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Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)
The Government are committed to building the new homes people need so that we can end the housing crisis that we inherited. The method for calculating local housing need aligns with the Government’s ambition for 1.5 million new homes over the course of this Parliament. That reflects affordability, and there are no plans to change it.
Damian Hinds
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his response. The housing formula has resulted in huge increases for parts of rural England, including a doubling of the number in my East Hampshire constituency, and it should be reviewed overall. However, this question is about one specific aspect, whereby in an unintended way, the mix of housing that is being delivered might be skewed. I have written to the Secretary of State’s colleague, the Minister for Housing and Planning, and all I ask is that the Department looks at that with an open mind and considers it fully.
Steve Reed
I am always happy to listen to suggestions from the right hon. Gentleman and ensure that he gets a response. I reassure him that housing targets reflect the baseline of local housing stock, but I will ensure that he gets the letter he has requested.
Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)
The Mayor of London and I discussed the rate of house building in London as soon as I came into office at the beginning of September last year. House building in London is flatlining because the previous Government failed to take action when it was clear that it was happening from 2023 right across the country. Last October, the mayor and I launched a joint stimulus package to increase house building in London, and we and our teams remain in regular contact to ensure that we can get on and build the new housing that Londoners need.
Katie Lam
The Secretary of State mentions a countrywide problem, but numbers of housing starts in London are particularly pitiful. There were only about 370 new starts for every month of last year, which is the lowest level for almost any region for any year that I have been alive. There are nearly six times as many starts in the south-east, even though the housing crisis there is exported from London. It would be good to hear a little more about exactly what the plan involves, what number of starts the Secretary of State expects to see this year, and, if that target is missed, what will happen next.
Steve Reed
Because of the time it takes between submitting an application and getting spades in the ground, we are seeing the tail-end of what was going on under the previous Government. We have already changed planning legislation and passed the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, which will dramatically speed up the planning process to get more housing through the system faster, lowering the cost for developers of getting those homes built. We have made changes to the national planning policy framework to speed up house building in and around London and across the rest of the country, and we expect to see that upturn over coming months.
Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)
In Battersea, we are delivering more affordable homes for people to buy and rent, and I welcome recent plans by the mayor, the council and Battersea power station to deliver more than 200 social homes. Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming those plans, which show that Labour in London is delivering for local people?
Steve Reed
I am more than happy to add my congratulations to those of my hon. Friend to Wandsworth council on ensuring that it is increasing the supply of affordable housing around Battersea power station, where we desperately need more. There is a fantastic development there, but on the Wandsworth side there were inadequate levels of social housing under the previous Conservative Administration.
Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)
At the outset of the Secretary of State’s answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam), one could be forgiven for thinking that we had an entirely new Mayor of London. In fact, this year we celebrate, or perhaps more appropriately commiserate, a decade of Sadiq Khan’s tenure as London Mayor. In that decade, in the most prosperous city in Europe, Sadiq Khan has overseen not just stalling but consistently falling rates of private construction starts. Recent figures from Molior show that London began building just 3,248 new homes in the first nine months of 2025, leaving it on track to start building fewer than 5,000 in total in 2025.
Incredibly, the Government’s response has been to cut their floundering mayor’s housing targets by 11%, but skyrocket targets in outer London authorities, where the vast majority of greenbelt land is. That includes an increase of almost 400% compared with previously approved London planning targets in my local council area of Bromley. Will the Secretary of State please explain why people living in places such as Bromley and our local greenbelt must pay the price for Sadiq Khan’s decade of failure and uselessness?
Steve Reed
Of course it is not the Mayor of London who can change planning legislation but the Government, and despite knowing the problems, the previous Government did nothing for 14 years. It has taken this Government to make those changes, even though we have been in power for barely a year and a half. The hon. Gentleman mentioned Bromley; the figures for Bromley show that it managed just 70 housing starts last year across the entire borough. That is entirely inadequate and it needs to do better.
Gareth Bacon
What the Secretary of State did not say is that local boroughs are not in charge of building out planning consents, and he did not acknowledge that London boroughs are subject to the London plan. The Secretary of State claims that he is working with the Mayor of London, who writes the London plan, to build more homes, but unlike the Secretary of State, the facts do not heed the mayor’s spin. According to Molior, there were just 3,950 new homes sold in London during the first half of 2025 and just 3,248 private housing starts in the first nine months of 2025, against a nine month target of 66,000. The Secretary of State said last year that his own job should be on the line if he fails to meet his housing targets, so why does he not practise what he preaches, do Londoners a favour and tell sorry Sadiq to pack his bags over his decade of failure?
Steve Reed
As the hon. Gentleman should know, changes to the London plan were part of the package that I announced with the Mayor of London, because this Government are prepared to work with the Mayor of London to get the homes built. The previous Government wanted to hobble the Mayor of London so that he could not get the homes built, in order that they could score silly little political points rather than giving people the homes that they need to live in. The previous Government were happy to sit back and watch homelessness double over 14 years. We are not: we are going to build the homes that this country needs, including in London.
Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)
This Government inherited a housing crisis, with the sector flatlining nationally since 2023. In October, the Mayor of London and I launched a joint package to speed up house building in London. In December, the Minister for Housing and Planning launched a consultation on reforms to the national planning policy framework to increase housing supply, including moving to a default “yes” to applications near railway stations. All of that will increase house building and help us to achieve our targets during this Parliament.
Lincoln Jopp
In my Spelthorne constituency, as a result of action taken by the independent, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green-led borough council, we have not had a local plan for a couple of years. It was finally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 25 November, but there has been a planning wild west in Spelthorne for the last couple of years, which I am keen to bring to an end. Will the Secretary of State use his good offices to influence the planning inspector to try to turn around this local plan as soon as possible?
Steve Reed
I certainly urge all local authorities to ensure that they have a local plan in place. When we came into government, two thirds of local authorities did not have a plan, but they need one to help developers know what they can build and where, and to speed up house building, which we all want to see.
Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)
When we are building the new homes that we desperately need, it is important that we think about playgrounds and access to play. I have just audited all the playgrounds in Hastings and Rye. I found that many parents and children have to walk for over 20 minutes to get to a playground, particularly in new build estates, and housing associations have shamefully closed many playgrounds in recent years. Will the Minister meet me to discuss these findings, how we can ensure that new house building includes access to play and how we can put pressure on housing associations to live up to their duty to provide play?
Steve Reed
My hon. Friend makes the important point that we are trying to build not just homes but communities. Those communities need the facilities and infrastructure that allow them to meet their wider aspirations for the places where they are located. Some of those points will be addressed in the new NPPF that we have brought forward, but I am more than happy to ensure that she gets the meeting that she wants to ensure that the detail of what her constituents want to see is included in the changes that we bring forward.
Mr Lee Dillon (Newbury) (LD)
The Secretary of State talked about increasing the pace of build-out, but as we strive to achieve the target of 1.5 million new homes, quality is important too. Will the Secretary of State say whether he will use the powers in the Building Safety Act 2022 to make the New Homes Ombudsman Service mandatory, because only 60% of developers are currently signed up to that scheme?
Steve Reed
We are making changes to building standards and the Building Safety Regulator, as the hon. Gentleman will be aware. I am happy to look at the proposal that he makes and to engage with him further if it would be helpful.
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
In Blackpool, we have a waiting list of around 12,000 for social and council housing. Given the deprivation throughout Blackpool, we know that the quality of housing is below where it needs to be, and so many people are struggling with their health and other conditions. Will the Secretary of State outline for me and Blackpool council what more can be done so that we can build the social housing we desperately need and meet the 1.5 million target?
Steve Reed
My hon. Friend describes a situation in Blackpool that I am sure Members across the House will recognise from many other constituencies, with the desperate need for more social and affordable housing. He will be pleased to be reminded that the new social and affordable homes programme of £39 billion, which will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in this country for a generation, opens for bids next month. I hope that his local authority will be keen to make applications to it.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
With a new year often come new year’s resolutions. Will the Secretary of State make a new year’s resolution to accept the truth that the Government will not meet their 1.5 million housing target, which he set out? Will he confirm that he still thinks his job is on the line if he does not achieve that? Huge focus has been placed on rural areas with no infrastructure, but cities—often Labour cities—have been left off the hook, so will he commit to changing the formula to make it fairer and, more importantly, more deliverable?
Steve Reed
If the hon. Gentleman’s party had not scrapped house building targets around the country, we might see more of the kinds of homes that we need in every single part of the country—urban, suburban and rural. As for our targets, the judgment of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, which was set up by the previous Conservative Government, is that this Government will oversee the biggest increase in house building for 40 years. That will put the key to their own home into the hands of people who were denied it under the Conservatives.
Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Highgate) (Lab)
Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)
Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
Leasehold and commonhold reform are key priorities for this Government, and we remain absolutely determined to honour the commitments made in our manifesto and finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end in this Parliament. We have already brought into force a range of provisions from the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, and we will progress the required secondary legislation to commence many more this year. We also intend to publish an ambitious draft commonhold and leasehold reform Bill in the coming weeks.
Tulip Siddiq
The leaseholders on the Hillcrest estate in Highgate in my constituency have written to me, because they have 84 years left on their leases. They are unsure whether they should wait for the Government reforms—which they welcome, by the way—or proceed with lease extension now to avoid the costs of incurring marriage value. Their fear, to which I am very sympathetic, is that they will extend under the current law and then better terms will be brought in by new legislation. I know the Minister has just said that reforms will happen in this Parliament, but may I ask him urgently to provide further clarity on the timings of the proposed reforms? Any savings from those reforms could have a huge impact on 100 of my constituents living on the Hillcrest estate.
Matthew Pennycook
I appreciate fully that leaseholders with leases approaching 80 years remaining want clarity on when the enfranchisement provisions in the 2024 Act will be brought into force. To bring those provisions into force, we need to not only consult on valuation rates, but rectify through primary legislation the small number of serious flaws in the 2024 Act that the previous Government bequeathed to us. The latter is obviously a more challenging proposition than the former, but we intend to make the necessary fixes as soon as possible so that leaseholders can begin to benefit from the new valuation process. I am more than happy to speak to my hon. Friend in further detail about the way in which we plan to take these reforms forward.
Yuan Yang
I was glad to get involved in the Government’s recent consultation on property service fees. More than 700 of my constituents living in new builds in and around Reading have written to me about high fees and unfair behaviour from property management agents. One constituent, called Sunil, said to me:
“We are throwing our money down the drain to these crooks, and they know they can take advantage.”
Will the Housing Minister meet me and my fellow Labour MPs working on this issue to discuss what more can be done to crack down on such awful behaviour from rogue agents such as FirstPort?
Matthew Pennycook
The Government are determined to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements and to provide those who currently live on freehold estates with greater rights and protections. To that end, we launched two comprehensive consultations before Christmas; I am very glad to hear that my hon. Friend has engaged with those consultations, and I encourage all hon. Members from across the House to do the same. I am more than happy to meet a group of Labour colleagues to discuss the consultations and our proposals in more detail.
Mary Kelly Foy
Residents of the Aykley Woods development in my constituency have recently been informed that collectively, they will be charged £15,000 this year for the management company to run their estate of just over 270 homes, on top of a scandalous £31,000 just to cover the running costs of the management company itself. This is happening to millions of homeowners up and down the country, so does the Minister agree that it is long past time that we end the scandal of freeholders being locked into agreements with management companies and make local authority adoption the default for new builds?
Matthew Pennycook
The case that my hon. Friend draws the House’s attention to highlights the unfair charges that so many residential freeholders are subject to. As well as acting to reduce the prevalence of privately managed estates, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by residential freeholders, we are committed to implementing new consumer protections for homeowners on freehold estates. The consultation launched before Christmas seeks views on how, not whether, we implement the relevant provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. I know that my hon. Friend will ensure that her constituents are supported in sharing their views on the subject as part of that exercise.
Dame Caroline Dinenage
So many of my Gosport constituents are locked into lousy leaseholds, and are so tired of seeing service charges rise while the quality of service falls. Bills are often eye-watering, and are quite often completely opaque. As the Minister said, the Conservatives passed the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, which gave leaseholders more powers to better scrutinise and challenge those costs. However, on the Minister’s watch, implementation is painfully slow. Why the delay? When will leaseholders begin to see the benefits of legislation that was designed to put an end to a practice that he himself has described as “unfair and unreasonable”?
Matthew Pennycook
I fully appreciate the wish of leaseholders in the hon. Lady’s constituency and those across the country to see these reforms introduced. She is absolutely right that the 2024 Act included measures to enhance transparency around service charges, to make it easier for leaseholders to challenge unreasonable service charge increases. Last July, we consulted on how to introduce those measures. It is a very technical consultation and quite a lengthy document—I draw the hon. Lady’s attention to it. We will introduce the necessary secondary legislation this year, so that leaseholders can benefit from those provisions.
Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) (LD)
Residents of a retirement village in my constituency are concerned that existing legislation removes normal leasehold protections for those living in retirement communities, leaving residents with weak, unenforceable operator promises. Can the Minister clarify what protection upcoming leasehold reforms will introduce for retirement village residents to ensure greater transparency and fairness?
Matthew Pennycook
As you would expect, Mr Speaker, I cannot pre-empt what will be contained in our draft commonhold and leasehold reform Bill, but if the hon. Lady wishes to write to me about the specific issue, I would be more than happy to provide her with a comprehensive response.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
Just before Christmas, Mr Rahman, a leaseholder in a Taylor Wimpey property, came to see me. There are 100 years remaining on his lease and a modest ground rent, but he cannot secure a sale because Taylor Wimpey will not agree to a reasonable deed of variation in relation to the ground rent provisions. He has incurred costs of upwards of £5,000 and is basically stuck in his property, so I would be very grateful if the Minister could look at this case—I have written to him—and see whether his plans will address this poor individual’s circumstances.
Matthew Pennycook
In general terms, anyone considering extending their lease or acquiring their freehold should obviously consider seeking specialist advice from a solicitor or surveyor, but I will ensure that the right hon. Gentleman receives a prompt answer to his question as to whether any of the reforms we are taking forward will give some redress to his constituent.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank the Minister for his answer. I know that he has been taking a lot of time to debate and look at the issue of leasehold, and he can see the cross-party concern on behalf of many constituents up and down the country on this big issue, as well as the support for tackling it. We on the Select Committee are ready to help him by making sure that the legislation is right, fit and proper. I just want to tease out a further answer from the Minister. Can he confirm for the House that he is still on track to ensure that we end the issue of leasehold and commonhold by the end of this Parliament?
Matthew Pennycook
I thank my hon. Friend, the Chair of the Select Committee for that question. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the promises in our manifesto to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end. Despite the noises off from the usual naysayers, the imminent publication of our ambitious draft commonhold and leasehold reform Bill will be the beginning of the end for that system, which has tainted the dream of home ownership for so many households across the country. As my hon. Friend knows, this is a large, incredibly complex and technical piece of legislation, and I hope she and the rest of the House would agree that it is worth a brief extension to ensure that we get things right and avoid a deficient Act, such as the one that the previous Government left us with, which we are now having to fix through primary legislation.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
May I take the Minister back to the circumstances of constituents who are living in retirement communities? I have a community of constituents who live at Mytchett Heath, owned by Cognatum Estates. They are experiencing very high service charges, and I have written to the Minister about that before. They are made nervous by talk of delay. They are often on a fixed income with fixed-income pensions. They are getting older, and they want to enjoy their retirement in peace. Can the Minister offer them any reassurance today?
Matthew Pennycook
The hon. Gentleman has written to me about that issue and he has, if I may politely say, generated a huge number of questions on it. We have met about it on one occasion, I think, and I am more than happy to have another conversation with him to try to get to the root of his concerns.
David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)
Leaseholders, like renters and prospective homeowners, have been made big promises by this Government. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of botched local government reorganisation, cuts to the budgets of two thirds of England’s local authorities, delays to elections and the wholesale abolition of housing and planning authorities in England’s shires on the delivery of those promises? This is just another promise that the Government are not going to deliver, is it not?
Matthew Pennycook
Forgive me—I do not know whether the shadow Minister has come in on the wrong question—but I cannot see how local government reorganisation will, in any shape or form, influence in any way our ambitious leasehold and commonhold reform agenda.
Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)
Fully 5 million leaseholders were plunged into the dark before Christmas and thousands report feeling angry and abandoned. Why, then, are the Government choosing to delay their ending of the feudal leasehold system? Will they go further and follow the calls from Lib Dems and others to regulate property agents and to cap extortionate service charges?
Matthew Pennycook
I will answer the hon. Gentleman directly: the unforeseen delays in question, which meant that we could not publish the draft Bill before Christmas, relate to nothing more than the fact that some elements of policy and drafting are still being finalised. As I have said, this is a large, incredibly complex and technical Bill. The House would support getting it right in the first instance, if that means a delay of a few weeks.
Gideon Amos
Leaseholders are being hit increasingly with flood risk and difficulty in getting insurance. Rockwell Green in my constituency has flooded twice in the last seven years. Why are the Government proposing to weaken the rules preventing development in areas of high flood risk, and how many homes will be affected in future by more flooding as a result?
Matthew Pennycook
We have not weakened protections against flooding. The draft of the national planning policy framework that is out for consultation remains clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at the highest risk. The consultation currently under way into the statutory consultee system retains the requirement for local authorities to notify the Secretary of State before approving developments that the Environment Agency has objected to. We are not weakening the protections in the way the hon. Member claims.
Sean Woodcock (Banbury) (Lab)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
Our manifesto committed us to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation, and we intend to do just that. Our £39 billion social and affordable homes programme will build around 300,000 homes over its 10-year lifetime, of which at least 60% will be social rent, ensuring that communities such as Banbury get the social and affordable homes they so desperately need.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
Do you all represent Banbury? I am trying to find out why they all think they are in Banbury. I thought it had only one MP.
Sean Woodcock
Nearly 11,000 homes in Cherwell district have been granted planning permission but remain unbuilt. This causes understandable frustration for local residents and the thousands of people in housing need. Will the Minister set out what action the Government are taking to improve build-out so that much-needed homes are built and delivered?
Matthew Pennycook
My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for the interests of Banbury, and he has rightly and forcefully conveyed the message that the communities he represents expect homes, infrastructure and services that have been promised as part of a planning approval to be delivered as quickly as possible. I am sure he will welcome the fact that the new draft national planning policy framework, on which the Government are currently consulting, proposes to strengthen national policies to ensure that major residential developments are deliverable within a reasonable period. He will also be reassured to know that we intend to take further action to incentivise faster build-out rates, drawing on the two consultations that we undertook last year.
Calum Miller
The hon. Member for Banbury (Sean Woodcock) referred to the wider Cherwell district council area.
Calum Miller
Mine is the neighbouring constituency, and many of my residents are placed in social housing in Banbury town.
Calum Miller
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and I am grateful to my constituency neighbour for raising this important matter. I wonder whether the Minister can reassure my constituents, many of whom are struggling to find social housing and many of whom end up in Banbury, having come from my constituency. Will the social and affordable homes programme pay due attention to the challenges of providing social housing in rural settings, so that those who wish to remain within their communities are able to do so and do not put extra demands on towns such as Banbury?
Matthew Pennycook
Our new social and affordable homes programme does provide additional flexibility for certain tenures of housing that are more difficult and costly to provide, including rural housing. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will also welcome the changes in the draft NPPF, which, as I have said, is out for consultation, because they will further strengthen the provision of rural and affordable housing. We want to see much more of it than we are seeing at present.
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
In July last year we set out a detailed five-step plan to deliver a decade of renewal in social and affordable housing. The plan includes the biggest boost to grant funding in a generation, the establishment of an effective and stable regulatory regime, and action to rebuild the sector’s capacity to borrow and invest in new and existing homes. All that—alongside investment in existing stock—will help to ensure that councils and housing associations throughout the north-east can deliver more homes.
Liz Twist
I am glad to see the Government focusing so much on building social housing, including some in my constituency, but it will also be important to maintain the stock once it has been built and to look at existing stock. Can the Minister say when the issue of rent convergence will be resolved?
Matthew Pennycook
The Government remain committed to implementing social rent convergence to support additional investment in new and existing social housing. We will announce a decision on how it will be implemented later this month, before the launch of the social and affordable homes programme. That decision will take into account the benefits to the supply and quality of social and affordable housing, and the impact on rent payers and welfare spending.
Dan Carden (Liverpool Walton) (Lab)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 contains provisions allowing tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The new tenancy system will come into force on 1 May this year, at which point landlords will only be able to increase rents once a year to the market rate, and tenants will be able to challenge unreasonable increases at the first-tier tribunal. The Act will also put an end to unfair rental bidding practices and demands from landlords for large amounts of rent in advance.
Dan Carden
I regularly hear from constituents who are being pushed out of their homes by rip-off hikes from unscrupulous landlords. The average rents in Liverpool have risen by 8%, well above the average for England. I welcome the Government’s action through the Renters’ Rights Act to tackle unfair rent increases, but it concerns me that market rents will be used as a benchmark to prevent unaffordable rents from rising. How will the Government review the effectiveness of these measures, and, if necessary, will they consider further action in due course?
Matthew Pennycook
We will of course keep the implementation of the Act under continual review, but, as I have said, it allows tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases at the first-tier tribunal, which will make a judgment on whether the increases are fair and meet that market-rate definition. We have, however, made it clear that the Government do not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures, for the reasons that we debated at some length during the passage of the Bill.
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
We all know that rent inflation, like all inflation, is caused by over-demand and lack of supply, and we can agree on the need to address problems by building more houses and tackling immigration, but does the Minister agree that the more controls and regulations are imposed on landlords, particularly small landlords, the more they will get out of the rented sector altogether, causing less supply and rent inflation which will hit vulnerable people?
Matthew Pennycook
I do not accept that all regulation is bad, which I think is the thrust of the right hon. Gentleman’s question. In many ways, we have clarified and made simpler the grounds for possession that landlords can use under the Act, but he is absolutely right to say that we need more supply of all homes, including in the private rented sector, and that we need to support the build-to-rent sector, which will be an important part of the market in coming years.
Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
On 11 November last year, I set out the full details of our £39 billion, 10-year social and affordable homes programme. In the coming weeks, we will provide registered providers with the remaining information that they need to finalise their business and future supply plans, so that they can submit large and ambitious proposals when bidding opens next month.
Perran Moon
Meur ras, Mr Speaker. With your good grace, I would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the emergency services, who responded so courageously across Cornwall during and in the wake of one of the worst ever storms to hit the duchy. I also thank the 600,000 people of Cornwall, who heeded pre-storm advice and kept fatalities, mercifully, to a minimum. The loss of one life is too many, but it could have been far worse. Over 1,000 trees are down, and hundreds of thousands of people were plunged into darkness, with no power. I hope that Ministers will create the appropriate forum to discuss the lessons learned from Storm Goretti.
The Secretary of State has confirmed that, because of our unique status, Cornwall will be a single strategic authority for the purposes of devolution. The greatest threat facing the constituents of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle today is the lack of social and truly affordable homes, which is compounded by the 14,000 second homes and 25,000 Airbnbs, leading to an exodus of our young people and a chronic lack of key workers. Given these factors—
Mr Speaker
Order. I gave a lot of leeway at the beginning of the question. I think the Minister will have got the message already.
Matthew Pennycook
I think the thrust of my hon. Friend’s question was about what arrangements can be put in place for Cornwall so that it can better deliver housing and regenerate areas that have been identified by the council. As he will know, strategic place partnerships are reserved for mayoral strategic authorities that bring together more than one council into a combined authority. That said, and not least as a result of hearing representations from my hon. Friends who represent Cornish constituencies, I encourage Homes England to deepen its partnership with Cornwall council and to explore a memorandum of understanding or similar partnership agreement to support its ambitious housing and regeneration plans.
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Samantha Dixon)
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require people to be competent or under supervision, while building regulations require domestic electrical work to be conducted safely. The Government see no need to establish a statutory national register of electricians, who may be listed on the registered competent person electrical register already. None the less, the Government will continue to work with the Building Safety Regulator on reforms of the competent person scheme to improve public and building safety.
Sonia Kumar
I thank the Minister for her response. Gas installers must legally register under a Health and Safety Executive-owned scheme, yet electricians, despite near-zero part P enforcement and around 20,000 electrical fires a year, remain governed by voluntary clubs. The October 2026 rule changes will address qualifications, but not enforcement. Does my hon. Friend agree that there must be legal protections for electricians, just as there are for gas installers, to safeguard residents?
Samantha Dixon
The Government take electrical safety very seriously, but the risks with gas and electrical work are different. Circuit breakers can shut down electrical systems in milliseconds, protecting people from shock or fire, whereas the consequence of a faulty gas system could be an explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning. The health and safety and electricity at work regulations already exist, and the IET wiring regulations serve as an accepted code of practice.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for her answer. The House Builders Association covers electricians and what they do. Councils also have a role when it comes to pointing out those who should be registered but are not. My question is simple: what has been done to encourage those who are not members of any electrical organisation to register with one? Because of the work they do, they can put people’s lives at risk, and it is important that those who are not registered get registered—the quicker, the better.
Samantha Dixon
All practitioners should be registered, and there should be safety, but I will write to the hon. Member with the specific details to answer his question.
Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
At the spending review in 2025, we announced record investment to kick-start social and affordable housing at scale across the country. Alongside regulatory certainty and stability and measures to rebuild the capacity of registered providers after their weakening over the previous 14 years, we are ensuring that communities in Aldershot will get the social and affordable housing they need.
Alex Baker
A veteran in my constituency who is the father of five young daughters has spent nearly three years waiting for a four-bedroom social home while raising his family in a two-bedroom property. He has now been told that the wait could be a further three years, which means six years of overcrowding for a family simply needing space to live and grow. Sadly, that is not an isolated case. Last year in my constituency, over 100 families were waiting for a four-bedroom social home, but only 31 were allocated one. I welcome the Government’s commitment to building more social homes, but what are they doing to make social housing more flexible so families are not left waiting for years for the right home at the right time?
Matthew Pennycook
I am sorry to hear about the long wait that the veteran in question is facing. It is important that we build more social rented homes after 14 years of engineered decline, which is why 60% of our £39 billion social and affordable homes programme will be allocated to social rented homes. However, it is also important we ensure that veterans get the priority they need, which is why in November 2024 we made changes to the local connection requirement to ensure that veterans have greater access to social housing and should be prioritised in the way that that allows.
James McMurdock (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Ind)
The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)
We have invited views from Thurrock, Basildon and other councils undergoing local government reorganisation about their capacity to deliver local government reorganisation alongside elections. This is a locally-led approach. Councils are best placed to judge their capacity, and we will consider their representations carefully.
James McMurdock
I appreciate the Minister’s answer about this being locally led, but there are genuine concerns that the criteria that may be put forward as a justification to cancel elections locally do not meet the standard expected by my residents. What checks and balances does the Minister have in place to ensure that the reasons put forward match the expectations of my voters, who want the elections to go ahead?
Alison McGovern
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and for raising those points on behalf of his residents. We will consider the representations that have been made, alongside precedent and the legal requirements in this area, and we will take very seriously the points he raises on behalf of his constituents.
Liam Conlon (Beckenham and Penge) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)
The death of Awaab Ishak, aged just two years old, was tragic and it was avoidable. Awaab’s law came into force for the social rented sector last October, and it forces landlords to fix dangerous damp and mould and make emergency repairs to fixed timescales. We have consulted on a revised decent homes standard, including proposing a new damp and mould standard, which will ensure that landlords keep properties free from damp and mould, and we will respond to the consultation shortly.
Liam Conlon
Social housing disrepair and neglect is one of the most common issues in my inbox, particularly in Penge, Crystal Palace and Anerley. In one case, a mum in Penge saw her two children develop breathing problems and be forced on to inhalers due to persistent damp and mould. We know that the health impacts of mould can take hold quickly, so can the Secretary of State set out the steps his Department is taking to guarantee the right of social housing tenants to immediate action in such cases, ensuring that the suffering of my constituent and her children is not repeated?
Steve Reed
I am very sorry to hear of how my hon. Friend’s constituent and her children have suffered in that circumstance, and I thank him for his question. Awaab’s law, which is now in force, will require social landlords to take urgent action to fix dangerous homes or they will face the full force of the law. As part of these reforms, landlords must now consider the circumstances of tenants that could put them at risk, including the presence of young children, or those with disabilities or other health vulnerabilities. Alternative accommodation must also be offered if homes cannot be made safe within the required timeframes. We all hope that these changes will save lives.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)
My constituents, three single mothers, have suffered at the hands of builders who built substandard homes without crucial damp-proof membrane and damp-proof courses. That meant that my constituents’ homes were riddled with damp and mould, and the house builders have not addressed this serious fault for far too long. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that house builders can be held to account by residents, and that, if needed, local authorities can end relationships with underperforming house builders to protect residents?
Steve Reed
There are measures other than Awaab’s law in place that may be able to help, if I understood the detail of the case. I would be very happy to write to the hon. Gentleman. We could look, for instance, at warranties, or at building enforcement; those may be ways to get action taken. If he would be kind enough to write to me, I will ensure that he gets a full response on that point.
Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)
The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)
The Government are making good on long-overdue promises to fundamentally update the way that we fund local authorities. We are re-aligning funding with need and deprivation through the first multi-year local government finance settlement in a decade. The provisional 2026-27 settlement will make available almost £78 billion in core spending power for local authorities in England. For Greater Manchester authorities, it makes available up to £3.92 billion in core spending power in 2026-27, an increase of 16.4% compared to 2024-25, which is a real-terms increase.
Afzal Khan
Fourteen years of Tory austerity saw harsh cuts to local government finances, which left our public services on their knees. This latest funding settlement by the Labour Government goes a long way to right the wrongs of the Tories, and to help local authorities deliver quality services for our constituents once again. I thank the Secretary of State for giving Manchester city council a £331 million cash injection, but does the Minister recognise that the council still faces huge pressure to meet needs, including those related to social services and education?
Alison McGovern
As I have said in this Chamber a number of times, we can provide substantial increases to councils, as we need to, and it is very important that we do in places like Manchester, but unless we have a more preventive approach—for example, unless we stop children being taken into care, or stop councils facing really big challenges—councils will still face spiking costs. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and colleagues across Greater Manchester on making that work.
Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
The Government are taking concerted action to boost rates of house building across England, including reforming the planning system and allocating record levels of grant funding support for social and affordable house building over the coming years, to the benefit of Stoke-on-Trent and the rest of the country.
Gareth Snell
I thank the Minister for that answer. Stoke-on-Trent has benefited from money from the brownfield regeneration fund. However, there are many brownfield sites across the city that could be used for local planning development, but the owners are simply not engaging with the process. Given that we are not in a mayoral combined authority, compulsory purchase powers are limited. Will the Minister consider devolving those powers to authorities like Stoke? If not, will he consider allowing interim development corporations, until such time as we have a mayor in place?
Matthew Pennycook
My hon. Friend is a doughty champion for his constituency, and he continues to make a powerful case for the renewal of Hanley city centre as the commercial heart of north Staffordshire. I have had a series of constructive meetings with him and other local leaders about the Hanley masterplan. I know he will welcome the £8 million of investment in Burslem town centre, delivering 800 homes. I am more than happy to continue the conversation with him about the possibility of a new locally led development corporation to take forward the regeneration of the city centre.
Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)
House building in this country ground to a near halt in 2023 because the previous Government failed to reform our planning system, despite knowing that it is too slow and cumbersome and deters development. Our Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December last year. It delivers fundamental reform to the planning system, speeding up the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure. Thanks to this Government, young people who have been denied the chance of their own home will now get the key to their own front door at last.
Peter Prinsley
I am concerned about the villages in my most beautiful constituency of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket; there, people tell me that they are increasingly concerned about the lack of affordable housing in rural communities. What steps is the Minister taking to increase the supply of affordable housing for local people in rural villages through reforms to the planning system, and how will those reforms support the rejuvenation and long-term sustainability of our villages?
Mr Speaker
Order. Can I just remind everyone that this is topicals? You are meant to set an example, Peter—come on.
Steve Reed
Our planning changes will support affordable rural housing by giving rural authorities greater flexibility to require affordable housing on smaller sites. Our £39 billion social and affordable homes programme, which opens to bids next month, is available to rural authorities as well.
Sir James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
I am sure we all agree that we cannot have sustainable communities if we do not have sustainable high streets. Would the Secretary of State agree that a fourfold increase in business rates over this Parliament does not make high-street businesses sustainable?
Steve Reed
Of course high streets are vital to local communities. That is why it was so sad to see high streets up and down the country fall into severe decline in the 14 years in which the Conservatives were in power, during which the right hon. Gentleman served in the Cabinet. Units closed down; their shutters were pulled down, and the graffiti and litter in front of buildings deterred people from going to the high street. This Government are committed to restoring our high streets and protecting the businesses that operate there.
Sir James Cleverly
So many words, yet no answer. I asked the Secretary of State specifically about a fourfold increase, like the one that the White Lion on Streatham High Road in his constituency faces. We are talking about a 400% increase, even after transitional relief, from £3,000 a year to £12,000 a year. Will he urge the Chancellor to scrap business rates for businesses like the White Lion on Streatham High Road, and other hospitality and leisure businesses on the high street?
Steve Reed
I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman knows that the measures put in place during the pandemic were always intended to come to an end; his Government were going to do the same thing. The Chancellor is looking at the impact of revaluation. She is fully aware of the concerns raised by publicans in Streatham and across the country, and is reviewing the situation, and we expect an announcement in due course.
Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
While I appreciate my hon. Friend’s concern, we have strengthened policies in the draft national planning policy framework, which is currently out for consultation, that will ensure that major residential schemes are built out in reasonable time. I am more than happy to have a conversation with her about how that may impact developments in her constituency.
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)
I have heard what the hon. Member has said, and will take it as a contribution to the consultation that we are having. She mentions the needs of children; she will have heard me say to colleagues that we have to change the way that we work on this issue. I will happily work with her to ensure that we cut the costs and get better outcomes for our kids.
Gill Furniss (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)
Matthew Pennycook
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. We have made proposals in the draft NPPF, which is out for consultation, to set new, higher requirements for authorities to deliver more accessible housing. This includes proposals to make meeting accessibility standards mandatory for 40% of new builds, and to ensure that local plans provide for wheelchair-accessible homes. I am more than happy to have another conversation with my hon. Friend on this issue.
Martin Wrigley (Newton Abbot) (LD)
Alison McGovern
I thank the hon. Member for his input. We have set out the process that we will undertake. We will judge the proposals from Devon against the published criteria.
Tom Collins (Worcester) (Lab)
Matthew Pennycook
I am sorry to hear about the challenges that my hon. Friend’s constituents face at the hands of their landlord. Tenants who are unhappy with their landlord’s handling of complaints can go to the Housing Ombudsman, and the Regulator of Social Housing can investigate evidence of systematic failure. My hon. Friend is welcome to keep me updated on whether his constituents see any improvement in the services being provided over the coming months.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
Alison McGovern
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his input on the reorganisation. As I mentioned moments ago, we have set out the process that we will undertake. We will consult fully and judge each proposal against the criteria that we have set out.
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
Alison McGovern
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments on the fair funding review and the recovery grant, which was needed due to the significant damage done to council finances by 14 years of Tory misrule. I have already met scores of colleagues to discuss council funding, and I will meet scores more over the next couple of days. I look forward to talking with my hon. Friend about the proposal she mentions.
Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)
Birmingham residents have just marked the first anniversary of the bin strikes. We have spent more than £15 million on agency staff. Will the Minister personally intervene to help broker a deal between the trade unions and Birmingham city council?
Alison McGovern
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the needs of Birmingham residents. They should come first, and everybody deserves a good bin service. We want all parties to come to the table and deal with this as swiftly as humanly possible.
Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)
In purporting to discharge their homelessness duties, some southern local authorities are bundling vulnerable people into taxis in the middle of the night and dumping them in Hartlepool because our housing is cheaper. They are acting in a vile way. I welcome the fact that the Minister has written to me and set out her belief that we need to ban this poor practice. Does she agree that we need to ban it outright?
Alison McGovern
I would like to give personal thanks to my hon. Friend for his comments on this issue. In the homelessness strategy, we noted that this problem is extraordinarily challenging and important, and I want to take action on it. I thank him for the work that he has done on behalf of Hartlepool residents. We will continue to work together to sort this problem out.
Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Stamford) (Con)
Rutland’s council could have submitted its own proposals for local government reform, but it has left our fate in the hands of others. The council submitted a proposal to join North Leicestershire, but this is in opposition to the wishes of residents. The council knows that, and purposely did not ask residents what we wanted. Stamford residents want to join Rutland; Rutlanders want to join Stamford. Will the Minister meet me to make sure that all residents are consulted on the Rutland and Stamford model, which the council has taken off the table?
Alison McGovern
I congratulate the hon. Lady for laying out to the House what sounds like a complicated situation for her constituents. We will take what she says under advisement, as part of the process. I am always happy to make myself available to meet Members of this House.
Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)
With many local authorities spending less than 1% of their household support fund on furniture, many domestic abuse survivors are being placed in social housing without access to essential furniture or white goods. What assurances can the Minister give this winter to residents in Heywood and Middleton North who, although grateful for the fresh start that social housing can offer, are living—often with children—in properties that feel bare, cold and not like home?
Alison McGovern
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important issue. One of the reasons why I and the Safeguarding Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), worked closely together on both the homelessness strategy and the violence against women and girls strategy was to ensure that that area of policy joined up—16% of homelessness is caused by domestic abuse. That is why we will not stop until those families leaving refuge have a decent place to be—including the furniture they need—to make a house a home.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
The severe weather emergency protocol has ended in East Sussex. Today, five individuals who were provided with accommodation under it came into my constituency office, not knowing where to turn. We have amazing local charities doing great work, but will the Minister offer advice to those folks who have come into the office in desperate need of support to get out of the situation they are in?
Alison McGovern
I thank the hon. Member so much for raising that case on the Floor of the House in the way he did. It shows all the different reasons why people can find themselves without a roof over their head. The local authority should be in the lead in supporting them, but if he wants to contact me with further details, I will ensure that the local authority has the support it needs.
Lee Barron (Corby and East Northamptonshire) (Lab)
I am proud to have secured a £20 million investment in the “pride of Corby” project—that is £2 million a year every year for the next 10 years—but it is crucial that local communities determine how and where the investment is spent. Does my hon. Friend agree that the money must be spent on exactly what the community actually wants, with residents properly consulted and local people as the decision makers?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
My hon. Friend is completely right. We are clear that communities must be in the driving seat. That is why we have asked for neighbourhood boards to be set up, to determine the priorities that the investment goes into. The one requirement we have of local areas is that there is a bigger conversation in the community so that everyone is involved in shaping what is invested in and reviving their area.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
When the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness said that residents of Birmingham do matter when it comes to the bin strikes, I agree with her—but so do neighbouring constituencies, where we often get the blight of additional fly-tipping as well as having constituents who work at the council. Will she personally undertake not just to get people round the table, but to get this sorted out once and for all?
Alison McGovern
I thank the right hon. Lady for raising that on behalf of her constituents. The impact of fly-tipping is clearly a worry to us all. She raises the seriousness of the issue, which I and the Secretary of State also recognise.
Dr Simon Opher (Stroud) (Lab)
In Stroud, we have 4,000 council houses; we need at least double that. Will the Minister look again at the constraints that councils are under and see whether the Government can enable them to build more council houses?
Matthew Pennycook
We are committed to reinvigorating council house building, which is essential to boost and sustain higher rates of housing supply in the years ahead. We have already taken decisive action to support councils to build at scale once again, including reforming the right to buy and launching the council house building skills and capacity programme, but we will of course keep the matter under review to see what further support we can provide.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
When will the Government take steps to address embodied carbon in buildings?
Matthew Pennycook
The hon. Lady can look forward to the future buildings standards being brought into force later this year.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
Across the winter months, I have received an increased amount of casework from residents of Harlow who are suffering from damp and mould in their houses. They deserve quicker repairs and higher standards from landlords. Of course, Awaab’s law is to be welcomed, but will the Secretary of State confirm what enforcement measures will be used to ensure that landlords adhere to the legislation?
Steve Reed
Landlords will face the full force of the law if they fail to comply with regulations that have now come into force thanks to Awaab’s law. We expect social housing to get a lot better than tenants have seen over recent decades.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
The local government settlement strips £27 million from East Riding of Yorkshire council. I learned today that there will be an additional £21 million cost over the next three years from the minimum wage and the jobs tax. Does the Minister really think it is acceptable that local residents should have sky-high council tax rises and falling quality of services?
Alison McGovern
The hon. Gentleman and I were both in this House for the entire period of austerity, which landed at the door of town halls more than almost anywhere else, so if he wants to look for someone to blame for the parlous state of council finances, I would recommend a mirror.
Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)
Several prominent buildings in Stafford have been left vacant for long periods, with landlords allowing sites to fall into disrepair with no intention of bringing them up to standard. Labour-led Stafford borough council is trying to act proactively to tackle these eyesores, but what advice and support can the Government offer to good councils that are seeking to address property hoarding and to unlock sites for regeneration?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are clear that we want to boost the power of communities to revive their places. This is why we are rolling out high street rental auctions, stronger and more streamlined compulsory purchase powers, the community right to buy, and Pride in Place, and we will work with any council that wants to take back control of its place and revive its communities.
Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)
The main cemetery in Dewsbury is approaching capacity following the increase in burials since the covid pandemic. The local authority has been aware of this issue for several years. However, there remains significant uncertainty and concerns are becoming increasingly urgent. The issue is of particular cultural and religious significance, with only two burial plots remaining for Muslim burials. What steps will the Secretary of State take to support local authorities in addressing burial capacity shortages in Kirklees?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are conscious of the pressure in parts of the country around cemeteries and burials, and we understand the urgency. I ask the hon. Member to write to me with the specifics of the issue in his patch, and we will respond in due course.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The local housing allowance covers just over half of private rents for social tenants in York, as private rents are so extortionate, so will the Government review the broad rental market area, which does not work for our area? It has not been reviewed properly since 2008.
Alison McGovern
I am working closely with my Department for Work and Pensions colleagues, and we know that there are many problems with affordability in the private rented sector. Ministers have mentioned some of the actions we are taking today, but we will be working with the DWP to do more.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Shropshire council had its funding cut in the local government finance settlement, despite needing exceptional financial support this year and a surge in demand for social care in the years to come that cannot be managed down by the council. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how to put Shropshire on a stable financial footing?
Alison McGovern
I have already met the hon. Lady and I would be very happy to meet her again.
Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)
Hundreds of new homes are being built at the Friar Gate goods yard, originally a 19th-century rail depot. This development is near the city centre, but other housing that was built further out under the Conservatives went up with inadequate transport infrastructure and little thought for public transport. What is being done to ensure that new homes have the transport infrastructure that they need?
Matthew Pennycook
I am more than happy to sit down with my hon. Friend and discuss the matter in more detail.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
Constituents on a new build estate in Chichester were ordered without warning to pay an extra £180 a month on top of the £212 that they were already paying. When the Government bring forward their planned legislation, will they stamp out these enormous price hikes and will they hold road management companies to account?
Matthew Pennycook
As I have said, we are intending to switch on the relevant provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 that provide consumers with protections. I would encourage the hon. Lady to submit her views to the consultation, and I am more than happy to pick this up with her outside the Chamber.
Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)
Will the Minister consider enabling all local authorities in the most deprived areas to have an above-average increase in core spending power in each year of the local government multi-year settlement, including in Liverpool city region?
Alison McGovern
I am proud to say that this settlement reconnects council funding with deprivation, and I have already explained the detail of that to the House. We will ensure that all councils are heard during this consultation period, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend as one of my good friends and colleagues from our city region, which is of course the best one in the country, as you know, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker
Definitely, after Lancashire. I call Max Wilkinson to ask the final question.
Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)
The Minister is aware of the parlous state of Gloucester city council’s finances. Can she reassure me that whether we agree or disagree with the local government reorganisation process, there will be no delays as a result of Gloucester’s money difficulties?
Alison McGovern
I have heard what the hon. Gentleman has said, and we will take it under advisement as part of the reorganisation process. We want to get on with it so that councils can stabilise their organisation and their finances and get on with delivering for the public.