Every parliamentary written question tabled by James McMurdock this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 401–420 of 534 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce (a) financial incentives and (b) stamp duty reliefs for older homeowners wishing to move to more suitable housing.
The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy.
Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on ensuring that housing policy supports independent living for older people.
The government recognises that well-designed, suitable housing can help support older people to live independently for longer. We will shortly set out our policy on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with representatives from small business on (a) rent and (b) service charge reform for high street tenants.
The Government regularly engages with small business representative organisations to garner their views. The ongoing Law Commission work, as set out in my answer to PQ UIN(s): 77535, has already involved a formal consultation with the commercial sector and is likely to include more engagement. There are currently no plans to require commercial landlords to publish standardised information on rent or service charges.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities meet identified needs for older people’s housing in local plans.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 63197 on 7 July 2025.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 83617 on Retail Trade: Empty Property, how many High Street Rental Auctions have been held.
The auction is the final stage of the High Street Rental Auction process which supports councils to reoccupy vacant commercial units. These powers were introduced in December 2024 and early adopter councils confirmed in March 2025. Since then, no council has reached the auction stage, but there are a number of councils that have reported closer engagement with landlords after designating the high street resulting in new lettings and sales of long term vacant units.Since the powers were recently introduced, no specific assessment has yet been made, but the government is working closely with early adopter councils to support and monitor delivery.
Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to require landlords to publish standardised information on (a) rent and (b) service charge costs for high street tenants.
The Government regularly engages with small business representative organisations to garner their views. The ongoing Law Commission work, as set out in my answer to PQ UIN(s): 77535, has already involved a formal consultation with the commercial sector and is likely to include more engagement. There are currently no plans to require commercial landlords to publish standardised information on rent or service charges.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of average house prices in the South East on (a) housing affordability and (b) access to home ownership.
My Department has made no specific assessment of the potential impact of average house prices in the South East on (a) housing affordability and (b) access to home ownership.
Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of average house prices in (a) the South East and (b) other parts of the country.
My Department has no plans to make such an assessment.
Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review regulations affecting (a) rent and (b) service charges in (i) high streets and (ii) shopping centres.
This government recognises the importance of a fair commercial leasehold market for the health of the high street. We are legislating to ban the use of upwards-only rent reviews, which make high street businesses uncompetitive if the market declines. We have also tasked the Law Commission, in addition to their ongoing review of the Landlord and Tenant Act (1954), with considering the law governing the maintenance, repair and upgrading of leased commercial buildings, including service charges.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to help tackle high vacancy rates in (a) shopping centres and (b) other retail units.
The Government is committed to fostering the conditions to reduce vacancy, including in our high streets and shopping centres. We have introduced legislation to ban upwards-only rent reviews in commercial leases to make tenancies more affordable, and will introduce lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from 2026. As set out in the recent Pride in Place strategy, we have also introduced High Street Rental Auctions, empowering councils to bring vacant units back into use, and other measures to support revitalisation of vacant space including a new Community Right to Buy for valued assets, such as shops and pubs, and streamlined compulsory purchase orders. This is alongside up to £5 billion investment in 244 of the most deprived neighbourhoods which can be used to tackle high street vacancy.
Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on taking steps to help support high streets in the context of trends in the levels of online shopping.
The Government is fully committed to working with councils and other partners to revitalise our changing high streets. Through the Pride in Place programme, we are investing up to £5 billion funding to revive deprived neighbourhoods and high streets. The department engages regularly with councils on a variety of issues, including our plans for neighbourhood and high street regeneration.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of availability of accessible housing on the ability of older people to move out of larger family homes.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025 and UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of suitability of housing for older people on levels of hospital admissions among those people.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025 and UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report, published in November 2024.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025 and UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of older people living in under-occupied housing.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025 and UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to increase the supply of accessible housing suitable for older people.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025 and UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support older homeowners that wish to (a) downsize and (b) move to more accessible accommodation.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 53184 on 27 May 2025 and UIN 74681 on 12 September 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Shared Ownership scheme in helping young people into long-term home ownership.
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership. In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting people into home ownership, including through the shared ownership scheme. Shared Ownership has already helped thousands of people take their first step on to the housing ladder. It plays a vital role in offering a route into home ownership to those who would otherwise struggle to buy a home. The evidence suggests that shared ownership effectively support younger home buyers. In 2023–24, 65% of purchasers were aged under 40, including 32% under 30, based on CORE data which can be found on gov.uk here and in Live Table 695 on gov.uk here. It should be noted that this reflects only recorded transactions by Registered Providers and does not capture all shared ownership sales. The government is considering what more can be done to improve the experience of shared owners.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of house prices in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency on rental affordability in the local private rented sector.
My Department has made no specific assessment of house prices or housing affordability in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency or the East of England more generally.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on house prices and annual earnings to calculate affordability ratios for national and subnational geographies in England and Wales on an annual basis. This is published on the ONS website here. The East of England average affordability ratio in 2024 was 9.1.The ONS also publishes data on private rental and house prices. The latest release can be found on the ONS website here.The ONS also publishes annual data on private rental affordability in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The latest release can be found on the ONS website here.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in house prices in the East of England in the last 10 years.
My Department has made no specific assessment of house prices or housing affordability in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency or the East of England more generally.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on house prices and annual earnings to calculate affordability ratios for national and subnational geographies in England and Wales on an annual basis. This is published on the ONS website here. The East of England average affordability ratio in 2024 was 9.1.The ONS also publishes data on private rental and house prices. The latest release can be found on the ONS website here.The ONS also publishes annual data on private rental affordability in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The latest release can be found on the ONS website here.