Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I trust that the Leader of the House will inform the Backbench Business Committee of any extra time we will get in September—or will prevail on his successor to do so—so that we can plan accordingly. The business in Westminster Hall in September will be as follows: on the day we come back, 1 September, there will be a debate on face-to-face banking in rural areas; on Thursday 3 September, there will be a debate on vaccination rates in England, followed by a debate on the security assessment on global diversity, ecosystem collapse and national security; on Tuesday 8 September, there will be a debate on the safety of the Jewish community; on Thursday 10 September, there will be a debate on the reform of the vascular care sector, followed by a debate on the contribution of fathers and positive male role models to families and society; and on Tuesday 15 September, there will be a debate on residential building safety remediation.

The incoming Prime Minister has announced that he wants the housing subsidy money available from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to be spent on social rent. I agree with that proposal. However, the London plan, which is out today, has dramatically reduced the amount of affordable housing that will be built—if it even gets to be built. That seems to be in direct contrast to what is needed in London. I hope that the Leader of the House will prevail on whoever will be the Secretary of State in the new Government to come to this House in early September and set out how the Government plan to ensure that we build the affordable housing that people in this country desperately need.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his work and the work of his Committee. On the time available for Backbench Business debates, he will know, because I just read out the business, that at the end of the day on which we return, we have found guaranteed time for the debate on SLAPPs that unfortunately could not take place last week. I anticipate that it will be a busy two weeks and two days, but I will certainly look for the time that he requests during that period; he would not expect me to do anything other than that. I will not make promises that I cannot keep—people want to prepare for debates, so I will not commit yet—but I am looking at that.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for what he said about the next Prime Minister’s comments on social housing. If there are new Secretaries of State, I am sure that when we return they will want to come and set out what changes—or, indeed, continuities—there will be in their Departments’ policies, because the House will want to know that.