UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Christopher Pincher

  • Christopher Pincher – 2021 Speech on Public Landmarks Review

    Christopher Pincher – 2021 Speech on Public Landmarks Review

    The speech made by Christopher Pincher, the Minister for Housing, in the House of Commons on 18 March 2021.

    May I begin by congratulating both my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon) on securing this debate and the other Members who have spoken on their excellent, sincere and considered contributions? I always listen with great care and attention to my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) and, as far as I am able, I always do what I can to achieve his objects. No one, either, would ever question my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Tom Hunt) for being anything other than punchy and patriotic in the pursuit of his constituents’ interests.

    The starting point, and the end point, for this Government is that it is our duty to protect our nation’s history, traditions and heritage. We believe that our history shapes us, that we are poorer if we seek to deny that history, and that the right approach to statues and other public landmarks, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) attested, however contentious they may be to some, is to retain and, if it is appropriate, to explain them to enable better public understanding and respect.

    Many Members, today and in previous debates in the House, have spoken proudly of the tradition that we have in this country of commemorating individuals with statues to acknowledge their contributions to society, whether at local or national level. Those erected by local communities can be a lasting and shared source of local pride. Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine, is commemorated in Coventry, where he is from, and in Lutterworth, Rugby and a number of other places around our country. Edith Cavell’s memorial near Trafalgar Square was erected by public subscription, as was the statue in my own town, Tamworth, to Sir Robert Peel, a man who repealed the corn laws, emancipated the Catholics, founded the police—a force for liberal good in our country, even though last year there was a flurry on social media to pull him down.

    My hon. Friend the Member for Orpington spoke about his concerns at the action of the Mayor of London in setting up his commission for diversity in the public realm, with the purported intention of increasing the representation of London’s great and diverse communities in its built environment, but the real aim of which seems to be to airbrush the past and demolish public monuments to our history. Certainly, its composition is concerning—as my hon. Friend suggested, one member has already been forced to resign—and although I have written to the Mayor about its true cost and its true intentions, he has yet to reply to me, so I share my hon. Friend’s concerns.

    Marco Longhi

    Does the Minister therefore agree that the £1.1 million that the Mayor purportedly intends to spend on his commission for statues should be spent on better supporting Londoners at this very difficult time, and that the Leader of the Opposition should direct the Mayor to do exactly that?

    Christopher Pincher

    I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, who of course has a statue to the Earl of Dudley looking over his town in the west midlands. The Leader of the Opposition should take his Mayor in hand, but I am afraid that I must borrow from Euripides, who famously said that those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. If Euripides were with us today, he would probably say that those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make members and leaders of the Labour party, because the leader of the Labour party has gone mad. He has been captured. He is a POW—a prisoner of woke. I trust that he will be released so that he can direct his friend the Mayor of London to pay greater attention to Londoners, because it will be for them, ultimately, to judge whether that £1.1 million of public expenditure is spent on statue destruction, or whether the Mayor might better spend his time and the public’s money trying to put up more homes for Londoners rather than pull down their statues in public parks.

    I suspect that the Mayor’s real interest is to distract us and draw our attention away from his lamentable failure to build a better future for Londoners. To borrow from Churchill—by the way, his statues are going nowhere—Sadiq Khan is a very modest Mayor with much to be modest about. Let me be quite clear: his lopsided commission has no mandate to advocate for the removal of existing statues. The Government’s policy is that historic statues should be retained and explained rather than removed, and any such proposed removal of an historic statue should rightly be, and will be, subject to planning permission or listed building consent.

    Sir John Hayes

    And, I hope, to acclaim. In congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon) on securing the debate, may I ask my right hon. Friend the Minister to support the idea that I advanced of more plaques and statues, particularly for winners of the VC and GC, who, by the way, are drawn from all ethnicities?

    Christopher Pincher

    I am always prepared to recognise the honour done for us by those great men who won the Victoria Cross, from wherever they hailed, and I certainly hope that more plaques to their memory are forthcoming.

    By doing the things that we are proposing to do, we will give the whole community—not simply the self-loathing, Britain-hating perpetual revolutionaries who seem to have captured the commanding heights of the Labour party, but the whole community—the opportunity to engage and to give their views. Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has the power to call in planning applications, and he has set out his intention to exercise that power if appropriate.

    It is clear from the contributions in this debate and in the wider public discourse that, with the passing of time and changing values in society, there will be examples of those who have had statues erected to them whose own story—and perhaps their family’s—is complex. Many statues and other historical objects were created by generations with different perspectives on right and wrong from our own. Some of what they believed to be virtues, we now believe to be vices. But it is better—far better—to remember that history, reflect that not everyone in the past was perfect, and retain that history and its monuments, so that we can all better understand it, not destroy it as the Marxist, wokeist ideologues would insist on.

    We have a proud and rich history. Britain led the way in the abolition of slavery; we were foremost in abolishing it. The Royal Navy was one of the seminal forces sweeping it from the seas. So when we hear of those who argue that some public memorials are an abomination and that statues of people who profited from the transatlantic slave trade should be taken down, this Government’s clear view is that doing so is quite misguided. As my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington asked, where does that misguided logic end? Are we to take down the statue of Julius Caesar from Tower Hill, for we can be pretty sure that he brought slaves with him in 54 BC and doubtless carried away a few enslaved ancient Britons when he left? Do we want the Elgin marbles taken down and hidden away because they appear to deny the existence of slavery in ancient Greece? That is where that logic leads, but where does it end?

    Our view of retaining and, where right, explaining is shared by Historic England, the Government’s advisory body on the historic environment. If we remove difficult and contentious parts of our heritage, we risk harming our own understanding of our collective past; yet that is where some of these book burners of the internet age are set on going. Ours is a great country with a proud and illustrious heritage of democracy, freedom and rule of law, and that is why we do not gloss over any failures in our past, nor seek to destroy the historic heritage that can help us understand those failures.

    I am pleased to update the House on the changes that the Government are bringing forward to ensure the protection of our heritage. The planning system plays a crucial part in conserving and enhancing our heritage. I am pleased to tell the House that under the changes coming into effect in the spring, any proposals to remove an unlisted public landmark will require an application for planning permission, giving communities the right to be consulted. We are also introducing notification requirements to ensure that the Secretary of State is made aware of any contentious applications and has the opportunity to exercise his call-in powers if he considers that appropriate

    History, by its nature, can be contentious. But rest assured: the Government will act to ensure that our national heritage is protected from those who would seek to remove or deface it. The Spanish philosopher, Jorge Santayana, wrote in his “The Life of Reason”—and Churchill often quoted him—

    “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

    For the sake of our remembered history, so that we do not repeat it—and, please, for the sanity of the Labour party—let us agree to remember and explain our past, not seek to destroy it.

  • Christopher Pincher – 2021 Statement on Local Plans

    Christopher Pincher – 2021 Statement on Local Plans

    The statement made by Christopher Pincher, the Minister for Housing, in the House of Commons on 19 January 2021.

    The country needs more, better and greener homes in the right places.

    This Government’s ambition is to deliver 300,000 homes per year by the mid-2020s and one million homes over this Parliament. Increasing the number of up-to-date local plans across England is central to achieving that goal. Local plans not only unlock land for development and ensure that the right number of new homes are being built in the right places, they also provide local communities with an opportunity to have their say on how their local areas will change over the coming years, and how the local environment can be protected and enhanced.

    Some 91% of local planning authorities have now adopted a local plan, but we know that many of them are not being kept up to date. In March 2020, the Government set a clear deadline of December 2023 for all authorities to have up-to-date local plans in place.

    It is critical that work should continue to advance local plans through to adoption by the end of 2023 to help ensure that the economy can rebound strongly from the covid-19 pandemic. Completing local plans will help to ensure that we can build back better and continue to deliver the homes that are needed across England.

    To support this, we recently rolled forward temporary changes that we made over the summer to ensure the planning system continues to operate effectively during the pandemic. In addition, we announced changes to the methodology for assessing local housing need and published the 2020 housing delivery test measurement. This should help to provide greater certainty for authorities who are currently preparing local plans. The Government recently issued a formal direction in relation to South Oxfordshire District Council’s local plan to ensure it continued to adoption. Where necessary, we remain committed to using all powers available to Government in order to ensure that progress on plan making is maintained.

    We also want to see neighbourhood plans continue to make progress with the support of local planning authorities, to give more communities a greater role in shaping the development and growth of their local areas.

    The “Planning for the future” White Paper consultation closed in October. The White Paper sets out proposals to deliver a significantly simpler, faster and more predictable system. These proposals will need further development. Authorities should not use this period as a reason to delay plan-making activities. Authorities who have an up-to-date plan in place will be in the best possible position to adapt to the new plan-making system.

    I will consider contacting those authorities where delays to plan-making have occurred to discuss the reasons why this has happened and actions to be undertaken.

    This written ministerial statement only covers England.

  • Christopher Pincher – 2020 Speech at the Insider Midlands Residential Property Conference

    Christopher Pincher – 2020 Speech at the Insider Midlands Residential Property Conference

    The speech made by Christopher Pincher, the Minister of State for Housing, on 11 December 2020.

    Good morning and a very warm welcome to everyone attending today’s Insider Midlands Residential Property Conference.

    It is a real pleasure to be joining you, albeit remotely, which as we all know is the way of the world at the moment.

    Can I begin by thanking you, the housing professionals, business owners and executives – those based in the Midlands, a part of the world well-known to me, and those of you further afield – for all of the resilience, perseverance and hard work that you have put in throughout this extraordinary period.

    I think all of us today recognise the unique role which the housing sector plays in our economy, working in close partnership with the government. We’ve sought to do everything that we can to keep the sector running as smoothly as possible during this pandemic crisis.

    From the Safe Working Charter launched with the Home Builders Federation back in May when the sector reopened, to the Business and Planning Act in July, we’ve worked to make sure the sector has remained open and has been able to work safely and effectively to keep our construction and housing economy on track.

    Now with the Pfizer vaccine being rolled out, we have a post-Covid world in sight. We also have in sight the greatest economic comeback the country has ever known. The housing industry has been leading that charge and is pivotal in that process of reconstruction.

    For the Midlands, that starts with meaningful investment in growth-spurring projects which support regeneration and new development.

    That includes over £100 million of investment from our Land Fund for the West Midlands Combined Authority to deliver 8,000 homes across the region.

    That is in addition to the significant funding package announced by the Prime Minister on a visit to Dudley earlier this year with Mayor Andy Street, which saw £84 million from the government’s Brownfield Fund supporting the West Midlands Combined Authority to build thousands of new homes on former industrial land.

    But this is not just about building new homes – important as we all know that is.

    We are also investing in shovel-ready, job-creating infrastructure projects which will be key to helping businesses get back on their feet and for the Midlands Engine economy roar back into life.

    Local Enterprise Partnerships across the Midlands are receiving in the region of £214 million from our Getting Building Fund to support innovative, growth-spurring projects.

    Initiatives like the Warwickshire Green Recovery Project, which is rapidly expanding on-street charging points for electric vehicles, all the way through to a new Digital Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Chesterfield which is pushing the envelope in 3D prototyping and modular construction.

    Of course, government cash, however useful and significant and however targeted, can only go so far in our national mission to build back better.

    We need regulatory reform as well, and as many of you will know, the government has published its ambitious ‘Planning for the Future’ White Paper with proposals for a reformed planning system to make it simpler, quicker and more accessible.

    Local Plans still need to be prepared by local councils, but will be more map-based, more visual, and more digital – to that extent they will be much more easy to use.

    Land will be put into one of three categories: areas for growth, for renewal, or for protection.

    And to make sure we get the houses we need, we’re proposing a new measure for calculating a housing requirement figure for each local planning authority, which will still be the building block for planning.

    There will also be a new time limited statutory timetable for preparation, rather than the average 7 years it presently takes to adopt a plan.

    If you look around the Midlands, something like 40% of local authorities have a plan which was adopted more than 5 years ago – our reforms will mandate everyone to have up-to-date local plans to benefit their communities.

    Together, these reforms will inject much-needed agility into the planning system.

    It is the greatest overhaul we have proposed in planning in over 70 years since the Town and Country Planning Act was introduced.

    It is fair to say the proposals have conjured up some spirited debate. We have had 44,000 submissions to our consultation, which is the beginning of the process of refining our proposals.

    Although the consultation is now closed, I am very keen that we maintain connection with all the people and parties that have contributed to the consultation – that we continue to work with professionals across the sector to ensure we approach those reforms on a consensual basis and that we get them right.

    Because we know that it is incumbent upon government to equip the housing industry with the right tools, the right regulations and the right resources and funding to build the homes the country needs at pace and at scale.

    That also means accelerating delivery of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), including offsite and smart techniques, to encourage a more innovative, diverse, competitive market.

    I think you will be hearing from a host of speakers later today about MMC – we certainly believe in government that MMC could be revolutionary for the industry in terms of improved productivity, build speed, and economies of scale.

    That is why we are committed to tackling the barriers to increasing use of MMC – the most common one being a lack of standardisation in components and designs.

    Those difficulties add unnecessary costs to the MMC process and hampers the sector from being able to compete with traditional methods of building.

    We will shortly engage with industry on this very issue to drive efficiencies and create a more resilient MMC pipeline.

    We know that Modern Methods of Construction are thriving in the Midlands too.

    We are investing £30 million in a landmark deal between Sekisui House and Urban Splash to build thousands of homes using the latest modular construction techniques from Japan.

    So I think MMC can be a tremendously powerful tool for us and can also help us build out those greener, more sustainable homes.

    Industry research shows homes built using MMC techniques can have up to 80% fewer defects whilst reducing heating bills by up to 70 per cent.

    That’s not just important when it comes to fuel poverty, but is important when we consider that housing accounts for around 15% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions through their use of oil and gas for heating and hot water.

    Making homes greener, cleaner and better insulated is integral to combatting climate change and is one of the reasons why we have introduced the Future Homes Standard, which by the middle of this decade will see new houses producing at least 75% fewer emissions.

    Homes built to those new standards will be future-proofed, with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency.

    Crucially, they will be ‘zero carbon ready’ – so there will be no costly retrofits. MMC has a crucial role to play in the development of those homes and in the Future Homes Standard.

    That, I think, is what lies ahead – a modern housing industry truly empowered to build cleaner, greener, more sustainable homes for the communities around the country and around the Midlands that need them – and build those homes faster than ever before.

    And you are the integral players in making that vision a local reality.

    The Midlands – I was born there, brought up there, have a constituency in the Midlands – was the cradle of the industrial revolution.

    It’s where the nail makers came together to “gi’it some ‘ommer”, as we used to say in Wolverhampton.

    Now, with its unrivalled expertise, with its skills and its innovation, I think it is perfectly placed to lead Britain’s green revolution – to be the new green workshop and tech chamber of the world.

    It’s a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to grasp – to build back greener, to build back faster, and build back better from this pandemic.

    And I know you in the Midlands will grasp it.

    I hope you enjoy your conference. Thank you for listening.

  • Christopher Pincher – 2020 Speech at Savills Annual Housing Seminar

    Christopher Pincher – 2020 Speech at Savills Annual Housing Seminar

    The speech made by Christopher Pincher, the Minister of State for Housing, on 23 November 2020.

    Thank you for that warm introduction, Mark. It’s a great pleasure for me to join you today, all be it virtually, given that Savills brought together such a diverse mix of key players such as housing associations, councils, developers and groups from right across the housing industry.

    Can I first of all begin by saying how grateful I am to everyone in the sector for the tremendous support that you have given and the forbearance that you have undertaken during what has been some of the most difficult years in our lifetime.

    I know it’s been very challenging for you all professionally. I expect it will have been very challenging for some of you personally. So I just want to say firstly thank you for all that you have been doing, will be doing and will continue to do for the sector, for the industry, and for your clients and customers.

    I know the imposition of this second national lockdown has been especially challenging with many businesses, once again, seeing jobs and people’s wellbeing on the line and certainly for many smaller businesses it is a very challenging time.

    But with the arrival of the new vaccines onto the scene and into the pipeline and given the resilience the housing market has shown in the last few months since it reopened in the middle of May, I think that there are glimmers of light for the recovery to come – to begin to reclaim our way of life.

    The pandemic has, undoubtedly, made us think about the way we live our lives at every level. You, in the housing sector are at the forefront of these profound changes as we attempt to build back the economy, build back our lives, and build both back better.

    Keeping the housing market open

    Throughout the pandemic, since it began in February and we began our first lockdown in March, we have done everything that we can, not just to protect people’s lives, but also to protect their livelihoods. That includes the package of measures that we have launched, and refined, and continued to roll out to support jobs and businesses across the country.

    The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have both said that we will do whatever it takes to keep businesses and their employees afloat – through tax cuts, tax deferrals, direct grants and the Furlough Scheme – we will do whatever it takes to protect our economy.

    The tough national measures that we have taken are part of that approach, but they are also, I think we’ll all agree, distinctly different from those we took in the Spring.

    I think we all recognise that the housing sector is a bellwether of confidence in our wider economy – what General Motors is in the United States, what Birmingham Yardley constituency used to be in terms of bellwethers in politics. The housing sector is a bellwether in the United Kingdom for our economy. And that is why – more than with any sector – we have done all we can to keep the industry open. Working closely with the CLC, the HPF, the Federation of Master Builders, to allow flexible working hours, to allow planning permissions are extended to ensure that safe working practices are baked into work onsite to keep the economy working and to keep workers safe.

    That really is exemplified in the Safe Working Charter which the HBF developed way back in March, and which was a signal to the reopening of the housing economy.

    Mark said we haven’t been furloughed in MHCLG – that’s absolutely right. We’ve been doing our bit to provide both financial support and stimulus to the economy.

    We have the £450m Home Building Fund which we announced before the summer, supporting the delivery of 7,200 new homes, right through to our Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme which has green-lighted £415m in loans to help the industry bounce back from this pandemic stronger and more resilient than before.

    With so many of us spending so much more time in our homes right now, the pandemic reinforced the need to double our efforts to build more quality homes with strong and sustainable communities, which we need now more urgently than ever.

    That means keeping up the pace on supply. We need to make up for ground lost – the emergency and the challenges to the economy notwithstanding we must meet our target of building 300,000 new homes of all types and tenures each year by the middle of this decade so that people can afford to buy or afford to rent the sorts of homes that they want to be able to provide them with the security and the opportunity that they want and need.

    Building Safety

    To that end, we are delivering the biggest improvements to the building safety regime that we have seen for a generation and pressing ahead with remediation work, which is absolutely critical to safety. I am absolutely clear that remediation must continue through these lockdowns where it is safe to do so. We’ve set aside £600 million for the remediation of ACM-clad high-rise buildings to make those homes safe. I want to thank everybody involved in the sector for their work on that.

    The Chancellor made available £1 billion at the budget for the remediation of non-ACM type cladding in tall buildings to make those safe as well, and work is advancing to make sure that that money is distributed and dispersed effectively.

    We are also introducing some of the biggest improvements in regulation ever seen through our Building Safety Bill which was published in draft in July and which will be introduced shortly to Parliament. That Bill complements very significant work that has been done over the last three or four years – the Fire Safety Act for example, building on the Fire Safety Order Act 2002 – to make sure that everybody, irrespective of who they are, where they are from, where they live, feels safe and secure in their home.

    I know that you will be hearing from Dame Judith Hackitt later on and I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her tireless efforts to support out work, and we want to support her work as well. The good news is that now almost 80% of buildings with ACM cladding have either been fully remediated or are close to completion – and that rises to above 95% of those buildings in the social housing sector. It’s good news that progress has been made, but clearly there is much more to do. We are determined that we must do it and also the building owners, developers and warrantee holders much play their part as well.

    Building Greener

    So many people have spent so much time living at home for the past several months, and for many people the pandemic has been made tolerable at least by a good home and a garden shared with the people that they care about.

    But for too many people – people in tiny accommodation, substandard accommodation, people unable to walk to shops or green spaces or services – their homes are less like castles and are more like prisons. We have learned that spacious, well-equipped homes which offer green spaces in plentiful supply, with access to vital amenities and vibrant neighbourhoods that surround those amenities and those services – must be the standard if we are to recover from the social effects and the economic effects of Covid-19.

    That’s just what our planning reforms are aimed at delivering – greener, cleaner, more beautiful homes and neighbourhoods that we can be proud to live in, but also, more importantly, we can be proud to call a legacy for future generations.

    The reforms we’ve set in train mandate for more parks, more playing fields and greener spaces in new developments.

    They encourage developers, with the Environment Bill currently going through parliament, to think much more creatively about biodiversity. About the way bee bricks, green roofs and even community orchards can be used.
    They ensure that all new streets will be tree-lined, contributing not just to a neighbourhood’s aesthetic but also to its air quality.

    There are some really good examples of this sort of design around the world: Marina One in Singapore; Bosco Verticale in Milan which boasts, I’m told, a vertical forest which removes something like 44,000 pounds of carbon from the atmosphere each year.

    If they can be bold, we can be bold and daring the new developments that we envisage. And through our Home of 2030 Competition we launched earlier this year – in fact I think it was the first thing that I did when I became Housing Minister back in the middle of February – the Government is incentivising designers, architects and developers to do exactly that. Think like Milan, think like Singapore.

    We have six very impressive finalists who have developed their cutting-edge designs for the Homes of 2030 competition.

    I would like to thank particularly Nick Walkley, the CEO of Homes England, and I think he’s going to join us today. He has provided ready-to-go sites in which the winners can make their visions a reality. The Prime Minister has made very clear that he wants more technologically sophisticated, sustainable housing to be developed, and that is what we are going to do. We’re going to meet Net Zero targets and we are, through the Future Homes Standard, going to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide from buildings by the middle of this decade by at least 75% compared with today.

    Building Beautiful

    As much as we want to build greener and more sustainably, we also want to build more beautifully. In championing innovation and encouraging the industry to respond to the changing needs of residents, it is also right that we celebrate beautiful design and provide trailblazing design that others can follow.

    I was lucky enough at the end of last week to go on a virtual tour of the Barking Riverside development on the site of the former power station, which is delivering something like 10,000 new homes of mixed tenures, it also offers fantastic views of the River Thames, there is a clipper service as well as a rail station going in, and making best use of an innovative new waste disposing technology called ‘Envac’, and all of this is encapsulated within a well-designed, beautiful and sustainable housing district which is in-keeping with the history, the identity of the community in which it is built.

    We have other great examples of that too – Marmalade Lane in Cambridge; Goldsmith Street in Norwich, which thank to lockdown restrictions I’ve had to cancel two visits to, but I’m rather hoping that 2021 will be a better time to visit that 2020.

    But still we know some developers pay too little attention to the character of the houses they are creating and the character of the environment in which they are creating those houses.

    Only six per cent of new homes in our country are designed by architects. Cutting back on the time and attention spent on architectural design may be a good way to save some money… But I also think that it is definitely short-sighted and, ultimately, more costly… Because building better, building more beautifully, in-keeping with an area and its aesthetic, builds in and buys in local communities’ support for those buildings.

    And that can save expensive delays, save on legal challenges and feed that developers have to pay out, and then they can focus on what really matters – building homes that community needs, building them really well, not building the sort of identikit ‘Anywheresville’ housing that perhaps we have seen too often. And that’s why we want to introduce the National Model Design Code, which will advise councils on how they can set clear expectations for the design of new development and give residents a genuine say in the future of their area.

    At their heart, these reforms are about letting communities have greater say and have more power over what is built for them and around them.

    The Planning White Paper which launched in August, with 84 pages of proposals – we’ve had 44,000 consultation responses as a result which we are working through and which we will share the results of as soon as we can and then kick off more work to refine our proposals on the back of that consultation feedback – fundamentally those reforms are designed to make our 73 year old planning system more speedy so that decisions and results can be made much more quickly.

    So that it is less opaque so that more people can navigate it more effectively which is good for local communities as well as good for SMEs.

    And we want it to be much more engaging by having strategic, upfront planning using map-based systems which zone areas, allowing people to see what is proposed for their communities and have a say on what goes where, how it’s going to look, the sorts of infrastructure that should be provided for the community. It’s much more strategic and far less tactical. It’s much more up front and far less reactive. Therefore, I think it’s much more empowering and much more democratic, and I believe that communities will see that and that they will appreciate the power that we are placing in their hands.

    ‘Build, Build, Build’

    Because fundamentally we need to build more homes. More homes around the country in places that they are needed because demand is high, in places that they are needed because the level of stock is poor, in places that they are needed because we need to reimagine our town centres and our city centres as we emerge through the Covid epidemic.

    We have travelled quite some way in the last 10 years. We have built hundreds of thousands of new homes – 241,000 in the last year alone before Covid struck.

    But there is much more to do. Whether it be building new homes for people to buy or get a stake in through shared ownership, whether it be building more affordable homes for rent or socially rented homes – and our £12.2bn affordable homes programme, the biggest cash injection to affordable homes since the 2006-2011 cycle is aimed to do just that.

    Conclusion

    I hope it demonstrates that the government is absolutely steadfast in our determination to help communities pull through what remains an extremely challenging time, but to emerge into a post-Covid world where we can look forward with optimism and determination and confidence.

    We want to overhaul a planning system which is 70 years old and which needs to change, to become steadier and more transparent and more democratic.

    We want to build more homes in the places that they are needed. We want those homes to be built sustainably. We want them to be built beautifully. We want the infrastructure around them to be provided quickly and to be right, and we want to make sure that the build environment around those communities is attractive for people today and for the future.

    We are going to work in close collaboration with councils, planners, designers, and the construction industry to make sure that the reforms we proposed are right and to make sure that they work. We are prepared to investment time and money to make sure that all these things happen.

    Because if we do that, we can build a built environment, we can build communities which people are proud to call their homes, build communities and environments that developers can be proud to say ‘we designed and built out’, which planners can be proud to say ‘we planned’, and which the future will be able to say thank you to us for doing what we did to give them the legacy that they deserve.

    I am very grateful for the time that you have given me to speak to you today. I trust that you have a great conference. That you’re able to meet up, albeit virtually, with old friends. Pick up new ideas. Be reminded of important concepts.

    And before too long we’ll all be able to do this all over again in a much more physical and friendly format. I’m sure whatever changes in that future, there will be the next Savills conference and I look very much to seeing everyone else then again.

    Thank you.

  • Christopher Pincher – 2020 Speech on Evictions

    Christopher Pincher – 2020 Speech on Evictions

    The speech made by Christopher Pincher, the Minister for Housing, in the House of Commons on 23 September 2020.

    I congratulate the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) on securing this urgent question. The Government have taken unprecedented action to support renters by banning evictions for six months, preventing people from getting into financial hardship and helping businesses to pay salaries. We have boosted the welfare safety net and increased the local housing allowance rates to cover the lowest 30% of market rents. We have made available £180 million for the discretionary housing payments this year, for local councils to distribute to support those renters who require additional support. We have now introduced comprehensive measures to ensure that renters continue to be protected over the autumn and winter, following the resumption of possession proceedings on Monday.

    However, we must strike a balance so that landlords are able to access justice alongside measures to protect the vulnerable. That is vital to the long-term health of the private rented sector. We have worked with the judiciary to put in place new court arrangements that seek to ensure appropriate support to all parties within the current statutory framework. The judiciary will look to prioritise the most serious cases, including antisocial behaviour, fraud and egregious rent arrears. New court rules also require landlords to reactivate any claim they have made before 3 August and to provide information to the court on the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the tenant and their dependants. A court would be likely to take a very dim view of any landlord who tried to circumvent this requirement or mislead the court by not disclosing relevant information where known.

    To help to keep people in their homes over the winter, we have changed the law, increasing notice periods to six months in all but the most serious cases. Tenants now served notice will not be required to move over winter, while landlords will be empowered to take action where necessary—for example, where a tenant’s antisocial behaviour severely affects their neighbours’ quality of life. To further support renters, guidance has been issued to bailiffs by my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor to ensure that possession orders are not enforced in areas where lockdown restrictions are in place or over the Christmas period, except in the most serious circumstances.

    Our package strikes a fair balance, supporting landlords to act in the most serious cases while keeping the public, including renters, safe. Comprehensive guidance has been published for landlords and tenants to explain these new arrangements and the possession process in courts. The Government are clear that all these measures are to protect renters over this period. They are kept under constant review in the light of evidence on public health, and we are prepared to take further measures as they are needed to protect landlords and tenants alike.

  • Christopher Pincher – 2020 Statement on the Planning Process

    Christopher Pincher – 2020 Statement on the Planning Process

    Below is the text of the statement made by Christopher Pincher, the Minister for Housing, in the House of Commons on 11 June 2020.

    The Government are committed to maintaining public confidence in the probity of the planning process at all levels, including the Secretary of State’s role in deciding called-in planning applications and recovered appeals. Rightly, Parliament has, through the planning Acts, delegated to local planning authorities the powers to determine things at their level. However, Parliament has also created provisions whereby a small proportion of cases are determined by central Government.

    The written ministerial statement of June 2008 sets out clear criteria for the use of the powers. For example, some decisions are recovered because of the quantum of housing they involve and thus their potential effect on the Government’s objectives for sustainable communities; others are recovered because of non-determination by the local authority. The involvement of Ministers in the planning system is a very long-established process that is clearly guided by both the published ministerial code and the guidance published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on planning propriety, which focuses on the duty on Ministers to behave fairly and to approach matters before them with an open mind.

    The vast majority of planning decisions are determined at a local level by local planning authorities. However, as I have said, the planning system provides for decisions to be sent to Ministers for determination, including on the grounds that they involve developments of major importance. In fact, Ministers were involved in 26 planning decisions out of a total of 447,000 planning cases last year. The small number of cases that are referred to planning Ministers for determination are often among the most controversial in the planning system—for example, the 500 dwellings in the Oxford green belt that were recently allowed, and the 500 dwellings in the York green belt that were refused.

    Given the nature of the cases before them, it is not uncommon for Ministers to determine against the planning inspector’s recommendation, as has happened in around 20% of cases in recent years. In conclusion, I stress that each planning decision is taken fairly and on its own merits.

  • Christopher Pincher – 2020 Statement on the Foreign Affairs Council

    Below is the text of the statement made by Christopher Pincher, the Minister for Europe and the Americas, in the House of Commons on 28 January 2020.

    The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HRVP), Josep Borrell, chaired the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels on 20 January. The United Kingdom’s permanent representative to the EU (Sir Tim Barrow) represented the United Kingdom.​

    Current affairs

    The HRVP and Foreign Ministers had an exchange of views on a number of pressing issues.

    The German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas briefed on the outcome of the 19 January Berlin conference on Libya. Ministers discussed EU engagement towards a political solution, in particular in helping to implement the agreed ceasefire and enforce the UN arms embargo.

    HRVP Borrell discussed the situation in Bolivia and set out EU support towards the general election on 3 May 2020. He also touched on Venezuela and concern about recent escalations following the events in the National Assembly.

    The HRVP debriefed on his recent trip to New Delhi, India, where he participated in the Raisina dialogue and he discussed preparations for the upcoming 15th EU-India summit, scheduled for 13 March.

    Cyprus raised Turkey’s hydrocarbon exploration activity in the eastern Mediterranean, following Turkey’s announcement on 18 January that it would engage in further drilling.

    Sahel

    Following France’s and the G5 Sahel (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger) leaders’ summit that took place in Pau on 13 January, Ministers exchanged views on the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel and the role the EU could play as an important partner and donor in the region. They expressed support for renewing the existing Sahel strategy to try to increase the impact of the EU’s security, stability and development engagement. Ministers emphasised the importance of an integrated approach between the different actors involved and resources deployed. Ministers also welcomed the planned EU-G5 Sahel summit in March, noting it would be an opportunity to identify joint priorities and ensure G5 ownership.

    Climate diplomacy

    The Council adopted conclusions on climate diplomacy and agreed to focus diplomatic outreach to third countries to encourage key partners and emitters to implement concrete actions and achieve the best results ahead of COP26. There was support for a proposal that all new EU international agreements, including all trade agreements, contain a clause to hold partners to ambitious climate standards.

    The United Kingdom underlined that success in Glasgow would rely on concerted diplomatic efforts and the importance of ensuring tangible outcomes when updating nationally defined contributions (NDCs).

    Middle east peace process and the wider region

    Over lunch, Foreign Ministers discussed the middle east peace process and restated their national positions on the recognition of Palestine. The United Kingdom underlined the importance of firmly rejecting illegal annexation but made clear that our position on recognition was unchanged and reiterated our commitment to a two-state solution.

    Ministers touched on the future of the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPoA) and the importance of continuing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region. The United Kingdom, France and Germany underlined the importance of the E3’s work to find a diplomatic path through the JCPOA’s dispute resolution mechanism to bring Iran back into compliance and preserve the deal.​

    Council conclusions

    The Council agreed a number of further measures:

    The Council approved the terms of reference for the EU-Ecuador dialogue on human rights. Since 2014, the EU and Ecuador meet at least once a year to review the state of their relationship and discuss issues of common interest.

    The Council adopted conclusions on the continued presence of Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina to support authorities in maintaining a safe and secure environment for its citizens.

    The Council adopted a decision on the conclusion of the enhanced partnership and co-operation agreement between the EU and the Republic of Kazakhstan (12409/16). The decision will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in accordance with Article 17 (1)(a) of the Council’s rules of procedure.

    The Council appointed 120 members and 114 alternate members to the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) for its new five-year term running from 26 January 2020 to 25 January 2025 (14986/19).

    Regarding public access to documents, the European Council approved on 15 January 2020 the reply to confirmatory application No. 39/c/01/19 (doc. EUCO 35/19). On 20 January 2020, the Council adopted by written procedure the reply to confirmatory application No. 38/C/01/19 (doc. 14533/19).