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Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,868 under 12 words. Hide short remarks

1. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·John McDonnell

   Air Pollution

   I did not want to interrupt the flow of my hon. Friend’s speech, but now that he has been interrupted, I might as well. He too is a west London MP, so he is aware that Heathrow, in my constituency, is one of the most persistent air pollution hotspots. In the previous Government’s assessment, any expansion at Heathrow would have a significant impact on air quality. The latest airports national policy statement says it will have “significant negative effects” on air quality. We are one of the worst areas for nitrogen dioxide pollution, so does my hon. Friend agree that Heathrow expansion cannot go ahead?

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2. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·John McDonnell

   Air Pollution

   In London, a large number of individual politicians, including the mayor, had a rough time introducing ULEZ. It is time that we congratulate him on that achievement and on the way in which he courageously faced down the opposition.

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3. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·John McDonnell

   Air Pollution

   On the issue of messaging, I wonder whether the Minister could take a message back from this debate with regard to Heathrow: perhaps Ministers could read their own report on the health impact of airport expansion. I am particularly concerned about loss of life in my constituency. The Government’s own paper says that vulnerable groups in our area will suffer significant major adverse impacts from the expansion of Heathrow, which means that more of my constituents will die. The scheme will make things worse and therefore the message is: think again.

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4. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·John McDonnell

   Business of the House

   I declare a non-pecuniary interest as the chair of the Public and Commercial Services Union parliamentary group. The Leader of the House and many Members will know that since the payment of civil service pensions was outsourced, there has been near chaos; many civil servants have been unable to retire because they have not received information about their pensions, and retired civil servants have not even been receiving their pension. A written ministerial statement yesterday said that there will be an update to Parliament shortly, and that, with regard to Capita, “the Government will not hesitate to take firm action for continued underperformance.” Will my right hon. Friend convey to the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office that the update should include a commitment to returning the administration of civil service pensions to public control—and that means insourcing?

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5. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·John McDonnell

   Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

   I want to get on record what has happened in my constituency, because I said to my constituents that I would. With the expansion of Heathrow airport, land prices have gone up. Manufacturers have moved to cheaper areas, often with grants, and in the former manufacturing areas, a large number of flats have been built. I would normally welcome that, but the prices of those flats are prohibitive for local people. However, a large number of young people—bless them—have done everything they can to raise the £300,000 or £350,000 needed to buy one of those small flats. They have new homes, and we have welcomed them into the community, but we are now getting a flood of constituents coming to see us because the increase in service charges has pushed them over the edge. In response to surveys, young people have explained in heartfelt terms, “We’ve not had a family because we can’t afford a family.” Some of them have tried to sell on, but some got a grant to buy their flat and have to pay it back, so they are caught in a Catch-22 situation. They say to me, “Here are the service charges, and this is what we get.” The service is absolutely appalling. We have had numerous examples of that. I understand the call for regulation and a regulator, and I agree with them, but the best form of regulation is to give ownership to the people living in the properties. My simple message to the Government is: please deliver the Law Commission’s remaining recommendations on enfranchising people to manage. Another issue that has come up time and again is developmental value. This is an issue on which my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) has been campaigning since the early 2000s. It is ludicrous that people have to pay up front for a development that might never happen, and that might be costed by the freeholder. That prevents people from buying or selling on. The Law Commission has made a key recommendation on this point, and I urge the Government to act on it. My hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) mentioned that the threshold for participation in a move to commonhold is set at 50%. In other areas, that does not apply; for example, the threshold for tenant management organisations is 20%. We are now removing such onerous criteria from employment rights legislation, because they prevent participation. In areas like mine, a lot of properties are owned by overseas landlords, and it is very difficult to get them to participate in any way. The request is that we move the threshold to 35%; that is reasonable and manageable. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper) that 40 years is too long to wait before changing the situation regarding ground rent. We will have the WASPI women banging on our door soon, won’t we? I know of no other issue on which there has been a 40-year notification period. The recommendation is to get it down to 20 years. I would get rid of ground rent now, because I think it is wealth extraction in return for no service whatsoever. Finally, I turn to the Government’s proposals for ensuring that lease extensions and freehold acquisitions are cheaper overall. Ultimately, they will benefit a large number of our constituents, but they need to be implemented as rapidly as possible, which is why I welcome the Bill. I hope that the new regime allows us to get this legislation through as fast as possible.

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6. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Joe Morris

   Farming Sector: International Trade

   13. What steps he is taking through international trade policies to help increase the financial sustainability of the farming sector.

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7. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Joe Morris

   Farming Sector: International Trade

   The effects on farmers and food standards are some of the most visible and felt impacts of trade policy, and obviously domestic agriculture is one of our sectors that are most sensitive to import shocks. Does the Minister agree that transition periods are vital when the Government are negotiating international trade agreements? Will he commit to making sure that the farming sector is properly consulted on implementation and transition periods for any agreement that is made, and particularly the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, and will he work across Government on that?

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8. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Joe Morris

   Business of the House

   Last week, Sarah, the head of pastoral services at Hexham Priory school, and the Friends of Hexham Priory school began their 24-hour challenge. They raised more than £28,000 by running and walking laps of Wentworth leisure centre in Hexham for a continuous 24-hour period—in one of the hottest weeks on record, no less. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating them on their actions? Will he support a debate in Government time on support for respite services for the families of children with special educational needs and disabilities in rural areas?

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9. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

   Topical Questions

   The Government’s critical minerals strategy was a fantastic achievement, with clear targets, and it will kick-start a nascent industry. To take the next step to get the sector up on its feet and to a more competitive place, will the Minister support a Government price certainty mechanism for lithium?

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10. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

    Historical Forced Adoption

    I think the Prime Minister for what he said today and the way he said it. I pay tribute to the bravery of all the people who have been involved in getting us here. A constituent who is an adult adoptee came to see me recently; she was born in 1969, so she is three years older than me. She told me that adoptees are four times more likely to try to commit suicide than non-adoptees, so I really welcome the support for adult adoptees and others in the form of a health pathway for those affected by forced adoption, including the counselling they will need for post-traumatic stress disorder. My constituent also asked me to raise the possibility of marking medical records of adult adoptees, so that those who do not have a family medical history to fall back on can get the screening and support they need.

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11. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

    Access to Further Education

    There is another further education college in Cornwall: Truro and Penwith college. Does my hon. Friend agree that transport, and getting children in rural and coastal areas to colleges and work placements, is a major issue?

    Hansard source
12. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

    Access to Further Education

    I would just like to highlight a point of inequity. Mayors sometimes subsidise buses for young people aged 16 to 19, which means that young people in urban areas are better set than those in rural areas where the councils cannot afford to do that and young people have much further to travel.

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13. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Janet Daby

    Business of the House

    The Government have shown a clear commitment to addressing many of the issues facing leaseholders, but may I ask them to go further? I say that because many of my constituents who are leaseholders in a particular building that is under 11 metres tall are facing a bill of £70,000—in fact, the managing agent is asking for £3,000 a month. This is not due to any fault on the part of the leaseholders. Will the Leader of the House ask the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to make an oral or written statement on the support available to leaseholders in buildings that are under 11 metres tall?

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14. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Janet Daby

    Historical Forced Adoption

    I thank the Prime Minister for his sincere and moving apology, and I stand with him on it, as I am sure everyone does, across this Chamber. There is possibly no dry eye in the Chamber. That demonstrates the effect this will have had on all of us, as a society. The Prime Minister will know that when I was the children and families Minister, I met campaigners on this subject, and victims of the abhorrent abuse that is historical forced adoption. It feels to me, as I hope it feels to them and to everyone from across the Chamber, as though the tide is beginning to turn. I am overjoyed about this apology, but we have already heard that it has been a long time coming. That needs to be recognised. I hope that what comes out of this situation is more caring and more compassion coming through in our society. We lack those, and we will need them more and more as days go by. The Prime Minister mentioned therapy and new support for clinicians. That therapy and support will need to be there for adoptive families, extended families and, of course, the adopted adults. Will he say more about what the new support for clinicians will be? If he cannot say that now, will he agree for written statements to be made to the House? Adopted children need specialist therapy, in particular dyadic developmental psychotherapy. I press him again to look at that.

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15. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·James Naish

    Air Pollution

    This week, Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust declared a “critical incident” after prolonged extreme heat led to increased demand, with more patients suffering dehydration and heat-related illnesses. As my hon. Friend will know, hot spells often go hand in hand with poor air quality. Does he agree that there is an imperative to address poor air quality, and that that imperative is growing as a result of the changing climate?

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16. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·James Naish

    Historical Forced Adoption

    I welcome today’s heartfelt and important apology. The Prime Minister may recall that 16 years ago, Gordon Brown publicly apologised to Britain’s child migrants—130,000 young children who were sent overseas, often without their parents’ consent, to Commonwealth countries around the world. Margaret Humphreys and the Child Migrants Trust, which is based in my constituency, continue to support survivors and campaign for recognition and redress. Following today’s apology, alongside the very important commitments that the Prime Minister has made, will he also consider what more can be done to support the child migrants and to honour the national apology that was made back in 2010?

    Hansard source
17. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·James Asser

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I am dealing with huge numbers of groups of leaseholders, and one of the things we have discovered—with the managing agent very much as my hon. Friend is describing —is this habit of subcontracting, only for the leaseholders to find that the subcontractors are owned by the same company; the name has just been changed. When we raised this point, the answer we got from FirstPort last week was, “We can do what we want.” Does that not reinforce my hon. Friend’s argument about regulation?

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18. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ian Lavery

    Topical Questions

    T2. A small coach operator in my constituency of Blyth and Ashington has local authority school contracts, and he has seen the price that he pays for fuel increase by 38% per month, without any additional support from the council. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the potential to extend schemes that support other fuel-intensive businesses to those tasked with getting our children to school?

    Hansard source
19. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ian Lavery

    Business of the House

    Increasing numbers of people experiencing homelessness are being forced to choose between accessing accommodation and keeping the pets that provide them with companionship, emotional support, stability and a sense of safety. Street Paws is a leading campaigner to remove this preventable barrier. Pet-inclusive approaches have been introduced successfully in a number of areas, including Greater Manchester, demonstrating that such policies can be implemented safely and effectively. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the need to expand that support and ensure that no one is denied accommodation simply because they refuse to abandon a beloved pet?

    Hansard source
20. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Helen Hayes

    Historical Forced Adoption

    The evidence that the Education Committee heard from mothers and adult adoptees was utterly devastating. I thank Diana Defries, Ann Lloyd Keen, Sally Ells and Debbie Iromlou for courageously reliving their trauma so that we could shine a light on the extent of the injustice they suffered and the urgent need for a meaningful response. They should not have had to work so hard for so long just to be heard and to have their experiences recognised. I also thank the academics who gave evidence, and especially Professor Gordon Harold and Dr Michael Lambert, whose painstaking and rigorous research helped to prove what mothers and adult adoptees have long known: that the state was culpable for the wrongs they suffered by presiding over, funding and facilitating a system that dehumanised unmarried pregnant women and their babies, and inflicted horrific cruelty upon them. I thank the Prime Minister for this apology today. It is long overdue and much needed. I thank him for the breadth of the apology and for the Government’s work with survivors to get to this point. Women whose babies were forcibly adopted and who endured cruelty and humiliation in mother and baby homes and in the NHS should know today that the shame of this period in our history rests on the Government and on the religious and community and healthcare organisations who presided over, facilitated and sustained the system; it is not, and never was, theirs to carry. This apology is a watershed, but it must be only the beginning of putting right the disgraceful wrongs of this shameful period of our history. May I ask the Prime Minister to set out how progress on delivering the support he has announced will be monitored and how survivors will continue to be involved in it? Will he ensure that as the Government progress this work, information on how to access that support will be made widely available? So many families have a story, and there are so many stories that are still untold with so many still feeling ashamed to speak about this period in their lives and its lifelong impact. They must no longer feel ashamed; they must feel that they can come forward and access the help and support they need.

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21. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Graeme Downie

    Business of the House

    After holding a series of stakeholder events with local businesses and charities and an online survey attracting more than 1,000 responses, I have recently published the results of a city centre survey for Dunfermline. That survey highlighted that people are very proud to live in Scotland’s newest city and ancient capital, but that improvements are needed in the city centre itself to improve aesthetics and attract new businesses. Does the Leader of the House agree that the people of Dunfermline deserve to see improvements in their city centre, and will he help me deliver that for my constituents?

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22. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gordon McKee

    Heart Disease and Stroke: Premature Deaths

    My hon. Friend is making an important and passionate speech, especially in the light of the personal circumstances that he mentioned. I agree with him about deprivation. Does he agree that access to fresh, affordable food is incredibly important, particularly in the most deprived areas? In Castlemilk in my constituency, it is much easier to get a bottle of vodka than it is to get a banana. Does he agree that fixing that is part of the solution?

    Hansard source
23. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gordon McKee

    Air Pollution

    Will my hon. Friend give way?

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24. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gareth Thomas

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    My hon. Friend is about to come on to property managing agents. May I add to the experiences heard by her Committee the experiences of constituents in my communities? Probably one third of the casework that I deal with relates to the poor performance of property managing agents. Does she agree that many leaseholders face real difficulty in getting proper recourse? A much tougher regime than the one currently in place, involving the property ombudsman and the property redress scheme, is urgently needed if leaseholders are to have genuine hope that their concerns about managing agents will be taken seriously.

    Hansard source
25. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gareth Snell

    Hospitality Sector

    Titanic Brewery, based in Stoke-on-Trent, makes a fabulous pint—I highly recommend the plum porter. However, the Minister will know that as an independent brewery, access to market is quite difficult because of the way that tied pubs insist that landlords buy their products. Could the Minister make an announcement before the summer recess on the access to market scheme, and in particular the guest beer arrangement that would allow 1,500 SMEs access to market? It would not cost the Government anything, and the Minister could find that lots of people raise a pint to her over the summer.

    Hansard source
26. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gareth Snell

    Access to Further Education

    I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests; I am a governor at the City of Stoke-on-Trent sixth-form college and the Abbey Hill special college, and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on sixth-form education. I congratulate the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) on securing this genuinely important debate, and my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) for rightly pointing out that the best college in the country is in my county. Where she was wrong is that it is actually 10 miles north, in my constituency, not hers, but that is a different matter. I will push the Minister on two or three things. First is the introduction of the V-levels. I am grateful that the Government recognised that the scrapping of BTECs would leave a gap in the market for young people who wanted to go to college to study qualifications. The first three V-levels are due to be rolled out in September 2027, but the qualification guidelines are not going to be released until spring 2027, meaning that many colleges will be unable to work out what they will have to teach to ensure that young people get the qualification. Those prospectuses are being printed now, and knowing what the guidelines are would be a big help. Is there any chance the Minister could bring forward that announcement? I know colleges would be grateful. There is also the issue of stand-alone sixth-form colleges, which fall between the cracks of FE and sixth-forms in multi-academy trusts when it comes to capital funding. They do not qualify for the school condition allocation fund, as those in MATs do, or the FE capital transformation fund. That is a genuine problem, because in the types of places that Members have mentioned, those stand-alone sixth-form colleges are a real engine for social mobility. They do not have the ability to borrow—it was taken away from them—and they are funded at 29% less than schools, so accessing capital becomes a real issue for the growing number of young people who want to go there. Finally, I will push the Minister on the transport infrastructure that makes colleges accessible. Can the Department for Transport think about colleges as somewhere that bus routes ought to run to? In too many place, young people cannot rely on parents to get them there. Buses unlock opportunity for education and progression.

    Hansard source
27. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gareth Snell

    Access to Further Education

    I appreciate that this is the responsibility of our noble Friend in the other place, but if the Minister’s officials could write with an answer, I would be grateful. It is reported that pension contributions in the college sector will likely drop by about 8% as a result of the funds doing very well. There is a rumour that some of the colleges’ dividend from having to pay less into pension funds will be clawed back mid-academic year as part of the Department’s negotiations. I appreciate that he cannot answer that now, but that would be incredibly damaging to colleges. Any way of mitigating it would be welcomed across the sector.

    Hansard source
28. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Historical Forced Adoption

    I too thank the Prime Minister for this important statement, and I pay tribute to the courage of the women who came forward, including my constituent Ann Keen. I met Ann shortly after I was elected in 2019 —we first met online—and what I sensed in Ann was someone who was not going to give up until her voice, and the voices of the many women who suffered this injustice, had been heard, and that wrong had been made right. Ann has worked tirelessly with many other campaigners. In that cross-party spirit, I pay tribute to the late Sir David Amess, who also led on this issue; he delivered a letter to the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in May 2021. I still have a text message on my phone from Ann telling me what more I could do. I also served on the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and we launched our report on this subject in July 2022, under the chairmanship of the noble Baroness Harman. It is right that this apology has come, but as everyone has said, this apology is not enough. What more can be done to ensure that the voices of women are taken seriously? We had the maternity statement the other day. A running theme in all these injustices is women not being believed, women being silenced, and women being told that they are the problem. What more can we do to ensure that women’s voices are front and centre when it comes to matters concerning them?

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29. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Points of Order

    On a point of order, I seek guidance from your good self, Madam Deputy Speaker, on how to remind Members about the courtesies of the House when undertaking events in other constituencies. I am proud to serve the constituency of Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, where there are many wonderful venues that host many fantastic events. When Members, including senior Members, take part in speaking events in another constituency that are not private events, they should notify the sitting Member.

    Hansard source
30. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I beg to move, That this House welcomes the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s First Report of Session 2026-27, Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill (HC40); notes the Government’s commitments to cap ground rents and to bring forward legislation in this Session to support the uptake of commonhold in place of leasehold; further notes the concerning practices of some property managing agents who fail to act in the best interests of homeowners; and calls on the Government to accept the Committee’s recommendation to legislate to create a body with enforcement powers to regulate property managing agents. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for this important and timely debate, which gives the House the chance to consider our Committee’s report on the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. I thank my fellow Committee members for their collaboration and cross-party work on the report, the excellent Committee staff for their help in preparing the report and the Committee’s two specialist advisers, Professor Nick Hopkins and Wendy Wilson, for their assistance throughout our inquiry. Today’s motion invites the House to call on the Government to use the final Bill to legislate for the regulation of managing agents. Colleagues from across the House will be all too familiar from their inboxes with the “wild west” of managing agents, but first I would like to begin by discussing some of our findings on the draft Bill more generally. For many of the 5 million leaseholders across England and Wales, these reforms have been a long time coming. After a decade of campaigning across party lines, we now have an opportunity to finally tackle the fundamental injustices of the leasehold system, once and for all. Leasehold reform has long commanded cross-party support. Ten years ago, the campaign in Parliament was championed by the former Member for Worthing West, Sir Peter Bottomley. His work chairing the all-party parliamentary group on leasehold and commonhold reform amplified leaseholders’ voices across Westminster. I thank the current chair, my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders), for his tireless cross-party campaigning. It is in that cross-party spirit that my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) and Lord Gove generously gave evidence alongside each other in the opening session of our inquiry. The two former Housing Secretaries were united in their view that this draft Bill is welcome, and that the Government must go further and faster to deliver for leaseholders. The draft Bill is technical and long—it runs to 164 clauses and 13 schedules—but if we take a step back, the problem that it seeks to address is about control. Control is supposed to be one of the main advantages for people of buying their own home. For many leaseholders, a flat is their first foot on the housing ladder. They may have been drawn in by the banners on new build developments advertising the Government’s Help to Buy scheme. Many leaseholders were told that that was the affordable route to buying, via shared ownership. They expected control and a feeling of security, knowing that they could make the changes that they wanted in their own home and have control over the running costs, and would not be threatened with eviction by a landlord. The benefits of home ownership simply do not apply to leaseholders. They are homeowners, yet they are tenants. Far from home ownership and the dream that they were sold, many of them are stuck in a living nightmare. In the words of one leaseholder, who shared their story with our inquiry: “I thought I’d bought a flat, then discovered leasehold is a financial trap. I have no control over my finances, my relationships, where I live, or where I work”. We all agree that this is an injustice that needs to be addressed. This afternoon’s debate is an opportunity for Members to reflect on the draft Bill and what additional measures might need to be included in the final version to ensure that we get these reforms right. Perhaps the most headline-grabbing measure in the draft Bill is that it will cap existing ground rents at £250 a year. We must be absolutely clear across this House and in the other place that ground rent is money for nothing. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority found “no persuasive evidence” that leaseholders “receive anything in return” for ground rent. Many leaseholders have ground rents that double every 10 years or increase with the retail prices index.

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31. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I refer my hon. Friend to the evidence session at which we had representatives of freeholders—one of the most enlightening sessions for my Committee and my colleagues. We probed and pushed and tried to seek justification for ground rents, but none was forthcoming. That shows that they are a money-making scheme. We must be absolutely clear, as the Competition and Markets Authority has said, that there is no place for ground rents. Last month, there were media reports that the Government are preparing to accept our Committee’s recommendation to bring the £250 ground rent cap into force in late 2027—one year earlier than previously planned. If those reports are correct, that will be welcome news for many leaseholders, who are calling on us to act with greater urgency. However, even before the final Bill has been introduced, we hear threats of judicial review from a small number of organisations with very deep pockets. Rather than engaging with the process here in Parliament, they are preparing to challenge the democratic mandate of successive Governments, and the will of this House, to make these changes. Shame on them. They know that they have lost the political debate. The Government should be emboldened by the fact that they have successfully defended judicial reviews in the past. We think they should push ahead with these reforms, but there is a real risk that these measures could be delayed if freeholders do launch such a challenge. The Committee has called on the Government to include a clause for the ground rent cap in the final Bill to ensure that it comes into force two months after the legislation receives Royal Assent. We support the Government’s intention to change to peppercorn ground rent over time. We understand that that will need a transition period, as Ministers must be confident that they are striking a fair balance between the interests of competing parties, but it is not clear to us how the Government decided on their policy of a 40-year transition. Based on the evidence to our Committee so far, we think a shorter transition period may be justified and fair. That is why our report calls on the Government to publish more data in the coming months so we can be confident that we are getting the transition period right. Another key focus of the draft Bill is the measure to replace leasehold with a new commonhold tenure. Commonhold will allow all homeowners to have a vote in how their block is run. Homeowners are not required to participate in commonhold if they do not want to, and many blocks will vote to appoint their chosen managing agent, but this modern tenure will offer homeowners the control that they do not have under the current leasehold system.

    Hansard source
32. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and I thank many other Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales). I will come on to the very important area of managing agents and a firm that is notorious with many of us in this Chamber—FirstPort.

    Hansard source
33. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I thank my hon. Friend, a fellow London MP, for that intervention. This issue is not just isolated to London; it happens in many areas right across the country, and it was raised continuously throughout our inquiry. As I mentioned, I will come on to the issue of managing agents more broadly. Our Committee is broadly supportive of the move to commonhold. That said, we have two key questions about its implementation. First, the Government must clarify what voting rights shared owners will have in commonholds. The Government have indicated that housing associations may have control over the votes of shared owners during the 10-year initial repair period of their properties. That could leave shared owners without any say in decisions that directly affect their homes. We call on the Government to clarify the position on this matter. We must ensure that the vote can be split between shared owners and their housing providers if necessary, so that shared ownership leaseholders get a meaningful say. Secondly, we need to ensure that as many existing leaseholders as possible are able to convert to commonhold. The Government want all new build homes to be commonhold and to support existing leaseholders to convert. However, the draft Bill does not enact important recommendations from the Law Commission that would make it easier for leaseholders to buy out their freeholder and make the important switch. Our report includes proposals on how some of those recommendations could be included. If it is not possible to include them in this Bill, the Government must bring forward further legislation later in this Parliament. We do not want to run the risk of leaving some leaseholders behind. The biggest issue and source of frustration for so many homeowners and leaseholders in the leasehold system is the quality—or lack of it—and service provided by their managing agents. Many colleagues from across the House will share cases involving their constituents in this afternoon’s debate, but it will come as no surprise to anyone that one company came up time and again in the stories we heard from leaseholders. That company was FirstPort, the largest independent managing agent in England. Last year, the Minister said he had “significant concerns” about FirstPort’s unreasonable service charges, its slow response to complaints and its approach to debt collection. Ultimately, the problem with many of these managing agents is that they are taking advantage of a captive market. They effectively have a monopoly on individual estates, meaning that they are able to treat homeowners with sheer contempt. In the words of one leaseholder we heard from, homeowners are left feeling “like cash cows”.

    Hansard source
34. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I thank my hon. Friend for sharing that example; colleagues across the Chamber will probably cite similar, if not worse, ones. That is a shocking indictment of the company we are discussing. The law already requires service charge increases to be “reasonable”, but when charges are skyrocketing for basic maintenance services such as cutting grass, many residents do not feel that they are being treated reasonably.

    Hansard source
35. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point—as I mentioned, many colleagues will have dealt with similar cases. This is an issue that we want the Government to look seriously at, and one that has frequently been brought up in the Chamber. It is right that Members are advocating for their constituents, but local MPs or Housing Ministers should not have to name and shame these companies; we are talking about some of the largest managing agents in England. We are seeing patterns, with the same companies coming up time and again across the country. As MPs, our support for individual blocks and housing estates might result in small wins locally, but it is not addressing the root cause of the problem. Our Committee surveyed over 7,000 homeowners, and found that the regulation of managing agents was the No. 1 action that homeowners wanted the Government to prioritise as part of their leasehold and commonhold agenda. In 2018, the Lord Best report proposed a new regulator to cover letting and managing agents, with a mandatory and enforceable code of practice. Lord Best recommended that this new body should be established as a statutory regulator for property agents, as there was no existing body that could take on that role. Even the managing agents themselves have told us that they would welcome Lord Best’s proposals for regulation and the professionalisation this would bring to the sector. We already have industry-funded professional bodies with their own codes, but self-regulation does not work.

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36. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and wish him a happy birthday—I am sure a good birthday present for him would be the regulation of managing agents for the sake of his constituents. Self-regulation does not work when there is no real enforcement, and leaseholders were clear with us that they do not just want mandatory qualifications. As Lord Best put it in his evidence to the Committee, “being qualified doesn’t necessarily make people behave properly; you still need a code of practice and enforcement”. What we need is a regulator with teeth—one that will issue meaningful sanctions against agents that treat homeowners like a revenue stream. For the worst offenders, that should include the removal of their licence to operate. I should acknowledge that our inquiry heard from some campaigners who were concerned that regulation could add to the costs passed on to leaseholders via service charges. On balance, though, we think that regulation is now necessary to protect all leaseholders from rogue managing agents. The reality is that some leaseholders will not be able to convert to commonhold—some blocks will not be able to meet the 50% threshold to convert, and some blocks will have special features that mean they are not eligible. We cannot leave those homeowners behind. Ultimately, commonhold is a vast improvement, but it will not always be as simple as hiring and firing agents. Commonholds are likely to appoint managing agents on contracts that last for several years, and they need to have confidence that they are appointing high-quality service providers. An independent code of practice would provide that assurance, so overall we think it would be a valuable addition to the final Bill—one that would benefit homeowners. Homeowners want a crackdown on poorly performing agents like FirstPort, with a regulator that has teeth and can deliver.

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37. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    Very quickly.

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38. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important issue of marriage value and the extension of leases, with many people having to take out additional loans just to remortgage and extend their lease. All these areas are covered in the draft Bill, and I know the Minister is keen to address them. The Bill will be an opportunity to impact the lives of millions of constituents across England and Wales who bought their homes in good faith. We must all take responsibility for keeping this topic on the agenda and ensuring that the final Bill comes back to this Chamber in the autumn to make progress through Parliament—we cannot allow this issue to be swept away by events that are happening outside this place or that are beyond our control. Our Committee’s report sets out the blueprint for the changes needed to make the Bill a bolder, more ambitious piece of legislation. With an independent regulator, we can ensure that all homeowners see a real change in the short term. I therefore urge Members across the House to support today’s motion; leaseholders’ expectations have been set very high, so it is vital that we get the reforms right. If we do so, this will be the Parliament that finally allows leaseholders to realise their dream of home ownership, making them true homeowners with the control they have been promised.

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39. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

    I am mindful of the time, but let me thank the 24 Back-Bench Members who have contributed to the debate; I hope that the Minister will see that there is cross-party support. We will continue to keep this issue on the agenda, because it is only right that this Parliament does what the Labour manifesto committed to do: bring an end to the feudal leasehold system. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House welcomes the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s First Report of Session 2026-27, Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill (HC40); notes the Government’s commitments to cap ground rents and to bring forward legislation in this Session to support the uptake of commonhold in place of leasehold; further notes the concerning practices of some property managing agents who fail to act in the best interests of homeowners; and calls on the Government to accept the Committee’s recommendation to legislate to create a body with enforcement powers to regulate property managing agents.

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40. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Elaine Stewart

    Business of the House

    Craigmark Burntonians, a club from my home town and the community I am proud to represent, have won the west of Scotland football league division 3. Vital amateur league football plays a great part in our local communities. I would like to thank Steve Clarke, an Ayrshire man, for his outstanding contribution over the past seven years, which included taking Scotland to the world cup, and that is not to forget our fantastic, amazing fans. Does the Minister agree that those achievements highlight the need for a debate on the vital role that football plays in our local communities?

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