Car Parking Companies

Debate between Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Lord Evans of Rainow

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

Once again, I understand the frustrations about this. It is for hospital trusts to decide how they manage their own parking arrangements, and people can challenge that. However, I appreciate that there are significant issues in that respect. I am sorry to keep repeating it, but if the noble Baroness wishes to put in a submission to the consultation, I would be grateful to hear from her.

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister, whom we all have very high respect for, aware that certain local authorities discriminate against four-wheel drive vehicles parking in town centres? I can hear the Liberal Democrats saying, “Quite right, too”, but for those of us who live in rural areas, having a four-wheel drive is not unusual, and in many cases it is a necessity. Four-wheel drive vehicles are part and parcel of the countryside, and sometimes we wish to visit town centres. Can the Minister look into this matter?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I can remember the letters. Local authorities are best placed to determine the nature and scope of parking policies in their own areas, including whether parking should be provided free, balancing the needs of residents, emergency services and local businesses that work in and visit those areas. There is a right to challenge now, which was published in 2015, which advises how residents can challenge and cause a formal review of parking policies in their local area. If the noble Lord is worried about four-wheel drive parking, he can always challenge that with his local authority.

Housebuilding

Debate between Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Lord Evans of Rainow

Thursday 21st September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

I agree with the noble Lord. Our £11.5 billion affordable homes programme will deliver thousands of new homes across the country, and a large number of these will be for social rent. Local authorities have a key role to play in increasing the supply of social housing; in 2021-22 they delivered nearly 800,000 affordable homes, which represented 13% of the overall affordable housing delivery and the highest recorded number of local authority completions since 1991-92.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Evans, to the ever-growing DLUHC team in your Lordships’ House. I grew up in a council house, so I know from personal experience that social housing should be treated as a national asset to be proud of, to invest in, to protect and to maintain. But local authorities have had little support under this Government to replenish our stock—the Minister outlined how much but it does not go very far. As over 1 million people are still stuck on social housing waiting lists, will the Government now look again at social housing policy and help local authorities to build more safe, secure houses?

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

I too was born and bred for 25 years of my early life in a council house. Local authorities do a good job, but the noble Baroness is absolutely right that there is more to do. The Government have done a good job on affordable housing, but local authorities of all colours could do a lot more on affordable housing and social housing in particular. The council housing that I was brought up in was of very high quality and is still there today. The communities that it develops are long-standing, and we need to maintain them.