Live Debate: Commons Chamber

Q11. If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of establishing a statutory national register of electricians. (907199)

Sonia Kumar 11 Mr Speaker.

15:07

Samantha Dixon MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Chester North and Neston, Labour)

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Electricity at Work Regulations of 1989 require people to be competent or under supervision, while or under supervision, while building regulations require domestic electrical work to be conducted safely. The government conducted safely. The government sees no need to establish a statutory national register of electricians, who may be listed on electricians, who may be listed on the Registered Competent Person Electrical Register already. Nonetheless, the government will Nonetheless, the government will continue to work with the Building Safety Regulator on reforms of the Competent Persons Scheme to improve public and building safety.

15:08

Sonia Kumar MP (Dudley, Labour)

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Thank you Sonia Kumar. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the Minister for her response. Gas and solar must legally register under the HSE legally register under the HSE owned scheme. Yet electricians, despite near zero part P enforcement and around 20,000 electric fires a year, remain governed by voluntary clubs even after the October 2026 rule changes that addresses qualifications but not enforcement. Does my right hon. Friend agree there must be legal protections for electricians, just like gas installers, to safeguard residents?

15:08

Samantha Dixon MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Chester North and Neston, Labour)

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Mr. speaker, the government takes electrical safety very seriously, but the risk between gas and electrical work is different. Circuit breakers can shut down electrical systems in milliseconds, protecting people from shock or fire. The consequences 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 e I t wiring regulations is an accepted code of practice.

15:09

Jim Shannon MP (Strangford, Democratic Unionist Party)

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Horsham. Thank you very much, >> Horsham. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. >> Can I thank the Minister for that answer? Minister, one of the things the National House Builders Association obviously cover electricians and what they do. Councils also have a role when it comes to pointing out those who should be registered and perhaps aren't. And I think maybe the question I want to ask Mr. Mr. Speaker, is a simple one. What's been done to encourage those who don't and aren't members of any political organisation, but by the very work that they do, they can put people's lives at risk.

It's important that those who aren't registered are registered and the quicker the better. Thank you.

15:09

Samantha Dixon MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Chester North and Neston, Labour)

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All, all established, all practitioners should be registered and should be safety, but I will write him with the specific details to answer his question.

15:10

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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Thank you. >> Mr. speaker, Spending Review 2025. We announced record investment to kickstart social and affordable housing at scale across the country, alongside regulatory the country, alongside regulatory certainty and stability and measures to rebuild the capacity of registered providers after their weakening over the previous 14 years, where ensuring communities in Aldershot will get the social and affordable housing they need.

15:10

Alex Baker MP (Aldershot, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A veteran in my constituency, a father of five young daughters, has spent nearly three years waiting 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 the wait could be a further three years. That is, six years of overcrowding for a family simply needing space to live and grow. Sadly, this 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 is it the government doing to make social housing more flexible so families are not left waiting for years for the right home at the right time?

15:11

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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Minister. >> Minister. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I'm sorry to hear about the long wait that the veteran in question wait that the veteran in question is facing. It is important that we build more social rented homes after 14 years of engineered decline. That's why 60% of our 39 billion social and affordable housing programme will be allocated to social rented homes. But it's also important that we ensure that veterans get the priority they need.

That's why in November 2024, we made changes to the local connection requirement to ensure that veterans now have greater access to social housing. They should be prioritised in the way that that allows for James McMurdock. Number 13, please. Mr. Speaker.

15:11

Q13. What recent discussions he has had with Basildon and Thurrock councils on proposals to postpone the local elections of May 2026. (907201)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have invited views from Thurrock, Basildon and other councils undergoing local government reorganisation regarding their capacity to deliver local government reorganisation alongside elections. This is a locally led approach. Councils are best place to judge their capacity and we will consider their representations carefully.

15:11

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's answer in reference to this being locally led.

15:12

James McMurdock MP (South Basildon and East Thurrock, Independent)

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There are genuine concerns, though, that the criteria that may be pushed forward as a justification pushed forward as a justification to cancel locals local elections. Local elections locally do not meet the standard that would be expected by the residents. So I ask you what checks? Ask the Minister? What checks and balances do they have in checks and balances do they have in place to ensure that the reasons put forward match the expectations of my voters, who want the

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of my voters, who want the elections to go ahead? Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and raising those points on behalf of residents will consider those representations that consider those representations that have been made and consider them alongside precedent. And the legal requirements in this area will take requirements in this area will take very seriously the points that he raises on behalf of his constituents.

15:12

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Liam Conlon Preston 14.

15:12

Q14. What steps his Department is taking to help tackle damp and mould in social housing. (907202)

Mr. speaker.

15:12

Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Streatham and Croydon North, Labour )

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death of Awaab Ishak, aged just two years old, was tragic and it was avoidable. Awaabs law came into avoidable. Awaabs law came into force for the social rented sector last October, and it forces landlords to fix dangerous damp and landlords to fix dangerous damp and mould and emergency repairs to fixed timescales. We've consulted on a revised Decent Homes standard, on a revised Decent Homes standard, including proposing a new damp and mould standard. This will ensure landlords keep properties free from damp and mould, and we will respond

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damp and mould, and we will respond to the consultation shortly. Commons Minister for his answer

15:13

Liam Conlon MP (Beckenham and Penge, Labour)

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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 pen saw her two children develop breathing two children develop breathing problems and forced onto inhalers due to persistent damp and mould. We know that the health impacts of We know that the health impacts of mould can take hold quickly, so can the Minister set out the steps his department is taking to guarantee the rights of social housing tenants to immediate action in such cases, ensuring that the suffering of my constituent and her children is not repeated.

15:14

Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Streatham and Croydon North, Labour )

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Minister. >> Minister. >> I'm very sorry to hear how his constituent and her children have have suffered in that circumstance, have suffered in that circumstance, and I thank him for his question. Awaabs law, 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 which 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 at home if homes cannot be made safe within the required time. Time frames. These are changes that we all hope will save lives.

15:14

Clive Jones MP (Wokingham, Liberal Democrat)

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Clive Jones Mr. speaker, my. have built substandard homes without crucial damp proof, membrane and damp proof courses. This meant 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 Minister taking to ensure house builders can be held to account by residents, and that, if needed, the local authorities can end relationships with underperforming housebuilders to protect residents.

15:15

Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Streatham and Croydon North, Labour )

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So stay well. I understood the detail of the case better, but I'd be very happy to write to him. We could look at, for instance, warranties or building enforcement, which may be able to take action, but he would be kind enough to write to me. I'll ensure that he gets a full response to that point.

15:15

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Question 15. Mr. Speaker. >> Minister. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities realigning funding with need and deprivation through the first multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement in a decade. The provisional 2627 settlement will make available almost 78 billion in core spending power for local authorities in England and for Greater Manchester authorities. This makes available up to 3.92 billion in core spending power in 2627, an increase of 16.4% compared to 2425, which is above real terms.

15:16

Afzal Khan MP (Manchester Rusholme, Labour)

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Mr Speaker Afzal Khan. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now 40 years of Tory austerity saw the harsh cuts to local government's finances, which left our public services on its knees. This latest funding settlement by the Labour government goes a long way in the writing of the wrongs of the Tories, and helping local authorities to be able to deliver quality services for our constituents once again. So can I thank the Secretary of State for giving Manchester City Council 331 million cash injection.

But does the Minister recognise that the council still faces huge pressures to meet needs, including the social services and Education.

15:16

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Minister? >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'd like to thank my friend for his question. As I said in this chamber question. As I said in this chamber a number of times, Mr. Speaker, we can provide substantial increases to councils as we need to do, and it's very important that we do so in places like Manchester. But unless we get a more preventative approach to stop children, for example, being taken into care or having really big challenges, councils will still face spiking costs.

So I look forward to working with my friend and colleagues all across Greater Manchester to make this work.

15:17

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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Number 16. Mr. Speaker, sir. >> Number 16. Mr. Speaker, sir. >> Mr. speaker, the. >> Government is taking. >> Concerted action. >> To boost rates of housebuilding across England, including reforming across England, including reforming the planning system and allocating record levels of grant funding, support for social affordable and housebuilding over the coming years to the benefit of Stoke on Trent and the rest of the country.

15:17

Gareth Snell MP (Stoke-on-Trent Central, Labour )

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Gareth Snell thank you, Mr. >> Gareth Snell thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that answer. Stoke on Trent has benefited from money from the Brownfield Regeneration Fund, but Brownfield Regeneration Fund, but there are many brownfield sites standing across the city that could be used as part of our Local Plan development, but the owners simply are not engaging with the process. Given that we are not in a combined authority, the compulsory purchase powers are limited. So would the Minister consider devolving those powers to authorities like Stoke? And if not, will he consider interim development corporations until such time as we have a mayor in place?

15:18

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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And I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He's a doughty champion for his constituency, Mr. Speaker, and continues to make a powerful case for the renewal of powerful case for the renewal of Hanley city centre as the commercial heart of North Staffordshire. I've had a series of constructive meetings with my hon. Friend and other local leaders about the Hanley Masterplan. I know he will welcome the £8 million of investment into Burslem town centre, delivering 800 homes. I'm more than happy to continue the conversation with him about the possibility of a new, locally led development

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corporation to take forward the regeneration of the city centre. We're going to top those Peter Prinsley. Question number.

15:18

Topical questions: Housing, Communities and Local Government

>> Question number. >> 11 today. >> Mr. Speaker, house building in this country ground to a near halt

15:18

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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this country ground to a near halt in 2023 because the previous government failed to reform our planning system despite knowing it's too slow, too cumbersome and deters development. Our Planning and Infrastructure Act received Royal Assent on the 18th of 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.

15:19

Peter Prinsley MP (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, Labour)

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Peter Prinsley. >> About the. >> Villages in my most beautiful constituency of Bury St Edmunds and constituency of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket. Now, people tell me they are increasingly concerned about the lack of affordable housing in rural communities. So could the Minister explain what steps he's taking to increase the supply of affordable housing for local people in rural villages through reforms to the planning system, including how these reforms support the rejuvenation, long term sustainability of our villages? It is topical, Peter, you said example.

Come on, who's doing it?

15:20

Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Streatham and Croydon North, Labour )

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our planning changes will support rural affordable housing by giving rural authorities greater flexibility to require affordable housing on smaller sites. And, of course, our £39 billion social and Affordable homes programme opens to bids next month, and that is available to rural authorities as well.

15:20

Rt Hon Sir James Cleverly MP (Braintree, Conservative)

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Shadow Secretary of State, sir >> Shadow Secretary of State, sir James Cleverly. Mr. speaker, I am. >> Sure we will all agree that we cannot have sustainable communities cannot have sustainable communities if we do not have sustainable high streets. But would the right hon. Gentleman agree that a four fold increase in business rates over this Parliament does not make high street businesses sustainable. Well, of.

15:20

Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Streatham and Croydon North, Labour )

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Course. >> High streets are vital to local communities. That's why. That's why it was so sad to see during the 14 it was so sad to see during the 14 years that they were in power. And he served in Cabinet. Our high streets fall into severe decline up and down the country with closed down units, shutters in front of them, graffiti and litter in front of those buildings, deterring people from going there. This government is committed to restoring our high streets and protecting the businesses that operate there.

Mr. speaker, so many

15:21

Rt Hon Sir James Cleverly MP (Braintree, Conservative)

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words and yet no answer. Yeah, I asked him specifically about a fourfold increase, a four fold fourfold increase, a four fold increase, for example, like the White Lion on Stretham High Road in White Lion on Stretham High Road in his constituency is facing a 400% increase even after transitional relief from £3,000 a year to £12,000 relief from £3,000 a year to £12,000 a year. So will he urge the Chancellor to scrap business rates for businesses like the White Lion in Streatham High Street and other hospitality, leisure and.

Businesses in the High Street? I'm sure he knows that these specific measures put in place during the pandemic were always intended to come to an end. His government was going to do the same thing. The Chancellor is looking at the impact Chancellor is looking at the impact of revaluation. She is fully aware of the concerns raised by publicans in Stretham and elsewhere across the country. Is reviewing the situation and we expect an announcement in due order.

15:22

Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Streatham and Croydon North, Labour )

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Mary Kelly Foy.

15:22

Mary Kelly Foy MP (City of Durham, Labour)

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Durham, such as the Milburn Gate site and stock in the city centre, have been stalled for years. This hasn't just left two elephants in the city centre. It's had a significant impact on the economy and key venues left under undelivered underdeveloped. So what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that major developments in the city of Durham and across the country are not subject to long delays?

15:22

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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Well, I appreciate the concern my hon. Friend raises we have my hon. Friend raises we have strengthened in the draft nppf that's currently out to consultation policies that will ensure that major residential schemes are built out in reasonable time periods. I'm more than happy to have a conversation with her about how that may impact on developments in her constituency.

15:23

Munira Wilson MP (Twickenham, Liberal Democrat)

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Munira Wilson. The Secretary of State will be aware that the so-called fair funding settlement will leave my own council of Richmond upon Thames, some £29 million worse off over the next three years, leaving our most vulnerable residents, including children with complex needs and elderly people facing cuts in critical services. Even if the council raises council tax by 5%, will he extend the transitional period? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've heard what the hon. Member has said, and I'll take that as part of the consultation process that we're in.

She mentions the needs of children. She will have heard me say to other colleagues, we've got to change the way that we work in that area, and I'll happily work with her to make sure that we can cut the costs and get better outcomes for our kids.

15:23

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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Yes. 20% chance of being sent to a care home due to a lack of suitable available housing. Can you imagine being a young person coping with one of the most traumatic moments of life, and you are left literally of life, and you are left literally lying by yourself? This is an acceptable. Will the Minister meet with me and the Appg to discuss with me and the Appg to discuss this serious lack of suitable housing?

15:24

Gill Furniss MP (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, Labour)

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I thank my hon. Friend for that

15:24

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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question. We have made proposals in the draft consultation to set higher new requirements for authorities to deliver more accessible housing. This includes proposals to provide mandatory accessibility standards for 40% of new builds, and ensure local plans provide for wheelchair accessible homes. And more than happy to have homes. And more than happy to have another conversation with my hon. Friend about this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for February's. Government consultation on local Government consultation on local government reorganisation. Will the Minister be consulting on all four? I think it's four options put forward by Devon.

And how will she wait the criteria to decide on a selected, amended or perhaps new proposal in June?

15:25

Martin Wrigley MP (Newton Abbot, Liberal Democrat)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member who I just can't quite see. I thank the hon. Member for his input on this. We've set out the process that we'll be undertaking, and we'll be judging those proposals from Devon against the published criteria. the published criteria.

15:25

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Collins. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Families in. homes. Disabled tenants are stuck without facilities and access and repairs are going unaddressed, all because platform housing refused to get their act together. What can we get their act together. What can we do about failing social landlords like platform? Hey.

15:25

Tom Collins MP (Worcester, Labour)

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I'm sorry to hear about the challenges that my hon. Friend's constituents are facing at the hands of their landlord. Tenants who are unhappy with the landlords handling of complaints can go to handling of complaints can go to the Housing Ombudsman, and the regulator of social housing will also investigate evidence of systemic failure. He's welcome to systemic failure. He's welcome to keep me updated as to whether his constituents see any improvement in the services being provided over the coming months.

15:26

Dr Luke Evans MP (Hinckley and Bosworth, Conservative)

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Doctor Luke Evans. agreement. In Leicestershire, there are three different plans ahead. One thing that Leicestershire does agree on is not to have expansion of Leicester City. So on that basis, would he put that to the test and have a referendum so that the people of Leicestershire can show the government just how much they do not want the city expansion? Yeah.

15:26

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for his input there on the reorganisation process. As I mentioned some moments ago, we've set out the process we'll be undertaking. We'll be consulting fully and judging each of the proposals against the criteria that we've already set out.

15:26

Liz Twist MP (Blaydon and Consett, Labour)

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Leicester West. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. >> The recovery Grant guarantee. >> Is an absolutely vital mechanism. Which protects the most deprived authority. Will the Department commit to increasing the guarantee to match the national average core spending power increase, to ensure that the areas who need funding the most are fairly protected?

15:27

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you. >> Mr. Speaker, and I thank my friend for her comments on the fair funding review and on the recovery grant, which was needed due to the grant, which was needed due to the significant damage that was done to council finances by 14 years of Tory misrule. I've Mr Speaker already met scores of colleagues to talk about council funding, and I'll be meeting scores more over the next couple of days, so I look forward to talking directly with mentioned.

15:27

Ayoub Khan MP (Birmingham Perry Barr, Independent)

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Calm. >> Calm. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Birmingham residents have had just their first anniversary in relation their first anniversary in relation to bin strikes. We've spent more than £15 million on agency staff. So I ask the Minister, will they personally intervene to help broker a deal between the trade unions and Birmingham City Council?

15:27

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Yeah. >> Thanks, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the needs of Birmingham residents because in the end they should come because in the end they should come first. Everybody deserves a good bin service and we want all parties to come to the table and to deal with this as swiftly as humanly possible.

15:28

Mr Jonathan Brash MP (Hartlepool, Labour)

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Jonathan Brash speaker. duty, some local authorities are bundling vulnerable people into taxis in the middle of the night and dumping them in Hartlepool because our housing is cheaper. It is a vile, vile way in which they are acting. I welcome the Minister's writing to me in setting out her belief that we need to ban this poor practice, will she agree? We need to ban this practice outright?

15:28

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And can I just give my personal thanks to my friend for his intervention on this issue? We noted it in the homelessness strategy as being extraordinarily challenging and important. I want to take action on it, but I want to thank him for the work that he's already done on behalf of Hartlepool residents, and we'll continue to work together to sort this problem out.

15:28

Alicia Kearns MP (Rutland and Stamford, Conservative)

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Alicia Kearns. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Rutland's council could have submitted its own proposals for local government reform, but they left our fate in the hands of others. They submitted to join North Leicestershire, but this is in opposition to the wishes of residents, which they know. But they purposely did not ask residents what we wanted. Stafford residents want to join Rutland. Rutland does want to join with Stamford. So will the Minister meet me to make sure all residents are consulted on the Rutland and Stamford model, which the council has taken off the table.

15:29

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and perhaps I might congratulate her for laying out to the House what for laying out to the House what sounds like a complicated situation for her constituents. We'll take that under advisement as part of the process. And, Mr. Speaker, I'm always happy to make myself available to meet members of this House.

15:29

Mrs Elsie Blundell MP (Heywood and Middleton North, Labour)

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Elsie Blundell. >> Elsie Blundell. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. >> With many local authorities spending less than 1% of their household support fund on furniture, 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 to residents in Heywood and Middleton North this winter who, although grateful for the fresh start that social housing can offer, are living in properties, often with children that feel bare, cold and not like home.

15:30

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Yeah. like to thank my friend for raising this really, really important issue. And it's one of the reasons why I and the safeguarding Minister worked very closely together on both the homelessness strategy and the Violence against women and girls strategy, to make sure that that area of policy joined up 16% of homelessness is actually caused by domestic abuse. And that's why we won't stop until those families leaving refuge have got a decent place to be, including the furniture they need to make a house a home.

15:30

Josh Babarinde MP (Eastbourne, Liberal Democrat)

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Josh Babarinde. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The severe weather emergency protocol has ended in East Sussex, and today five individuals who were provided with accommodation under that have come into my constituency office not knowing where to turn. Now. We've got amazing charities locally doing some great work. But can the Minister offer some advice to those folks who've come into the office who need desperate support to get out of the situation they're in?

15:31

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for raising this case on the floor of the House in the way that he has done. It just shows all of 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'll make sure that the local authority has the support that they need.

15:31

Lee Barron MP (Corby and East Northamptonshire, Labour)

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To Lee Barron. >> To Lee Barron. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to have secured a £20 million investment in the Pride of Corby investment in the Pride of Corby project. That's £2 million a year every year for the next ten years. And what's crucial now is that it's the local communities that determine how and where this investment is spent. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this money must be spent on exactly what the community actually wants, with residents properly consulted and local people as the decision makers?

15:31

Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Peckham, Labour )

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Mr. speaker. >> Mr. speaker. >> My hon. Friend is completely right. We are very clear that communities must be in the driving communities must be in the driving seat. This is why we've asked for neighbourhood boards to be set up, which is why we've asked for neighbourhood boards 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 place.

15:32

Rt Hon Wendy Morton MP (Aldridge-Brownhills, Conservative)

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Wendy Morton thank. Birmingham do matter when it comes to pinstripes, I absolutely agree with her. But so do the do the neighbouring constituencies, where we often get the blight of additional fly tipping and constituents work at the council too? Will she personally undertake, though, to get people not just round the table, but to get this sorted out once and for all?

15:32

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'd like to thank the right hon. Lady like to thank the right hon. Lady for raising this on behalf of her constituents. Clearly, the impact of fly tipping is a worry to us all, and she raises the seriousness of the issue, which I and the Secretary of State also recognise.

15:32

Dr Simon Opher MP (Stroud, Labour)

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Simon Opher. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Stroud we have 4000 council houses. We need at least double that. So would the Minister look again at the constraints that councils are under and see whether they can enable them to build more council houses? Mr. speaker.

15:33

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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We are committed to reinvigorating council house building, which is essential to boost and sustain higher rates of boost and sustain higher rates of housing supply in the years ahead. We've 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 of course, we'll keep the matter under review to see

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what further support we can provide. Other Chelmsford. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank

15:33

Dr Ellie Chowns MP (North Herefordshire, Green Party)

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>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When will the government take steps to address

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embodied carbon in buildings? Well, the. hon. Lady can look forward to future building standards being

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future building standards being brought into force later this year. Chris Evans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have received an

15:33

Chris Vince MP (Harlow, Labour )

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Speaker. I have received an increased number of casework across the winter months from residents of Harlow who are suffering from damp and mould in their houses. Harlow residents deserve quicker repairs and higher standards from landlords. Of course, Abes law is to be welcome, but can the Minister confirm what enforcement measures will be used to ensure that landlords adhere to these legislations?

15:34

Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Streatham and Croydon North, Labour )

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Landlords will face the full >> Landlords will face the full force of the law if they fail to comply with regulations that have now come into force. Thanks to Awaabs law, we expect tenants and Awaabs law, we expect tenants and social housing to get a lot better than they've seen over recent decades. Graham Stuart.

15:34

Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP (Beverley and Holderness, Conservative)

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The local government settlement, strips £27 million from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. I learned today an additional £21 million cost over the next three years from the minimum wage and the jobs tax. Does the Secretary of State really think it's acceptable that local residents should have sky high council tax rises and fall in quality of services?

15:34

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He and I were both in this House for the entire period of austerity, which was landed at the door of town halls almost more than anybody else. So if he wants to, if he wants to look for somebody to blame for the parlous state of council finances, I would recommend to him a mirror.

15:35

Leigh Ingham MP (Stafford, Labour)

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Leigh Ingham. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Several prominent buildings in Stafford have been left vacant for long periods, with landlords allowing sites to fall into disrepair, and they have 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 can support? Can the government offer to good councils that are seeking to address property hoarding and unlock sites for regeneration?

15:35

Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Peckham, Labour )

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Mr. speaker, thank you to my hon. Friend, for raising this important issue. We are very 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. CPO powers the community right to Buy and Pride in Place, and we will work with any council that wants to take back control of their place and revive their communities. Speaker.

15:35

Iqbal Mohamed MP (Dewsbury and Batley, Independent)

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The main cemetery in Dewsbury is approaching full capacity following increased burials since the Covid pandemic, the local authority has been aware of this issue for several years. However, there remains significant uncertainty and concerns remain become increasingly urgent. The issue is particularly 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?

15:36

Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Peckham, Labour )

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are conscious of some of the pressure in parts of the countries around 70s and burial and we understand the urgency. I would ask the hon. Member to write to me with the specifics of the issue in his patch, and we will respond in due course.

15:36

Rachael Maskell MP (York Central, Labour )

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Rachael Maskell Mr. speaker. >> Housing allowance covers just over. Half of private rents for social tenants in York. As private social tenants in York. As private rents are so extortionate, so will the government look at the broad rental market area, which doesn't work for our area, and review it because it hasn't been reviewed properly since 2008?

15:37

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I'm working closely with my DWP colleagues. We know that there are many problems in the private rented sector and affordability Ministers have mentioned some of the action we're taking today, but we'll be working with DWP to do more.

15:37

Helen Morgan MP (North Shropshire, Liberal Democrat)

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Helen Morgan. finance settlement despite needing exceptional financial support this year and a surge in demand for social care in years to come, which cannot be managed by the council. Will the Minister meet with me so that we can discuss how to put Shropshire on a on a stable

**** Possible New Speaker ****

financial footing into the future? Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like

15:37

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the hon. Lady for her question. I've already met with her, and I'd be very happy to meet with her again. >> Catherine Atkinson.

15:37

Catherine Atkinson MP (Derby North, Labour)

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>> Catherine Atkinson. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hundreds of. >> New homes. >> Are being built at. >> Reigate goods. >> Yard, originally in 19th.

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Yard, originally in 19th. Century rail depot. This development is near the city centre, but other housing that was built further out under the conservatives

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further out under the conservatives went up with inadequate transport. And little thought towards public transport. What is being done to ensure that new homes have the transport infrastructure that they need?

15:38

Jess Brown-Fuller MP (Chichester, Liberal Democrat)

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Yeah. >> Yeah. >> I'm more than happy to sit down with my hon. Friend and discuss the matter in more detail. >> Jess Brown-Fuller. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

**** Possible New Speaker ****

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Constituents on a new build estate in Chichester were ordered without warning to pay an extra £180 without warning to pay an extra £180 a month on top of the £212 that they were already paying. When the government brings forward their planned legislation, will it stamp out these enormous price hikes and will it hold rogue management companies to account here?

15:38

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

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But as I've said, Mr. Speaker, we are intending to switch on the relevant provisions in the 2024 Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act that provide consumers with protections. I'd encourage her to submit her views to the consultation, and I'm more than happy to pick up with her outside the chamber.

15:38

Anneliese Midgley MP (Knowsley, Labour)

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At least. Mid Cheshire. >> At least. Mid Cheshire. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister. >> Consider that all local authorities within the most authorities within the most deprived areas will see an above average increase in core spending power in each year of the local government multi-year settlement, including in Liverpool City Region.

15:39

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my hon. Friend for her question. I'm very proud to say that this settlement reconnects council funding with deprivation, and I've explained to the House before the detail of that. We'll make sure that all councils are heard during this consultation period, and I look forward to working with her as one of my good friends and colleagues from our city region, which is, of course, Mr. Speaker, as you know, the best one in the country.

15:39

Max Wilkinson MP (Cheltenham, Liberal Democrat)

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After Lancashire. Definitely. >> After Lancashire. Definitely. Mid Ulster Max Wilkinson final question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is aware of the The Minister is aware of the parlous state of the finances of Gloucester City Council. Can she give me reassurance that even if we agree or disagree with the local government reorganisation process, that there won't be delays to it as a result of Gloucester's difficulties with its money?

15:40

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Birkenhead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I've >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I've heard what the hon. Gentleman has said, and we'll take it under advisement as part of the reorganisation process, we want to 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 order.

15:40

Speaker's statement Mr Speaker

I would like to inform the House >> I would like to inform the House that Lord Forsyth, of Drumlane, has been elected as the next Lord speaker. On behalf of the House of speaker. On behalf of the House of Commons, I would like to congratulate Lord on his election. I look forward to working with him, but I would also like to thank Lord McFall for the work that he has carried out as the Lord speaker. And And we And we come And we come to And we come to the And we come to the Urgent

15:40

Urgent question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the delays to the awarding of the New Medium Helicopter contract and potential closure of Leonardo’s helicopter site in Yeovil.

Question Adam Dance.

15:41

Adam Dance MP (Yeovil, Liberal Democrat)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I ask the Secretary of State for defence the Secretary of State for defence if he will make a statement on the delays to the awarding of the New Medium Helicopter contract and the potential closure of Leonardo Helicopters site in Yeovil.

15:41

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Lucy Powell Minister. >> Lucy Powell Minister. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the Member for Yeovil for his question. And to you, Mr. his question. And to you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to provide an update on the current status of the MoD's New Medium Helicopter procurement. Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with the CEO of Leonardo UK and the Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters to continue our conversations around NMH exports as well NMH exports and autonomous helicopters, and stressed that Leonardo remains an important strategic partner for the Mod.

In fact, I had to leave that meeting early to get to this UQ. It is something that remains on my priority list. The NMH programme was first announced in March 2021 by the previous government, with competition opening nearly three years later. In February 2024. The government will make a final decision on the award of the contract for NMH through the wider Defence Investment Plan. And as the Defence Secretary has said, in this House, we are working flat out to deliver the dip, which will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our frontline forces and importantly, invest in and grow the UK economy.

It will be published as soon as possible and is backed by the government's largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the Cold War, spending £270 billion on defence in this Parliament alone.

15:42

Adam Dance MP (Yeovil, Liberal Democrat)

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I don't doubt. thank you again for granting me this urgent question. I also want to thank the Minister for his response. Leonardo and Yeovil, the home of British helicopter since 1915, has been the only bidder for the UK's £1 billion new medium helicopter contract for over a year now. It is clear that the current bid will not be sustainable past March of this year. If this contract is not awarded by then, we will lose over 3000 manufacturing jobs in Yeovil support for over 12,000 jobs in the regional supply chain, and the £320 million that Leonardo contributes to local GDP.

We also lose our country's ability to produce our own helicopters end to end here in the UK at a stage a serious global tensions and insecurity. So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please, please reassure us that they plan to go ahead with this contract and that the delays do not mean the funding for the contract is not available? Can the Minister commit today to protect the future of the site in Yeovil? Will he announce that a new medium helicopter programme is vital to our national defence? And finally, will the defence investment plan now seemingly in limbo? Can the new medium helicopter programme be separated from the plan and awarded today? Yes or no?

15:43

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank the hon. Member for his questions? He will have heard my first answer, which answers some of his questions. That says the NMH decision will be made as part of the Defence Investment Plan that will be announced shortly, so I won't be able to give him an answer today. I continue those conversations with Leonardo as indeed I have been today. It is important that we continue having those conversations that are constructive because I understand the importance of Yeovil not only to his constituency, but to our wider defence ecosystem and as a South-West MP to the wider region as well.

Leonardo are not only experts at building helicopters but also servicing them. And I'm really excited about some of their work that they're undertaking in autonomous helicopters, as well as their wider business interests across the UK, especially in electronics and other areas. I'm very happy to continue conversations with him about this, as I will do with the company and with the trade unions representing the workforce.

15:44

Mr Calvin Bailey MP (Leyton and Wanstead, Labour)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At stake is Leonardo's investment in Yeovil is not only the high skilled jobs and sovereign capability, but we also must recognise that these opportunities and social mobility that the industries like this create for young people from across the country and every background. But I note that the NMH programme existed in the previous government's unfunded 29 billion equipment plan, and it was their failure to prioritise these programmes and deliver the defence funding that such hard decisions made in the Nao report.

Mr. speaker, to deliver these decisions, that means that we we need the Defence investment Plan to take the decisions that is necessary to secure our country and European security.

15:45

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank my friend for his >> Can I thank my friend for his question? He's right about two things from his question. Firstly, that defence is an engine for growth, and that is why we're investing more of the increasing defence Budget in British companies. And secondly, he is right that the party opposite left huge swathes of their equipment programme unfunded, a problem that we're sorting out because of the mess that he left. Cartlidge.

15:46

James Cartlidge MP (South Suffolk, Conservative)

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Yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Yeovil for tabling this. Urgent question. It was a real pleasure to visit the Leonardo factory last September and witness how critical it is to employment in his constituency, visiting the factory, Mr. speaker, you get a powerful sense of Britain's rotary history, but we want it to have a brilliant future too. That's why it is so worrying that the CEO of Leonardo recently warned that at least 3300 jobs could be at risk if the NHS NMH procurement does not go ahead.

Indeed, it was with this those jobs in mind that when I announced the formal tender of the New Medium Helicopter as Defence Procurement Minister February 2024, I took the decision to give a much stronger weighting to two key areas of the tender. First, the commitment of bidders to delivering high skilled rotary work in the UK, and secondly, exportability so that the supply chain could endure. But all that will count for nothing. If the procurement is cancelled, so can the Minister confirm if there is still a military requirement for NMH? If so, is he still committed to procuring NMH after? When I asked the question last April, Mr.

Speaker, we were told we'd get the answer in the Strategic Defence Review, but the SDR document never mentioned NMH at all. Instead, when the Secretary of State announced the SDR to Parliament last June, he said the detailed decisions would be covered in the Defence Investment Plan, which he said then would be published in the autumn of 2025. Given it's now 2026 and that promise has clearly been broken, can he tell us in which month he will finally publish the dip? Can he confirm reports from multiple sources that the reason the dip is delayed is because there is now a £28 billion black hole in the Budget Finally, the Budget Red book shows exactly what Labour will spend on removing the two child benefit cap right up to 2031, but it doesn't say what the defence Budget will be that year.

Can he tell us? Isn't the reality, Mr. Speaker, that by prioritising welfare over going to 3% on defence, this Parliament, Labour are paralysing decision making in the Mod and putting thousands of jobs at risk in our defence industry at Yeovil and across the UK. Yes.

15:48

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Mr. >> Mr. >> Deary me, Mr. Speaker, it is this Labour government that is increasing defence spending to the lowest level since the end of the lowest level since the end of the Cold War. It is the conservatives that hollowed out an underfunded armed forces in their first year in government. They cut defence spending by £2 billion in their first five years of government. They cut defence spending by 12 billion. In their 14 years. They never hit 2.5% of GDP on defence.

Not once. And I remind the House that when he was the shadow defence procurement Minister until the election, he left a defence program that was overcommitted and underfunded. He left 47 of 49 major defence programs over Budget and delayed. He left forces, families in terrible housing and our war fighters with broken kit. We are clearing up his mess. While he focussed on gaslighting the public about the Tories record on defence.

15:49

Antonia Bance MP (Tipton and Wednesbury, Labour)

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Ed Miliband. here today to support calls by my. >> Union unite. >> For a speedy decision on crewed helicopters, and I hope that there helicopters, and I hope that there will be good news on that front soon in the defence investment plan, which we all look forward to so very much. Might the Minister have any news soon on the manufacture of autonomous helicopters here in the UK, and the good jobs that will come with them?

15:49

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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I thank my hon. Friend for her >> I thank my hon. Friend for her question. As a fellow unite member, I recognise the importance of good, well-paid, unionised jobs in our well-paid, unionised jobs in our defence industry. The opportunities are around. Autonomy were set out very clearly in the Strategic Defence Review. We believe a mix of crewed, uncrewed and autonomous systems, not just for some units in our armed forces but for all units, is the right future where we can increase our lethality and move to warfighting readiness faster.

And when we do this correctly, as we will set out in the defence investment plan, there'll be more jobs created in British companies, including potentially in Leonardo as well, when they look at the autonomous helicopters as well as potentially uncrewed platforms working together to increase our lethality and our abilities as the armed forces.

15:50

James MacCleary MP (Lewes, Liberal Democrat)

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James MacCleary Liberal Democrat spokesperson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And of course, thanks to my hon. Friend, the. >> Member for. >> Yeovil, for bringing this important, urgent. >> Question today on behalf of his constituents. The UK has retired constituents. The UK has retired Puma early, leaving a medium lift helicopter capability gap at the very moment our allies are accelerating procurement because the threat picture has worsened. The government is still dithering over the replacement for this critical sovereign capability. Ministers keep hiding behind the forever delayed defence investment plan, the dip.

However, the government, if the government do not get on with this and they'll be dealing with two more dips, a big dip in employment and investment in Yeovil and across the UK. When Leonardo leave due to government inaction and a dip in the capability of our armed forces, who will be left without a modern medium helicopter they can call upon once, once an end to end helicopter manufacturing workforce drain away. Mr. speaker, you cannot magic a new one up. When a new crisis hits, so does the Minister recognise the Yeovil is not sustained? Then we will lose these skills for a generation.

And given that Leonardo are the only remaining bidders, will the government stop dithering and get on with it now? Will the Minister commit to a new contract today?

15:51

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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I thank him for his questions. I'm afraid I'm going to have to give the same answers, because they give the same answers, because they are the same questions as was asked behind him. All the decisions of the New Medium Helicopter contract will be made as part of the Defence Investment Plan. We continue these conversations with Leonardo around this. I recognise the importance of the skilled workforce and it is something that I'm going to continue speaking to the company, but also the trade unions around.

I'm meeting unite later this week to have further conversations. I want to see more of that increasing defence Budget being spent with UK companies. That's something that we set out clearly in the Defence investment strategy, industrial strategy, sorry, and the Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary has also said that we will continue to do. I recognise the passion that he says in relation to renewing our armed forces. It's something that I share. We will be making those decisions as part of the dip. It will become shortly.

15:52

Tom Hayes MP (Bournemouth East, Labour)

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Tom Hayes. Thank you. >> Tom Hayes. Thank you. >> Mr. Speaker. As the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East, I'm passionate about renewing our British military aircraft. After British military aircraft. After all, my constituency hosted the Bournemouth Air Festival until it was scrapped by the Liberal Democrat led council with no plan to return it. Something I'm trying to reverse. I welcome the award of 1000 major contracts since July, the bumping up of defence spending this year by 5 billion and over the lifetime of the Parliament by 270 billion.

The Defence Minister, like me, is a southwest MP. Can he please set out for the southwest and for my constituents how the government is investing in defence across BCP. But that broader South West two.

15:52

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank him for his question. And constituencies right across the And constituencies right across the South west of England and the wider country stand to benefit from that increasing defence spending that the Chancellor has set out £5 billion extra in our defence Budget this year in our current Budget, rising to 2.5%, and then onwards, we know that we're living in a new era of threats. And because of that, we're renewing our armed forces. So many of the contracts that we're placing now are for the newer end of the technologies, for the autonomous systems, for the latest capabilities that retires some of the old capabilities that we inherited from the previous government, because they would not give our warfighters the fighting advantage that they need, especially learning the lessons from Ukraine.

Later this month, we'll stand up the Office of Small Business Growth to help support more small businesses, support procurement into defence. And I know that there will be advantages considering the amount of small businesses that there are around Bournemouth that have huge defence potential to contribute more to our national security.

15:53

Simon Hoare MP (North Dorset, Conservative)

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Simon Hoare thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an important Speaker. This is an important company for Somerset or Dorset and the wider South West. He will know that corporate decisions are competitive and his department plays a very key part in shaping what those decisions will be. The defence investment plan is now long overdue. I appreciate he probably cannot give us a specific date, but it would be helpful if you could tell the House whether it will be within this financial year or next, when we will actually see the plan.

15:54

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Well, can I thank him for his >> Well, can I thank him for his question and the tone in which he asked that question as well? He's right that corporate decisions are important about where investment important about where investment goes. It's one of the reasons why we've continued dialogue with Leonardo, not just in the UK, but also their parent company in Italy as well, to make sure that they're kept abreast of the challenges that we have in terms of the dip and also in terms of the military need and strategy, in terms of procurement, I'm afraid I won't be able to give him a date for the defence investment plan.

We are working flat out to get it and it shortly.

15:55

Jacob Collier MP (Burton and Uttoxeter, Labour)

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Jacob Collier you, Mr. Speaker, issues such as these are why the new Defence Industrial Strategy is so welcome, which places a prioritisation on British firms, which is, of course, welcome news to local Rolls-Royce, who have been awarded billions of pounds of contracts under this government. Can he say what more that investment will do to support neighbouring areas like mine in Burton and Uttoxeter?

15:55

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank him for his question? He's right that the Defence Industrial Strategy is a really key Industrial Strategy is a really key piece of the of the puzzle in building up our new armed forces. It was published last year, so the shadow Minister was saying, where is it? It's on the internet because it was published a number of months ago. So if he hasn't read it, he should have a read. But the question he asked around Rolls-Royce is an important one. We've given Rolls-Royce a £9 billion contract for new nuclear reactors to support the SSN.

Aukus work. That unity contract is an important part that enables Rolls-Royce to invest in their infrastructure and, perhaps most importantly, in their skills base. I met with Rolls-Royce recently, and I know they have plans to go even further in terms of their product offer and their employment opportunities, and I will continue to keep the House informed about those developments.

15:56

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP (Gosport, Conservative)

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Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Secretary of State promised long term partnerships with our our long term partnerships with our our domestic defence industry. But when the government dither and delay on giving primed confidence on their big contracts, this directly impacts the sub the ecosystem of British subprimes across our country. Subprimes like standard aero in Gosport who have the opportunity to provide the assemble inspect test on the GE motor in Leonardo's AW149. Now Fleetlands has been a key player in our country's rotary defence rotary wing history for 100 years.

And so does he see that this delay in this decision is holding back not only our world class industry, but delivering uncertainty to key companies across our country and all the people that they employ.

15:57

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank the lady for her question? She's absolutely right that there's important defence that there's important defence companies in her constituency and indeed across the country. We've continued to place contracts with the defence industry over 1000 placed since the general election, over 80% of those with UK firms. An important continuation of our attempts to our efforts to renew our armed forces. I entirely understand the argument that she's making that we want to see more investment uncertainty when the Defence Investment Plan is published shortly.

I hope that will provide clarity on what is the the kit that we are buying, in what order and in what sequence. And that will help support the growth of British businesses, both large and small. Very well.

15:57

Sarah Dyke MP (Glastonbury and Somerton, Liberal Democrat)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank my hon. Friend. >> For securing this urgent. Question for his constituents, but also for mine in Glastonbury and the Somerton Mr Speaker Allen from the Somerton Mr Speaker Allen from canton Mandeville. And a Leonardo employee wrote to me recently to stress how securing the New Medium Helicopter contract would protect jobs, support growth and maintain the UK's sovereign capability in military aviation at a time of growing global instability. In addition, as the Minister will know, Leonardo supports Yeovil College in developing apprenticeships to the tune of over £1 million a year.

Many of those apprenticeships apprentices live in my constituency of Glastonbury and Somerton. So does the Minister recognise the impact of his department's delay in not just compromising regional protection?

15:58

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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How can I thank the hon. Lady for her question? I met with the for her question? I met with the chief executive of Yeovil College very briefly at the Great Southwest Conference last year, and I understand the the involvement that they have and the partnership they have with the private sector, including Leonardo, but not just Leonardo in that locality. I want to make sure that we can provide the certainty for businesses. That's also why I want to make sure that the defence investment plan is gotten right.

For far too long, industry has had promises of funding when the equipment programme has been unfunded, where there hasn't been the money to support the jobs or the certainty that's given, we inherited a programme that was huge. Amounts were unfunded. So our objective is to make sure that all our defence programmes are sustainable, to make sure that we're clearing up the mess that's there. But we've got full certainty for industry that when it's in this programme it will be funded rather than before, where they could see the press releases and the soundbites, but they couldn't see the cash.

That was something that we are addressing plan.

15:59

Rt Hon Sir Julian Lewis MP (New Forest East, Conservative)

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Julian Lewis the Minister knows >> Julian Lewis the Minister knows I have a high regard for his commitment and integrity, and he knows that I've pressed successive knows that I've pressed successive governments for more defence investment. So leaving aside the party politics, can he just confirm whether or not the government accepts what the hon. Member for Yeovil has estimated, which is that if this contract is not concluded successfully by March, then the future of Yeovil as a helicopter centre of excellence will be too late to secure.

16:00

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank him for his question >> Can I thank him for his question and also the tone in which he asked it? I have a lot of time for him and his arguments. Indeed, shifting and his arguments. Indeed, shifting the goalposts, I think, is one of the very best defence Select Committee reports that was he issued, which talks about rise and fall of defence spending. I certainly recognise the the element from the gentleman from Yeovil question when he mentioned about the timings, the contract and the procurement for the new medium helicopter had a period where the prices were guaranteed and that is something that we are keeping in mind in terms of the decisions that we must make, because we want to make a decision and not time out.

16:00

Edward Morello MP (West Dorset, Liberal Democrat)

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Edward Morello. Thank you. >> I congratulate. >> My hon. Friend and neighbour on securing this important question. securing this important question. Yeovil Leonardo may be based in Yeovil, but many of his 3000 employees live in my constituency of West Dorset. One. And one of the reasons why one of my first meetings was with Leonardo about the New Medium Helicopter when I was elected. The Minister said today that the decision will be made as soon as possible, but on the 10th of February in this chamber, in response to a question, one of his predecessors told me that a decision would be made swiftly, given that every single defence manufacturer and SME, and even military personnel that I meet with says that we need to speed up defence procurement decisions.

Even the SDR itself urges the speeding up of defence procurement decisions. How much confidence can British industry have that the government is listening to that need? When these decisions on something as simple as a single contractor bid is taking so long to decide.

16:01

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank him for his advocacy for his constituents that work at Leonardo? I totally understand what Leonardo? I totally understand what he said. We are already taking steps to reform defence procurement to speed up decisions, but I will be very clear that a big decision around the future of NMH and the funding for it needs to be taken as part of the whole programme, and that is why the Defence Investment Programme is so important, and it's so important that we get this right, so everyone can have certainty and confidence in every single line item in the dip, which is something that they haven't been able to have inherited.

16:02

Rt Hon Dr Andrew Murrison MP (South West Wiltshire, Conservative)

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Not Andrew Murrison. >> Not Andrew Murrison. >> This delay, both in the dip and also in the procurement of these also in the procurement of these helicopters, has been unexplained and is causing a great deal of concern in my constituency, which is heavily dependent in the south on Yeovil and Yeovil Tatton. Will he therefore do everything in his power to make sure he gets a move on a government that wants growth, cannot afford this kind of delay? And will he confirm or refute the rumour that's going around that? One of the reasons for the delay is that he is de scoping the number of airframes, the AW149 airframes, that he originally envisaged under this contract, and it will be significantly less now than the 24 that was originally being bruited about.

16:03

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank him for his for his question as he was a Minister in the last government? In defence, he'll understand the challenge of having an unfunded equipment programme that we're seeking to address in the Defence Investment Plan, in particular in relation to the workers that he will represent at work, both in the overall and in Yeovilton, and indeed perhaps also in Culdrose. In terms of the wider servicing of helicopters that Leonardo do, not just the build of them. We will be making a decision on NMH in the defence investment plan.

We will also be very clear in terms of this. He will also be aware the procurement of this was bounded by the process. We will make a decision, we will not be timed out and will not be altering the contract. We will make a decision on that, where we can be make.

16:03

Graham Leadbitter MP (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, Scottish National Party)

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Kim Leadbeater Mr. speaker, the hon. Member for Yeovil obviously has the biggest constituency impact with the main party, but there are supply chain impacts throughout the UK and most people will be asking how on earth the procurement process has taken so long. But focusing on the military impact, how much of the repeated delays cost the taxpayers through failure? Demand from extended use of existing helicopters long past their sell by date, with ever increasing maintenance costs? And has any assessment been made of future failure demand costs? And, Mr.

Speaker, what impact has the increased downtime of ageing helicopters had on operational risks? Yeah.

16:04

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank him for his questions? He's certainly right questions? He's certainly right that we inherited a number of very old helicopters. It's one of the reasons that we made the decision to retire Puma, a helicopter that has in many cases been flying for many, many, many decades. Prior to that, we will continue to look at the military need and match those with the capabilities of rising defence Budget. But the NMH decision will be made in the dip.

16:04

Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP (North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister said he welcomed the questions from my right hon. questions from my right hon. Colleagues for North Dorset and New Forest East, but he didn't answer either as to whether the Defence Investment Plan will be published this financial year or the critical nature of a decision before going into next financial year. And he's explained missing multiple deadlines by simply refusing to give any further deadlines. Does he not accept that it is a choice of this government not blaming the previous government if it can find additional funding for welfare, then it could find additional funding to meet this contract.

16:05

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Yeah. >> Good question. >> Well, the right hon. Gentleman knows that we have found additional funding for defence. There's £5 billion extra in our defence Budget this year. We have an increasing defence Budget for every single year for the next decade ahead. And with just a challenge. His question I did answer the question. I just wasn't able to give him the answer that he wanted. Around this, the NMH decision will be made as part of the Defence Investment Plan that will be published shortly.

16:05

Gideon Amos MP (Taunton and Wellington, Liberal Democrat)

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Good. >> Speaker, and I congratulate my hon. Friend and neighbour for bringing this vitally important question to the House today. The question to the House today. The Minister, as a fellow South-West MP, will know the massive impact this has not just on Somerset but across the whole South-West. Given the answers to earlier questions and the fact that the Minister seems unable to confirm that this will be decided before the next financial year, does he realise? Does the government recognise this puts in doubt not just the NMH, but the very ability to produce uncrewed helicopters in future? In other words, we don't get the NMH.

We won't have the uncrewed helicopters in this country anymore because Leonardo will have gone. Is that a risk worth taking?

16:06

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Yeah. >> Can I thank him for his question? He's certainly right that having an industrial base that can build autonomous helicopters and autonomous helicopters and autonomous lift is really important. There are a number of players that are already developing in that space. I want to be able to provide certainty to the workers at Leonardo on the future of the NMH. And that decision will be made in the dip.

16:07

Ben Obese-Jecty MP (Huntingdon, Conservative)

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Ben Obese-Jecty Mr Speaker. element of military logistics, and I know from my own experience in Afghanistan how much operations can be hampered by the inability to field a full suite of rotary assets in order to move troops around. With that in mind, and following the retirement of Puma for obvious reasons, could the Minister outline what the rotary requirements are for the armed forces at present? And could you confirm whether the New Medium Helicopter is still a military requirement? Very good.

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Can I thank him for his question? He comes from a background of of knowledge in this respect, as part knowledge in this respect, as part of the Defence Investment Plan, the military have set out their needs and they're being matched against and they're being matched against the funding of the platforms we currently have and the platforms we want to purchase. As part of that, want to purchase. As part of that, he'll be aware of the SDR objective to move to greater autonomy in our platforms.

And indeed, there's a

16:07

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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platforms. And indeed, there's a number of projects, including ones by Leonardo that are working to build up that the the new picture of crewed and autonomous platforms will be published as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

16:07

Richard Tice MP (Boston and Skegness, Reform UK)

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Richard Tice. Thank you, Mr. >> Richard Tice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister give any confirmation as to whether or not the rumours are true, that one of the rumours are true, that one of the reasons for the delay in the medium lift helicopter is there's been a rearguard action in the Army to buy US Blackhawks instead. And if he won't give a timeline for the defence investment plan, will he at least confirm that it will include a medium lift helicopter? Yes or no?

16:08

Luke Pollard MP, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Labour )

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Can I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question? We've been very clear in the Defence Industrial Strategy and the Defence Review that we want more of a rising defence Budget to go to British companies. That's something that is changing the way that defence procures and is the right change that we need to see as we bring more strategic autonomy back to the UK and as we friendly shore and onshore more capabilities in these onshore more capabilities in these more difficult times, I'm afraid I won't be able to give the full details because they'll be set out details because they'll be set out in the defence investment plan that he will have heard from my previous answers throughout this question.

16:26

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)

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16:28

Sarah Dyke MP (Glastonbury and Somerton, Liberal Democrat)

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communities. Tens of thousands of homes have been without water supply. Schools and libraries shut. supply. Schools and libraries shut. Businesses, and in particular hospitality businesses have had to close their doors. Farmers and close their doors. Farmers and horse owners Mr Speaker fear not having enough water for their livestock, and some hospital appointments are being moved online. appointments are being moved online. This is simply not good enough from South East Water, especially with repeated failures by the company repeated failures by the company and being the second major incident in a matter of weeks.

I understand the distress, anger and frankly, exhaustion. Many in the local area feel they need clear communication, rapid action now, and reassurance for the future. Yet we have heard from my conservative colleagues in Kent and Sussex repeated accounts about poor communication and logistics from South East Water, including bulk sharing issues with Southern Water. This has also included announcements that vital bottle collection points will open only for constituents to travel, queue and then find out no water has been delivered.

Can the Minister confirm when the thousands of homes affected by this shortage can express this? Expect this service to restore to normal, and can she provide guidance on what is being done to ensure that homes can access adequate supply, particularly vulnerable households, particularly in more isolated areas in which travelling to bottle collection points is not feasible when when the schools can reopen, and what is being done to ensure GP surgeries and hospitals can can deliver their appointments and care? And what measures have been put in place so that farmers and horse owners have enough water for their animals.

Finally, considering the Cunliffe Review's focus on ensuring water supply, can the government confirm what they will take forward from that review to address this as a structural issue to ensure supply and consumer confidence for the

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long term? Thank you Minister. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker,

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Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind comments regarding my father. So in terms of compensation, father. So in terms of compensation, we've doubled the amount of compensation available. And this has had a huge impact, particularly in Tunbridge Wells, where people, in Tunbridge Wells, where people, for the first time will be compensated for being on a boil notice. We are looking at introducing new standards, tightening resilience standards. As I mentioned earlier, this is moving from the system we have at the moment, which is fix on failure to proactive maintenance, because part of the reason we have this problem in this area.

Yes, short term impact threes and four but longer term impact there is not enough resilience in in the system. There are too many points at which it can easily easily fail. And it was also raised by one of the colleagues around making sure we have bottled water in villages in more rural areas. And this is something I've raised directly with the company because, as you quite rightly pointed out, for some people it's quite difficult getting to some of these bottled water stations, which you want to look at.

We're making sure we're having them in the right place, and I have sold South East Water to expect them to be communicating regularly with their members of Parliament, to make sure that they are in the right place and sharing that intelligence. And we completely agree on the communication. There hasn't been enough use of social media. The website's been too slow to update. You know, there should be much more communication and clear communication going to members of Parliament. I mean, in terms of when we expect the situation to return to normal.

I said the latest sitrep out to all of the MPs affected, and I will continue to do so. And we're having another strategic group meeting tomorrow with everybody to see where the situation is in the next 24 hours. I don't expect this to all be resolved in the next 24 hours, which is why I'm holding another meeting again tomorrow. And I've said as well, South West Wiltshire should be phoning each individual member of Parliament impacted and updating them on the situation and what's happening.

And then finally on livestock, because that was mentioned by a number of colleagues on the call yesterday, they are supporting 11 farms with bottled water, and they've made some deliveries of alternative water to farms across the region. But he's quite right to mention that this is a huge this is having a huge impact on the welfare of animals. So it needs to be taken as seriously by the water company. And I hope that following this, they are intending

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to do so. Liberal Democrat spokesperson Sarah Madam Deputy Speaker. Around 16,500 residents have been impacted as a result of the latest water as a result of the latest water outage. In addition, GPS and schools have shut vulnerable people, including those in care homes, are unable to access water and people unable to access water and people have been forced to queue for hours at water distribution sites. Unfortunately for customers for Unfortunately for customers for South East Water, this has become a trend over the last five years.

The company ranks within the bottom three for water supply interruptions. Madam Deputy Speaker experts have stated the potential for water shortages in the area has long been known but terrible strategic planning, a failure to cut leakage and decisions to divert money towards dividends have distracted from improving infrastructure that should have been prioritised. So does the Minister agree with the Liberal Democrats that the continued tenure of Southeast Water's CEO is untenable given the scale, duration and repetition of these serious failures? And will the government commit to a full, independent investigation to Southeast Water's operation or resilience, governance and crisis management? And Madam Deputy Speaker, if I may offer my condolences to the Minister on behalf of myself and my Liberal Democrat colleagues on the terrible and sad loss of her father.

16:29

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)

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Minister, I thank the hon. Lady for her, for her kind words and I completely share the frustration. It would be nice to be in the House not talking about South East Water, and I feel I've become to know the hon. Gentleman for Tunbridge Wells very well, for the reason that we seem to be meeting all too frequently about problems in this area. And as I've already said, I think the drinking water inspector will be doing they're doing an investigation into the situation as it was at Tunbridge Wells.

One of the things they're going to be looking at is around the bottled water and the supply to vulnerable people. Has that been communicated well? Has there been a sufficiency? Is it in the right place? Because one of the things they sort of look at is during a crisis, are people getting the water that they need to so that investigation will take place. And as mentioned, I've already met with Ofwat to share some of my concerns around performance issues at this company and they are going to be looking what I am going to be asking them to look at, whether or not they think this company has met its obligations in serving its customers.

And of course, depending on what they say to me, will be something I'll be deeply reflecting on. Seriously.

16:30

Mike Martin MP (Tunbridge Wells, Liberal Democrat)

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Mike Martin. for water for all of her help over the last month, and from myself and also from my constituents. Tunbridge Wells is yet again without water. We seem to roll from outage to outage. As we stand here today. There are 6500 houses without supply. Schools are closed. Even more are closing as more areas go out of supply. The Minister knows from personal experience that the leadership of South East Water suffer from an over optimisation. But an optimism bias.

Appalling risk management. Have no idea actually what's going on. The call that the Minister and I were in just an hour and a half ago, they said two things that were immediately proven to be false. And that's not necessarily because they're lying, but because they don't know what they're doing. Plainly, the leadership of South East Water suffers from groupthink. Last week, the EFRA select committee showed them to be negligent. The chair accused the CEO of misleading parliament, said his position was untenable.

The Secretary of State of the minister's own department has said she's shocked by Hinton's lack of accountability. Does the Minister have confidence in Dave Hinton, the CEO of South East Water? Yes, sir.

16:31

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)

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I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. And yes, we have been spending a long time talking to each other and I watched the EFRA committee with great interest, particularly interested on in Dave Hinton rating himself eight out of ten. I think what I think is really important is the drinking water inspector have the space to do their investigation. I think it's also really important that Off.what have the space to have a look at this company. But for the for this moment today, here and now, my priority is trying to get people's water back on and the system up and running.

And that's where I want to focus my time. But I think there are questions to be asked about why we are back in this situation again.

16:32

Helen Whately MP (Faversham and Mid Kent, Conservative)

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Helen Whately thank you. Madam Deputy Speaker, can I offer my condolences to the hon. Lady on the loss of her father? There are around 5000 homes in my constituency this weekend which were without water. That on its own is bad enough. But then we have how South East Water responded, failing to deliver water to vulnerable people, sending elderly residents on a two hour round trip to get bottled water. Sometimes it only to find that there was no water, no water left, and ignoring the pleas from livestock owners for water for horses and other animals.

Madam Deputy Speaker, this is a disgrace. It is not for the first time, the Chief executive of South East Water has shown us. He is not up to the job. Can I urge the hon. Lady to use all and any power she has to move him on and get South East Water to appoint somebody who is Minister.

16:33

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)

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Thank you for the question. And she did raise on the call as well. I know she was concerned about livestock and the impacts it was having. It was having on animals. I mean, water companies have a statutory duty to provide wholesome water. I mean, it is literally their job to provide that. And their requirements are set out in the security and emergency measures direction. So they have a duty to provide water. And that means in this instance of a supply outage, they have a duty to provide that to vulnerable customers and to people who can't otherwise access their water.

And where we've seen failings in this, and as I say, this is something the drinking water inspector are looking at. But quite frankly, it's outrageous and it's unacceptable if there's a problem with the supply. For what? For whatever reason, and I accept, you know, freeze and thaw is not something the company could be held responsible for, but they can be held responsible for the way they've responded to the crisis. And there is no justification for their failure to get water out to vulnerable customers or people who need it.

And that is something I will be picking up directly with the company as soon as we're out of this latest crisis. Alison Bennett.

16:34

Alison Bennett MP (Mid Sussex, Liberal Democrat)

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Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to sincerely thank all the Ministers for all their work over the last four days, supporting me and my constituents in Mid Sussex. My constituency has by no means had the worst outages, but that aside, it still had a secondary school closed, multiple villages out of supply, a hospital out of supply over night, and 1200 homes last night. There are multiple points of failure, not just in Mid Sussex, but right across the South east.

And frankly, I've been shocked by the fragility of our water supply system in our region. Quite simply, our infrastructure is not adequate to cope with normal weather events that we should all be able to expect to happen in January. Yes, we are on the edge of the supply area in Mid Sussex and East Grinstead. Will the Minister look at a duty to cooperate with neighbouring water authorities to make sure that those of us at the end of the pipeline are not cut off? In the first instance, Minister.

16:35

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)

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The hon. Lady. And she's quite right. It is a fragile supply system. We've had years of underinvestment in resilience, and we have a system at the moment where there are too many points at which failure can operate. It's not resilient. You look at other parts of the country where they have they're able to move water more effectively around their system. That creates a much greater resilience than we have here. It simply doesn't have the resilience it should. This is partly because of the historic problems around maintenance, how historically we've all water companies, they do fix on failure rather than the proactive maintenance, but it is partly because the system, as it is set up at the moment, does not allow that easy transfer of water across each individual water company.

And these are fundamental things that we need to address through our water reforms and our changing regulation, because we can only build a resilient system if we're able to move water around some of the some of the network. And on her other points on impacts on schools is obviously is appalling, especially at the moment. Many of them are doing their mock exams. I know my daughter's been involved in her exams as well.

16:36

Helen Grant MP (Maidstone and Malling, Conservative)

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Helen Grant thank you.

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I have no confidence whatsoever in South East Water and I've worked in South East Water and I've worked with them now for nearly 15 years. with them now for nearly 15 years. When things go wrong, and they often do in Kent and Sussex, their often do in Kent and Sussex, their communication methods are absolutely atrocious. Exactly too absolutely atrocious. Exactly too little, too late, and often very confusing when often all someone wants is to know when they can put the kettle back on or get in the shower.

Yesterday, the Environment Minister, the Member for Coventry East who has worked extremely hard on this matter with the Water Minister, instructed she actually instructed the MPs be given two hourly direct updates and this has not happened. She also instructed that there should be a water station opened in Loos in my constituency, where over 2000 people have been without water. That has also not happened. South East Water are not fit for purpose. Their leadership team is inadequate, they are out of depth and I hope the Minister agrees that serious changes must be made, including the removal of the CEO, David Wimbledon.

It's time Minister.

16:38

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)

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I thank the hon. Lady and I completely share her outrage when communication was specifically requested by by my colleague, the Nature Minister, and where we asked for that information to be made available for members of Parliament, and also where the bottled water station was requested. I you know, it beggars belief, to be honest with you. As I've said, Off.what are going to be looking into there's the drinking water inspector are going to be looking into this, and I will be seriously reflecting on the information and the reports that both of those organisations give me.

16:38

Josh Babarinde MP (Eastbourne, Liberal Democrat)

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Josh Babarinde. >> Josh Babarinde. >> Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. South East Water are failing Eastbourne. It is unacceptable that Eastbourne. It is unacceptable that they left thousands of residents in Sovereign Harbour, in Hampden Park, in Saint Anthony's and in Langley without water supply this weekend. Unacceptable that they refused my ask to set up a water collection station in Eastbourne, forcing residents to travel 35 miles to East Grinstead if they wanted bottled water, and unacceptable that residents who were on the priority services register.

Many of them received absolutely nothing, including no information. So does she agree that South East Water are a busted flush? And does she agree that it is a scandal that water bosses like Dave Hinton dine out on enormous bonuses, salaries and the rest while failing residents across our area? Does she agree that Dave Hinton needs to go?

16:39

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)

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Minister. Water Special Measures Act and the bonus ban was to exactly do this, which is to ensure that people who get a bonus have earned it and people who haven't earned it don't get one, which seems pretty straightforward way of doing things in my mind. But again, this goes back to this point made by colleagues. You know, across the house, the water company should be talking to the members of Parliament. They should be having those conversations about where do they need to put these bottled water stations, what is the most effective place? And they have a duty, not just they are, you know, they can if they want to, but they have a statutory duty to supply water to people in the event of supply outages.

And this is one of the fundamental things that the drinking Water Inspectorate are going to look at is how well or otherwise has the company supplied water to those people who are on the vulnerable vulnerable register, and how well or otherwise has it's made bottled water available? Because, quite frankly, I'm as outraged by it as he is. Katie Lam.

16:40

Katie Lam MP (Weald of Kent, Conservative)

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Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. the weekend in Headcorn and Staplehurst and Coxheath in the villages surrounding have had no running water. It's vital in these situations that we're able to share accurate and timely information. But South East Water literally had no idea what was going on. There was supposed to be a bottled water station in Headcorn, and for the entirety of Saturday, nobody from South East Water could tell me if there was even any water there. We were given multiple conflicting pieces of information, most of which turned out to be inaccurate.

The only way we could establish whether there was my team and I, whether there was anything there was to go there ourselves. Does the Minister agree that this is unacceptable and makes a bad situation so much worse?

16:41

Emma Hardy MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, Labour)