Housing: New Homes Target

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Eaton (Con)]

My Lords—

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe]

24: Clause 4, page 5, line 22, at end insert—
“(5ZB) The court may not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house on Ground 6B (whether or not an order is also sought on any other ground) where the landlord has not complied with section 11A of this Act.”Member's explanatory statement
This amendment would make possession under ground 6B contingent on compensation being paid, rather than compensation being dependent on court proceedings.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as chair of the Property Ombudsman, TPO, for the private rented sector. I have two amendments in this group, Amendments 24 and 30. Both relate to repossession under ground 6B. Their intention is to make possession on that ground contingent on compensation being paid, rather than being dependent on court proceedings. I am grateful for the very helpful briefing on this matter to the National Renters Alliance and specifically to Safer Renting, a renter advocacy service operated by the social action charity Cambridge House.

Ground 6B provides landlords with a route to vacant possession, evicting the renter in the process, to give the landlord the possibility of avoiding a range of sanctions that could be imposed or taken by a local authority when breaches have occurred. As I understand it, the purpose is to protect renters from poor landlord practice—for example, poor housing conditions—while enabling landlords to comply with enforcement action. However, it gives the non-compliant landlord grounds for possession of the property in cases where renter wrongdoing may not have occurred, yet resulting in potential homelessness for the renter. An amendment was made to the Bill in another place to give the court the option of ordering the landlord to pay to the tenant such sum as appears sufficient as compensation for damage or loss sustained by that tenant as a result of the order for possession.

This is a welcome addition to the Bill. The intention of that amendment is to compensate the renter appropriately for the damages of possession. However, Safer Renting, whose staff are experts in supporting renters to access redress, believes that the mechanism for doing so via a court order has significant complications. Under the current proposal, any compensation ordered by the court may not be paid to the renter before their eviction. If compensation is not paid before the eviction, renters may be left to foot the bill for any relocation or legal expenses out of their own pockets.

This is wholly inappropriate and leaves the renter in an extremely perilous position. It is surely contrary to natural justice. Ground 6B would mean that the renter is evicted from their home, forced into finding alternative accommodation—potentially at a higher rate—or faces homelessness. The renter is burdened by the highly stressful situation of having to find a new private tenancy. The renter is likely to be forced to pay for a new deposit in the intermediary period before the possession and the compensation payment, which they may not be able to afford. The renter’s housing move-on is at the mercy of the court system for their compensation—a court system with extreme backlogs and under extreme pressure. This is likely to cause a prolonged period of uncertainty and stress. The renter must find legal representation, potentially at prohibitively high costs, and is expected to take on the additional burden of pursuing an unscrupulous landlord for unpaid compensation. By making the possession contingent on compensation paid up front, the renter does not suffer these consequences and is fairly compensated for any stress and burden experienced.

There are further considerations if a renter is evicted. Renters in priority need must be placed in temporary accommodation and rehoused by the council, at substantial cost to the individual local authority and the public purse. This is further complicated by the prospect that a mandatory ground for eviction could financially disincentivise councils from pursuing the necessary enforcement action against the non-compliant landlord, contradicting the local authorities’ enforcement strategy as the costs of rehousing are passed on to the local authority. This is during a period in which local authorities are spending £2.3 billion on temporary accommodation housing more than 120,000 households, and many councils are in severe financial trouble.

In addition, with deposits now averaging around £1,218, the cost of a new deposit is potentially a major prohibitor to finding new accommodation quickly. Should the landlord fail to return the renter’s deposit on their vacating the property, the renter would be expected to find an additional cash sum likely to be over £1,000. This is highly prohibitive for most renters and leaves them either in potentially dire financial straits or unable to afford access to a new home.

A recent survey by the property company Reposit showed that, of 1,000 renters surveyed, nearly half—48%—had to borrow money to afford a deposit. By ensuring that compensation for possession is paid prior to the possession order, renters will be able to move properties more seamlessly and not face potentially prohibitive financial burdens or barriers.

As the Bill is currently presented, for the renter to access compensation they must rely on the landlord, who has already broken the law, to comply with the court order to pay compensation. There is no guarantee that any compensation ordered by the court will be paid to the renter. In this event, the renter must take the landlord to court. The courts, as I have said, are currently under record backlogs, with most recent data suggesting that the wait time for a small claims hearing is 54 weeks—more than a year. This is an egregious length of time to wait to receive the necessary and appropriate compensation for a vacant possession through a landlord’s non-compliance.

Legal representation is also a major financial barrier that may prevent renters from attempting to claim compensation. Vacant possessions are typically ordered on poor-quality housing where the rent is lower; therefore, the income of the renter is also likely to be lower. It is logical to assume that the majority of renters who receive a possession order will not have the funds to support a legal claim against the landlord for the compensation that they are due. This would be a significant injustice; I hope it can be prevented.

Although some renters would be able to access legal aid funding, the majority and an increasing proportion would not. Legal aid cuts have resulted in 34% fewer legal aid funded possessions proceedings since the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012—according to analysis from Safer Renting.

Furthermore, compensation is not always paid by criminal landlords, even following a court order, as Safer Renting has witnessed in a high number of cases. Safer Renting’s data reveals that, in instances where award for a rent repayment order has been given against a landlord, with the proper status and assets, only 40% of landlords have complied with the order to pay the renter. When the order has been made against an intermediary landlord, compliance with the order drops even further to just 5%. This is contrary to natural justice and the intentions of Parliament in bringing forward the Bill.

I hope my noble friend the Minister will consider how, without compensation paid prior to the possession of the home, renters—particularly those on low or no income—will find the necessary funds to pay for a deposit on a new home while they await a court order. What estimate do the Government make of the additional costs that local authorities in England will incur in cases where priority-need renters are evicted from their homes and placed into temporary accommodation? Will legal aid be made available to renters to enforce compensation orders made by the court under the existing provision for representation in relation to possession proceedings? If so, what is the Government’s calculation of how much extra this will cost? Finally, can the Minister say whether there is an appropriate timeframe for a renter to receive compensation following their eviction?

I hope I have shown that my amendments would deliver a fairer and more just outcome for the renter, where the landlord has acted unscrupulously or without compliance. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

All noble Lords, including my noble friends, will of course be welcome to any meetings that are held.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I will not attempt to critique the Minister’s response to other amendments or indeed to summarise comments on them. They were all about repossessions, but they were so very different that it would be impossible to do that. I admire the Minister, and indeed the Opposition Front Bench, for trying to pull them all together into one discussion. I will not critique them, but I will look very carefully at what the Minister has said. I particularly thank the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, for her support for my amendments.

I know the Minister sought to reassure me that the Bill was capable of covering the concerns that I had expressed. She commented that the courts were best placed to decide on compensation—of course I appreciate that—and that the courts would set out a timeframe for compensation, which I very much welcome and understand. But I am still very conscious of the concerns of the Renters Alliance and its various constituent organisations about the impact of these repossessions, particularly on the most vulnerable, when they are evicted at no fault of their own and are in financial difficulties and under a lot of stress as a result.

I hope the Minister will agree to see how this very real problem could be resolved. I am reluctant to ask her for another meeting when so many others have already been agreed to, but I would appreciate it very much if we could sit down and discuss this, because I feel I would need personally to be reassured that there are parts of the Bill that would satisfy the concerns that I have expressed. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment 24 withdrawn.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Lords Chamber

However, more generally, we must recognise that more needs to be done in this area, whether it is simply the amendment proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, to which I have added my name, or the more general change that is set out in the other amendments in this group. A vibrant private rented sector for students is necessary if we are going to protect and increase educational opportunity in this country. It is not sufficient, of course, but it is genuinely necessary. I hope the Minister will recognise both this and that student accommodation in general needs to be treated as the distinctive case that it is.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, briefly, I support Amendment 40, to which I added my name. I am concerned to ensure that we do not inadvertently damage further the student accommodation market. There is already a very severe shortage in student housing. The proposal to end fixed-term tenancy agreements could have such an impact. I have received very detailed briefings from UniHomes—supported, I know, by Unipol—Universities UK, HEPI and other organisations intimately involved in student housing.

Purpose-built student accommodation will be exempt from this decision, but student accommodation provided by the private rented sector is not offered that exemption. I know that the government objective, which I fully support, is to deliver security and stability to tenants, but I do not believe that the Bill, as it stands, will deliver that for all students. As the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, pointed out, on average, private sector accommodation is cheaper than purpose-built accommodation, so it is an important source of housing for domestic students who are economically disadvantaged. I hope that the Minister will recognise that possibility and not jeopardise such provision, as many think this might. It would be worth considering granting the exemption granted to purpose-built student accommodation to the student private rented sector in total. Other suggestions have been made and I hope that the Minister will consider them all to ensure the stability of student accommodation.

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, along with the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Wolf and Lady Warwick, I have signed this amendment. I spoke about this issue at Second Reading.

The noble Lord, Lord Willetts, reminded us that there are three totally different rental regimes for students: purpose-built accommodation, including large blocks; the HMOs, which are larger properties in the private rented sector; and the smaller private rented sector accommodation. The noble Lord was absolutely right to say that the achievement of so many young people in going to university has been dependent on the availability of accommodation in the private rented sector. From my time in Newcastle upon Tyne, I know how fundamentally important the PRS was to the growth of the universities in the city. I think the Government accept that a special arrangement is needed for an academic-year contract, but that has to include those in one-bedroom or two-bedroom properties; they also need to be exempted as part of ground 4A, which currently restricts the exemption to houses in multiple occupation.

The Government have Amendment 202 in this group, and I am keen to hear what the Minister will say about that and to what extent she feels it will help us solve the problem. There is a danger that unscrupulous landlords will define properties as being for students when they are not, in order to bypass the impact of this Bill when enacted. I thought a lot about that and believe that the Government can mitigate that possibility. It might be done through the register; there may be ways of delivering a solution by that means. It occurred to me that it may be possible to use non-liability for paying council tax as the basis for a system for identifying those who would qualify for Ground 4A. It would require local authority co-operation and proactive management of the private rented sector, but it can be done—and it needs to be done because students are very important to the lifeblood of many cities and towns across the country. Having a vibrant private rented sector for them to use matters.

If the Government decide that the smaller private rented sector properties do not need additional help, the likelihood, given that students would be able to give two months’ notice under the revised terms of this Bill, is that landlords will decide to stop letting properties in the private rented sector to students, or to reduce their exposure to the student-letting market.

It is a complex area. I recall the Minister saying when she summed up at Second Reading that there are difficulties and issues that have to be considered. I hope that, once she has replied and we better understand the intention of Amendment 202, we can produce something much better when the Bill is on Report.

High-rise Buildings: Safety Remediation

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right to say that we can do better, which is why we have introduced the remediation acceleration plan. The plan’s targets provide greater certainty to residents, a significant acceleration in pace and much greater certainty about when cladding remediation will be resolved. We have never had targets like these before. This Government have put in place a plan to deliver; it is now up to those responsible for making their buildings safe to do so. The plan has been criticised by campaigners for not being ambitious enough and by industry for being too ambitious and unachievable. All plans like this must strike a balance; we believe this plan gets the right balance and is ambitious but also achievable.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, the National Audit Office also found that, in the social housing sector, remediating cladding safety defects will cost £3.8 billion. The National Housing Federation says that housing associations could build 91,000 more affordable homes if the social housing sector had equal access to government funding to pay for building safety works. Substantial funding is being diverted away from investing in new affordable homes to pay building safety costs, so could I ask the Minister whether the Government have a plan to ensure that the social housing sector can deliver the 1.5 million new affordable homes target by making it eligible for the Government’s building safety funding?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to point to the strains on social housing between remediation of all kinds of maintenance defects, including fire safety, and building new affordable housing. From April, we will increase targeted support for social landlords applying for government remediation funding. That will help them meet the costs of planning and preparing for remediation works, and to start remedial work sooner. Social landlords can apply for government remediation funding equivalent to the amount that would otherwise have been passed on to leaseholders, or for the full cost of the works where remediation would render a social landlord financially unviable. We have committed £568 million to support the remediation of social housing through government schemes.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I warmly congratulate my noble friend on a powerful and very moving maiden speech.

My noble friend is known for being one of the “famous five”, a group of local Labour Party members who helped Tony Blair to be selected as a Labour candidate in 1983, as he indicated; the rest is history. My noble friend stepped into those very big shoes when he won the Sedgefield constituency, but he clearly showed that he could fill them. He was immensely proud, as he said, that he had been instrumental in bringing a Hitachi Rail factory to Newton Aycliffe.

The House will have realised how equally proud he is of his northern industrial heritage. A Sedgefield lad born and bred, he still lives in his constituency and he showed us the love that he has for it, for that heritage and for County Durham. However, he was too modest to say that he is working on a PhD on its culture and class issues. My noble friend’s background and solid life experiences will ensure that he makes a formidable contribution to this House. I know that he will be given a warm welcome.

I supported the previous Government when they sought to reform the private rented sector to the benefit of tenants, and I support my Government now in ensuring that reform happens. I was really disappointed that the Conservative Party has refused to support the legislation, when both pieces of legislation have the same aim. The Government have developed comprehensive protections for tenants and, at the same time, recognise the contribution made by responsible landlords who provide quality homes. It is clear that great care has been taken in the drafting of this Bill to avoid unintended consequences. Of course, there are ways in which the Bill can be improved, and we have been briefed by Citizens Advice and Shelter, as well as by several organisations representing different interests in the PRS and those involved in student housing, but all expressed general support for the Bill and its aims.

I believe this legislation has the power to transform the private rented sector into a place where tenants can access safe and decent properties at a fair price in the knowledge that, unless their landlord has good reason, it is a place they can call home for as long as they like. It also presents an opportunity for the vast majority of good landlords to establish longer-term tenancies and to show that the minority of bad ones have no place in the sector.

In the Bill, there are issues about the Courts & Tribunal Service, the removal of fixed-term tenancies and enforcement capacity—to name only some aspects. In the time we have, I will focus on a few: first, the impact on social landlords; secondly, the new ombudsman and the role of agents in helping to get that right; and, thirdly, student accommodation. If we are truly to solve the housing emergency, we need to deliver the complementary goals of increased supply and stronger regulation that will ensure that homes are built and maintained at a high standard. This Bill is key to the second half of that equation.

In the social housing sector, it is clear that much has been done by the Government already to allow social landlords to gain access to properties in need of essential redevelopment and improvement works. Regeneration can restore pride in communities and in places that have been left behind, so I am pleased that changes in this legislation will not impede housing-led regeneration and redevelopment.

I know there are concerns that some of the proposed changes to rent increases might impact on social landlords’ ability to increase rents in a harmonised way and affect their ability to deliver repairs and maintenance. There are also concerns about accessing the First-tier Tribunal. I hope the Minister will be willing to meet the National Housing Federation to discuss these.

I turn now to the very welcome proposal for a new ombudsman for the private rented sector, and I declare an interest as the chair of the Property Ombudsman scheme—TPO. It is right that all renters, whether in social or private rented housing, can access quick, fair, impartial and binding resolutions for complaints about their landlord. Can the Minister clarify whether a PRS ombudsman would apply to social landlords’ market rent tenancies?

In the private rented sector, TPO has been dealing with complaints against letting and managing agents for over 20 years. It dealt with 70,000 inquiries last year. That has taught us that tenants’ complaints often include not just the agents but the decisions and actions of their landlords as well. For example, where there is a cost to repair a property, landlords need to authorise payments and instruct agents to carry out the work. From a tenant’s point of view, the agent and the landlord are one and the same, so letting agents will have an important role in delivering the objectives of the legislation.

Whether the decision be that there is one combined ombudsman for the PRS and social housing sector or two separate ombudsmen, it needs to be clear that the purpose of the ombudsman is to provide clarity to tenants on where to go for redress. This will be a new concept for the 50% of PRS landlords who do not employ agents. Can the Minister provide some clarity on how they will be engaged with the process?

I welcome the proposed landlord database. Agents will be required to use the database to check whether the properties that landlords ask them to market are registered as well as that the landlord is registered with the new PRS ombudsman. Can the Minister please clarify whether the database is intended to be a one-stop shop that agents and tenants can use to check the property is registered and compliant and that the landlord is registered for redress?

It is a complex area, with the potential for tenants to find themselves lost and frustrated. A lettings dispute can involve on average five different unresolved issues. Will the Minister consider how the database could be developed to help tenants triage multiple issues to ensure that serious hazards are referred to local authorities, landlord issues are directed to the new ombudsman, agent issues are referred to the Property Ombudsman and rent issues are appointed to the First-tier Tribunal?

Joint investigations will be required and both ombudsmen will need to be able to refer cases to local authorities for enforcement, especially when homes fall short of the decent homes standard and Awaab’s law. Just as the Property Ombudsman now works with redress providers and trading standards, a joined-up approach will be required to ensure that the new system works for both tenants and landlords.

I raise a final issue: the impact of the Bill on student housing. The Government have said that they will exempt purpose-built student accommodation from the decision to end fixed-term tenancy agreements. They subsequently included off-street accommodation, where most students live in their second and third years. Unfortunately, as far as I understand it—although it was not clear from the Minister’s introduction—this will not apply to one- and two-bedroom apartments, yet these account for a third of all student housing. The university sector believes that this is likely to cause confusion and disruption for students and could lead to landlords exiting this market because of the uncertainties. If that is the case, will the Minister agree to look at this again?

This is a complex Bill that will have an interesting Committee stage, but I assure the Minister that the organisation that I chair—the Property Ombudsman—is ready to offer its substantial experience of the PRS to help ensure that the Bill works for tenants, landlords and agents.

Housing Supply and Homelessness

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 5th December 2024 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe]

That this House takes note of the need to increase housing supply and tackle homelessness.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome this opportunity to highlight again the current housing crisis and the rise in homelessness, and I am grateful to all noble Lords who have chosen to speak in this debate.

The facts are truly shocking. They are reflected in innumerable reports over the last few years. Charities such as Shelter and Crisis have been sounding warnings for years. Sector bodies such as the National Housing Federation have lobbied hard for an increased supply of homes that can be afforded and are of good quality. The Church of England has produced two important reports re-emphasising the crisis we face, and I am glad that the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury has chosen this debate to make his valedictory speech to the House. He instigated the two reports and has shown a strong commitment to ending homelessness. I know that the House will appreciate his many valuable contributions over the years and looks forward to his valedictory address.

It must be a crisis when millions of people and families in this country cannot find or afford a decent home: a home where they feel secure, where they can thrive and where their children can learn. The Labour manifesto was clear that the housing crisis was a national priority and committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over the Parliament. Beneath that headline commitment is an ambition to provide the biggest increase to social and affordable housing for a generation. As I hope to outline today, a major new programme of social housebuilding is more critical than ever, and the role that supported housing can play as a part of that is urgently needed if we are to make any progress in dealing with homelessness.

In the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor promised to deliver not only a £500 million boost to the affordable homes programme but flexibilities to councils when using right-to-buy receipts and consultation on a new social housing rent settlement. On homelessness, additional funds of £233 million were announced—a positive initial step, but these are only foundations on which to build. Demand will still exceed supply even if that target is fully met. Housing has an impact on health policy, education policy, immigration, justice, transport and employment; just about every arm of government has a role to play in addressing this crisis. It is a huge challenge for the Government and for the Minister. I urge the need for a long-term strategy, which will depend on achieving not only cross-departmental support but some degree of cross-party support for long-term policies that can be sustained beyond the lifetime of one Parliament or one Government. I hope the party opposite will agree to play its part in achieving this.

The sheer scale is daunting. Over 8 million people in England cannot access the housing they need, with a large portion requiring social housing. National Housing Federation research into overcrowding found that more than 310,000 children in England are forced to share beds with other family members. One in six children is living in cramped conditions—that is around 2 million children.

An increase in the number of people facing homelessness has been compounded by the cost of living crisis. The latest official statistics show a 10% increase in the number of households who contacted their local authorities due to being at risk of homelessness. A record number of families are homeless and living in inadequate temporary accommodation, which is disrupting children’s education, undermining their well-being and piling enormous pressure on families. Temporary accommodation, predominantly delivered by the private sector, is often of poor quality and unsuitable for families, who report high levels of stress, anxiety and depression.

Temporary accommodation was created as a short-term solution, but the rise in homelessness and lack of suitable social housing means that households can spend years in it, even where social housing is available. The increased need has meant that local authorities have to rely on B&Bs and hotels. This has become a huge financial burden on local authorities, which between April 2023 and March 2024 spent a total of £2.3 billion on temporary accommodation. The number of rough sleepers has also continued to rise to record levels. In London alone, the Combined Homelessness and Information Network has reported a 19% increase in rough sleepers compared with last year.

The last Labour Government reduced rough sleeping by more than two-thirds in their first term by taking a cross-departmental approach. Can my noble friend the Minister update the House on the work of the Deputy Prime Minister’s ministerial task force to end homelessness? Will the Minister commit the Government to working with mayors and local government leaders to achieve this?

The link between homelessness and health is well known. Unmet mental health needs and lack of treatment for substance misuse are known factors that can trap people in the cycle of homelessness. Health is more than just the absence of disease; it is about people’s overall well-being. Health starts at home, and the housing crisis has had an awful effect on people’s health, with long-term consequences. It is increasing the financial burden on the NHS and costing £1.4 billion per year to treat people affected by poor housing.

Housing that is properly adapted to suit the needs of residents and having the right support in place are key to keeping people out of hospital and living independently. The tragic death of Awaab Ishak reminds us that poor-quality homes can also contribute to avoidable deaths and increase the risk of developing asthma and other respiratory conditions. We must commit to ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again.

Overcrowding can put a real strain on families. Reduced privacy and lack of space to study or play have been linked to developmental issues and poor mental health in children. Appropriate housing with support where needed can help relieve pressures on the NHS by enabling timely discharge from hospital, preventing readmissions and helping people access health services early on. Will the Minister ensure that the long-term housing policy is integrated into the ambitions set out in the NHS 10-year plan, to ensure that it looks beyond just the number of new homes and addresses housing conditions and types, affordability and support?

I referred to supported housing. Homelessness schemes are essential to ensuring that people get the support they need to break the cycle of homelessness. But the sector is facing a truly dire financial situation. Cuts to funding and the financial stress of supplying temporary accommodation have forced local authorities to make some very difficult decisions. This has included decommissioning vital supported housing and homelessness services—a lifeline for vulnerable groups at risk of rough sleeping. Despite the increasing need for supported housing, one in three supported housing providers has had to close services in the past year, and 60% expect to close schemes in the future due to unviability. This will lead to an increase in need for temporary accommodation and residential care, and so increase even more the financial pressures on local authorities.

The NAO’s July report argued that:

“Dealing with homelessness is creating unsustainable financial pressure for some local authorities”.


Funding constraints are undermining local authorities’ capacity to prevent homelessness and invest in good-quality temporary accommodation and other forms of housing. I hope the Government are under no illusions about the scale of the pressure that councils are facing after years of underfunding and increasing demand for services. It would be helpful if the Minister could confirm the steps the Government are taking to reset the relationship with local government.

There are some things that can be done quickly. The empty homes round table on 19 November highlighted the urgency of tackling long-term empty homes as part of broader efforts to alleviate housing shortages, reduce homelessness and improve housing sustainability. It focused on the need to improve funding flexibility to enable local authorities to acquire and refurbish empty homes, simplifying enforcement measures such as empty dwelling management orders, and the importance of linking empty homes initiatives to wider national housing, homelessness and retrofitting strategies.

Although the NAO report I referred to was based on the legacy of the previous Government, it presents a further challenge for the Government now as they develop their own strategy for dealing with that legacy of homelessness and insufficient housing supply. Local authorities, along with housing associations, are key deliverers of social and supported accommodation. The Government’s commitment to a long-term strategy is essential if they are to ensure a stable and sustainable building programme. The NAO also warned that funding had remained fragmented and generally short term, and it is worth noting that the constant changes in Housing Minister over the last 10 years cannot have done much to encourage longer-term thinking. I hope this Government will learn that lesson.

I turn briefly to the private sector, which has a significant role to play in housebuilding but has severe limitations. The private market has rarely delivered more than 150,000 homes a year, and in many years fewer than that. The only post-war period where we have built more than 300,000 homes a year was when we were building over 100,000 council homes as part of the mix. Importantly, this was founded on a firm cross-party commitment to the value of social housing. The speculative private housebuilder model means market homes will not build out quickly enough to deliver 1.5 million homes this Parliament. Boosting social and affordable housing will be vital to the new Government’s plans for housing-led growth and delivery. So I hope the Minister will agree that we need a big uptick in social housebuilding, as well as moving ahead with planning reform that will open up sites over time.

I will comment briefly on planning. In recent years, the total number of homes that were granted planning permission fell sharply, from 302,000 in 2021-22 to 236,000 in 2022-23. Can the Minister tell us what the Government are doing to reform the planning system in order to deliver the quality of homes and infrastructure the country is crying out for? I hope these issues will be raised in more detail by other speakers.

Let me conclude. We know that building social homes speeds up and stabilises overall housebuilding, as well as increasing the resilience and productivity of the construction sector and boosting growth. The National Housing Federation and Shelter commissioned research which showed that building 90,000 social rented homes a year would add £51.2 billion to the economy. Social housing is not a debt or financial burden on the Exchequer, it is a precious national asset that we need to invest in, protect and maintain. Will the Minister commit to reinforcing this vital message with the Treasury in the forthcoming spending review?

Increasing the supply of homes alone will not solve the housing and homelessness crisis. We need investment in our existing homes to improve quality. We need to secure long-term, ring-fenced funding to protect supported housing and homelessness schemes.

We should consider the scale of the opportunity as well as the challenge. Every year, social landlords save their tenants £18 billion compared with equivalent rents in the private rented sector, meaning lower-income families have more income after housing costs to spend on essentials. This is a contribution that has been overlooked by successive Governments.

Looking ahead to the spring spending review and the Government’s long-term housing strategy, will the Minister urge her Secretary of State and colleagues at the Treasury to ring-fence funding for housing-related support allocated to local authorities? It is also vital we provide more flexible revenue and grant funding, so that supported housing can deliver and develop according to local needs.

Fourteen years of austerity and piecemeal solutions have had an appalling impact on housing, but solutions remain within reach. Will the Minister commit to working across all government departments to cover all aspects of housing and ensure that this feeds into their long-term strategic planning?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that very comprehensive and indeed very encouraging response. I will not attempt to summarise the debate—indeed, my noble friend did it rather splendidly. But I do not think the Government can be in any doubt that there is support on all sides of this House for speedy action, as well as for a long-term strategy. I simply join in the tribute that she made to the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury for the work he has done, and I think that was reflected in all the comments made around the House.

I must say that I was very impressed: I almost wondered whether I should come up with a quote. But, having been given them from as wide a range as Aeneas, Nelson Mandela and Eliza Doolittle, I felt that would be inappropriate.

We have had a passionate and very committed debate today, with some extraordinary personal contributions. They root us in the reality of people’s lives and what we are really trying to deliver here, which is homes and communities. I thank everybody who has made a contribution in this debate and I beg to move.

Motion agreed.

Cladding Remediation

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My Lords, I am very glad to say that we now have a Government, and a Deputy Prime Minister who is responsible for this area, who take this incredibly seriously. We will soon be publishing a remediation acceleration plan, which outlines the specific measures we are going to take to increase the pace of remediation, to find all the at-risk buildings quicker and to ensure that the residents at the heart of this terrible issue are supported in the process. There is no longer any excuse for those responsible failing to fix dangerous cladding on their buildings. The message is clear: use the routes we have created to get buildings fixed, and get on with the job.

The Deputy Prime Minister recently held a national roundtable with mayors, regulators and national building safety bodies to press home the urgency of this work, and most developers have now signed up now to the plan that she set out. But please be assured that we will not hesitate to use enforcement measures, and we have provided local authorities with funding to undertake the enforcement necessary.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, there are still limits to access to funding for social landlords, despite the welcome measures the Government have taken already on funding, meaning that those with the lowest incomes still have to pay for unsafe buildings to be fixed, when private developers profited from constructing them. Will my noble friend respond to End our Cladding Scandal’s call for housing associations to have the same access to the building safety fund and the cladding safety scheme as private building owners?

Social Housebuilding

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2024 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to build capacity in councils and housing associations within the next three months to increase the building of new social homes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Baroness Taylor of Stevenage) (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her Question and for all the work she has done to support the social housing sector. The Government are committed to the biggest growth in social and affordable housing for a generation, but we recognise that councils and housing associations need support to build their capacity. In July, we announced steps to help with delivery, including flexibilities in the current affordable homes programme and for councils to use right-to-buy receipts. We will set out plans in the Budget at the end of this month to give councils and housing associations the rent stability they need to borrow and invest in both new and existing homes.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her very helpful and hopeful reply. Recent statistics from the ministry show that, in the year 2023-24, 320,000 households faced or experienced homelessness—an 8% rise on the previous year and the highest on record. Recent research by the NHF, Savills and the HBF warned that, without much more social housing, the Government are set to miss their target of 1.5 million homes. A significant uptick in social housing is vital to plug that gap. Will my noble friend explore the options of a one-year extension to the affordable housing programme in the upcoming October Budget? Extension of the current AHP by one year would be an important first step to increase delivery and capacity in the social housing sector.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

At the risk of repeating my noble friend Lord Livermore, the content of the Budget is of course a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, the package we announced in July included flexibility in the current affordable homes programme to help with delivery and extended the 2021-26 affordable homes programme. We have been clear that we will bring forward details of future government investment in social and affordable housing at the spending review. We know how important it is to enable providers to plan for the future as they help to deliver the biggest increase in affordable housing in a generation.

Social Care Strategy

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, helped us all with her comprehensive and thoughtful introduction to this debate, and with the urgency she injected into it. I thank her for that. I also thank my noble friend Lady Keeley for her marvellous maiden speech.

The Library briefing for this debate states that

“the social care sector in England is facing workforce, resource and funding pressures”.

It echoes similar comments from the Public Accounts Committee. These bald statements can scarcely convey the awful state of our social care system, which the wider public woke up to during the pandemic and which the recent report from the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, described even more trenchantly as “dire”.

At the same time, the social care sector is trying to handle unprecedented demand and is largely reliant on millions of people providing unpaid care. The service is close to cracking apart. There is universal acceptance that this is placing huge strains on people and their families, as we have heard today, as well as the health service. Yet the political will to change it has just not been there. Much has been promised but almost nothing has changed.

Along with the noble Baroness, Lady Fraser of Craigmaddie, I was a member of the Adult Social Care Committee, which reported to this House 18 months ago. We highlighted the need for support for those who cannot support themselves, which would enable them to live fruitful, active and valuable lives—what one witness described to us as a “gloriously ordinary life”. We used that as our title, to encapsulate what we believed public policy could achieve if the political will were there.

Yet our report concluded, largely based on the voices of lived experience, that many disabled adults and older people continue to be denied choice and control over their lives, largely due to a lack of resources. The cruel reality for local authorities, which provide most adult care, and for the people who rely on these services, was a 29% real-terms reduction in spending power and an estimated 12% drop in spending per person on adult social care services in the previous 10 years. That is the challenge facing the Government now.

Our new Government clearly intend to make this a priority, and they will not be short of advice. Innumerable reports have attempted to address, for example, the highly sensitive question of who pays for the unsustainable costs of social care. Unfortunately, the previous Government refused to grasp this nettle. The new Government have announced their intention to create a national care service and to improve NHS and social care integration as part of a 10-year plan. Although I understand why they are thinking of a 10-year programme—I suspect it will take at least that time to put right the huge imbalance between the funding of the health service and the social care service—the Government have the opportunity to make a real difference now, in the course of this Parliament, and to offer some hope to the millions who rely on care now. They need to show they are determined to, at last, make our social care service visible and fairer—a kinder system that enables people to live positive and valuable lives. The Select Committee report offers some signposts for action that I hope the Government will consider, including establishing a commissioner for care and support to show how adult social care, properly delivered, can have a transformational power in people’s lives.

Finally, I echo the words of the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, on unpaid carers, as well as the wise words of my noble friend Lady Pitkeathley, our marvellous champion for carers in this House. I urge the Government to develop a system that is not based on the assumption that families will automatically provide care without any financial support because there is no other option. I hope my noble friend the Minister will agree that unpaid carers need better financial compensation if their caring duties prevent them working, or help with juggling work and care if they can remain employed. That would be a great start.

Housing: Modern Methods of Construction

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, the housing sector is struggling. It is universally acknowledged that the country does not have enough affordable homes. This Government have committed to solve the housing crisis for good, but how best to do that where previous Governments have failed? The shortage of labour supply means that traditional building methods cannot deliver housing targets, and traditional private builders have shown that they cannot meet the need.

There is a consensus that MMC must be a major part of the solution, but delivering MMC has been challenging. Some companies have gone bust. Against a backdrop of insolvencies across the construction sector, the perception of MMC has suffered disproportionately. There has been a lack of clear strategy surrounding MMC. A long-term housing plan could provide the certainty to invest in MMC and deliver the Government’s ambitious housing targets.

Social housing must clearly play a central role. Housing associations are planning to build, via MMC, about 10% of the new build currently forecast by the regulator. With the right mix of low-cost incentives and support, that proportion could double.

The recent National Housing Federation survey found supplier insolvency to be the biggest risk to uptake. The Government underwriting risk contracts would have an immediate effect on MMC delivery.

The House of Lords Built Environment Committee’s inquiry into MMC urged the Government to step back and set achievable goals and develop a coherent strategy. The noble Lord, Lord Carrington, gave a thorough and fair picture of what we found. The previous Government committed to a £10 million-backed MMC task force, but it never met. Will the Minister commit the new Government to a central body dedicated to research, training and promotion that will allow MMC to flourish. Will the newly established New Towns Taskforce embed MMC in its delivery plans? At the next spending review, will my noble friend press for a long-term plan for new and existing social homes, including specific policy steps to increase the use of MMC in the social housing sector?