Levelling Up, Housing and Communities The Secretary of State was
asked— Support for First-time Buyers Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
(Slough) (Lab) 1. What steps he is taking to help support
first-time buyers on to the housing ladder.(905895) The Minister
for Housing (Stuart Andrew) Since 2010, more than 758,000
households have been helped to purchase a home through
Government-backed schemes, including Help to Buy and Right to Buy.
In the levelling-up White...Request free
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Levelling Up, Housing
and Communities
The Secretary of State was asked—
Support for First-time Buyers
(Slough) (Lab)
1. What steps he is taking to help support first-time buyers on
to the housing ladder.(905895)
The Minister for Housing ()
Since 2010, more than 758,000 households have been helped to
purchase a home through Government-backed schemes, including Help
to Buy and Right to Buy. In the levelling-up White Paper, we
included this mission:
“By 2030, renters will have a secure path to ownership with the
number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas”.
Mr Dhesi
Conservative choices have created a housing crisis by allowing
developers to maximise profit, building housing for investment
rather than good-quality, safe, secure, affordable homes.
However, building more homes will not in itself solve the housing
crisis if those homes are bought off plan by foreign investors
before local people such as my constituents can even get a look
in. In order to ensure that first-time buyers are not squeezed
out by foreign investors and second home owners, will the
Government support Labour’s proposal to allow them first dibs on
new homes?
Let me first make it clear that it is my keen ambition in this
role to do everything I can to help more people on to the housing
ladder. We have produced a great many schemes that help to
achieve that purpose. We already have the First Homes scheme,
which provides a 30% discount for local people, for whom those
homes remain in perpetuity.
(North West Durham)
(Con)
Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the fact that last
year saw the highest number of first-time buyers in two decades,
under this Government, and will he pledge to do everything he can
to increase that number in future years?
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the increase in the number
of first-time buyers. We are keen to ensure that it continues,
and the levelling-up White Paper will be key to delivering that
for as many people as possible throughout the country.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Greenwich and Woolwich)
(Lab)
The Opposition have repeatedly criticised the Government’s First
Homes scheme on the grounds that, by top-slicing section 106
funding, it drastically reduces the number of social and
affordable rented homes that are being built, but we also have
concerns that the scheme is failing in practice to help large
numbers of first-time buyers across the country. Given that the
new build premium is continuing to rise, and given that UK house
price index data suggest that average house prices in England
have increased by 18% since the scheme was first consulted on,
can the Minister tell us in how many local authority areas the
discount on those homes has not already been entirely eroded?
I accept that there are a number of things that we need to do in
relation to the First Homes scheme. Homes England’s early
delivery programme will provide a further 1,500 homes, but of
course we will monitor these developments and do everything we
can to help people get on to the property ladder. After all,
achieving that has always been a huge principle of the
Conservative party.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Con)
Despite the covid pandemic, more than 800 new homes were built in
my constituency last year, many of them affordable for first-time
buyers. More than 800 houses were built during the previous year,
and more than 800 will be built this year. Does the Minister
agree that the best thing we can do for first-time buyers is
ensure that all constituencies build an ample number of
high-quality, affordable homes?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Having local authorities with
well-developed local plans to ensure that they are ready and
prepared to build the houses that their local area needs is
incredibly important. The affordable homes programme that the
Government have announced, with £11.5 billion-worth of
investment, will help to secure that, so that we can try to
deliver the 180,000 homes that that is expected to deliver.
Levelling-up Agenda: Opportunities for Northern Ireland
(North Antrim) (DUP)
2. What recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland
Executive on the potential opportunities for Northern Ireland of
the levelling-up agenda.(905896)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Neil O’Brien)
The Secretary of State met the then First Minister of Northern
Ireland when the levelling-up White Paper was published to
discuss the many opportunities for Northern Ireland as part of
that agenda, and I met , the Minister of Finance, last
Thursday to discuss the delivery of the UK shared prosperity fund
in Northern Ireland. I look forward to working closely with the
Northern Ireland Executive on this in the coming months.
I thank the Minister for meeting me last week to discuss these
important opportunities for regions such as Northern Ireland. The
levelling-up White Paper identified hydrogen bus development as a
key economic boost. So far, five strategic schemes have been put
in place for zero-emission buses across the UK, and all five are
very welcome but they are battery electric. Will the next five
schemes be driven by hydrogen? Can the Minister ensure that there
is joined-up thinking on this across the Departments?
Neil O’Brien
The hon. Gentleman is right to identify an important opportunity
for Northern Ireland through the hydrogen agenda. As part of all
the things we are doing on levelling up, including the third
increase in research and development spending outside the greater
south-east, the strengthening places agenda, or the many things
we are doing with higher and further education in Northern
Ireland, there are many opportunities to advance the important
agenda that he has prioritised.
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
Until recently, European aid was the main means of regenerating
communities in some of the devolved nations, but that European
aid was restricted to certain parts of the nations. Now, the
levelling-up fund and the shared prosperity fund will give us the
opportunity to regenerate other parts of the UK, particularly
those areas that did not qualify for European aid. When the next
window opens for the levelling-up fund, will the Minister pay
particular attention to communities such as Barry, which now
qualify for the levelling-up fund but did not previously qualify
for European aid?
Neil O’Brien
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right; the next round of
levelling-up funding will be opening shortly. He is also right to
draw attention to the fact that outside the European Union we
have a lot more flexibility about how we spend, and we can use
that to pick up some of those exciting opportunities in other
places.
Local Authority Budgets
(Worsley and Eccles South)
(Lab)
3. What steps he is taking to reduce financial pressures on local
authority budgets.(905897)
(Blaydon) (Lab)
6. What assessment he has made of the impact of reductions to
local authority budgets on the Government’s levelling-up
agenda.(905900)
(Liverpool, Wavertree)
(Lab)
12. What assessment he has made of the impact of reductions to
local authority budgets on the Government’s levelling-up
agenda.(905906)
The Minister for Levelling Up Communities ()
Next year’s local government finance settlement makes available
an additional £3.7 billion to councils, including funding for
adult social care reform. This is an increase in funding of more
than 4.5% in real terms and it will ensure that councils across
the country have the resources they need to deliver key
services.
Salford City Council has had its core funding from central
Government cut by 53% since 2010-11. The local government finance
settlement that the Minister has just mentioned does not reverse
that decade of cuts, and nor does it help enough to provide the
£7.6 million needed to pay for increases in costs from national
insurance, the national minimum wage, employer pensions and
inflation. However, the most critical pressure is on adult social
care, where the city council faces increased demand and increased
costs. How on earth can councils be expected to deliver vital
social care services adequately when this Government’s solution
is to make councils fund them from regressive taxes such as
council tax and a social care levy of up to 14%?
We recognise that councils have financial pressures and we are
doing everything we can to support them. Salford receives up to
an additional £19.2 million in core spending power, which is a
cash-terms increase of 7.8%. That excludes other funding that we
have given to the hon. Lady’s council to assist with the
pressures she has raised.
The levelling-up White Paper made no mention of funding for local
councils, despite the fact that it is local authorities that
deliver the kind of change to local communities that the White
Paper claims to be aiming for. Does the Minister think that after
12 years of extraordinary cuts to local authority funding,
councils across the country are in a good position to deliver
levelling up without any new funding?
I disagree with the hon. Lady. The levelling-up White Paper did
make reference to council funding, and the financial settlement
that I referred to earlier mentioned the cash increase. She will
know that Gateshead receives 8.1% and that the Northumberland
part of her constituency receives 8%. The fact is that we have
given additional funding for levelling up. This includes £2.1
million from the community renewal fund and a £358,000 allocation
from the welcome back fund. There is money going into her
constituency and we are here to support as much as we can.
Local government finance has been ravaged over the last decade
under the mantra of austerity. Councils in the north have lost up
to 50% of their core funding, and some have lost even more. The
Secretary of State has said, “If you leave the free-play market
forces entirely to themselves, then what you see is inequality
growing, in particular geographical inequality”. Those were fine
words, spoken at the convention of the north in my home city.
When will the Department drop the spin on local government
finance and genuinely improve councils’ core spending powers by
factoring in inflation and national insurance increases, for
which our cash-strapped local authorities are picking up the
tab?
Labour Members continue to talk about losses in funding, but they
forget to remind everyone of how we arrived in this position. It
is because of their disgraceful management of the public
finances. We have spent the last 10 years repairing the public
finances, which is why we have been able to give the real-terms
increase that will support all Labour councils.
(Stroud) (Con)
Stroud District Council is on the record as saying how generous
and supportive the Government were during the pandemic. We
established holiday camps and a range of activities that were not
there before, we are bidding for £20 million from the
levelling-up fund and we are working closely with our GFirst
local enterprise partnership, which is keen to know the timeline
for the shared prosperity fund. Is the Minister able to give us
any more information? This is another round of funding that is
available to our local authorities.
I recognise my hon. Friend’s concerns. All I can tell her is that
we will be providing further details very shortly.
(The Wrekin) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State and all the Ministers and
officials in the Department for moving at pace to tackle the
growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. We have heard from the
Government that those with family links and those with
sponsorship will get support. Many local authorities are under
huge financial pressure, so will the Minister say what further
help could be given to local authorities that want to house
refugees not only from Ukraine but from Afghanistan? Finally, can
she give more detail on the announcement, or non-announcement, of
a third track for refugees?
I cannot answer all my right hon. Friend’s questions, but my
right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is having discussions
with councils on this very issue. As soon as we are able to
provide further details, we will do so.
(Southport) (Con)
Does my hon. Friend agree that the reorganisation of local
authority areas can reduce the financial pressure on councils?
Will she meet me to discuss how Southport would benefit from
being in a new council area?
Yes, it is true that reorganisation can sometimes assist. I would
be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this issue.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Weaver Vale) (Lab)
Members on both sides of the Chamber have said that any levelling
up will ultimately be delivered by local authorities improving
lives in their communities, but councils have faced and continue
to face, despite the spin, serious shortfalls thanks to draconian
Government cuts, including a 2% real-terms cut this year. Can the
Minister explain how taking away £88 million from Burnley Borough
Council in Lancashire over the last 10 years, even after taking
into account the levelling-up funding, is fair? How is that
levelling up? How will a £102 million shortfall over the next
three years for Essex County Council—the Minister’s own county
council—level up adult social care? Is it not time for Ministers
to cut the spin, cut the claptrap and provide some substance and
genuine levelling up for our hard-pressed councils?
I completely reject the hon. Gentleman’s numbers. As I said, we
have given a 4.5% increase in the local government finance
settlement. We are here to provide support to all local
authorities. We are not going to engage in agreeing with the
false numbers provided by the Opposition.
Help for Rough Sleepers
(Winchester) (Con)
4. What steps his Department is taking to help rough sleepers
find accommodation.(905898)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
We have committed more than £800 million to tackle homelessness
and rough sleeping in this year alone. That includes the
investment of £202 million through the rough sleeping initiative
fund, which provides 14,500 bed spaces and approximately 2,700
staff throughout the country. We are also helping people to find
longer-term accommodation, including through the £433 million
rough sleeping accommodation programme, which we expect to
provide 6,000 new homes before the end of this Parliament. So
far, we seem to be having some success, because the rough
sleeping snapshot taken in November and announced a couple of
weeks ago shows that numbers have fallen for eight years in a
row.
Trinity Winchester is not just a homeless shelter or day centre
for rough sleepers but provides practical and emotional support
to people experiencing the effects of homelessness and
vulnerability. Its new Bradbury View accommodation provides homes
for people who are rough sleeping repeatedly. The model is unique
and I am glad that the Secretary of State has agreed to visit
Winchester as soon as we can fix that up—
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
indicated assent.
He is giving me a thumbs up—excellent.
Does the Minister agree that we have to borrow what
works—Winchester is happy to show what works in this regard—and
then scale it up throughout the country? At the end of the day,
it is wraparound care that is going to break the cycle.
I guess that is the point: we need to legislate nationally and
provide funding but trust local authorities, local areas and the
excellent services of Trinity Winchester and others of that ilk
to provide a bespoke service based on local demands. I am
delighted that the Secretary of State is going to visit that
scheme.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Luton North) (Lab)
The Government’s rough sleeping snapshot recorded 2,440 people
sleeping rough throughout the whole UK in the autumn. The
Minister will know that the flawed method of data collection
captures just a fraction of those without a home to sleep in.
Those who are not represented in the figures include people who
slept on public transport, who found a bed in a night shelter,
who walked around at night and slept rough during the day, or who
went under the local authority’s radar completely for any number
of reasons. The reality of rough sleeping is far worse than the
figures imply, so will the Minister tell me whether his
Department is on track to deliver on its promise to truly end
rough sleeping by 2024? If it is not, will it consider seizing
the mansions of Russian oligarchs and putting those empty
bedrooms to good use, once and for all?
To a degree, I understand part of the hon. Lady’s point. It is
clearly difficult to capture that information, which is why we
trust local councils and charities to do it. We have the figures
validated by Homeless Link. The hon. Lady may have missed the
fact that we are publishing more data so that it will be
available monthly and working with local councils to make sure
that that data is used appropriately to reduce the number of
rough sleepers. I look forward to working with her to that
end.
Levelling-up White Paper: Impact on Regional Inequality
(Colne Valley) (Con)
5. What assessment he has made of the impact of the proposals in
the levelling-up White Paper on regional inequality in the
UK.(905899)
(Stourbridge) (Con)
15. What assessment he has made of the impact of the proposals in
the levelling-up White Paper on regional inequality in the
UK.(905909)
(Clwyd South) (Con)
18. What assessment he has made of the impact of the proposals in
the levelling-up White Paper on regional inequality in the
UK.(905912)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
The proposals in the levelling-up White Paper are already
reducing regional inequality. Whether it is through urban
regeneration in Wolverhampton and Sheffield, new education
investment areas across the country, or a commitment to
addressing the health inequality that holds so many people back,
this Government are making progress to make opportunity more
equal for all.
I have been supporting the levelling-up fund bid by my hon.
Friends the Members for Dewsbury () and for Penistone and
Stocksbridge () to upgrade the
Huddersfield-Penistone-Sheffield railway line. I have also been
working on my own bid to regenerate disused mills in my Colne
Valley constituency. Will the Secretary of State please tell me
when we will get more details on the next round of levelling-up
fund bids, which are transforming our constituencies?
Colne Valley, and indeed Kirklees more broadly, has no more
effective advocate than my hon. Friend, and the bid he has put
forward has much to commend it. I will discuss with the Secretary
of State for Transport and the Chancellor of the Exchequer what
we can do, but more detail will be shared when the Chancellor
makes his spring statement.
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and I are currently working
on a masterplan for an area called Lye, an historic market town
in my constituency that is in much need of regeneration. The
intention is to put in a bid for the levelling-up fund. Will my
right hon. Friend support me in encouraging my constituents to
put themselves forward and have their say in the consultation?
There is of course an open door and my right hon. Friend is
welcome to come to my constituency to see exactly what
regeneration is needed.
There are few more attractive parts of the Black Country and the
west midlands than my hon. Friend’s constituency. I have not yet
visited the community of Lye—I am sure that all sorts of puns
could follow—but the proposition that she puts forwards, which is
increased community involvement in town masterplanning, is at the
heart of our approach towards redevelopment.
(Clwyd South) (Con)
I am delighted that the UK Government have recently signed a
memorandum of understanding with Wrexham and Denbighshire
councils in order to allow the first phase of the £13.3 million
levelling-up projects in Clwyd South to progress. Will my right
hon. Friend provide further detail on how he sees these
levelling-up fund projects addressing regional inequality in my
part of north Wales?
My hon. Friend makes a very important point. North Wales has been
neglected under previous Labour Governments. It is only this
Conservative Administration who are making sure that communities
such as Wrexham and Llangollen get the investment they deserve.
He and my hon. Friend the estimable Member for Wrexham () have put forward exciting
propositions and we want to make sure that the whole north Wales
corridor, from Ynys Môn, over the border into Liverpool and
Chester, becomes a supercharged corridor for growth, and that
will only happen under this Government.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Committee.
(Sheffield South East)
(Lab)
The Government’s White Paper is rightly ambitious. I think there
will be general support for that ambition across the House, and
rightly so, because we have some of the most unequal economies
and societies among any developed countries. Is the Secretary of
State not slightly concerned, however, that the tools he has at
his disposal to address this are actually a small number of
separate spending pots, completely disjointed and unconnected,
and distributed according to a completely inappropriate bidding
process? Does the Secretary of State not really want to see a
review of total Government spending, of where it is spent in the
country, and then the allocation and more control over that to
local councils and local mayors so that it can be spent in the
interests of local communities?
I do.
(Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
My constituents in Fleetwood hear about levelling up an awful
lot, but they are not really seeing the benefits of it.
Applications by Wyre Borough Council for the future high streets
fund and the levelling-up fund have been knocked back, so can the
Minister tell my Fleetwood constituents when they can expect to
get this levelling up?
Absolutely. I am more than happy to talk to Lancashire County
Council and, indeed, to the hon. Lady about how we can ensure
that levelling-up funds and UK shared prosperity and other funds
flow to her constituents.
(Barnsley Central) (Lab)
There was much to welcome in the White Paper, but, as we have
just heard, we now need to see the investment to match that
ambition. I understand that the Secretary of State might be in my
neck of the woods in the very near future. He will be warmly
welcome, particularly if he brings the Treasury cheque book with
him. May I ask him specifically for an update on the £900 million
that I have requested for South Yorkshire to match the shared
prosperity fund commitments that the Government have rightly made
to Cornwall?
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the points that he makes.
He is absolutely right: we need to make sure that the
replacements for EU funding are distributed equitably and
efficiently across the country. I completely understand the
desire that he and others in South Yorkshire have to see that
money out of the door as quickly as possible and in communities
making a difference. We will be updating the House on our
progress towards ensuring that that money is available along the
timeline of the spring statement.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Nottingham North)
(Lab/Co-op)
The reality is that the rhetoric is just not matching up to what
the Government say they want it to deliver, but those analysts at
Oxford Economics are not fooled. They say the levelling-up White
Paper contains
little that is new or significant.
They say that there is nothing to cause them to revise their
national and regional growth forecast, and they call its targets
and missions either “pre-existing or “vague”. That is a damning
indictment. What we needed was a plan to bring good jobs back to
all communities to breathe life into our high streets and to
transfer power from Whitehall to local communities. This White
Paper is not going to address regional inequalities, is it?
The hon. Gentleman said that the rhetoric is not matching up to
the delivery, which suggests, actually, that we are underselling
what we are doing. I think what he meant to say, if he had
written out his question more clearly, is that the delivery is
not matching up to the rhetoric. I have to disagree with him on
that, because a plethora of organisations from Onward to the
Institute for Public Policy Research have pointed out that
everything in the levelling-up White Paper is what Labour should
have been doing when it was in power.
Mr Speaker
I call the Scottish National party spokesperson, .
(North Ayrshire and Arran)
(SNP)
Scotland was promised £1.5 billion a year when the UK left the
European Union, as part of a so-called Brexit bonanza. In
reality, only £172 million has been announced so far. That means
that, for every pound promised to Scotland, only 11p has been
committed. Can the Secretary of State explain why Scotland is
being short-changed by 89%, and will he tell us when that
shortfall will be addressed?
It is the case that we want to welcome more bids to the levelling
up fund from Scotland; indeed, we are in discussion with Scottish
local authorities and others about the distribution of the UK
shared prosperity fund. However, I hope I can avoid provoking a
blush on the hon. Lady’s cheek if I say that her local authority
of North Ayrshire, North Ayrshire’s Member of the Scottish
Parliament and the hon. Lady herself have been uniquely
successful in securing funding from the levelling-up fund. I
encourage other Members of the Scottish National party to be as
energetic, co-ordinated and effective as she, the MSP for North
Ayrshire and North Ayrshire Council have been.
Planning: Flood Risk
(Rushcliffe) (Con)
7. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the role of planning
processes in reducing flood risks in new housing developments.
(905901)
The Minister for Housing ()
Ministers from our Department engage regularly with those from
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on flood
risk. That includes the publication of our joint “Review of
policy for development in areas at flood risk”, which looked at
that very issue, and the updating of the flood risk policies in
the national planning policy framework in 2021.
Much of the flooding in villages across Rushcliffe has been
linked to new developments built without increasing local
sewerage and drainage capacity. How does my right hon. Friend
think we can best address that problem through the planning
system, to ensure not only that water companies are forced to
take new development into account when assessing their
infrastructure, but that developers are forced to pay their fair
share? If we do not get this right, it will be all our
constituents who continue to suffer.
My hon. Friend is right, and she is a superb advocate for her
constituents, having already raised a number of issues with me
since I have been in this post. The national planning policy
framework is clear that local plans and planning decisions should
consider flood risk from all sources, including overwhelmed
sewers and drainage systems. Water and sewage companies are
statutory consultees for local plans that set out an area’s
development requirements, and can comment on planning
applications. However, she is right that the right infrastructure
must be put in place for the developments we see in our
country.
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
Flooding is undoubtedly an important issue to be taken into
account in the planning process, but there are other issues, one
of which is the gender bias that exists in planning. I will be
presenting a Bill tomorrow to attack that very thing. Are the
Government considering as part of the planning in the
levelling-up process how to ensure that gender neutrality is at
the heart of major development designing?
There will be a lot of announcements to come in the near future
about our plans for planning, but the hon. Lady is right to talk
about that whole aspect of it. My hon. Friend the Minister for
Levelling Up Communities, the hon. Member for Saffron Walden
() has just assured me that
all equality issues are looked at in this area.
(North East Hertfordshire)
(Con)
We have the same problems in North East Hertfordshire, with towns
such as Watton-at-Stone having flooding problems because of many
new houses, inadequate storm drains and not enough balancing
ponds. Will my right hon. Friend redouble his efforts in talking
to DEFRA to ensure that we get better storm drainage for the
future?
My right hon. and learned Friend is right to raise that important
issue. As we prepare all developments to ensure that they are
tackling climate change, we should also look at the points he
raises. I commit to him that I will speak on a regular basis with
my colleagues in DEFRA.
Building Safety
(Lewisham, Deptford)
(Lab)
8. What steps he is taking to resolve the building safety crisis.
(905902)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
The Government are ensuring that industry and those responsible
pay to fix the current crisis. I refer the hon. Lady and the
House to the letter I sent to the Home Builders Federation,
published earlier today, which followed proposals sent to me by
developers. While I welcome progress, developers have not yet
gone far enough. I expect them to agree a fully funded plan to
fix unsafe buildings by the end of this month or, reluctantly, we
will have to impose a solution in law.
I have met dozens of freeholders and leaseholders in my
constituency who are worried about the escalating costs of fire
safety remediation. The Hyde Group recently billed tenants £9,000
a year for waking watch, although, thankfully, it rescinded it.
Leaseholders from the Renaissance buildings may be liable for
£500,000 of costs relating to external wall investigations and
the building safety fund application. What reassurances can the
Secretary of State give my constituents while they wait anxiously
for the Government to decide who is liable for those huge
bills?
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for articulating so clearly the
concerns that so many of her constituents have. I am glad that
the request for funding for waking watch has been removed. That
follows on from the announcement that we made on building safety
a little earlier this year. As she rightly points out, with
regard to the allocation of costs and responsibilities, more
needs to be done. I hope that by the end of this month the
clarity that she seeks and the safe passage of the Building
Safety Bill will provide the constituents for whom she speaks
with the reassurance they deserve.
Housing Disrepair
(Liverpool, West Derby)
(Lab)
9. What steps he is taking to protect tenants from housing
disrepair and poor-quality housing conditions. (905903)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
This Government are committed to driving improvements in both
social and private rented homes. This spring we will publish our
White Paper setting out our ambitious proposals to reform the
private rented sector, including exploring a legally binding
decent homes standard as well as a landlord register. We are
driving forward reform of social housing quality through our
social housing White Paper commitments, including a review of the
decent homes standard.
One in four properties in the private rented sector are classed
as non-decent. Every day that the Government delay their White
Paper is a day that millions spend in cold, insecure, unsafe and
unaffordable homes. The words “levelling up” will ring hollow in
the minds of millions of tenants living in these awful, awful
conditions. Will the Minister commit that the White Paper will
actually have teeth to resolve the crisis that we are seeing in
our communities and hold rogue landlords to account, which is not
happening now?
I have tremendous respect for the hon. Gentleman and his work,
and the work of the Select Committee in total. I will be working
very closely with them to ensure that the White Paper does indeed
have teeth and that our collective efforts drive down the number
of non-decent homes. The target set in the levelling-up White
Paper was to reduce the number by 50% by 2030.
Islamophobia
(Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)
10. What recent discussions he has had with the anti-Muslim
hatred working group on the rise in Islamophobic attitudes.
(905904)
The Minister for Levelling Up Communities ()
The anti-Muslim hatred working group has played a valuable role
as the Government’s forum for discussing and advising on
anti-Muslim hatred and the challenges faced by Britain’s Muslim
communities. While the group was paused during the pandemic they
continued their important work through a series of webinars,
including an event addressing the fears and myths about the
covid-19 vaccination programme. The Secretary of State and I will
be meeting the leadership of the group in the next few weeks to
discuss the current issues facing Muslim communities and the best
way for us to support the group’s work.
Islamophobia remains in all elements of our society, and that
includes our major political parties. The difference is that
while the Labour party has taken decisive and swift action, the
Government have not delivered on any of their promises. The
anti-Muslim hatred working group’s own Qari Asim has been
critical of the Government’s failure to take tangible action.
Will the Minister now follow in the footsteps of the Labour party
and take steps to tackle Islamophobia in the UK, starting with a
truly independent investigation into the Conservative party? Will
she outline when the UK last submitted a report to the UN’s
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, as required of all signatories to the
convention?
The Government do remain committed to stamping out anti-Muslim
hatred and all forms of religious prejudice. I have had
conversations with the hon. Gentleman and I am due to meet the
all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims very shortly. We
will outline our next steps in due course but we are actively
working on this.
(Bradford East) (Lab)
I have listened to the Minister, but the tragic reality is that
Islamophobia is on the rise and is rife in our society today. If
anyone is in any doubt, they should speak to the Muslim
communities up and down this country who have to face this evil
on a daily basis. How can my constituents have any confidence in
a Government who cannot even tackle Islamophobia in their own
ranks?
I completely reject the accusation made by the hon. Gentleman—it
is completely untrue. We are doing everything we can to tackle
not just anti-Muslim hatred but all forms of prejudice in our
society. On this issue, we have supported Tell MAMA with just
over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to monitor and combat
anti-Muslim hatred. Over the past five years of the places of
worship grant scheme we have awarded 241 grants worth
approximately £5 million to places of worship. In November 2020
we awarded £1.8 million through the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government’s faith, race and hate crime
grant scheme.
Levelling Up: Rail Investment in Wales
(Swansea West)
(Lab/Co-op)
11. What assessment he has made of the potential effect on
levelling up in Wales of rail enhancement investments.
(905905)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Neil O'Brien)
Investment in rail is a very important part of the levelling-up
agenda. As well as the £2 billion for Network Rail in Wales over
this control period, more than £340 million has been provided for
enhancements in Welsh rail from 2019 to 2024. What is more, the
UK Government are investing £30 million in the Global Centre of
Rail Excellence, supporting about 120 jobs in Wales.
It takes three hours to get from London to Swansea; it takes
three hours to get from London to Edinburgh. The reason is that
only 1.5% of UK rail enhancement funding goes to Wales, even
though it has 5% of the population and 11% of the railway lines.
Will the Minister—with the support of the Secretary of State—urge
the Treasury to provide funding as a share of HS2 to Wales on the
same basis as it provides it to Scotland, given that HS2 is
north-south, which would give us an extra £4.6 billion to level
up and connect the Union?
Neil O'Brien
The 1% figure that the hon. Gentleman quotes is from a Welsh
Government report, which looks only at a very small part of rail
investment and does not give a correct picture of the wider
investment in Wales that I described. HS2 will of course provide
huge benefits to the people of north Wales, who will be connected
much more rapidly to the rest of the country.
Second Homes: Devon and Cornwall
(Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)
13. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of second
homes in Devon and Cornwall between 2010 and 2022. (905907)
The Minister for Housing ()
Data on second homes in Devon and Cornwall can be found on the
Government’s council taxbase website. The number of second homes
for council tax purposes was 28,126 in 2010, and is at 26,853
this year. The Government recognise the adverse effects that
large numbers of second homes can have on some areas, and we have
introduced a number of measures to mitigate those effects,
including high rates of stamp duty tax for those purchasing
additional properties.
More west country families are being turfed out of their homes
through no-fault evictions, only to find those homes appearing on
Airbnb a few days later. Every west country family should have a
first home, but we are becoming known as a region of second homes
and holiday lets. Will the Minister meet a delegation from the
First Homes not Second Homes campaign so that we can look at how
the Government can adopt Welsh Labour’s proposal to charge 300%
council tax on empty properties and second homes that are empty
for much of the year, and ensure that every family can have a
first home?
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue, which was one of
the main topics that came up when I met several of my colleagues
just last week. I am more than happy to meet the delegation, as
the hon. Gentleman suggests, and will try to arrange that as
quickly as possible.
Accountability of Locally Elected Representatives
(Maldon) (Con)
14. What steps he is taking with local authorities to help ensure
the accountability of locally elected representatives.
(905908)
The Minister for Levelling Up Communities ()
The Localism Act 2011 sets out a robust framework for local
authority standards and accountability. All local authorities
must adopt a code of conduct, with sanctions when members do not
adhere. I recently met the chair of the Committee on Standards in
Public Life to reaffirm that the Government will respond shortly
to his committee’s report on this issue, when we will set out
further steps to improve the system.
Mr Whittingdale
Does my hon. Friend agree that as the Government strengthen
locally elected institutions, bodies and individuals as part of
the levelling-up agenda, it becomes all the more important that
they are properly held to account by local media—newspapers,
radio and television? Will she look at what more can be done to
sustain local media, which is under terrific pressure?
My right hon. Friend is right. Local news providers remain
uniquely placed to undertake the investigative journalism and
scrutiny of public institutions that is vital to ensuring a
healthy democracy at local level. This is primarily a matter for
the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, but I am
happy to meet my right hon. Friend to find out more about it.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Am I living in a parallel universe? [Hon. Members: “Yes!”]
Listening to some Government Members talk about their experience
of their local authorities and their local situation, I feel I
must be in a different world. The fact of the matter is that the
morale of local authorities and local councillors is at rock
bottom, because during these years and years of Conservative
Government there have been so few resources for local authorities
to actually do their job. They want to do their job—they would
love to level up—but just like the northern powerhouse, this all
looks like pie in the sky to my constituents.
I did not hear a question, so I will just disagree with the hon.
Gentleman.
Sir (South Swindon) (Con)
Accountability in local government includes participation from
the widest corners of our society. As the Disability Policy
Centre highlighted in its recent report, “Breaking Down
Barriers”, accessibility of local authority buildings is still a
major issue for disabled people. Only two in five of local
authority homepages on the web are accessible. What work will the
Government do to ensure we can open up local democracy to more
people with disabilities?
My right hon. and learned Friend raises a very important issue.
Officials are consistently looking at ways to ensure we comply
with the Equality Act 2010. If there is a specific example he
would like to give me, I would appreciate it if he wrote to me,
and then I can provide him with a more comprehensive
response.
Levelling-up Funding Allocation
(Edinburgh South West)
(SNP)
16. What steps he is taking to ensure that levelling-up funding
is allocated equitably and transparently. (905910)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
Levelling-up funding is distributed using both competitive and
formula-based models as appropriate across the United Kingdom.
The methodology, assessment and decision-making processes
involved are published on gov.uk.
I have no objection to the Secretary of State redistributing
wealth by giving my constituents and other Scottish taxpayers
their hard-earned cash back, but the Scotland Act 1998 should be
respected. In January, the House of Lords Constitution Committee
said that the Government’s approach was “unhelpful” and has
undermined the trust of the devolved Governments in this
Government. Can he tell us when the Government will start to
properly respect the devolved settlements?
I respectfully disagree with the hon. and learned Lady. Not only
are we respecting the devolution settlement; we are enhancing it.
Only the other week, I had the chance to speak to the Convention
of Scottish Local Authorities, which, as she will know, is the
successor body to the oldest local government organisation in the
world. There was a huge welcome from the Scottish National party,
Conservative, independent, Liberal Democrat and Labour
councillors in Scotland for the approach that we were taking in
the UK Government. [Interruption.] There is a straightforward
division between us. I prefer to trust locally elected
councillors in Scotland, whereas she prefers the view of the
House of Lords. You know:
“Ye see yon birkie, ca’d a lord…A Man’s a Man for a’ That”.
Topical Questions
(Twickenham) (LD)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.(905885)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
The situation in Ukraine is at the forefront of the minds of us
all in this House, and I am grateful for the immensely hard work
of civil servants across Government, and of those in local
government, as well as those involved in diplomatic and
humanitarian efforts at this time.
My Department has two specific roles in supporting
cross-Government work. The first is exploring how we can support
the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other
Departments with a sanctions regime that meets the needs of the
hour, and in particular how we can target the property and assets
of those in this country who have been supporting the Putin
regime. We are also responsible for ensuring that we can provide
appropriate support for refugees arriving in this country. My
right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has already expanded the
family sponsorship system, and we have an existing humanitarian
sponsorship scheme, which is being expanded now to ensure that
local authorities and others can play their part in ensuring a
warm and safe welcome for those fleeing persecution.
More than 2,100 residents have signed my petition to see the
former Teddington police station site repurposed for community
use and affordable housing. The Under-Secretary of State for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the hon. Member for
Harborough (Neil O’Brien), confirmed last week that there is
nothing in law or guidance that says the Mayor of London has to
sell the site to the highest bidder, as he claims, and he has
reportedly rejected a bid for a new home for Park Road GP surgery
and affordable homes because he is insisting on getting the
highest price—probably from luxury developers. Will the Minister
join me in calling on the Mayor to reconsider this decision, as
Teddington residents are demanding?
I know how determined the hon. Lady has been to represent the
residents of Teddington in this matter, and I know she has raised
it in a Westminster Hall debate with my hon. Friend the
Under-Secretary. I will seek to ensure that my ministerial team
are closely engaged with the hon. Lady to ensure that we can come
to a fair and equitable solution for her residents.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Wigan) (Lab)
It is three months since Russian troops massed at the Ukraine
border and not a single detail has been published about the
community sponsorship scheme that the Secretary of State is
supposedly leading. We stand alone among European countries in
insisting on a visa that takes months while desperate people are
being turned back at Calais. Nearly 2 million people have fled
Ukraine and only 50 visas have been granted. Will he really ask
desperate people to wait months for his Department to get its act
together or will he pick up the phone to the Home Secretary, cut
out the bureaucracy and help people now?
I agree with the hon. Lady that it is vital to provide the
fastest and safest route for those fleeing persecution and we are
working with our partners on the ground in Poland and elsewhere
to do just that. We are processing more than 14,000 applications
under the family scheme at the moment. Of course, as my right
hon. Friend the Home Secretary outlined last week, that scheme
has been significantly expanded. There is an existing community
sponsorship scheme and the details are available on gov.uk for
those who wish to help through it, but we are expanding it and
more details will be announced later today and later this
week.
I point the Secretary of State to last year’s inspectorate report
that highlighted that his existing scheme is an absolute
shambles. People are being asked to wait months on end to access
it and still not a single detail has been published. I cannot
bear to listen to that with the scenes that we are seeing
unfolding in front of our eyes—it is too slow. While he quarrels
with the Home Office, we are turning away refugees and, worse,
letting oligarchs off the hook.
Seriously, how can the Housing Secretary sit there without any
sense of shame while, just down the road, Russian oligarchs
linked to the Kremlin are offloading millions of pounds from the
UK property market in a fire sale? That is the dark money that
sustains the Putin regime. He could set that right this afternoon
through amendments tabled by his Back Benchers and by Labour that
would start to put an end to the shameful situation that his
party has presided over for too long. Will he back those
amendments?
Again, I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising two important
questions. On the need to ensure that we have a rapid expansion
of the scheme, we need to use the existing community sponsorship
scheme, which has been successful, to—[Interruption.]She has
already asked her question, and I can answer. If she wants to try
to rewrite her original question, she is welcome to do so.
[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. No more chuntering. Answer the question quickly; I have
lots of Members to get in.
Thank you very much for ensuring order, Mr Speaker. The scheme
that we are expanding will ensure that we meet the needs of the
hour and that all those who need humanitarian resettlement find
it. As to the hon. Lady’s point about the steps required to
ensure that the assets of oligarchs and others are addressed, the
legislation that we are bringing forward will mean that we have
the strongest sanctions regime in the world.
Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)
T3. My constituents have shown an outpouring of generosity for
the people fleeing Ukraine. This weekend, my children and I spent
time at Hursley parish hall where we received thousands of items
that will be driven to Poland in the next 48 hours. Many
constituents say that they feel helpless and want to do
something; I do not doubt—many have already been in touch—that
the humanitarian sponsorship pathway will lead to Winchester. Can
my right hon. Friend confirm what I think he just said at the
Dispatch Box, that more details on it will be announced later
today?(905887)
I will make two points in response to my hon. Friend. First, I
thank his constituents for their amazing work, which reflects the
commitment and compassion of many people across the country. The
single most important thing that any individual can do at the
moment is donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee. It is
understandable that people want to see goods of a humanitarian
nature flow to the Polish border, but the nature of the support
that we need to give means that it is actually more effective to
raise money to give to the DEC and others. With respect to the
expansion of the humanitarian sponsorship scheme, there are more
details to come.
Mr Speaker
I call SNP spokesperson .
(North Ayrshire and Arran)
(SNP)
Transparency International recently estimated that more than £1.5
billion-worth of UK property was bought by Russian oligarchs
accused of corruption or links to the Kremlin between 2016 and
2021, of which £1 billion is in London. Can the Secretary of
State assure that House that the UK will bring forward emergency
legislation to repossess Kremlin-linked properties in London,
which he reportedly favours, and does he agree that using the
proceeds from those properties to offer further support to
humanitarian efforts in Ukraine would be entirely appropriate and
desirable?
For the second time today, I must praise the hon. Lady for a gift
of clairvoyance that few hon. Members enjoy.
(Keighley) (Con)
T5. Does the Minister share my and my constituents’ deep
frustration that, despite this Conservative Government making up
to £20 million available to my constituents through the
levelling-up fund, Labour-run Bradford Council did not even
bother to submit a levelling-up application? When will it have
the next opportunity to do that?(905889)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Neil O’Brien)
Some £20 million is potentially available to Keighley and Ilkley
through the levelling-up fund. Bradford is in a top priority
category, and I really hope that it will bid so that we can build
on the tens of millions of investment already being put into
Keighley through the towns fund.
(East Renfrewshire)
(SNP)
T2. Communities across Scotland and the UK stand ready to help
those displaced by Putin’s war on democracy in Ukraine. Every
local authority in Scotland participated in the Syrian refugee
resettlement scheme and I am sure they would want to do so again,
but they cannot at the moment because of the shambolic response
by the UK Government. The Secretary of State’s Department is
meant to be doing whatever is needed to make sure that sponsors
can be quickly matched with Ukrainians in need, so when does he
expect significant numbers of Ukrainians to arrive under the
humanitarian sponsorship pathway, and will he join me in urging
the Home Secretary to remove the unforgivable
blockage—(905886)
Mr Speaker
Order. Can I just ask why Members do not want other Members to
get in? It is totally unfair if you take up all the time.
I think the hon. Lady said the shambolic response from the
European Government and that she probably meant the United
Kingdom Government, but not to worry. I respectfully disagree.
More details on how we will help not just the devolved
Administrations but local government to accept a higher
proportion of humanitarian refugees will follow shortly.
(East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)
T6. Can I ask one of the Ministers to outline the benefits the
levelling-up White Paper will bring to West Sussex, particularly
to coastal communities and constituencies such as mine, where
economic disadvantage and deprivation are happening—whether north
or south, east or west?(905890)
Neil O’Brien
My hon. Friend is completely correct. Some £19.4 million was
allocated to projects in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton through
round 1 of the levelling-up fund, in addition to the £21.1
million allocated to Crawley. I look forward to working with
people in West Sussex to do more through round 2 of the
levelling-up fund as well as the UK shared prosperity fund.
(Salford and Eccles)
(Lab)
T7. The Government announced the renters reform Bill in the 2019
Queen’s Speech, and they announced it again in the 2021 Queen’s
Speech. My constituents desperately need this Bill to abolish
no-fault section 21 evictions, introduce a national landlord
database, apply the decent homes standard and much more, so will
the Secretary of State confirm when he is finally going to get on
with introducing this Bill?(905891)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
We need to introduce the White Paper, which will be published in
the spring, first. I look forward to discussing its terms with
the hon. Lady so we can ensure that the legislation subsequently
introduced is fit for purpose.
(Stourbridge) (Con)
T9. Corbett meadow is a beautiful meadow in my constituency that
is at risk of development, but in the local plan it has been
designated as local green space. Does my right hon. Friend agree
with me that, when the final plan comes out, that should be
respected?(905893)
The Minister for Housing ()
Due to my role in planning, I cannot comment on specific plans,
but national park policy empowers local communities by making it
clear that they can designate areas of importance as local green
space through their local plans. Such designations ensure that
these important assets are provided with protection, reflecting
their importance.
(Ceredigion) (PC)
T10. The airline Wizz Air has offered to fly Ukrainian refugees
from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, and there are
indications that Cardiff airport could be a destination for some
of these flights. I understand that there have been initial
discussions with the Welsh Government, but would the Secretary of
State lend his support to co-ordinating a post-flight visa
processing facility at Cardiff airport, so that Ukrainians
fleeing the warzone can be brought to Wales quickly and
safely?(905894)
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that, and I
will look closely, with my colleague the Home Secretary, at that
proposition. It is important that we have appropriate biometric
checks, for reasons that are well understood, but I appreciate
the generosity of the offer, and indeed we have been talking to
the Welsh Government about how we can co-ordinate our
efforts.
Sir (Scarborough and Whitby)
(Con)
Many people are still planning to staycation this year. Would the
Secretary of State extend the scheme that worked so well during
the pandemic, and allow permitted development rights to be
relaxed so that pop-up campsites can allow people to have
holidays in places such as North Yorkshire?
I now know what my Easter plans will be. My right hon. Friend is
absolutely right that making sure, through the exercise of
permitted development rights, that we can provide people with the
opportunity to holiday in places as beautiful as North Yorkshire
is an entirely welcome development.
(Bury South) (Lab)
Reported cases of antisemitism continue to rise, with the
Community Security Trust recording a record 2,255 cases in 2021.
The Government have funded the security at Jewish locations,
including synagogues and schools, and this, unfortunately, is
vital to ensuring the safety of the Jewish community. Will the
Secretary of State commit to the continuation of this funding
next year, as well as ensuring that it is adjusted for the
increased cost associated with inflation?
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. As the Minister who,
as Secretary of State for Education, initiated that scheme, I
will do everything I can to ensure it continues. But I would make
one additional point: one of the things we can all do across this
House in order to tackle the evil of antisemitism is stand
against the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, and that
is why when we bring forward legislation to outlaw BDS at local
government level I hope we can count on the hon. Gentleman’s
formidable voice pressing on those on his Front Bench the
importance of supporting that legislation and not, as they did in
the past, abstaining.
(Ipswich) (Con)
Levelling up is crucial to rejuvenating our high streets and
making sure we do not have buildings collecting dust and not in
use, which has often been the case in Ipswich. In Carr Street,
however, that is not the case: we have micro-shops there now:
fantastic businesses such as Trini Flava, Central Vintage, and
the Juice Mix bar. Does my right hon. Friend agree that to do
this we need not only funding but a local council with a bit of a
proactive, can-do attitude to bring such premises back into
use?
Yes, we need a council that is composed of simulacra or clones of
my hon. Friend. If every Ipswich councillor was as ambitious for
Ipswich as he is, Ipswich would not only be in the premier league
for football—which it is not at the moment of course—but in the
premier league of places to visit in the United Kingdom.
(Inverclyde) (SNP)
Seven out of 10 of the most deprived areas in Wales, six out of
10 in Scotland and three out of 10 in England have not received
any levelling-up funding. When will the right hon. Gentleman give
them that opportunity—when will he publish the timetable and the
criteria for the second tranche of money?
It is coming in the spring statement, but I should say to the
hon. Gentleman, whom I count as a friend and much admire, that he
should have a word with the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh
South West (), who seems not to want this
money to go to Scotland because she believes it works against
devolution. The hon. Gentleman wants that money to come to
Scotland; can the Scottish National party please make up its
mind?
(Wrexham) (Con)
In the past week I have worked with Anna Buckley from Wrexham’s
Polish integration support centre to logistically manage the
unprecedented UK response to her call for donations. Businesses
and people across Wrexham have answered that call, with hundreds
of volunteers sorting through five warehouses full of donations
going to Poland. Will the Secretary of State congratulate Anna
and the community spirit of Wrexham?
Anna, the Polish community and indeed the wider citizens of
Wrexham set a brilliant example, as so many do, of community
action to support those in need. I congratulate her and my hon.
Friend.
(Hackney North and Stoke
Newington) (Lab)
Will the Secretary of State speak to his colleague the Home
Secretary and make her aware that only issuing up until now 50
visas for Ukrainian refugees is quite wrong and brings shame upon
this country?
I talk to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary every day. The
Home Secretary was in Poland at the border talking to those who
were working with refugees: she was delivering while others, I am
afraid, seek to make political points. We have a Home Secretary
who is energetic, determined, on the job, talking to those on the
frontline, making a difference, and I am afraid that when people
want unity, purpose and delivery they will say to the right hon.
Lady—
Mr Speaker
Order. This is unacceptable; these are topicals. The Secretary of
State can go on a rant, but not on my watch.
One more question; .
(West Suffolk) (Con)
Will the Secretary of State confirm that when it comes to local
plans the idea that we need exactly the same proportion of extra
housing in every part of every council area is wrong, and instead
the different needs of different communities, as in my
constituency in Haverhill, Brandon and Newmarket, can be treated
differently, not with a one-size-fits-all approach?
Yes, 100%, spot-on, totally correct.
Mr Speaker
Excellent. If every question and answer were like that, it would
be wonderful.
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