Speeches by Pennycook.

“I find it quite galling that we have the shadow Secretary of State saying that we have lowered London’s housing targets too far and the hon. Gentleman saying that they are too high. They are just in the right place, from my point of view.”

“I am confident, Mr Speaker. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman could confirm to me whether it is now the policy of His Majesty’s Opposition that if all reasonable options for meeting identified housing need have been exhausted, including grey-belt land, no green-belt land can ever be released, even in those very special circum…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his well-judged question. Let me reassure him that the Government understand the distinct operational and financial models that underpin specialist retirement housing, and that we recognise the important role that integrated retirement community operators play in providing high-quality ho…”

“The hon. Lady will appreciate that Ministers cannot comment on individual planning applications or local plans, but I am more than happy to meet her and discuss the general issues arising from the case she mentions.”

“On 19 March, we published a full impact assessment for the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that we are also consulting on precisely how to introduce a ban on the use of leasehold for new flats, including in respect of issues such as scope, transitional arrangements and exemp…”

“We are taking a number of steps to assist local authorities whose HRAs are under pressure, including the rent convergence introduction, which I know the hon. Gentleman is aware of, and all the other regulatory certainty and stability that allows local authorities, as well as housing associations, to plan for the future…”

“Social landlords are held to regulatory standards that are overseen by the regulator. I am sorry to hear about the experience of John and Barbara and others. If the hon. Lady would like to write to me with details about the case, I will happily look into it.”

“I am very sorry to learn of the experience of my hon. Friend’s constituent. All housing association homes must be free from dangerous damp and mould. I note that her case arose before we brought the first phase of Awaab’s law into force on 27 October last year; now that we have done so, all social landlords are require…”

“Registered providers of social housing, whoever they are, must address non-decency wherever it exists and must do so in a timely and professional manner. Where there are concerns that an RP is not delivering against the required regulatory standards, as I just mentioned, referrals can be made to the regulator, and the …”

“Alongside our commitment to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation, the Government are determined to drive a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of social housing. To that end, we have begun the implementation of Awaab’s law, introduced a new, m…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his question and commend Karbon Homes for its commitment to furnished tenancies. While such tenancies are not mandatory, we know that many social landlords want to know more about the opportunities that furnished tenancy schemes can provide, as well as the funding and budgeting implications a…”

“The Government recognise that a far smaller proportion of social rented homes are let as furnished or partly furnished, compared with the private rented sector. In our response to last year’s consultation on a new decent homes standard, we made clear that we are exploring what more can be done to support the tenants wh…”

“I do recognise the importance of ensuring that tenants can access essential furniture where required. Furnished tenancies are not mandatory. In making the decision on the decent homes standard, we had to balance the costs involved with the need to ensure that the requirements cover all providers. We are—not least throu…”

“The Government continue to steadily implement those reforms to the leasehold system that are already in statute and to progress the wider set of reforms necessary to end the leasehold system for good in this Parliament, not least through the provisions in our draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, which was publis…”

“I am determined to switch on the improved leaseholder consumer rights provided for by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, including service charge standardisation and transparency measures, at the earliest possible opportunity so that people like Yvonne, and many hundreds of thousands more across the country wh…”

“As the hon. Gentleman knows, we engage regularly with our Northern Ireland counterparts. On leasehold reform, which covers just England and Wales, I am more than happy to provide him with the insights of the proposals that we have been working up and what more we are considering to take forward in future months and yea…”

“I understand the acute pressures that my hon. Friend faces in her constituency as a result of an excessive concentration of short-term lets. She and I met only recently to discuss that matter, but I will happily continue to engage on it with any hon. Member from across the House. As she knows, the Government appreciate…”

“The Government do not support the introduction of rent controls, which we believe could make life more difficult for renters. There is sufficient international evidence from countries such as Sweden and Germany, and from individual cities such as San Francisco, as well as the recent Scottish experience, to attest to th…”

“I assure the right hon. Gentleman that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with digital delivery experts to ensure that the registration service is robust, secure and simple to use, minimising the impact on businesses for precisely the reasons he gave.”

“Responsibility for developing a registration scheme for short-term lets in England lies with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is building a simple and easy-to-use registration scheme for short-term lets, informed by ongoing stakeholder feedback and consultation. The scheme entered user testing in Octo…”