Matthew Pennycook MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 23 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We have provided significant support for local planning authorities to help them with capacity and capability pressures. My hon. Friend will know that through the provisions in the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, we are allowing local authorities to set their own fees at a local level to ensure that their costs can be covered.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend not only for his question, but for his unwavering support for ambitious, high-quality sustainable growth in his city and the surrounding areas. We are determined to unleash nationally significant growth in Greater Cambridge, to the benefit of existing and new communities and the nation as a whole. Following the consultation on a Greater Cambridge urban development corporation, which ends on 1 April, we will publish the summary responses and a formal response setting out the Government’s next steps. As ever, I will strive to ensure that my hon. Friend and other hon. Members from Cambridgeshire are fully apprised of the Government’s thinking.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor · Hansard source

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  In the 13 months since we announced plans to supercharge growth in Oxford-Cambridge corridor, significant progress has been made, including through updated proposals on East West Rail, the establishment of an Oxford growth commission and tangible steps towards realising the full potential of Greater Cambridge.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor · Hansard source

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  I am more than happy to meet the hon. Gentleman.

• 11 Feb 2026 · Supported Exempt Accommodation: Birmingham · Hansard source

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  We issued guidance earlier this week in respect of some of the provisions that are in the Act, but I will ensure that the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness has heard my hon. Friend’s call for more support and guidance in that area, alongside the implementation of other elements of the Act. The Government and my hon. Friend the Minister are committed to working with all Members, local authorities and supported housing providers to make sure the measures have the intended effect. Aside from the note of party political debate injected into our discussions by the shadow Minister in regard to the wider housing supply, I think there is cross-party consensus about what needs to happen on this particular issue, and the need for the regulatory framework to be introduced so that we can get supported housing that is good quality, appropriate for the needs of the individuals and helps them to live as independently as possible.

• 11 Feb 2026 · Supported Exempt Accommodation: Birmingham · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, as always, to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on securing this important debate, and thank him for his clear and comprehensive account of the challenges of poorly managed, and in particular non-commissioned, exempt accommodation in his constituency. I also thank other hon. Members who have participated in the debate, including my hon. Friends the Members for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (Tahir Ali) and for Birmingham Edgbaston (Preet Kaur Gill). My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Edgbaston, along with my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Ladywood (Shabana Mahmood) and my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), have championed this issue for, in some cases, many years. I remember the debates about it in the previous Parliament. Members will have noticed that I am not the Minister responsible for supported housing. The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, my hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Alison McGovern), is currently in the main Chamber updating the House on changes to local government finance. I will obviously do my best to respond to the various points raised by the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr and others, but I know that the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness will be happy to follow up with any Member in relation to specific issues of concern. I have no doubt that she will be more than happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and, indeed, his constituents, should that be appropriate, to discuss matters in more detail. In general terms, let me reassure Members of two things. First, the Government take incredibly seriously the need to ensure that all individuals who benefit from supported housing live in safe and decent accommodation and get the support that they need to get back on their feet and improve their lives. As we have heard, in many cases these are very vulnerable individuals who need support if they are to get their lives back on track. Secondly, we remain firmly committed to addressing exploitation and profiteering at the hands of rogue exempt accommodation operators. Understandably, that has been the focus of the debate. As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson—the hon. Member for Woking (Mr Forster) —and others noted, there are lots of high-quality providers out there. There is also, as the shadow Minister—the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking)—rightly argued, huge unmet need in this area. That is why, as Members will know, at the spending review the Government announced £39 billion for a new 10-year social and affordable homes programme. We want to see new supply of supported housing in England come through that new programme in greater numbers. Although we did not set any numerical targets or ringfence budgets for that programme, it has been designed with the flexibility necessary to ensure that those types of accommodation that require higher grant rates can come through the new programme in the appropriate numbers. We are also providing wider support for the supported housing sector. We announced £159 million, through the local government finance settlement for 2026 to 2029, for support services in supported housing. We are working with targeted local areas and officials are confirming allocations with those areas in the coming days and weeks. I recognise not only that Birmingham has significantly more supported exempt accommodation than anywhere else in the country—the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr rightly said approximately 31,000 individuals are housed in around 11,000 units—but that it faces acute challenges in respect of unsafe and poor-quality supported housing. I think it was mentioned earlier, but the Local Government and Homelessness Minister recently met the leader of Birmingham council and Members representing a number of Birmingham constituencies to discuss the ongoing problems that Birmingham faces. It is worth my saying a few general remarks about supported housing. It helps those who need extra support to live as independently as possible in the community, and that support can take many forms. Some individuals may need supported housing for a short time while they recover from a period of crisis; for others, supported housing is a home for life, helping them to live independently outside of institutional settings. The Government fully appreciate that there have been real issues in parts of the supported housing market. Over recent years, far too many residents have been placed in inappropriate accommodation or dangerous situations, with little to no support. As we have heard today, the impact of unsafe, poor-quality supported housing on residents, their families and communities should not be understated. Increased antisocial behaviour resulting from poorly managed housing and knock-on impacts for wider services such as the NHS and the police are frequently brought to the Department’s attention. Communities in a number of areas across the country have been blighted by these problems, but we know, as I have said, that the issue is most prevalent in Birmingham. Let me be very clear: that state of affairs is intolerable. It cannot be allowed to continue, which is why the Government are taking action. Action has been taken prior to and alongside the legislation that the previous Government supported and that we have been taking forward. The supported housing improvement programme has been in place in Birmingham since 2022, and before that the supported housing oversight pilots resulted in real improvements—I think the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr made that case in his speech. The multidisciplinary teams that have been established in the local authority, across housing enforcement, adult social care and housing benefit teams, have strengthened understanding and allowed targeted action to take place. Although the programme will end in March, the lessons learned and the actions taken by Birmingham city council should now be firmly embedded. We are ending that funding as we work towards the implementation of the Act and, thereafter, local authorities will charge fees for the administration and enforcement of licensing in particular going forward. We have not cut off all funding with a view to having no replacement; there is work alongside our intentions to roll out the legislation. Let me turn to that legislation, which has rightly been the focus of much of the debate. I remember it going through the House when I was the shadow Minister. We should commend the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) on his private Member’s Bill, which the previous Government supported, and on all his work on the wider homelessness agenda. That legislation was a response to long-standing concerns about the quality of non-exempt supported accommodation, its oversight and the value-for-money questions we have heard about today. Despite there being many excellent supported housing providers, regulation in this area is absolutely needed. The Government are working to introduce the necessary measures to improve quality and oversight as soon as possible. I am happy to tell Members that we intend to implement the Act in stages over the coming months, and I will provide some more detail on the different elements of the Act that we intend to take forward, and the timescales. It should be said that local authorities can and should still use their existing enforcement powers to take action against poor-quality accommodation as we do so. I am pleased to say that, this week, we have allocated £39 million in new burdens funding to local authorities, including Birmingham, to start work on their local supported housing strategies. Those strategies ask local authorities to assess their current supply of supported housing, and to estimate their unmet need and future demand. They must then set out how they will meet them. The first strategies are due to be completed by 31 March 2027, and statutory guidance to support this work was published earlier this week. The Liberal Democrat spokesman challenged me on the advisory panel. I can assure him that it has not been forgotten about. We are moving forward with its establishment. The chair will be officially appointed imminently and the panel will be officially convened. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the panel will then advise the Government on the implementation of the Act as a whole and consider what further support the supported housing sector needs going forward. We are taking that part of the Act forward. As has been mentioned a number of times, the Government have also consulted on our proposals for supporting housing licensing and new support standards. We did that last year, and I know that a response has been anticipated for some time. It will be published as soon as possible. I well understand the urgency that Members from across the House have expressed. We will publish the new national supported housing standards along with guidance, so that residents, providers and local authorities know the standard of support we expect. We will consult on licensing regulations later this year, giving stakeholders an opportunity to comment on the regulations before they are debated in Parliament. This is really important, and it goes to the point about high-quality providers that several Members made. We need to ensure that we introduce the licensing scheme in a way that is both proportionate and effective, so that the expense of bearing down on the rogue providers and operators does not penalise high-quality providers. Local authorities will receive new burdens funding to establish their licensing schemes, and we will monitor the licensing schemes to ensure that they are having the intended effect. The Government are committed to implementing the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act and to giving local authorities the powers they need to tackle the problems evident in supported housing in Birmingham and across England. The progress that has already been made is worth noting, and we want that to continue. We want councils like Birmingham to make use of their existing powers. I think my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Edgbaston mentioned some of the progress made under SHIP in Birmingham. SHIP and the previous programme received a total of £6.5 million in funding, and that has rightly generated huge amounts of benefit: £8.8 million of housing benefit spend was prevented; the number of cases where support was deemed to be inadequate has dropped from 33%; and we are seeing the proportion of inspected properties that meet the decent homes standard rising from 44%. Progress has been made, but the regulatory framework that the Act introduces does need to be brought forward.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  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 enacted, where existing leaseholders can choose to remain in leasehold ownership but can take advantage of the new rights and protections made available to them, including a cheaper and easier enfranchisement process if they want to extend their lease or buy their freehold, or convert to commonhold. That is why it is so important that the Bill contains an easier mechanism to convert to commonhold, which, as I said in the statement, we are clear is not only an alternative to leasehold ownership but a radical improvement on it.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I say to my hon. Friend that we are on his constituent’s side. It is because so many leaseholders across the country are suffering from unjust and discriminatory practices that we have to overhaul and ultimately end this feudal system.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has been an incredible champion for residential freeholders and leaseholders in his constituency. It is precisely because of ground rent increases of that scale that we are imposing, via this draft Bill, a maximum cash cap. I am more than happy to meet him to discuss the draft Bill and related matters.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  We are absolutely committed to strengthening regulation of managing agents. Some proposals on charges were set out in the consultation on protections for leaseholders, which we released last summer, but there is more to come.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I will be careful in what I say in respect of that particular case, but a meeting with my hon. Friend and other Sheffield MPs was postponed because this legislation was being brought forward. I will ensure that that meeting goes back in the diary as soon as possible.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I can feel the glare of my private office as I agree to meetings across the House, but I am happy to do so. The matters that the hon. Lady addresses are in the consultation we brought forward last year. It is an incredibly technical consultation on standardising and making more transparent service charges across the country, which are not uniform in any way as things stand. However, as I have said, we want to introduce those protections as soon as possible.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are calling time on the abusive practices of unscrupulous property agents and on the leasehold system as a whole. That is down to a Labour Government finishing the job that the previous Government were unable to complete.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  It is certainly not our intention to allow any loopholes into the legislation. That is precisely why we have brought forward a draft Bill rather than a final product. Such is the complexity and technical nature of the reform we are enacting that the additional and enhanced scrutiny to be provided by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee will be invaluable.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  Yes.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  We have given serious consideration to how we will take forward Lord Best’s recommendations from his 2019 report and, as I have made clear, we are taking some of them forward already. This Bill introduces reform in a number of specific areas and, as I have said in response to previous questions, it does not need to do everything. There are other pieces of legislation, not least the 2024 Act, that do lots of the work that hon. Members are calling for, but we want to ensure that the whole agenda is a comprehensive one that benefits leaseholders in the way that the hon. Lady and I both want.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  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 introduce other protections.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  We are clear that we need to strengthen the regulation of managing agents. I appreciate the strength of feeling, across the House, on the matter. As I have made clear, we will continue to reflect on the various recommendations made in Lord Best’s 2019 report, and I am more than happy to engage with my hon. Friend on his private Member’s Bill, which I know deals with some of these matters.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I very much agree with my hon. Friend that the draft Bill will be life-changing for leaseholders across the country, freeing them from the unjust and discriminatory practices that so many of them face, and from the financial cost of high ground rent terms. I am more than happy to write to her on the specific issue she raises. It is these nuanced points that we want to work through, and that is why we have brought forward a draft Bill for enhanced scrutiny.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  All manner of provisions in the draft Bill that we are discussing are absolutely about rebalancing leasehold and freehold interests. To take the example of forfeiture, freeholders have often been in an unassailable position of strength vis-à-vis leaseholders. That is what we are trying to address by introducing the Bill. I thank my hon. Friend for her support.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right: there will always be vested interests that resist reform of the nature that we are trying to take forward, just as there will always be naysayers out there for whom nothing we do is ever good enough. This package as a whole, as I have said, will end the leasehold system in its entirety and in a single Parliament. That will be a huge achievement for this Government and we will succeed on that basis where other Governments have failed. I am aware of the specific issue my hon. Friend raises and we have had many discussions about it. The provisions to address it are not in the draft Bill, but my officials and I are giving serious consideration to how and where we will resolve the matter that my hon. Friend has campaigned on for so many years.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I can assure the hon. Lady that we are going as fast as we possibly can, but I hope she would not want us to follow the example of the previous Government, who rushed forward legislation that contained serious specific flaws that a future Government—this Government—would have to fix in due course.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  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 of forfeiture, which is a draconian and disproportionate means of enforcing lease terms, they will benefit in myriad ways from the legislation.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I think that I have already committed to ensuring that a visit to her constituency is on the very long list of requests that I have received, but I will bear her request in mind.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  My Department always strives to ensure that the House is updated at the earliest possible opportunity. I note and appreciate fully the points you have made, Mr Speaker, and will ensure that they are passed on to my ministerial colleagues. With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the Government’s draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. We made a clear and unambiguous commitment in our manifesto to act where previous Governments had failed and finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end. We did so on the basis of a firm conviction that it is only by extinguishing fully the historical iniquities on which the present leasehold system rests that we can ensure that the dream of home ownership is made real for millions of households across the country. Today, the Government have published and laid the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee. This ambitious piece of legislation will modernise property law, deliver a fair and efficient modern housing market and, most importantly, transform the experience of home ownership for millions of leaseholders across the country. The draft Bill includes the following key provisions: a new legal framework for commonhold to reform and reinvigorate this radical improvement on leasehold ownership; a statutory restriction on new leasehold flats to ensure that, in future, commonhold is the default tenure; a new process for converting to commonhold from leasehold to make conversion easier, so that more homeowners can enjoy this improved form of ownership; the abolition of leasehold forfeiture and its replacement with a fairer system of lease enforcement; the repeal of draconian powers relating to rent charges on freehold estates; and the capping of ground rent for older leases at £250 a year, changing to a peppercorn after 40 years. Let me expand briefly on each of these core measures, beginning with commonhold. Commonhold is a modern home ownership structure that is widely used around the world. It is not merely an alternative to leasehold ownership, but a radical improvement on it. At the heart of the commonhold model is a simple principle: the people who should own buildings and who should exercise control over their management, shared facilities and related costs are not third-party landlords, but the people who live in the flats within them and who have a direct stake in their upkeep. Commonhold ensure that the interests of homeowners are preserved in perpetuity. It transfers decision making to them so that homeowners have a greater say over how their home is managed and the bills they pay, as well as the flexibility to respond to the changing needs of their building and its residents. For a variety of reasons, commonhold failed to establish itself following its introduction in 2004. As a result, there are fewer than 20 commonhold developments in existence today and the 2002 legal framework is hopelessly outdated. The provisions in the draft Bill build on the publication of our commonhold White Paper in March last year, which confirmed the detail of our commonhold reform programme, and responded to the Law Commission’s thorough and expert review of commonhold law. The result is legislation that will reinvigorate commonhold through the introduction of a comprehensive new legal framework that will enable commonhold to be used in the widest possible range of settings. To ensure that commonhold becomes the default tenure, as our manifesto promised, the draft Bill also includes provisions to ban the use of leasehold for new flats. Once enacted, this will ensure that, other than in exceptional circumstances, all flats are provided as commonhold. The provisions will work in tandem with the ban on the use of leasehold for new houses contained in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Alongside the publication of the draft Bill today, we are publishing a “Moving to commonhold” consultation, seeking input from industry and consumers on precisely how we implement the new ban. The feedback we receive will ensure that we can proceed with a smooth transition to commonhold for new developments, while at the same time protecting the supply of new homes and determining whether there is a case for any justified exemptions. The draft Bill also includes measures to make it easier for existing leaseholders to convert their buildings to commonhold. The existing law already sets out a process for conversion, but it is one that requires consent from everyone with an interest in the block. This sets an unacceptably high bar and means that commonhold is not achievable if even a single unit owner, lender or the existing freeholder objects. The draft Bill will introduce a new process for conversion, one that brings conversion into line with wider enfranchisement processes and will make conversion possible if at least 50% of qualifying leaseholders agree. The previous Government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act does provide leaseholders with important rights and protections, but on the Labour Benches we have always maintained that it was a distinctly unambitious piece of legislation that left untouched serious problems, including the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of ensuring compliance with a lease agreement. For too long, outdated forfeiture laws have allowed landlords to threaten people with losing their home and hard-earned equity over small debts of as little as £350, or any amount if left unpaid for three years. The draft Bill contains provisions to abolish forfeiture and replace it with a modern, proportionate lease enforcement system that addresses breaches fairly, with appropriate safeguards and judicial oversight. Mr Speaker, you will know that before Christmas we launched two comprehensive consultations, seeking views on how best to implement new consumer protections for homeowners on freehold estates and the ways in which we might reduce the prevalence of privately managed estates over the coming years. To further enhance protections for homeowners on freehold estates, the draft Bill will also repeal enforcement powers that apply to estate rent charges on them. These powers, often difficult to find in deeds and poorly understood by buyers, can lead to rent charge owners taking possession of, or granting a lease over, a freehold home as a result of small sums outstanding. That is not just unfair; it creates real barriers to home ownership and property sales. We will remove these wholly disproportionate and outdated remedies for enforcing rent charges by repealing sections 121 and 122 of the Law of Property Act 1925, including estate rent charges. The Government are acutely aware that the cost of living remains a pressing concern for leaseholders across England and Wales, and that those who remain subject to unfair and unreasonable practices need urgent relief. That is why last summer we consulted jointly with the Welsh Government on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. That consultation included proposals to reform the section 20 major works procedure, increase transparency over service charges, and enhance access to redress through the relevant provisions in the Act. We thank all those who responded to the consultation and will set out details of how we intend to implement the measures in question as soon as possible. However, the Government are determined to go further to alleviate the cost of living pressures facing leaseholders. In our manifesto, we promised to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges. The draft Bill honours that commitment. As the House will know, historically, ground rents, which often entail no service being provided whatsoever, were of low or nominal value. However, over the past two decades a practice has developed of freeholders including high and escalating ground rent clauses in leases. Such clauses are causing leaseholders considerable financial strain and some are unable to sell or remortgage their properties as a result. The draft Bill will cap ground rents at £250 a year initially, changing to a peppercorn after 40 years. This will provide immediate financial relief for leaseholders with high and harmful ground rents, while the longer-term change to a peppercorn cap will eliminate the two-tier market between new and older leases, delivering a fair and efficient modern housing market. The reforms will necessarily have effects on existing contractual arrangements and investments—something that the Government do not undertake lightly. However, the Government have a clear mandate to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges, and our approach has been designed to strike a fair balance between the interests of leaseholders, freeholders and investors, maintaining the reputation of the UK as a safe place to invest. Finally, as I have made clear to the House on previous occasions, the last Government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act contains a number of specific but serious flaws that prevent certain provisions from operating as intended and that need to be rectified via primary legislation. While not included in the draft Bill, our intention is to rectify those flaws in primary legislation. Among other things, that will allow us to commence the 2024 Act’s enfranchisement provisions, making it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold. To conclude, the publication of the draft Bill today is an historic moment. It marks the beginning of the end for the feudal leasehold system that has tainted the dream of home ownership for so many. I look forward to working closely with the Select Committee as it performs its invaluable role of scrutinising carefully this draft legislation, and I encourage hon. Members across the House to engage with it and the accompanying consultation on banning new leasehold flats. I commend the statement to the House.