Local Housing Allowance: Freeze

Debate between Baroness Nargund and Baroness Sherlock

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, I am not sure that, if I were on the Benches opposite, I would be talking too much about a failure to build houses over a long period. Since we are on the subject, this Government are providing an extra £1.5 billion to provide 10,000 homes in England for social rent now. We also have a target to build 1.5 million new homes—we know that that is stretching. Our latest statistics suggest that we built 437,900 net additional homes from the start of this Parliament through to 20 September this year. It will take time for the impact of our planning reforms to flow through to the published data, and we know this is a difficult environment; the geopolitical context is not easy. We know it will be challenging and that it will take time to turn the tide and deliver more homes. We expect housebuilding to ramp up further in the later years of this Parliament, but I urge the whole House to get behind an ambitious target. We need Government after Government to keep doing this. This Government are determined to do it.

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

My Lords, homelessness and temporary accommodation are not just housing issues; they are public health issues. Housing is an important determinant of health. The report published by our Government in December 2025 showed that during the last Government, from 2019 to 2024, temporary accommodation was a contributing factor to the deaths of 74 children, and 58 of those children were under the age of one. Will the Government consider the public health consequences of homelessness and temporary accommodation, and work jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS when planning these prevention strategies?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My noble friend raises an excellent point. It is not just a matter of temporary housing; there are issues about the quality of housing. The Government are working very hard on this. In particular, we take the issue of non-compliant landlords renting out substandard properties very seriously indeed. Local authorities have various powers to make sure landlords can be held accountable, and these can be robustly enforced. My department is working with MHCLG to increase enforcement activity and to make our data available to make that easier. One example is Awaab’s law, which came into force in the social rented sector in October last year. It means that all social landlords must repair all emergency hazards within 24 hours and fix dangerous damp and mould within fixed timescales. That will be extended further in phase 2. I am grateful to my noble friend for raising this issue, and I assure her that the Government are on it.

Health-related Benefits Assessments

Debate between Baroness Nargund and Baroness Sherlock

Monday 8th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

These were long-term contracts and were signed only in late 2023 and took effect shortly after, but we are not simply taking that as meaning that we cannot do anything. We are in close negotiations with all the contractors to look at how we can drive up the proportion of face-to-face assessments. It will take time because, having started with so many being home-based, we have to make sure we can get the numbers back up in time. There are limited numbers and assessors have to be either a registered doctor, a nurse, an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist; they have to be trained in disability assessment medicine; and they have to engage in continuous professional development. We need to make sure they are properly qualified to make those assessments, but we are working to get the numbers up as fast as we can.

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for reassuring us that face-to-face appointments will be increased with trained professionals. I welcome the DWP initiative to reform the fit note system. There are millions of women who are absent from work due to women’s health problems and nearly 60,000 women are leaving work every year due to menopausal symptoms. What conversations has my noble friend the Minister had to ensure workplace adjustments will be made to get these women back to work or into new employment?