Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Bennett Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rushanara Ali]

The hon. Member will be aware that there is a massive housing shortage and that there are challenges around supported housing. We need to ensure, as we are doing, that victims of domestic violence get the support they need, which is why we provided the additional uplift of £30 million, to a total of £160 million. We are working across Government to tackle the root causes of violence against women, within which work economic and housing support are crucial. I look forward to working with her and others on this very important agenda.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

11. What steps she is taking to ensure that town centres can support growing communities.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Alex Norris)]

We all want to see our town centres thriving. Through our plan for neighbourhoods, the Government are investing £1.5 billion in the future of towns and communities. The Government have also committed to strengthening the developer contributions system to ensure that new developments provide the necessary infrastructure. To address vacancy in town centres, we have given councils the powers to force the auction of empty shops.

[Alison Bennett]

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Burgess Hill is fast-growing, and the Lib Dem-run council is working hard with Homes England to deliver 3,500 new homes, hundreds of which will be affordable. However, after years of Conservative failure, my constituents are worried that housing growth will go hand in hand with the hollowing out of the town centre. My Lib Dem colleagues want to deliver a buoyant town centre through a public-private partnership, so will the Minister visit Burgess Hill to see the innovative approaches we are taking to make it thrive again?

[Alex Norris]

I am grateful for that question, and for the spirit in which Burgess Hill is taking on the need to build housing in its community. We believe that sustainable housing with complementary infrastructure will drive the local economy—it will drive footfall to town centres and help bring private investment to high streets. Clearly, something interesting is happening in Burgess Hill, and I would very much like to visit.