Building Homes and Renewing Communities

Debate between Angela Rayner and Nesil Caliskan

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

I disagree with the hon. Member on what is happening in London. Half of all council homes built in 2024-25 were in London, showing what can be achieved through devolution and the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who has been doing a fantastic job. That is why I have confidence that the social and affordable housing programme will give more investment to London so that it can deal with the acute situation it faces.

On HMOs, I will take no lectures from the Conservatives, who left us in a very difficult situation. The issue is under review, and we are working with local authorities and mayors to make sure that planning circumstances do not create situations that cause tensions through HMOs.

[Nesil Caliskan (Barking) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the Secretary of State to her place. Local GPs in my constituency serve 20% more patients than the national average, and it is particularly bad at Barking Riverside, where there is new development. Unlike Conservative Members, I strongly support new homes being built, because my constituents feel the pain of the housing crisis. However, the fact that we do not have enough GPs, schools and other crucial infrastructure means that they are being let down. May I press the Secretary of State to give us further assurances that as this Government deliver the homes that this country and my constituency need, GPs are also delivered?

[Angela Rayner]

There is a theme developing here, and I think it comes from years of not having enough infrastructure. People are rightly concerned about that. I mentioned earlier that there is a lot of opposition to our planning reforms and the mandatory housing targets that we have set as a Government. I hear it loud and clear, and I want my hon. Friend’s constituents, my constituents and everyone else’s constituents to know that I am acutely aware that the infrastructure that people desperately need must come alongside the housing. I do not think they are nimbys; they raise genuine concerns, and I have heard them loud and clear. That is why we have strengthened the national planning policy framework, particularly on GPs.

I am sure that my colleagues in Health have heard my hon. Friend, but I will make sure that there is a nod to what is happening in her area. I want to reassure the House that I am acutely aware that if we are going to ramp up house building, which we absolutely must do—our constituents expect it—that has to be done in a way that ensures that local people are involved in the process and that the infrastructure is there too.