Lucy Powell

The plight of leaseholders is raised with me regularly in these sessions, and I represent many tens of thousands of leaseholders in Manchester Central. The Government are committed to bringing forward a draft leasehold reform Bill. We recently published our commonhold White Paper, and the Minister for Housing and Planning, my hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook), laid before the House an extensive written ministerial statement that outlined how he was enacting the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. We need to go further to protect leaseholders; my hon. Friend is right to raise that with me today. Mr Speaker, given that you have just announced Royal Assent for a number of Acts, I want to put on record my thanks to Figen Murray, who is in the Public Gallery, for her tireless campaigning for Martyn’s law, which is now an Act. It will protect many venues across the country, and I am delighted that we have had a voluntary scheme across Manchester, which has already prevented some incidents from happening. I am sure the whole House will want to pay its respects to Figen Murray and Martyn’s law, which is now an Act.