Business of the House

James Naish Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. There are 12 people wishing to speak and we have 10 minutes—you can do the maths. Keep your questions short.

[James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)]

Yesterday, on 2 April, I received an unprompted letter from the Home Builders Federation, which said:

“A recent Freedom of Information request…shows that Rushcliffe Borough Council holds £50 million of unspent developer contributions in total, equivalent to £1,000 per household. This is the fifth-biggest amount in the country on a per-household basis, and 4 times the national average.”

Nationally, a total of £8 billion-worth of developer contributions are unspent. Does the Leader of the House agree that these are eye-watering sums of money not being spent on local infrastructure and local people, and will she ensure that the relevant team look into why this is happening?

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend raises the very important issue of unspent developer contributions. There really is no excuse for the eye-watering length of time it has taken for his local authority to deploy them, and he has made a strong case here today.