Finance Bill Advances and Deepfake Crackdown Announced

High-Level Summary

MPs questioned Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministers on housebuilding, leasehold reform and local government; heard urgent updates on the New Medium Helicopter programme and on severe water outages in Kent and Sussex; and considered a statement on tackling online deepfake abuse. The House then examined the Finance (No. 2) Bill in Committee, approving income tax provisions, threshold freezes and re‑targeted agricultural and business property reliefs, defeating several Opposition amendments. Delegated legislation was approved without division. The day ended with an adjournment debate on higher education finances focused on the University of Essex’s Southend campus.

Detailed Summary

Housing, Communities and Local Government: Oral Answers

On housing affordability targets, the Secretary of State said the methodology aligns with the ambition for 1.5 million homes and “there are no plans to change it.” [ref: a561.5/1] On London, he cited planning reforms and the Planning and Infrastructure Act to speed delivery, saying, “we expect to see that upturn over coming months.” [ref: a562.1/1]

Members raised build‑out and social housing. The Minister said the £39 billion social and affordable homes programme will deliver “around 300,000 homes over its 10‑year lifetime, of which at least 60% will be social rent,” with bidding opening next month. [ref: a570.2/1][ref: a565.0/1] On leasehold and estate management, the Minister said parts of the 2024 Act are already in force and a draft commonhold and leasehold reform Bill will be published “in the coming weeks.” [ref: a565.9/1] He added, “We will introduce the necessary secondary legislation this year” to improve service‑charge transparency. [ref: a567.2/1] He also stated, “We have not weakened protections against flooding.” [ref: a569.7/1]

Other topics included: rent inflation—new tenancy rules “will come into force on 1 May this year,” enabling tribunal challenges to unreasonable rent increases. [ref: a571.8/1] Electrical safety—the Government see “no need to establish a statutory national register of electricians.” [ref: a573.4/1] Local elections during reorganisation—“This is a locally‑led approach.” [ref: a575.2/1] Damp and mould—“Awaab’s law came into force for the social rented sector last October.” [ref: a575.7/1] On funding, the provisional 2026‑27 settlement makes available “up to £3.92 billion” for Greater Manchester, a “16.4%” increase on 2024‑25. [ref: a576.4/1] In Topical Questions, the Secretary of State said the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 is “speeding up the delivery of new homes.” [ref: a577.7/1]

Speaker’s Statement

The House was informed that “Lord Forsyth of Drumlean has been elected as the next Lord Speaker,” with thanks to Lord McFall. [ref: a587.1/1]

Urgent Question: New Medium Helicopter procurement and Leonardo (Yeovil)

The Defence Minister said the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) award decision will be taken as part of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) and “will be announced shortly.” [ref: a588.4/1] He stressed Leonardo remains “an important strategic partner for the MOD.” [ref: a588.2/2] Pressed on timelines and jobs, he reiterated the decision would sit in the DIP and that the Government “will not be timed out and… will not be altering the contract.” [ref: a594.4/1] No publication date for the DIP was provided (not stated in the transcript).

Urgent Question: Water supply disruption (East Grinstead and surrounding areas)

The Water Minister called the incident “an unacceptable supply failure” and said South East Water is being held to account. [ref: a599.3/2] She cited freeze‑thaw and Storm Goretti as short‑term factors, with “previous outages and continued poor performance” as the backdrop. [ref: a599.3/3] She added, “the water system is broken,” pointing to reforms including “£104 billion of private investment… and… a new single powerful regulator.” [ref: a599.3/4]

The Drinking Water Inspectorate and Ofwat are investigating; compensation has been increased—“We have doubled the amount of compensation available.” [ref: a602.0/2] The Minister criticised bottled‑water logistics and communications and said she did “not expect all this to be resolved in the next 24 hours,” convening further meetings. [ref: a600.1/2][ref: a602.0/3][ref: a602.0/4]

Statement: Tackling non‑consensual sexual deepfakes on social media

The Technology Secretary condemned illegal deepfake imagery generated via X’s Grok tool. She confirmed that sharing or threatening to share intimate images is already illegal and announced that creating or requesting such images “will be brought into force this week,” and made a priority offence. [ref: a607.1/4] Ofcom has “opened a formal investigation into X,” and can fine platforms “up to 10% of a company’s… revenue,” or seek access restriction via court order in the most serious cases. [ref: a607.1/5]

The Government will legislate in the Crime and Policing Bill to “criminalise nudification apps,” and expects platforms to adopt Ofcom’s guidance on safety for women and girls. [ref: a607.1/6] Government participation on X will be kept “under review.” [ref: a607.1/9] MPs asked for Ofcom’s timeline, but none was set (not stated in the transcript).

Finance (No. 2) Bill – Committee of the whole House (Day 1)

Clauses 1–8: The Government set the annual income tax charge and maintained main/default rates, while increasing dividend and savings rates by 2 percentage points and establishing separate property income rates, to “narrow the gap between the tax paid on work and the tax paid on income from assets.” [ref: a629.3/2] Opposition impact‑assessment new clauses were defeated; for example, New Clause 12 (private rental sector impact) was negatived (Ayes 167, Noes 350). [ref: a642.1/2] The clauses and related schedules were agreed without change. [ref: a640.3/6][ref: a640.3/10]

Clauses 9, 10 and 69: The Committee approved freezes to the starting‑rate limit for savings, the personal allowance and basic‑rate limit to 2030‑31, and inheritance tax nil‑rate bands to 2030‑31. The Minister said those whose “only income is the basic state pension will not pay tax on it during this Parliament,” with further details “later this year.” [ref: a650.5/1][ref: a662.3/1] Clause 10 (freezing personal allowance/basic‑rate limit) passed on division (Ayes 324, Noes 180). [ref: a663.3/1]

Clause 62 and Schedule 12 (Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs): Government amendments increased the 100% relief allowance from “£1 million” to “£2.5 million,” transferable between spouses or civil partners, with 50% relief above that level. [ref: a712.1/1][ref: a674.1/2] Any inheritance tax due can be paid “over 10 annual instalments, interest‑free,” and “up to 185” APR‑claiming estates are expected to pay more in 2026‑27. [ref: a674.1/2][ref: a674.1/4] Opposition attempts to delay or index‑link were defeated (e.g. Amendment 3: Ayes 185, Noes 344; New Clause 7: Ayes 188, Noes 341). [ref: a712.3/1][ref: a716.3/1] Clause 62 was agreed on division (Ayes 344, Noes 181). [ref: a708.1/2]

Delegated Legislation and House Business

Two statutory instruments were approved without division: the UK Internal Market Act 2020 (Exclusions: Glue Traps) Regulations 2025, and the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026. [ref: a720.4/2][ref: a721.1/2] The House agreed the Speaker’s leave of absence and made committee changes. [ref: a721.3/2][ref: a721.5/2][ref: a721.7/2][ref: a721.9/2]

Adjournment Debate: Government support for higher education (University of Essex, Southend campus)

Members raised concerns about the University of Essex’s decision to close its Southend campus and the implications for students, staff and the local economy (a university decision). The Minister said the Government will “increase tuition fee caps for all higher education providers” in 2026‑27 and 2027‑28, with future uplifts conditional on quality. [ref: a727.0/7][ref: a727.0/8] He announced plans to “introduce targeted means‑tested maintenance grants… from academic year 2028‑29,” and to uprate maintenance loans with inflation, and said the Department’s priority is “ensuring continuity of study,” working with the OfS and local partners. [ref: a727.0/9][ref: a727.0/10]