM Land Registry’s ambitions to improve the structure and accessibility of its data are set out in its ‘Strategy 2025+’, which can be found on gov.uk here, which commits to aligning data to the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles. The forthcoming HM Land Registry Business Plan 2026+ will set out how this ambition will be taken forward during the current Spending Review period.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure leaseholders have access to the full terms of their lease before completing a property transaction.

On 6 October, my Department published two consultations outlining reform proposals to transform home buying and selling. They can be found on gov.uk here and here. The consultations included proposals to require sellers and estate agents to provide upfront property information. This might include information relating to leasehold terms, property condition, and purchasing chains. In the consultations in question we also made clear our intention to switch on measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to speed up the provision of information for leaseholders and homeowners on private or mixed tenure estates who wish to sell their property. We are now reviewing the feedback received and will set out details of next steps later this year.

Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of HM Land Registry staff hold formal qualifications in (a) database architecture and (b) data structure management.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) does not hold information on staff qualifications for technical fields such as database architecture or data structure management.The Data Group at HMLR, which includes all Data Scientists, Data Architects, and Data Engineers, has more than doubled from 30 to 75 members of staff over the last 15 months.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the limits on enquiries for free legal advice provided by the Leasehold Advisory Service.

The government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) provides free initial legal advice and information in respect of leasehold, building safety, commonhold and park home issues for consumers. In 2024, LEASE limited the number of enquiries per user to 10 over a 12-month period. This has enabled LEASE advisers to deal with more complex cases.

Communities and Local Government, how many directors with responsibility for human resources are employed across their department and its executive agencies; and how many of those directors hold professional HR qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent professional bodies.

Organograms for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, including senior civil service posts, are published on GOV.UK (Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk) and set out director‑level roles and responsibilities across the core Department. ALBs are expected to publish the same quarterly information. Information on the professional qualifications of individual employees is personal data, and it would not be appropriate to release this at an individual level. However, all directors appointed with responsibility for human resources would be expected to have the appropriate skills, experience and, where relevant, professional qualifications necessary to undertake the role effectively, including experience aligned with Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development standards or equivalent professional bodies. Number of Directors with responsibility for human resources (HR)Number of Directors delivering non-HR technical activity e.g. Shared ServicesNumber of Directors with CIPD membershipMHCLG Core – 2 Directors (job share)MHCLG core- 0MHCLG core - N/D Headcount less than 5

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with park home resident groups on the sales commission rate in the last 12 months.

I attended a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Park Homes on 10 February 2025 to hear the sector’s views on the commission payment.At that meeting, I announced the government’s intention to seek further evidence to clarify the rationale for the payment of the commission and other aspects of the existing legislation. We will set out plans in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 10% sales commission on park home residents.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 97962 on 15 December 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for publication of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 102833 on 12 January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review the legality of developing crematoria on Green Belt land; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the current planning framework governing such developments.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.Proposed Green Belt policy is set out in Chapter 13 of the consultation which can be found on gov.uk here.A proposal to build a crematorium would be assessed by the relevant local planning authority in the light of all material considerations, including the NPPF, relevant development plan policies and any specific land-use impacts associated with the proposal.The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential financial impact on local planning authorities of removing the Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee, with reference to the cost of providing equivalent specialist expertise on registered parks and gardens.

On 17 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation closed on 13 January 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here. No decision will be made on the Garden Trust’s role until responses to the consultation have been fully analysed and considered.