Local Government Reorganisation

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

It is possible to have both a rapid and full review. It means doing the work carefully but as quickly as possible. To create the level of certainty everybody wants to see across local government, the decision-making has to be completed quickly. The rapid review will look at the programme as a whole, and the work on the rewiring the state delivery plan must include a question about the role of local government in the devolved country. The review will be led by the Minister for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth, and it will engage with MPs and all councils impacted. An extended delay is in no one’s interest. It is right that Ministers listen to concerns and the new Administration undertake this review to make sure that local government reorganisation aligns with our priorities and work on rewiring the state.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a former Norfolk MP. Judging by my mailbox this evening, there is real anger and consternation across Norfolk. A huge amount of work and professional resources have been put into this. For example, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council and Breckland District Council have spent a vast amount of money on preparing for the new unitary; that is money that could have been spent on vital services that is now down the drain. Furthermore, dozens of Norfolk County councillors took a decision not to stand last May because they trusted the Government; they stood down and many of those seats were taken by paper candidates put up by Reform UK. Morale is at rock bottom, and the chief executive of Norfolk County Council, Tom McCabe, has resigned. The Government have multiple questions to answer, and they should be ashamed of what they have done.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I hope I have already made clear that I do not think any of the money that has been spent is wasted. The work will go ahead on local government reorganisation and on devolution. When I did the engagement meetings on this, it was really interesting to hear stories from around the country of councils, which had not spoken to each other in 20 years or more, sitting down and working together. We have really appreciated that. It has been a good way of bringing councils and councillors together to work on this jointly, and we have no intention of rowing back on it. The money spent is not down the drain, nor has it been wasted; the money will be used in the future programme.

Electoral Commission Investigations

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, the Minister mentioned the very welcome ban on direct crypto donations, but can she say something about controlling those donors whose wealth is derived from cryptocurrency dealings?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

We have significantly strengthened the ability to identify, freeze and recover illicit crypto assets in recent years through a combination of legislative reform, operational capability uplift and system-wide co-ordination. We are going further now, following the introduction of the Financial Services and Markets Act regulations this year, implementing a broader crypto asset regulatory regime, which I hope will do exactly what the noble Lord referred to, covering activities such as trading, custody and consumer protection. We need to make sure that we know the source. The “know your donor” provisions in the new Bill make sure that political parties are taking serious account of where their funding is coming from.

High Streets and Towns: Regeneration

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I was tempted to ask whether my noble friend wanted to answer the Question rather than me; I am sure he knows a great deal about high streets. I thank him for his support for the new business rates multipliers announced at the Budget. The new multipliers replace the temporary relief that has been winding down since the pandemic. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability. There will be no cap, meaning that all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The Government are introducing a higher rate on the most valuable properties, which he rightly pointed out should and will include large distribution warehouses, such as those used by online giants. The high-value multiplier is 33% more than the multiplier for small RHL properties. We are carefully considering representations to the call for evidence, which asks for much more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions. I hope that will result in some movement on business rates.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware—obviously, because it has been discussed already—that pubs are a vital part of the high street. Is she also aware that, since Labour came to power, on average one pub per day has closed? A total of 10,000 jobs have been lost in pubs and hospitality. This Government came in on an agenda for and a commitment to growth. What has gone wrong?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

We do have an agenda for growth, but we are having to tidy up the mess that was left behind before we can achieve it. We are introducing the hospitality support fund, which has been more than doubled to £10 million over three years, helping over 1,000 pubs to diversify, boost productivity and support people into hospitality jobs. Those measures sit alongside business rates support and the wider planning and licensing reform that we have introduced.

Local Government Reorganisation

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I agree with my noble friend—of course I do—that driving forward the strategic ambitions of our country and our Government, to ensure not only that we see the economy grow in the way we all want and get the housebuilding that we need to deal with the housing crisis but that the key public services that are so needed by vulnerable adults and children are taken forward efficiently and effectively, required us not just to tinker at the edges but to do the most radical reorganisation of local government for at least half a century, which is what we are doing. This has been kicked into the long grass nearly all the time that I have been in local government. I think there have been some four attempts to do this and they always stopped short of doing what is needed, which is to create local government that will drive the economy of our local areas and support the public services that people deserve.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, Conservative county councillors in Norfolk have no fear of democracy, and in fact are very much looking forward to these elections in 74 days’ time. It is worth pointing out that the elections will be conducted by the district and borough councils. Certainly, the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk is incredibly professional and competent at handling those elections; it will take this in its stride and deliver a professional service.

The Minister did not reply to the point put forward by my noble friend a moment ago. This legal case cost a lot of money. She said herself that front-line services are under a lot of pressure. It was egregious that this case ever took place. Can she tell the House what those legal costs were?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for recognising the way in which local government responds to things such as this—and I know that colleagues in electoral services and on the political side of local government will do what they need to do and be ready for these elections. As I said, they are more than used to responding to very short-notice elections, including snap general elections; they work very well in those circumstances. In my experience, councils’ electoral services departments are extraordinarily efficient and effective, so I welcome his comments in that regard.

The costs are now being assessed, although I cannot give the noble Lord a figure at the moment. I am afraid that that will have to wait.

Business Improvement Districts: Town Centre Renewal

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I agree with the noble Earl. I have not seen the report he refers to, but I will take a look at it. I am sure, as we discuss the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, that we will have lots of discussion about how to support communities as they promote arts and culture in their areas. As the noble Earl is aware, in the Bill we are extending the powers for local groups to register assets of community value and giving them a longer time to take the necessary steps to empower them with a community right to buy. We are taking those steps, and we understand the importance of those cultural assets on our high streets and in our towns. As we discuss this in the Bill, I am sure the noble Earl will work with us to develop it further.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, further to the question from the noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, about the hospitality sector, is the Minister aware that pubs are a vital part of town centres and urban regeneration? So why did the Chancellor persecute pubs in her Budget, so much so that hundreds are now banning Labour MPs from going into them?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

As I have already said, the Chancellor announced a number of steps to support our high street businesses as part of the Budget process, including steps on business rates. We are all focused on making sure that we do all we can to support the hospitality industry, including the licensed trade, and we will continue to do so. I am sure that, as those steps begin to take hold in our communities, we will see the hospitality industry and the licensed trade right in the heart of our town centres, as they always have been.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Report stage
Monday 27th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Willis of Summertown (CB)]

I am pleased to add my name to the important amendment tabled by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Norwich, and to Amendment 92 in this group, because, let us be honest, we are not starting from a good place with chalk streams. As mentioned by my noble friend, the current status of these unique and extremely rare habitats in the UK is poor, with more than three-quarters failing to meet good ecological health standards. This is precisely why the chalk streams became such an important issue for debate in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. I remember only too well the same Front Bench colleagues debating long and hard for their protection.

The chalk stream recovery plan, announced by the previous Government, was seen by many, including me, as a good step in the right direction. But here we are again, with chalk streams back in the firing line and, despite the reassurance from the Minister on Report that local nature recovery strategies could propose priorities for their protection,

the problem with our planning system is that it requires local authorities only to have regard to our LNRSs, which is not strong enough to protect these vulnerable habitats. We came across this a number of times in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. Those words are etched in my memory.

Also, although the NPPF recognises the importance of irreplaceable habitats, chalk streams, much to my alarm—and, I am sure, to that of many in this House—are not specifically listed as protected habitats. Therefore, they do not have the overarching level of protection in the Bill, through the spatial development strategies, in the same way other protected habitats do. The only hope left, therefore, is the chalk stream nature recovery plan, launched by the previous Government. However, in reply to the question on this asked in Committee by the noble Viscount, Lord Trenchard, who sadly cannot be here today, the Minister stated that even this is now on hold because it is out of step with the ambitious programme of water reforms proposed by the Government. Perhaps the Minister can say for how long it will be on hold, as a result permitting further damage to occur in these unique freshwater habitats.

I say this because time is of the essence here. As an ecologist, I went back to look at the literature. Research on chalk streams has demonstrated that while removing pollution can result in the improvement of water quality within a month to a few years, ecological recovery can take between 10 and 20 years. The more damage we do, the longer it will take for them to recover.

Lastly, surely there must be some no-go habitats in some of our river catchments, and these chalk streams should be one of them. I therefore urge the Minister to agree to this amendment, within which the spatial development strategy would mandate the sort of responsibilities that lead to the protection and enhancement of these unique and rare chalk stream habitats.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, I support both amendments. I made a speech in Committee in which I laid out very similar arguments to those put by the right reverend Prelate and the noble Baroness, Lady Willis. I will not repeat them now, except to say that the right reverend Prelate referred to a number of chalk streams in my old constituency of North West Norfolk. These incredible assets—these unique and precious assets—are at risk as we speak. I say to the Minister that neither amendment is particularly demanding. They are quite modest in their overall fabric and intent. If the Government are serious about their environmental credentials, and about trying to do something for the countryside, I urge them, please, to accept these amendments.

[The Earl of Caithness (Con)]

My Lords, I have put my name to the right reverend Prelate’s amendment. I am delighted to see him back in the Chamber; we missed him in Committee.

My noble friend Lord Roborough was absolutely right when he said in Committee that all rivers are important. Yes, that is true, but chalk streams are that bit more important. The reason for that is that we have 85% of the world’s chalk streams. We are custodians for that majority, but 83% of those chalk streams do not meet good ecological standards. We have handled the whole situation very badly. I think we have taken a retrograde step with this Government, who have dispensed with the chalk stream recovery pack, which the noble Baroness just referred to.

I have written to the Minister and told her that I will ask her a number of questions. I have given her forewarning, so I expect replies. In what respect did that chalk stream recovery pack fall short? It was nearly ready to go when the Labour Government took over after winning the election. They could have pressed the button; that chalk stream pack focused on some difficult questions that nobody had fully addressed before, so why have they torpedoed it? What do they propose to do that will be better than that pack had proposed?

Let us go down to some specifics of the pack. It had time-bound commitments to reduce groundwater abstraction on numerous chalk streams which, according to the Environment Agency’s own data, are unsustainably extracted: for example, the Darent in Kent, where over half the rainfall that feeds the river is taken away for public water supply. There was a timescale for getting that right. Will the Government stick with that timescale or will there be something longer? Do the Government have plans to move water abstraction further downstream, rather than at the headwaters of these rivers?

The chalk stream pack also had a timebound commitment to address the hundreds of small sewage works in chalk streams that do not remove phosphorus in the treatment process and where there is currently no policy or incentive to drive investment. What are the Government going to do better to give a good timescale to get all those water treatment plants in good order? The pack also addressed run-off from highways and local roads, which I have spoken about before in your Lordships’ House, and how damaging it can be to chalk streams in particular because of the added silt. The CaBA chalk stream strategy recommends revised best practice guidelines for local councils that give more protection to chalk streams. Do the Government have better plans than that? The pack also put forward solutions to reform the farming rules for water, which are currently ineffective. What are the Government going to do to replace that recommendation?

I did not mention this question when I wrote to the Minister, but I will add it now: how do the Government intend to address the physical dysfunctionality of many chalk streams moved, straightened, dredged or dammed over the centuries and put them back to their natural state? In destroying the hard work of some very good, able and committed people who produced the chalk stream pack, the Government have alienated some potential friends in their effort to improve the environment. How are they going to get friends back onside when, after all that work, they have just dismissed it as though it did not matter? What plans do they have to include such people in the future to try to improve the whole river system for chalk streams? It is no good taking just one little area in one district or county council, because chalk streams do not understand those borders; they flow through lot of different councils. The whole thing has to be tackled on a holistic basis, and the only way to do that is by supporting the right reverend Prelate’s amendment.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 15th September 2025 Lords Chamber

Last but not least, to respond to the increasing unease in this country about food security, at the same time the Secretary of State should be required to make an assessment of any increased risks to our food security which are the result of the implementation of the provisions of the Bill. At only nine meals from anarchy, this issue deserves much closer scrutiny. We cannot and should not be complacent. I beg to move.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, I support this amendment, which my noble friend has proposed with a very powerful argument indeed. He is not asking for a stop to housing or these other developments; he is asking for an audit so we have the information to hand.

I want to make just three quick points. Quite often, when it comes to housing, there is not a choice as to where the housing goes for obvious reasons. Most new housing developments will be adjacent to existing settlements; they will be adjacent to towns, villages and often, inevitably, they will be put on really good, grade 1 agricultural land that will get gobbled up. To some extent, that is accepted.

On food security, my noble friend made a very good point about the historic context and raised briefly the Ukraine war. One of the lessons of the Ukraine war is the fact that we cannot take our food security for granted. He touched on solar arrays, and I suggest to the Minister that, in building out solar arrays, we indeed have choice. We do not have so much choice over housing, but surely we have choice over where we put these solar arrays.

I just wanted to tell the Minister what is going on in part of my old constituency of North West Norfolk. There is a large wave of planning applications for solar arrays along the A47 corridor between Swaffham and Dereham. Much of that is going to take in grade 1 or grade 2 agricultural land. The serious worry I have is that we are not talking about willing seller, willing buyer—or willing farmer, willing buyer. We are talking about tenant farmers who are going to have their livelihoods taken away. We are talking also about some farmers who may have holdings adjacent to larger landowners who are putting their land forward for this development. The companies in question proposing the developments have come forward with a threat of compulsory purchase. We are moving away from the willing seller, willing buyer concept—at the same time putting at risk a huge amount of really good agricultural land.

The Minister should look at this amendment in the spirit in which it has been drafted. We are not trying to order the Government what to do. My noble friend is not trying to stop these developments. Of course, he wants some of them modified, but we need to have that information. We need to have a proper audit, so I support this clause wholeheartedly. I very much hope that the Minister will realise that the potential damage to our farming communities is huge—damage is being done already.

We have sites such as warehouses on industrial estates—go around any new industrial estate; you will not see a single solar panel. Look at a modern school or hospital; a new hospital is to be built in my old constituency, and there is no provision there for solar panels on what are to be flat roofs. Yet down the road, we are going to see the demise of really first-class agricultural land. The Minister needs to get a grip of this and, above all, have information to hand, so that we can be properly informed in future, so I support my noble friend.

[Lord Fuller (Con)]

My Lords, I rise very briefly to support Amendment 214. My noble friend nearly said that we are no more than three meals away from societal breakdown, but we are—and, in the hierarchy of needs, food in the belly is the number one requirement. Land is the principal resource that provides bread, beer, biscuits, as well as broccoli, and they are not making land anymore.

I am concerned, because the land use framework that has been proposed by the Government contemplates that fully 9% of our farmland will be used for non-growing purposes. Your Lordships will have heard me say before, in respect of solar panels particularly, that it is beyond careless to allow the best land to be consumed for non-farmland purposes before the worst land is exhausted. Last year, the national wheat yield was down 20% on account of wet weather. This year, there is an impairment in many areas on account of the dry weather. The weather changes, but we cannot be careless about our food supply.

The better news is that we have recently heard encouraging noises from former Defra Ministers who belatedly realise that the risks of food security are greater than they have ever been. It is noteworthy that, while we no longer have a Minister for Agriculture, we have a Minister for Food Security, and I think we should all welcome that, provided that the title of food security flows through into recognising the importance to national security, ensuring that the greatest proportion of the food in this country can meet our needs.

I had a commercial meeting this morning with one of the UK’s largest participants in the agricultural supply chain in this country. Its agricultural director gave me what I felt was a stunning statistic, and I will relay it to noble Lords. He said that, over the last 30 years, the amount of arable farmland in this country has diminished by 30%. I questioned him: “You mean 1% per year, each year, for the last 30 years?”, and he said, “Yes, we used to count on a 15 million tonne a year wheat harvest, now we’re lucky to get 12”. These are big reductions with large consequences, so I enthusiastically endorse Amendment 214. If we are going to have a Minister for Food Security, doing this arithmetic is going to be an essential part of her task—how else can she benchmark her success? I think the amendment is fully in tune with the direction this Government are going in.

Had it been my amendment, I would have probably asked for the data to be embellished by an assessment of the underlying agricultural land quality—the ALC, or agricultural land classification—so that we could work out not just the number of hectares that are lost but how they apportioned between the best and most versatile land versus the lower ranks. I wonder whether the noble Lord might consider enhancing the amendment with agricultural land classification, if he sustains it on Report. Otherwise, I give it my full support in Committee.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 11th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, I support Amendment 147 on chalk streams. I was brought up in the Chilterns and I have been studying some of the streams there for a very long time. As other noble Lords have said, they are the most wonderful bits of the countryside, with clear water—which comes and goes, but it is usually there.

I became involved in this when I opposed some of the work that HS2 was doing in trying to drill a tunnel underneath the chalk stream near Amersham. The Chiltern Society, which led the opposition, was very keen that HS2 put some boreholes down to check what the ground was like and make sure that drilling a tunnel close to underneath a chalk stream would not have any adverse effect on it. Of course, HS2, being the rather arrogant organisation it often was, said, “It is not necessary. We know everything that is going to happen there and it is all planned for. We won’t have any special protection apart from the normal tunnel construction”.

Of course, HS2 was wrong and when the tunnel got to underneath the stream just west of Amersham, contamination started, water levels dropped and there was a lack of water supply in some places. It said, “Oh dear”, and did nothing about it. It is all right now—I think it has all been solved—but my point is that if this amendment had been on the statute book 10 years ago, the local people and the experts would have had much more credibility in attacking a government organisation trying to build a tunnel than has happened so far.

There are probably many other examples and noble Lords have mentioned some, but it is important that we map these chalk streams and make sure that they are looked after, because they are very special.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, I speak in favour of Amendment 146, on which I am a co-signatory, and Amendments 147 and 148. I will be brief because we have already heard from three noble Lords who have made very powerful contributions—the noble Lords, Lord Blencathra and Lord Berkeley, and the noble Viscount, Lord Trenchard. We heard also from the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, whom I know worked very closely on this agenda when she was chief executive of the CPRE 20 years or so ago.

As the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, pointed out, 85% of chalk streams are in the UK and they face multiple threats, including the good example we just heard from the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. Very few meet good ecological standards, and we are seeing a series of irreplaceable habitats being put at grave risk.

Council Tax

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I can only reiterate my earlier statement: there are no current plans to reform council tax.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interests as in the register. Further to the noble Viscount’s question, the Minister might be aware that nearly a year ago at the Oxford Farming Conference, Steve Reed said, “Let me assure you that Labour will not alter the IHT treatment for agricultural land. We recognise that such a move would be damaging to the farming sector”. Does the Minister agree with what he said then?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

Again, that is quite a stretch from council tax. We constantly hear calls from the other side that they do not like the steps we had to take to fill the £22 billion black hole they left. Public services are crumbling, including in local government. I have heard lots of suggestions from that side about what we should not be doing; what I have not heard is what they think we should be doing to fill the £22 billion black hole. I have looked very closely at the issues around inheritance tax. An individual can still pass up to £1.5 million, including personal allowances, and a couple can pass up to £3 million tax free. We have concern for how the farmers are feeling, but some steps had to be taken to fill that black hole. This Government have done so. We need to stabilise the foundations of the economy and fix our crumbling public services.

Residential Leaseholders

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, the Leasehold Advisory Service does an excellent job, but is there an argument to have its remit extended to casework?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

That is an interesting remark that I will take back to officials to discuss further. I will come back to my noble friend.