Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Baroness Prashar Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 17th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Prashar (CB)]

My Lords, it is a real pleasure to follow the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Carlisle. I agree with the comments he made about housing.

Last February’s White Paper promised initiatives to make a real dent in regional disparities. This Bill will create a statutory basis for new forms of devolution, make it a legal requirement for the Government to set medium-term targets on reducing inequality and provide several other powers around planning and high street regeneration. Disappointingly, it is not ambitious enough. These measures on their own are not enough to meet the Government’s 12 missions for reducing regional inequality by 2030, as stated in the White Paper. We need bold policies, not the cosmetic fixes contained in the Bill.

As we have already heard, the Bill contains several Henry VIII powers. As the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Stevenage, said, it is a complicated, mixed bag of measures that are hard to understand and will not make transparency, accountability and scrutiny easy.

In its current form, the Bill will leave us with a planning system that will be less democratic and will do nothing to build public trust. What we need is a democratic planning system that delivers sustainable communities and deals meaningfully with housing and the climate crisis. To achieve this, the purpose of planning must be set out in law. A statutory purpose for planning should be the foundation of levelling up, and it should focus the system on the holistic goal of sustainable communities.

My concern is about affordable social housing. As we have heard, housing is a fundamental human need, but our housing system is broken. There is a need for more social housing. To do this, we need to redefine the term “affordable housing” for the purposes of the infrastructure levy. As Shelter argues:

“The Levy must aim to deliver more social housing than the current system and this can be done by … redefining ‘affordable housing’ to mean social rent and … making social rent housing an onsite requirement of new housing developments.”


It is also vital that the Government tackle the issue of “hope value” as a barrier to building social and truly affordable housing. While there were encouraging comments by the Minister in the other place about hope value, I hope that the Government will consider removing the hope value payment requirement from designated housing schemes that deliver social rent housing.

The Government should also strengthen the provisions in this Bill to ensure that all homes promote health, safety and well-being, and help people to live well. A number of noble Lords have made the link between housing and equality.

I will not steal the thunder of the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, but last year he introduced the Healthy Homes Bill, which I supported. The purpose of the Bill was to create a duty to ensure that all relevant policies secured healthy homes; it provided a definition of a healthy home and the legally binding principles underpinning that. I hope that this is an opportunity to add some of the provisions of that Bill to this one.

Alongside healthy and affordable homes, the Bill must do more to ensure that there is appropriate investment into community infrastructure. Currently, we have a complicated legislative framework, which has not encouraged place-making infrastructure nearly enough. Austerity and cuts to local authority funding have compounded this problem. Today many left-behind communities face declining infrastructure alongside poor-quality housing stock.

The fourth aim of Clause 1 is to achieve levelling up by empowering local leaders and communities, especially those lacking local agency. Empowering communities is a vital step in achieving the levelling-up agenda. To achieve the levelling-up mission, the Government should increase investment, particularly in early years education and literacy. Investment in that area is essential for social mobility and levelling up. In real terms, schools saw an 8% decline in funding between 2010-11 and 2019-20. We need to do better. To boost literacy, schools that serve disadvantaged communities need to be given more support by increasing the pupil premium for pupils in long-term poverty. This funding, alongside a multi-sector, multi-partner approach, can deliver real dividends and support the 12 levelling-up missions.

A positive example of a place-based intervention helping communities with high levels of deprivation in the UK are the National Literacy Trust hubs, established in 2013. I declare an interest as the trust’s president. It works with local authorities, education providers and wider communities to improve literacy in areas with the highest levels of deprivation and literacy vulnerability. These sorts of initiatives need to be replicated and, of course, scaled up.

To conclude, holistic reform of planning laws is long overdue, and it is imperative that these reforms are included as part of the Bill. To achieve the levelling-up missions, the Bill must provide greater clarity on how the Government will provide healthy and affordable homes supported by community infrastructure. The Bill must support place-based interventions, particularly in education, through empowering local leaders and their communities.

Building Safety Bill

Baroness Prashar Excerpts

Lords Hansard - Part 1 & Report stage
Tuesday 29th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

My Lords, I added my name to the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, in Committee but was unable to speak to it, so I welcome the opportunity to add a brief footnote to the excellent speech that he made a few moments ago. I do so having been responsible for building control under the Thatcher and Major Administrations.

No one could object to the aspirations behind the amendment and the Healthy Homes Act campaign and I hope that the Minister will be able to respond sympathetically. I understand that so far the Government have objected to the proposal on the grounds that this is a matter for planning rather than for building regulations. The boundary between the two is inevitably not clearly marked and many people think that, if they have planning consent, that is the end of their interface with the local authority.

I have just one suggestion to make. The Minister may take the view that some of the objectives in the TCPA brief fall on the planning side rather than the building regulations side. I quote from its manifesto, which says that homes should

“be built to design out crime and be secure … all new homes should … provide access to sustainable transport and walkable services, including green infrastructure and play space”

and should have a minimum liveable space. Those all seem to be entirely reasonable requests. If my noble friend takes that view and believes that they are not appropriate to this Bill, can he give an assurance that they will be incorporated into the next planning Bill so that we can get to the same destination, albeit via a different route?

[Baroness Prashar (CB)]

My Lords, I, too, support the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Crisp. In so doing, I declare that I am a trustee of the Nationwide Foundation, which supports the TCPA’s Healthy Homes Act campaign. I shall not detain the House for too long other than to reiterate the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, who introduced the amendment admirably. This is a simple but profound amendment that should be taken note of. As we have heard, we already have a great deal of evidence about the impact of housing on both health and education—Covid highlighted all of that—and how that contributes to inequalities in health. For all those reasons, it is important that we take note of the amendment and make sure that it is incorporated, whether into this Bill or a planning Bill, as the noble Lord, Lord Young, said. One cannot fault the logic of what has been recommended, so I strongly support the amendment and look forward to the Minister’s response. I also urge him to agree to meet some of us to see how this issue can be taken forward.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, I offer Green support for all these amendments, which have been so powerfully and comprehensively introduced. I am not going to go over any of the same ground but shall focus particularly on Amendment 2 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, with full cross-party backing, particularly the wording,

“‘safety’ means the risk of harm arising from the location … of buildings”.

In some ways that might be seen to deliver the aims of two amendments that I tabled in Committee but have not brought back on Report, Amendments 132A and 132B, which would have delivered what has been called Zane’s law, targeting the issue of contaminated land and the risks that such land may represent to residents and others in nearby buildings. For those who do not know, Zane’s law refers to the tragic child Zane Gbangbola, who died and whose father was disabled when flooding carried contaminants from nearby land into their home.

If we had a safe location for every building, that would seem to deal with the issue. However, looking at our debate in Committee, I note that the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, kindly offered support for amendments in this direction. What she said then clearly sets out the problem:

“If we can identify the size and scale in every part of the country where contamination is, that would be a very logical starting point to prevent future risk to life and support local authorities in tackling the whole issue of contamination”.


In responding, the Minister suggested that the Building Safety Bill was not the right place to bring in Zane’s law because it would take the focus away from the environment and put it only on buildings. I think that she was right in that supposition, which is why I have not brought the amendments back now; the planning Bill, if indeed we see one, may well be the place to do that. However, where I disagree with the Minister—she was responding to my noble friend Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, who kindly introduced these amendments as I could not be present—is where she noted that Section 143 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

“was repealed, but it was replaced by Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990”.—[Official Report, 2/3/22; cols. GC 333-34.]

However, that was a significant downgrading of the protection and the powers offered by local authorities. It is worth looking at what was known as, perhaps rather unfortunately, the Red Tape Challenge: Environment Theme Proposals from March 2012, which effectively downgraded three-quarters of environmental regulation. Those changes to the guidelines said that they were

“anticipated to save business £140 million a year by reducing uncertainty about when land needs to be remediated”.

“Reducing uncertainty” is a phrase that needs to be re-examined and reconsidered.

I commend all the amendments, particularly Amendment 2, which focuses on the issue of the safe location of buildings. A great deal of regulatory work would have to be done to deliver that, which would include Zane’s law. If this becomes part of the Bill, the Government would have to look at that, but it would be a big step forward if we focused adequately on ensuring that—in this age of the Anthropocene and the climate emergency, in which new risks are emerging that were not present before—no one has a home or building in a place that is dangerous.

Housing: New Developments

Baroness Prashar Excerpts

Thursday 17th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My noble friend is right that we should focus on sustainable communities, not just the drive for volume and more housing. It is important to strike a balance between enabling vital development, including building the homes we need more quickly, and continuing to protect and enhance the natural and built environment.

[Baroness Prashar (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the Town and Country Planning Association has raised concerns that bypassing meaningful input from local bodies, councillors and the public, and delivering homes through permitted development rights, undermines public support for new housing. Does the Minister agree that, by continuing to expand the delivery of homes through PDR, the Government are undermining their own stated goal of making the planning process more democratic?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I point out that permitted development rights have enabled us to deliver a net additional 72,000 homes in the last five years and make an important contribution to the planning system. Our planning reforms are all designed to get effective community engagement at the front end of the process.

Social Housing

Baroness Prashar Excerpts

Monday 24th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I agree with my noble friend that social mobility and social housing are critical, and that social housing can and should be a springboard into home ownership. We will look at promoting many of the schemes that he outlines, including our offer for shared ownership.

[Baroness Prashar (CB) [V]]

I declare my interest as a trustee of the Nationwide Foundation. The Affordable Housing Commission found that 72% of social landlords are concerned that the Government’s planning reforms could lead to fewer social rented homes. Given that social housing is one of the best ways of reducing poverty, will the Minister agree that any proposed planning reform should ensure that social rented accommodation is not only protected but its availability increased?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I do not accept that characterisation of our planning reforms. They look to simplify the developer contribution through a new infrastructure levy that I am sure will capture the land value uplift so that that can be put into social and affordable housing.

Inclusive Society

Baroness Prashar Excerpts

Wednesday 14th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Prashar (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for securing this debate. I agree that we need a national conversation on how to build back better and not revert to the old normal. This pandemic has not only laid bare disparities and inequalities but has highlighted complex structural inequalities and exposed deep-seated flaws in our public policy. It has had a disproportionate impact on minorities, people with disabilities and women, and has affected the mental health of many. It has also shown the disparities that have emerged differently across places, groups, communities, regions and the UK as a whole.

The British Academy, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, referred, pointed out that the pandemic will cast a long shadow into the future. The academy warns that a failure to understand the scale of the challenge and to deliver changes will result in a rapid slide towards more extreme inequality and the fragmentation of society.

Crises also present opportunities. This is an opportunity to reshape society. It will require vision, bolder action, collaboration between national, regional and local leaders and a rethink of social policies. The British Academy’s impressive review highlights seven strategic goals for policymakers, which deserve serious consideration. They suggest building multilevel partnerships, improving knowledge data, prioritising digital infrastructure, the better use of urban spaces, creating agile education and training systems, strengthening community-led social infrastructure and building trust and cohesion and promoting shared purpose—that is, learning from people who work together to build on this enhanced collective sense of social purpose. It is a comprehensive and joined-up approach which will require a different mindset and a major shift in local and central government relationships, in the way resources are allocated and in how we engage communities rather than setting them apart by negative narratives and divisive policies.

The pandemic brought out some of the best features of a co-operative and innovative society driven by a shared purpose. These need to be harnessed and turned into a strategy. The local delivery of public services during the pandemic demonstrated the value of place-based leadership and reinforced the need for policies for growth, not short-term and fragmented interventions. We need to tackle health and housing inequalities, to think creatively about the employment and skills agenda and, as the Local Government Association has said, we need to rethink local. Local councils must now be equipped and trusted to build better. The key part of the recovery from Covid will be the delivery of quality, affordable homes, as highlighted by the noble Lord, Lord Best. The Local Government Association rightly argues that local councils should be provided with tools and powers to deliver social housing, which could result in a boost to the economy. Harnessing voluntary activity to build social capital, tackling the digital divide and establishing internet access as a crucial tool for delivering public services, rethinking social security systems and redirecting resources should be very high on the agenda.

Building back better will require the devolution of power, responsibility and accountability, the engagement of local civil society organisations to build trust, and, above all, adopting policies—and, if I may say so, the tone—which will not set one community against another but bring them together. This is an opportunity to build on their social fabrics. Will the Minister tell the Committee whether the Government are listening and will take a comprehensive and radical approach to building back better and building on the lessons learned during the pandemic?

Planning: Accessible Homes

Baroness Prashar Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My noble friend should know that the response to the accessible-homes consultation will be published by March 2021. The implementation of any change will depend on the course of action that the Government take.

[Baroness Prashar (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the need for accessible housing is increasing and we urgently need homes that meet appropriate needs. Delaying provision of such housing and doing nothing is not an option. How quickly are the Government intending to implement the outcome of the consultation?

Covid-19: Housing

Baroness Prashar Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The noble Baroness makes an important point. We need to remember that we need housing of all types, including that for last-time buyers. Countries such as Germany have invested heavily in retirement homes, and we need to ensure that that is part of our plans in future. I thank the noble Baroness for her question.

[Baroness Prashar (CB)]

My Lords, the Statement talks about homes of all types and tenures but says very little about the affordable housing market. How will the Government ensure that the affordable housing market will sustain itself in the face of continuing hardship?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The Government have set aside an extraordinary, unprecedented level of funding of £12.5 billion, compared to £9 billion in the previous financial settlement, for affordable homes. In working with our partners, and social landlords, we recognise that there needs to be a commitment to such homes over the next five years, and the money is there to do precisely that.