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Tag: Speeches

  • Paula Barker – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Increase of Rough Sleepers

    Paula Barker – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Increase of Rough Sleepers

    The parliamentary question asked by Paula Barker, the Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Paula Barker (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab)

    A very happy new year, Mr Speaker. In September, amid the political chaos, the then Minister, the hon. Member for Walsall North (Eddie Hughes), published the Government’s rough sleeping strategy. Despite all the good intentions, the problem is evidently getting worse, not better. Data from CHAIN, the Combined Homelessness and Information Network—the most up-to-date rough sleeping snapshot for London—has confirmed that between July and September 2022, numbers were up 24% on the previous year. Figures published earlier in 2022 show that rough sleeping rose by 89% in the west midlands, 68% in Yorkshire and the Humber and 65% in the north-west—a shameful indictment of this Government’s record. Can the Minister rise—

    Mr Speaker

    Order.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Felicity Buchan)

    This Government have made an unprecedented commitment on rough sleeping and homelessness. We are investing £2 billion over three years. We do see seasonal fluctuations, but the rough sleeping numbers are at under 3,000 at the moment. Every single person sleeping rough is one too many, but we are very much on top of this.

    Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)

    If we can spend huge sums of money housing people who come to this country illegally, as was attempted in a hotel in my constituency, how can it be remotely acceptable that we have a single rough sleeper on the streets of our country?

    Felicity Buchan

    We are absolutely committed to ending rough sleeping. In September we came out with a strategy to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament. As I say, one person sleeping rough is one too many.

  • Peter Aldous – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Lowestoft Becoming an Investment Zone

    Peter Aldous – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Lowestoft Becoming an Investment Zone

    The parliamentary question asked by Peter Aldous, the Conservative MP for Waveney, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)

    The all-party parliamentary group for the east of England has carried out a review of levelling up in the region. It has found that although a good start has been made, there are five of the White Paper missions in whose delivery there is low confidence, four in which there is medium confidence and only three in which confidence is high. I would be most grateful if the Minister provided a full written response to the report, but in the first instance will she seek to make Lowestoft’s enterprise zone an investment zone? That would underpin and support levelling up.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Dehenna Davison)

    Pitch for Lowestoft heard loud and clear! The Chancellor announced at the time of the autumn statement that the existing investment zones programme would be refocused to

    “catalyse a limited number of the highest potential knowledge-intensive growth clusters”.

    Our Department will work closely with key partners on how best to identify and support those clusters. My officials have read the APPG’s report; we will respond in full in due course.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2023 Parliamentary Question on 1.4 Million Households Facing Mortgage Rate Increase

    Lisa Nandy – 2023 Parliamentary Question on 1.4 Million Households Facing Mortgage Rate Increase

    The parliamentary question asked by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Levelling Up Secretary, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)

    Thank you, Mr Speaker. I wish the Secretary of State well and thank him for advance notice of his unavoidable absence today.

    What do the Government have to say to the 1.4 million households who woke up this morning to find that they are facing eye-watering hikes in their mortgage interest payments this year?

    Lucy Frazer

    The hon. Member will know that the Government are already taking steps to help people with the cost of living. We have already taken steps to help people with their energy bills. I know that she will know, because she is a shadow Minister on top of her game, that the Chancellor met banks at the end of last year and put in place a package of measures to ensure that bankers are helping people with their mortgages, whether through flexibility or further switching.

    Lisa Nandy

    I think “Sorry” would have been a good start. But seriously, it is chaos, isn’t it? Rents are rising at their fastest rate for seven years and mortgage payments are going through the roof since the Government crashed the economy. Leaseholder reforms have stalled and half a million people are still stuck in unsafe homes with unsafe cladding five years after Grenfell. Where is the mortgage emergency plan? Where is the end to no-fault evictions? Where is the affordable housing we were promised? What are the Government actually doing all day?

    Lucy Frazer

    From 1980, this Government have delivered 2 million social homes. This Government have a proven track record: the period since 2020-21 has seen the third highest annual rate of additional homes built in the last 30 years. This Government have provided people with £37 billion-worth of support. This Government are on people’s side, helping them through this difficult time as well as when times are good.

  • Andrew Selous – 2023 Parliamentary Question on New Developments Without Sufficient GPs

    Andrew Selous – 2023 Parliamentary Question on New Developments Without Sufficient GPs

    The parliamentary question asked by Andrew Selous, the Conservative MP for South West Bedfordshire, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)

    If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

    The Minister of State, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lucy Frazer)

    On 28 December, we announced an historic devolution deal between the Government and the local authorities of Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham. A new Mayor for the north-east will ensure that local priorities are at the heart of decision making and will provide £1.4 billion to level up the area over the next 30 years. We have now struck deals with eight of the 11 areas identified for devolution in the levelling up White Paper, putting more power in the hands of local leaders representing over 7 million people in England.

    Andrew Selous

    Will the Government remedy the completely unacceptable situation whereby thousands of homes are built in areas such as mine—and in Rugby and elsewhere—without adequate general practice capacity? What will the Government do to put that right in areas where that has happened?

    Lucy Frazer

    My hon. Friend has a great deal of experience on this issue in his area, as well as having raised it nationally. I was very pleased to discuss it with him and the relevant Minister in the Department of Health and Social Care today. It is important that all the necessary infrastructure for a housing development is built, whether in relation to education or GP surgeries. The infrastructure levy will facilitate that even further—[Interruption.]—but it is important that we work together.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Empty Buildings in Town Centres

    Caroline Ansell – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Empty Buildings in Town Centres

    The parliamentary question asked by Caroline Ansell, the Conservative MP for Eastbourne, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)

    What steps he is taking to encourage developers to redevelop empty buildings in town centres.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Dehenna Davison)

    Regenerating our town centres is essential to the Government’s commitment to level up the country. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill includes measures to tackle vacant properties, such as high street rental auctions, and it clarifies compulsory purchase powers. We have also revised the business development and use class rules so that commercial buildings can change easily between uses. Through the town deals programme and future high streets fund, the Government are also investing £3.6 billion to regenerate town centres, which of course includes projects to redevelop empty shops.

    Caroline Ansell

    With zero VAT on new build, demolition and greenfield development would seem to be the smart choice for developers, while empty buildings such as the former Debenhams in Eastbourne town centre, which would carry 20% VAT for renovation, are overlooked and year on year move towards dilapidation. Has any assessment been made of the number of new homes that could be delivered should different VAT regimes be levelled up? And, as there has been a great deal of negative campaigning—[Interruption.] I will come to that point next time.

    Mr Speaker

    One question.

    Dehenna Davison

    I thank my hon. Friend for her question; she is a fantastic champion for levelling up in her community. Questions on VAT would be a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury, but we are of course committed to reviewing incentives around brownfield development and will announce further details on the scope of that review in due course.

  • Mark Fletcher – 2023 Parliamentary Question on First Time Buyers

    Mark Fletcher – 2023 Parliamentary Question on First Time Buyers

    The parliamentary question asked by Mark Fletcher, the Conservative MP for Bolsover, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Mark Fletcher (Bolsover) (Con)

    What steps his Department is taking to help first-time buyers.

    The Minister of State, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lucy Frazer)

    There are currently no plans to further extend or replace Help to Buy, but all options to increase home ownership are kept under review. Our other schemes, including shared ownership, the mortgage guarantee scheme and First Homes, which have been trialled in my hon. Friend’s constituency, continue to support first-time buyers.

    Mark Fletcher

    The Help to Buy scheme has been an invaluable way of getting on the housing ladder for so many people. I was recently visited by a constituent—a young nurse—who was desperate to use the scheme but worried that it runs out in March. Will the Minister give us an update? Will we be able to keep this invaluable scheme?

    Lucy Frazer

    We do not currently have plans to do so, but we will keep that under review. Since 2010, more than 819,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through Government-backed schemes. That includes how we cut stamp duty land tax, and extended the mortgage guarantee for a further year to maintain the availability of mortgages to buyers with only a 5% deposit.

    Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)

    First-time home ownership is a pipe dream for most people in my constituency, where more people rent privately than own their homes and more people rent social housing than those combined, with more than 13,000 people on a pruned-back social housing waiting list. What will the Minister and her Department do to help councils build the right housing—affordable housing—in boroughs such as Hackney so that people can get their foot into any secure housing, whether rented or owned?

    Lucy Frazer

    The hon. Member raises a very important point about how we help people to buy homes and get on the housing ladder. We have an £11.5 billion fund to help build affordable homes. She also mentions social housing. Since 1980, through the right to buy scheme, 2 million social housing tenants now own their own home, and we continue to develop schemes to secure people’s home ownership.

  • Mark Pawsey – 2023 Parliamentary Question about Providing Infrastructure for New Residential Developments

    Mark Pawsey – 2023 Parliamentary Question about Providing Infrastructure for New Residential Developments

    The parliamentary question asked by Mark Pawsey, the Conservative MP for Rugby, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)

    What steps his Department is taking to encourage the early provision of infrastructure for residential developments.

    The Minister of State, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lucy Frazer)

    Providing the right infrastructure at the right time is really important to communities. That is why, in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, we are introducing a new infrastructure levy that will more effectively deliver infrastructure such as schools, GP surgeries and roads. It will also give the ability to a local authority to collect that money earlier. We will be publishing a consultation on the new levy shortly.

    Mark Pawsey

    There is no better example of providing infrastructure early than Houlton in my Rugby constituency, where 6,000 new homes are being provided. The Minister will be able to see that on her forthcoming visit. The access road went in after just 272 homes. On education, the primary school went in after 79 homes, and the secondary school after just 776. With 1,000 new homes already on the site, the facility that is missing is primary healthcare, and discussions with the local NHS are moving far too slowly. What steps can she take to ensure that vital third item of infrastructure is provided as soon as possible?

    Lucy Frazer

    I am pleased to hear about this successful development and look forward to seeing it. Due to the quasi-judicial role of Ministers in the planning system, I cannot comment on specific planning applications. However, as part of the new infrastructure levy, we are very committed to ensuring that the infrastructure delivery strategies, which councils will have to put together, will make it clearer to communities what will be provided. That should include things such as GP surgeries, which should have the integrated care board’s support.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Regional Inequality

    Margaret Ferrier – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Regional Inequality

    The parliamentary question asked by Margaret Ferrier, the Independent MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)

    What recent assessment he has made of the impact of his Department’s policies on regional inequality.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Dehenna Davison)

    In this challenging economic context, levelling up to tackle regional inequality is more important than ever. While this requires a whole-Government effort, my Department continues to push ahead through investment in local places, for example through the UK shared prosperity fund, from which I understand the Glasgow city region has been allocated more than £73 million for interventions that will build pride in place and improve life chances for people living in the region.

    Margaret Ferrier

    Happy new year, Mr Speaker. As successful bids for the levelling-up fund are finalised—I hope to see Shawfield in my constituency receive some money—how does the Minister expect this round of funding to support wage growth across the UK in the light of the cost of living crisis?

    Dehenna Davison

    I appreciated the hon. Member’s pitch, which I am sure we will take on board alongside those made by colleagues across the House. The levelling-up fund is there to support local capital projects, of which there is such a wide range. Many of those will help improve wage growth, improve life chances and improve the skills of young people so that they can get on in life, because that is what the Conservative Government are all about.

    Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)

    With £56 million from the levelling-up fund, a £17.6 million Kidsgrove town deal, masses of funding from the shared prosperity fund and, of course, a Conservative-led council building 1,000 homes a year, on average, and reopening things such as Tunstall town hall, which Labour left shut for 30 years, does the Minister agree that those who want to see regional inequality broken should vote Conservative in May’s local elections?

    Dehenna Davison

    I could not have said it better myself.

  • Richard Burgon – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Voter ID for the 2023 Local Elections

    Richard Burgon – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Voter ID for the 2023 Local Elections

    The parliamentary question asked by Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)

    What assessment he has made of the feasibility of bringing in voter ID for local elections in May 2023.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lee Rowley)

    The Government continue to work actively to ensure that voter ID is delivered in time for the 2023 elections, and we will continue to work with the Electoral Commission and all other parties, including local authorities, to ensure that that occurs.

    Richard Burgon

    I thank the Minister for his answer, but the Government’s imposition of voter ID, despite there being hardly any instances of voter fraud, is a crass attempt at vote rigging, and now the Electoral Commission and the Local Government Association are warning it will not even be possible to have everything ready by this May’s local elections. So will the Minister do the right thing for our democracy and pause the roll-out, or will the Minister ignore the experts and plough on, knowing full well that ploughing on and ignoring the experts will disenfranchise so many people across our country?

    Lee Rowley

    Just as when we discussed this in the statutory instrument debate, the hon. Gentleman has deployed some pretty outrageous rhetoric on an important issue. The issue is important for the integrity of the ballot box going forward, and we will continue to work with all parties. I will be speaking with the Electoral Commission shortly, which just today has begun its process of outlining this to people through its communications campaign, and we will ensure that in May 2023, when people go to the ballot box, they are able to cast their vote, and that people have an absolute commitment from this Government that votes are cast by people who are who they say they are.

    Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)

    But does not the Minister agree that the reason why Opposition Members say that there is no voter fraud is that they do not know, and only when we have voter ID will we be able to be sure there will be no voter fraud?

    Lee Rowley

    My hon. Friend makes an important point and the basic principle is that we want to ensure that the ballot box is sacrosanct and that the process has integrity, so when people go to vote, it works.

    Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)

    Happy new year, Mr Speaker, to you and to all of our colleagues.

    Michael Fabricant

    To you too, and thank you.

    Alex Norris

    You are very welcome.

    Those who set the standards for our elections, the Electoral Commission, thinks that May is too soon for voter ID reforms, and those who have to implement them, our electoral administrators, say the same. There are just 115 days until the local elections and the Minister seems to put a lot of stock in a campaign that is only starting today. The Minister did not address in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) nor in the statutory instrument debate what it is in his judgment that he believes supersedes the views of those who actually have to make this happen.

    Lee Rowley

    We will continue to work with everybody in order to deliver this, because the Government have been absolutely clear for a number of years that it is important that the ballot box has integrity. We are bringing forward voter identification to ensure that that happens, and we will continue to work with all organisations to make sure it is successful in the 115 days to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

  • Tom Hunt – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Unsafe Cladding

    Tom Hunt – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Unsafe Cladding

    The parliamentary question asked by Tom Hunt, the Conservative MP for Ipswich, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)

    What recent steps his Department has taken to help protect people from unsafe cladding.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Lee Rowley)

    The Government are providing a significant amount of taxpayer subsidy to remediate cladding on high-rise residential buildings, 95% of buildings with unsafe ACM cladding have work under way or complete, and over £1.6 billion has been allocated from the fund alongside a wider set of interventions to speed up resolution for those leaseholders who are impacted.

    Tom Hunt

    It is quite clear to me that freeholders and managing agents have a duty of care towards residents, whether they be leaseholders or tenants. In Ipswich, we have two quite dramatic examples of where these freeholders and agents are dramatically failing the residents. We have Cardinal Lofts, which the Minister is aware of, but we also have St Francis Tower, where we have had residents for over a year living in darkness with no natural light because of the shrink wrap. Will the Minister confirm whether there are any plans for a new regulatory framework to make sure that these cowboy companies such as Block Management, which has refused to respond to my emails about block management, are held to account, and also to ensure that there are clear standards when it comes to remediation works?

    Lee Rowley

    My hon. Friend is an absolute champion for the issues that his constituents have highlighted to him, and I had the privilege of accompanying him on a visit to one of those particular buildings—Cardinal Lofts—a few weeks ago. Building owners have a responsibility to remediate the buildings that they own, and they have access to funds with which they are able to do that. They should be ensuring that developers and other interested parties are followed up accordingly to make sure that the ultimate aim, which is to ensure that leaseholders are not impacted, is resolved as quickly as it can be.

    Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)

    The Minister understands what a terrible problem this unsafe cladding is. A development in my constituency, Dalston Square, has unsafe cladding and the builders, Barratt, have accepted responsibility and put up scaffolding to deal with it. That scaffolding has been up for two years and nothing has happened because of a dispute between the builders and the contractors. Is there no way in which the Government can ensure that unsafe cladding is dealt with promptly so that tenants or residents do not suffer from the problems they encounter in having scaffolding up for two years?

    Lee Rowley

    The right hon. Lady raises an important point. We need to get these properties resolved, mitigated and improved and that needs to be done in a way that works, as much as it can, for leaseholders, who should not be impacted by this in the first place. I will be happy to receive any information on the building she mentioned; I visited a flat in Manchester just a few weeks ago which had a similar issue and I will be happy to talk to her about this specific issue in more detail.