Families with Children: Accommodation

Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Rooker

Monday 19th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I can agree with my noble friend on the fact that we have pressures on our system, which I have already mentioned, particularly on housing, but we are a country that cares. Anybody who comes into this country and is homeless deserves a home.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

How many of, say, the top councils with the largest numbers been called in by Ministers to have a chat? In 2003, in the system invented and supervised by the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, as she cleared the streets of the homeless, councils that were failing by using bed and breakfast for too many families were constantly monitored and called in. I am not saying the solution is easy, but producing the statistics and leaving it to the councils is not good enough. Have Ministers called in any of the top offenders?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

First, obviously we keep a review of councils’ delivery. I am not aware of any being called in recently since I have been a Minister, but we have a homelessness advice and support team drawn from local authorities and the homelessness sector which provides support and help for local authorities to end the placement of families in bed-and-breakfast accommodation. I think that is a better way to do it: supporting local authorities to deliver.

Housing: Modular Construction

Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Rooker

Thursday 8th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rooker]

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to improve the rates of home ownership by the use of modular construction techniques.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (Baroness Scott of Bybrook) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to increasing the number of homes built using modern methods of construction—MMC—across all housing tenures. MMC offers a range of benefits, such as delivering high-quality energy-efficient homes more quickly, and the Government are supporting the sector with our £1.5 billion levelling up home building fund and providing funding for up to 40,000 MMC homes through the affordable homes programme to help deliver these benefits at scale.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her Answer. Does she agree that modern methods of construction are safer for employees, create less waste and avoid the corner-cutting of Friday afternoons on wet building sites? However, the technology requires a systematic pipeline: you cannot switch factories on and off. Are the Government taking action to ensure that mortgage providers are confident in modern technology and, above all, that planning departments, which have a prejudice that remains today, accept modern technology?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I know that the noble Lord has been interested in this sector for many years. I assure him that the Government are taking this very seriously. We are focusing on removing all the barriers to growth. These are about insurance, finance, warranties and, as he mentioned, mortgages. It is all about stimulating that pipeline so that these companies can invest and keep those factories going until this becomes a normality in our housing system.

Voter ID

Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Rooker

Wednesday 3rd May 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

As I have said before, we will look at whether there need to be any changes after the Electoral Commission and the Government have collected the data they require from returning officers. We said that we would do that; there will be a review by both Houses of Parliament at the end of this year, and the Electoral Commission will review it as well. We expect its interim report in early summer. That is when we will need to look at whether any changes need to be made.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

My Lords, I appreciate the difficult position that the Minister is in, but can she set out a list of all those people who are eligible for a proxy vote organised up until 5 pm tomorrow—election day? It was a mystery to me; I had never heard of emergency proxies. Apparently, they are available to people who, for example, cannot use the photo pass they were planning to use; it is not just an illness or disability issue. Where is the list, because it is very confusing on the websites, of who can get organised for a proxy up to 5 pm tomorrow? Are local authorities organised to do that for people who might have problems? Has this happened before or not?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

In certain circumstances where a person has an emergency that means that they cannot vote in person, they can apply for an emergency proxy. There is full guidance on the Electoral Commission’s website. I should stress that the circumstances where an application for a proxy vote may apply are specific and very limited. Emergency proxies are available if a person’s photo ID is lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged, and the deadline to apply for a voter authority certificate has passed. This can also be used if an anonymous elector’s document is lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged. As the noble Lord said, applications can be made up to 5 pm on polling day.

Levelling Up Fund

Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Rooker

Tuesday 24th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, with some of the devolution deals that have been done, and will be done in future, that is one of the issues we are talking to local government about and encouraging it to do.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

How many rounds can there be before the next election? It is unclear to me, local government and those who watch what government does. The third round popped up after the complaints about the second round so, for transparency, should we not have a specific date for the third round to ensure there is no manipulation of the date, configured to the next general election? It is a sensible point to raise, because the allegations will be repeated each time. What is to stop a fourth found at the very last minute? Can the Minister please explain the techniques used?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, I am very sorry, but I cannot explain the techniques. All I am aware of—we have made it very clear—is that there will be a third round. It is best to note that 45% of all the awards so far have gone to opposition councils.

Government Business: Messaging Services

Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Rooker

Thursday 31st March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

It is not really about private conversations, Minister to Minister. In a way, I am not really bothered about that. What this is about is Ministers using their own equipment to talk to other people: businesses, lobby groups. The Minister simply has not addressed the issue of Ministers using the equipment to go outside of government. She answered only about inside government.

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I do not agree with the noble Lord. Let us make it clear: in 2013, the Cabinet Office issued guidance to departments that covered the use of private email accounts and any other form of non-corporate communication channel. The guidance states that all government information must be handled in accordance with the law, including the Official Secrets Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Data Protection Act and the Public Records Act. Instant messaging services are used mainly for the type of informal, corridor chat that needs to be retained. However, Ministers and officials are required to ensure that a record is captured into the official system of any substantive discussions that take place or any decisions that are made in the course of conducting official business.