Lord Gascoigne: I thank my noble friend Lord Bailey of Paddington for Amendment 76A, which seeks to retain the existing enforcement provisions concerning a landlord’s failure to provide information to leaseholders. I am grateful to other noble Lords who took part in this very brief discussion. I fully agree with my noble friend that it is important to have effective enforcement measures in place where a...
Lord Gascoigne: I am very grateful to my noble friend. I will address the rest of the issues, and hopefully I will pick up some the points he made. Like others, I am grateful for the passion with which the noble Lord speaks about this issue and his own experience of it. I am afraid we cannot accept this amendment. Not only does it require us to return to the previous arrangements; I would respectfully say...
Lord Gascoigne: Time.
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, for her Amendments 47 and 48, which seek to remove the exception on costs arising from low-value lease extension or freehold acquisition claims. While the Bill includes a new general rule that each side will bear its own costs, we believe that there need to be exceptions in certain circumstances so that the regime is fair for both sides. The...
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester, and my noble—and actual—friend Lord Moylan for their valuable contributions at Second Reading, and for the amendments that they have put forward which seek to alter the Government’s current position on marriage value and hope value. I say on behalf of my noble friend the Minister that we are grateful for all the time...
Lord Gascoigne: Obviously, I completely respect my noble friend, but I think I have answered that point.
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, before I start, I declare that my wife is an employee at the Crown Estate, as set out in the register of ministerial interests. Government Amendments 19 to 22, in the name of my noble friend Lady Scott, are consequential on the repeal of the right for public authorities to block freehold acquisition and lease extension claims of houses for the purposes of redevelopment. This relates...
Lord Gascoigne: I have spoken ad nauseam about many of these amendments. I too thank my long-lost brother from east Lancashire, the noble Lord, Lord Khan, and say what a pleasure it is to follow him. Amendment 19 agreed.
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Younger of Leckie, and with the leave of the House, I beg to move the Motion standing in his name on the Order Paper. Motion agreed.
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, with the leave of the House and on behalf of my noble friend Lady Scott of Bybrook, I beg to move the Motion standing in her name on the Order Paper. Motion agreed.
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (Election of Mayor and Transfer of Police and Crime Commissioner Functions) Order 2024 – Lord Gascoigne.
Lord Gascoigne: I hate to have to do this, but I ask the noble Lord to pay attention to what is in the Companion about the use of props when giving speeches. It is not advised. With respect, can he please give his speech—
Lord Gascoigne: Order. I am quoting what is in the Companion.
Lord Gascoigne: With respect, order. I am not giving a lecture from the Conservative Party Benches but about what is in this book—which is not written by the Conservative Party. Please, bear with me. In chapter 4 of the Companion, which is not written by any political party, paragraph 4.19 says: “Members should not bring into the Chamber … books and newspapers”. I do not mind the noble Lord making...
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, there is a long day ahead and there have been many deliberations on all these subjects beforehand. Good points have been made about the Companion. I ask that every noble Lord observes what is in it and tries to be as concise as possible.
National Crime Agency (Directed Tasking) Order 2023 – Lord Gascoigne.
General Aviation (Persons on Board, Flight Information and Civil Penalties) Regulations 2024 – Lord Gascoigne.
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, we have not quite got all the pieces in place for the next business. I understand that one key element is about to appear, we hope very soon. I suggest that we adjourn for a few minutes—until 6.25 pm—if at all possible; forgive me for the change. Sitting suspended until 6.25 pm.
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, I thought I would just repeat the point made earlier in the Chamber by both the Leader of the House and the Opposition Chief Whip, the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, concerning the importance of brevity in this debate—indeed, in all debates. If noble Lords speak for the full time limits in this debate or exceed them, there will be insufficient time for the Minister and the...
Lord Gascoigne: My Lords, our ambition of delivering 300,000 homes a year remains. This has always been a stretching ambition, yet there has been strong progress. The four highest rates of annual supply in over 30 years have all been since 2018, including 234,400 homes delivered in 2022-23. Increasing supply further is more difficult due to the economic challenges that we face, and we continue to engage with...
