International Women’s Day 2016

Naz Shah Excerpts

Tuesday 8th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

This is the second debate I have spoken in on international women’s issues recently. At an event last week, the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) commented on the fact that it was much harder for women to get elected to Parliament than it was for many of the mediocre men who are here. I am therefore happy to speak on behalf of mediocre men.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting two young women, Alalea and Liza, who came here as part of the SET for BRITAIN event. They are both PhD students from Imperial College—my old college. Alalea is working on the subject of concrete, and Liza is working on wear particles. Although neither subject might sound totally stimulating, I can assure Members that the two young women’s presentations were absolutely brilliant.

However, we cannot deduce too much from what those young women are doing. Clearly, at an international level, a huge amount of work still needs to be done on women’s rights. Many Members will have received the email from Amnesty International setting out the six reasons why it thinks we still need an International Women’s Day. One of the examples it provides is that in Ireland, for instance,

“women with fatal health conditions are often refused life-saving treatment because of the risk it poses to the foetus.”

Clearly, therefore, we still need to make major advances on women’s rights abroad.

[Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Tom Brake]

I am afraid I will not, because many Members want to speak, and if I give way, that will mean less time for others.

There are still strong international challenges that need to be addressed, and there is certainly no room for complacency at a local level. The domestic violence statistics from my own borough show that domestic abuse forms 40% of all violent crime in Sutton, in the south-west London suburbs, which is relatively affluent. Of course, domestic violence is also severely under-reported, so perhaps only 50% of incidents are reported to the police.

The right hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) made a rather ungenerous comment about the Liberal Democrats as a party. She and I have discussed gender issues, and she could have asked me what the Lib Dems have been doing. I would have explained to her that our five most winnable Westminster seats in Scotland have been allocated to women candidates, so barring a dreadful election result in 2020—which I know some will wish on us—there should be a significant improvement. The same will be true in England, because our party conference is going to agree, I hope, to something for which I have been pushing, namely an all-women shortlist for every English seat from which a man is standing down. Barring unforeseen bad results, there should be a significant improvement.

I want to finish on the subject of female genital mutilation. My colleague Lynne Featherstone, who is now in the House of Lords, pushed very hard on the issue when she was a Minister. I want to leave the Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities and Family Justice, who will respond to the debate, with one point, which is that if we are serious about doing something about FGM, there needs to be mandatory personal, social, health and economic education, because otherwise the issues will not be addressed in some schools. I hope she will respond positively to that point.

Welfare Reform and Work Bill (Ninth sitting)

Naz Shah Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2015 Public Bill Committees

[Mr Vara]

This group of amendments deals with some important elements of the rent-setting process. Amendment 144 provides flexibility to registered providers to set reductions in rent of more than the required 1%.

Amendment 169 provides that the rent reductions must be applied on a pro rata basis if the tenant’s tenancy comes to an end part way through a relevant year. The same principle applies if the rent reduction provisions cease to apply to a tenant part way through a year because an exception under clause 20 or an exemption under clause 21 no longer applies. The amendment therefore makes it clear for registered providers that, in the circumstances specified, the rent reduction should apply on a pro rata basis.

Amendment 171 is an essential amendment that clarifies a number of important points. Proposed new subsection (3) provides that the amount payable by the tenant in the preceding 12 months is to be treated as having been the greater of: the amount that would have been payable if the rent at 8 July 2015 had applied during those 12 months; or, if the Secretary of State consents to the use of a different permitted review day, the amount of rent that would have been payable if the rent on the permitted review day had applied during those 12 months. We expect to use the flexibility to grant providers whose normal rent review date is after 8 July permission to use an alternative date as the reference date when calculating reductions, providing there is no evidence that the provider in question has manipulated his rent review date or implemented rent rises after 8 July 2015 in order to avoid the effects of the rent reduction.

Proposed new subsection (3A) clarifies that the Secretary of State’s consent for an alternative permitted review date may be for a particular case or for a description of cases. It is likely that the Secretary of State will issue a general consent covering typical cases. Proposed new subsection (3B) clarifies that, if a tenant was a tenant on 8 July 2015 and continues as a tenant of the same social housing until the beginning of the first relevant year, they will be treated, for the purpose of clause 19(1), as if they had been a tenant for the 12 months preceding the first relevant year—whether or not that is in fact the case—in order to establish the baseline of the rent on which the reductions will then apply.

[Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)]

It is great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Owen. Will the Minister highlight whether service charges are subject to the 1% cut and explain the process for introducing rent reductions for tenants when rents changes are not usually announced until April?

[Mr Vara]

I am not sure whether that question is entirely relevant to what I am saying.

Welfare Reform and Work Bill (Tenth sitting)

Naz Shah Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2015 Public Bill Committees

[Debbie Abrahams]

My hon. Friend makes a valid point that needs to be driven home. There is such a poor evidence base to justify the policy. The Government have calculated the savings to the housing benefit bill, but the potential impact in other areas is significant. As a former public health consultant—I qualified in the ‘90s—I can remember the housing issues such as the need for rehousing on medical grounds, which was commonplace due to the poor quality of housing. A lot has been done to improve housing conditions though the decent homes programme and so on, and we do not want to reverse that. It would be particularly harmful to tenants, and particularly the young.

[Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)]

Is the Minister aware that the measure will disproportionately affect certain housing associations in my constituency that cater for larger families? We have had the bedroom tax, and these measures feel like an extension of that sanction, which particularly affects more vulnerable people, such as women fleeing domestic violence. The Black Women’s Support Project in Bradford will suffer; I know because had a conversation with the chief executive, as I have served on the board in the past.

--- Later in debate ---

We recognise that the reductions will have an impact on registered providers of social housing, although we believe that most will be able to manage them. We need to reflect and remember, as Opposition Members conveniently forget to do, that many housing associations are in a robust financial position, with strong balance sheets and £2.4 billion of surplus in 2014. We need to recognise that 165 local authorities with a housing revenue account have built up housing revenue account reserves of almost £2.2 billion.

[Naz Shah]

rose—

[Mr Vara]

A lot of questions were asked, and I would like to have the opportunity to address the issue of additional funds. I will give way to the hon. Lady in due course.

We need to recognise the £2.4 billion in surplus funds that housing associations have and the £2.2 billion that the 165 local authorities have in their housing revenue accounts. We should also remember the Government’s £10 billion debt guarantee scheme to support the delivery of new rental homes, and we are encouraging the supply of new homes with a £1 billion build to rent fund.

[Naz Shah]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Vara]

I will not for the moment.

The Government remain committed to the delivery of 275,000 homes over the course of this Parliament. I remind Opposition Members that we have a track record of delivery—in the past five years we delivered more affordable homes than the Labour party did in 13 years of Government.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

In England, only 75,000 homes were started between June 2008 and June 2009, the lowest level of building since the 1920s. So Government Members will take no lectures from Opposition Members when it comes to house building. They need to reflect on a whole host of other things—

[Naz Shah]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Vara]

I will give way to the hon. Lady.

--- Later in debate ---

[Naz Shah]

Will the Minister qualify his 2014 figure of £2.4 billion? Was that before the bedroom tax hit, when the housing associations lost that money, or afterwards?

[Mr Vara]

I thought I had made it clear that the £2.4 billion was in the 2014 financial year. The £2.2 billion for local authorities was in the last financial year.