Written questions by Dowden.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support leaseholders at Horizon Place in Borehamwood affected by cladding remediation issues.

Vistry Group has signed a developer remediation contract with government obligating Vistry Group to remediate or pay to remediate all life-critical fire safety defects in buildings listed in its contract, including Horizon Place, as quickly as reasonably practicable. This means that leaseholders will not pay for remediation. The contract requires developers to make sure that residents and leaseholders are kept up to date. The Ministry monitors developer performance and acts where a developer is failing to comply with its contractual obligations.Work has been ongoing to bring about ways to reduce premiums for leaseholders, and the Government will review how to better protect leaseholders from costs and push for fair premiums for leaseholders in buildings with fire safety issues. Leaseholders wanting to sell their properties to buyers who require a mortgage, should be aware of the industry statement on cladding, signed by 10 lenders. It confirms that, even if a property has building safety issues, lenders will consider mortgage applications if the building has funding for works from government or the developer, as is the case at Horizon Wood, or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.

Communities and Local Government, how many residential buildings have registered with the Cladding Safety Scheme in (a) Hertsmere constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.

In the county of Hertfordshire, 40 buildings registered for funding from the Building Safety Fund. Fewer than five of these have been deemed eligible, the remaining registrations either withdrew, were deemed to be ineligible or transferred to other schemes.Of the 40 in Hertfordshire, seven of them are in the constituency Hertsmere all of which were deemed ineligible. Ineligibility can include those buildings that are under the height threshold (17.7m) or those with no eligible materials.To date, there have been seven applications to the Cladding Safety Scheme in Hertfordshire, one of which is in the Hertsmere constituency. Two of these applications are currently undergoing eligibility checks and five are confirmed as in programme.The Hertsmere application has been started and the CSS are currently carrying out checks of the applicant's uploaded Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall (FRAEW) survey and further information from the applicant is required. Once this process has been finalised, we will confirm eligibility in no more than 10 days.For the remaining application that is undergoing eligibility checks (based in the Broxbourne constituency), the application has been started and we are awaiting the FRAEW submission to carry out our review. Once this process has been finalised, we will confirm eligibility in no more than 10 days.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of retaining the electoral franchise in its current form.

The government was elected on a manifesto commitment to extend the franchise to 16–17-year-olds, and we intend to deliver on that commitment.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 July 2024 to Question 815 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to increase the pace of cladding remediation.

I refer the Right Hon Member to the response provided to Question UIN 8200 on 25 October 2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2024 to Question 2362 on Railway Stations: Access, what progress she has made on considering the best approach to the Access for All programme.

Further to my answer of 3 September 2024, we are not yet able to comment on next steps regarding Access for All. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that members of the Responsible Actors Scheme for developers are complying with their contractual obligations.

The department publishes quarterly updates on how each developer is performing, meets developers regularly and acts where performance falls short. Developers face significant consequences if they fail to comply with their contractual obligations.

Communities and Local Government, how many residential buildings have registered with the Building Safety Fund in (a) Hertsmere constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.

In the county of Hertfordshire, 40 buildings registered for funding from the Building Safety Fund. Fewer than five of these have been deemed eligible, the remaining registrations either withdrew, were deemed to be ineligible or transferred to other schemes.Of the 40 in Hertfordshire, seven of them are in the constituency Hertsmere all of which were deemed ineligible. Ineligibility can include those buildings that are under the height threshold (17.7m) or those with no eligible materials.To date, there have been seven applications to the Cladding Safety Scheme in Hertfordshire, one of which is in the Hertsmere constituency. Two of these applications are currently undergoing eligibility checks and five are confirmed as in programme.The Hertsmere application has been started and the CSS are currently carrying out checks of the applicant's uploaded Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall (FRAEW) survey and further information from the applicant is required. Once this process has been finalised, we will confirm eligibility in no more than 10 days.For the remaining application that is undergoing eligibility checks (based in the Broxbourne constituency), the application has been started and we are awaiting the FRAEW submission to carry out our review. Once this process has been finalised, we will confirm eligibility in no more than 10 days.

What plans her Department has to improve accessibility at Radlett Station.

We are not yet able to comment on next steps regarding Access for All projects at specific stations including at Radlett station. However, please be assured that we are committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 5416 on Civic Dignitaries and Members: Age, what meetings she has had with (a) stakeholders in the (i) electoral, (ii) devolved and local government, (iii) education and (iv) civil society sectors and (b) young people on this topic.

Pursuant to the answer to Question UIN 5416 on 11 October 2024, the Government is committed to working with stakeholders in the electoral sector and civil society organisations as it seeks to make improvements to our electoral system. Ministers and officials meet regularly with the electoral sector and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.We are clear that electoral reform will require careful consideration and widespread engagement with civil society and, of course, young people themselves as work progresses. Details of ministerial meeting with external organisations are published on gov.uk.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of pupils moving schools midway through the academic year as a result of the imposition of VAT on independent schools on (a) staff, (b) parents and (c) pupils.

On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to boarding services provided by private schools. Any fees paid from 29 July 2024 relating to the term starting in January 2025 onwards will be subject to VAT. A start date of January 2025 will have given schools and parents 5 months to prepare for the changes, and it is right that we introduce these changes as soon as possible in order to raise the funding needed to help deliver our education priorities. The Government has carefully considered the impact that these changes will have on pupils and their families across both the state and private sector, as well as the impact they will have on state and private schools. Following scrutiny of the Government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government will confirm its approach to these reforms at the Budget on 30 October, and set out its assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes in the normal way. The Government recognises that some pupils may subsequently move into the state education sector. However, the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of these changes represents a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector. The Government is confident that the state sector will be able to accommodate any additional pupils and that these policies will not have a significant impact on the state education system as a whole.

Whether she has made a comparative assessment of the potential merits of introducing VAT on private schools (a) during the academic year and (b) at the start of the new academic year.

On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to boarding services provided by private schools. Any fees paid from 29 July 2024 relating to the term starting in January 2025 onwards will be subject to VAT. A start date of January 2025 will have given schools and parents 5 months to prepare for the changes, and it is right that we introduce these changes as soon as possible in order to raise the funding needed to help deliver our education priorities. The Government has carefully considered the impact that these changes will have on pupils and their families across both the state and private sector, as well as the impact they will have on state and private schools. Following scrutiny of the Government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government will confirm its approach to these reforms at the Budget on 30 October, and set out its assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes in the normal way. The Government recognises that some pupils may subsequently move into the state education sector. However, the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of these changes represents a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector. The Government is confident that the state sector will be able to accommodate any additional pupils and that these policies will not have a significant impact on the state education system as a whole.