Building Homes and Renewing Communities

Debate between Angela Rayner and Alison Hume

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

I thank my hon. Friend for recognising some of the fantastic work being done by the co-operative movement. Is our Prime Minister the first ever Labour and Co-operative Prime Minister? I do not want to mislead the House, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I think he might be—he is definitely a Labour and Co-operative Prime Minister and I think he is the first. Coin Street is the type of development that can happen when homes are built with a sense of community. Our Pride in Place work is about rejuvenating our local areas. In Tameside, in my local area, I have seen people going through difficult times. There have been some difficult times for our nation and our country recently, whether because of the covid pandemic, the austerity years or what has been happening locally, but people have come together. Pride in Place has allowed us to look not just at how we can stop the flow of some of the challenges, but at how we can work together as a community to tackle them together, and I am incredibly proud of that work.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

May I welcome the Government’s decisive action over the summer to tackle wildfires, particularly by placing a temporary ban on disposable barbecues? Last year a huge wildfire caused massive damage to the North York moors near Whitby. The farming community played a vital role in supporting firefighters, but they are still out of pocket over a year later, having suffered significant losses. Will my right hon. Friend look at introducing grant schemes to help those affected by wildfires, similar to the ones available for major flooding events?

[Angela Rayner]

I am sorry to hear about the situation in the North York moors and the circumstances surrounding the funding package. We are working closely with fire and rescue services to ensure that support is targeted at those facing the greatest operational pressures, and we will set out further details in due course. The current focus is about ensuring that the support reaches the areas that need it most urgently, but I will take back what my hon. Friend says. As I said, the Prime Minister is looking forward to the wildfire summit this autumn, so hopefully we can make progress there.