King’s Speech

Baroness Eaton Excerpts

Wednesday 20th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Eaton (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Dacres, in this debate. I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association and also the part owner of rented property in West Yorkshire.

It is a disappointment that the Social Housing Bill will see the further curtailment of right to buy, something I firmly oppose. Getting people on to the housing ladder should not be perceived negatively, and I pay tribute to private sector organisations, such as Rentplus UK, that are building affordable housing and getting young home owners on to the property ladder. You cannot make a modern-day case for capitalism if people do not own capital. It is why socialism always seems to have state-funded housing as the option, because it gives the state more control. As a former leader of Bradford Council, I recall inheriting from a socialist administration a housing revenue account which was millions in deficit with housing repairs and was out of control. My point is that legislation is all well and good, but poor management and governance on the ground will always be the barrier to the delivery of decent social housing standards.

While there is a case for the construction of more social homes—namely, that the state can reduce its housing benefit bill, which is potentially rising to £71 billion by 2050, with the increase in social housing stock—I hope that the Bill will go some way to addressing the key challenges occurring in social housing. I also hope that it will pave the way for local authorities that retain housing revenue accounts to have equal access to the £2.5 billion of low-interest loans announced in the 2025 spending review, currently accessible only to social housing providers.

Because of the Renters’ Rights Act, there needs to be a general acceptance that more renters in the private sector will be pushed into social housing, given the lack of private rental supply, as the Act will push more landlords out of the market. Consequently, councils may need to recruit additional staff and upskill the existing workforce. Future new burdens of funding must be up front, realistic and multi-year. Landlord penalties are unlikely to cover costs. Councils must have the right powers, skills, capacity and funding to enforce the new laws effectively and provide much-needed security for private renters.

Separately, and while I appreciate this may not fall within the Bill, I was pleased to hear that the Law Commission is soon to initiate a new project on the disposal of escheat land to the Crown Estate and whether other bodies will be able to take on this land. If the Law Commission finalises its work before the Bill passes through this House, I very much hope that the Government might consider the ability for escheat land to be handed over to local authority housing revenue accounts as opposed to the Crown Estate. The Crown Estate is sitting on many brownfield sites, which could easily be unlocked to local authorities for the purpose of building social housing. I hope that the Minister will be closely following the work of the Law Commission and make representations on behalf of local government.