Speeches by Pennycook.

“We launched two comprehensive consultations before Christmas, in respect of how we switch on the consumer protections set out in the 2024 Act for those living on freehold estates and, more widely, on how we end the prevalence of private management arrangements of the kind that I think the hon. Member is referring to. T…”

“I am more than happy to have a separate conversation with my hon. Friend about the specific conditions pertaining to leasehold houses. She will know, of course, that the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 made a number of changes in that area. In general, we want to arrive at a situation, once our reform agenda is…”

“My hon. Friend and I both served on the Public Bill Committee when the Bill that is now the 2024 Act was going through the House, and we discussed many of these issues then; I can assure him that we have given consideration to all of them. He is right that we are now on a path to a commonhold future. As I have said, th…”

“The House can, of course, help us to speed up the progress of the Bill; 2028 is only a rough estimate based on the time it will take for the Bill, once it has passed its draft phase and scrutiny from the Select Committee, to be introduced in its final form and to get through both Houses. We will then also have to switc…”

“I do not want to be too critical of the Conservative Government, because they did bring forward the 2024 Act, and they did move the dial when it comes to the public conversation about things like ground rents. But ultimately, they did not finish the job, and it will fall to a Labour Government to do so.”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. His constituency is just over the river from mine, and is, in many ways, very similar. Day in, day out he will receive, as I do, complaints about service charge increases and onerous ground rent terms. That is precisely why we are taking action, in this Bill and elsewhere, to pro…”

“I note the initial positive tone from the shadow Minister in welcoming the draft Bill. I am slightly reluctant, on what is usually a matter of cross-party consensus, to be too critical of him, but it is a bit rich to criticise this Government, given that the previous Government cherry-picked reform in a way that was at…”

“I must say, without getting into the detail of the circumstances of the hon. Lady’s constituents, it is hard to know which of the measures will benefit them most. If they are subject to high ground rent charges, the cap on introduction will benefit them hugely on its introduction. If they have suffered from the threat …”

“Hopefully the hon. Gentleman heard my answer to a previous question. We intend to switch on the 2024 Act provisions that standardise service charges and increase transparency around them, so that people can more easily challenge unreasonable charges at tribunal. I will not put a time on that, because I do not have an e…”

“My hon. Friend will be aware that there were very few provisions relating to the right to manage in the 2024 Act. We are committed to enacting the remaining Law Commission recommendations relating not only to the right to manage but to leasehold enfranchisement. I am more than happy to write to her to try to get at the…”

“I thank my hon. Friend, the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, for those fair and pertinent questions. I will answer each of them in turn. We published a whole series of documents at 7 am, including a copy of the draft Bill. That also included a policy document setting out our rationale f…”

“That is absolutely right. In this area and so many others, the cost of living and addressing the affordability crisis faced by so many families across the country is the Government’s driving mission. For leaseholders, the reforms in the draft Bill will be transformative, particularly on ground rents, and will also intr…”

“It is a pleasure to close this debate for the Government. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) and thank her for securing the debate, and I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting the House an opportunity to debate this incredibly important matter. I wa…”

“I will come on to talk about financing in more detail, in particular the options that we are considering, but I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman will, again, have to wait for the publication of the SEA report and the programme that will go out to consultation. He and other hon. Members, as well as their communities an…”

“My hon. Friend made the same points when I appeared before the Select Committee earlier this week. I have taken them on board and I am happy to look at what the Department can do to ensure that there is a constructive relationship in each instance where the Government are seeking to build the evidence base. I certainly…”

“Again, for further detail I will refer you to the initial Government response. We are very clear about the approach we are taking in respect of land, that we are going to, as a Government, support delivery bodies for new towns to acquire land and that the no-scheme principle of compensation for compulsory purchase woul…”

“It is probably for Sir Michael to answer as to the engagement of promoters and interests, land interests and others, in the taskforce’s work and its recommendation. We are engaging with local leaders and partners on all these sites, as I said, to refine our evidence base, but no lobbying from any particular interest is…”

“The Committee and the House will have clarity on funding when we have made final decisions in the spring. I have given you a sense of the funding pots that are available that we are prioritising from. What may be useful for me to say in addition to that, which I think was somewhat the thrust of your question, is that o…”

“I cannot give you a vague number.”

“It is a fair question. We set out the objectives for the taskforce in its terms of reference and they were clear, and they were a number of those: creating environmentally resilient places, contributing to transforming the way that large settlements are delivered, providing housing for strong communities, and so on. Ho…”