Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 18th April 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

No, I have not. I did listen with interest to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, on the issues of Airbnb and short-term lets. I think that was a little out of scope of this group of amendments. I do not have as much detail as I would like on this because it was in an earlier pack on short-term lets, and actually things have moved forward, so I suggest that I write and we have a meeting, which I will open to any other interested Peers at the time.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

Baroness Hayman of Ullock?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

Sorry, I have been making quite extensive notes on all this. I hope I can read my own writing in a moment.

I thank noble Lords who have taken part in this debate. These issues are critical to how this part of the Bill moves forward. The noble Lord, Lord Stunell, mentioned that neighbourhood plans have been very successful, despite the considerable scepticism at the time that they were launched. We absolutely agree with that, but, again, it is really important that we deliver more homes in these areas. I thought that his point about neighbourhood plans awaiting sign-off, how they would interact with the new proposals and that practical way of moving forward with community groups that have started doing some really good work on this, was very important. His idea about that transition was a point very well made. I know that the Minister has taken all of this on board, and we very much appreciate that.

The noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, said her amendment was an extension to my Amendment 231 about national parks and AONBs. While I absolutely support her desire to see more affordable housing in those areas, I am not sure that restricting it to just affordable housing is the way forward. You need a mixed tenure to encourage social mobility, to encourage families to move in and so forth. However, having affordable housing as a strong priority needs to be looked at.

To come back to the comments that the Minister made, I absolutely agree with her that it has been a success story, and where it has worked well it has worked really well. I was pleased that the Minister acknowledged that take-up has been low in some parts of the country, and it was very interesting to hear about the pilot schemes she talked about, in places such as Birmingham. It will be interesting to look at the outcomes. There are always lots of pilot schemes and then nothing ever happens, but, if they are successful, it would be great to see how the Government will then pick it up and run with it, and roll it out in other parts of the country. From a personal point of view, I am interested to hear more about that as we go forward.

It was good to hear more about the role of the neighbourhood priority statements, and to have it confirmed that there will be formal input into local plans and that they could operate as a preliminary plan, as a step on the way to a full plan. All of that was really good to hear.

One thing I would like to pick up a bit more is the issue of rural exception sites. It seemed that the Minister said that we do not need to have the amendments around national parks and AONBs because we have the rural exception sites, which are small sites that are used for affordable housing. I refer the Minister to concerns from the CPRE that the system is open to abuse. If this is what the Government see as the future of developing affordable housing in areas such as national parks, it is important that the opportunity for abuse is understood and that those loopholes are closed.

If noble Lords bear with me, I will refer to an example that the CPRE has put forward from Mid Sussex District Council. It is looking at a particular developer which has been seeking to persuade Mid Sussex District Council to treat two of their sites as rural exception sites for planning application purposes. In each case, the developer was offering to build at least 85% affordable homes. The problem is that neither site had been identified as appropriate for development. In neither case had this developer identified that its proposals would satisfy a local housing need, and the developer had not consulted with either the council’s housing department, the parish council or local residents. The CPRE is saying that the danger of abuse lies in the risk that, once the principle of development in rural locations has been established, a developer can then seek to exploit that fact to obtain permission for a far larger commercial development of market homes there. That is what happened in Lower Horsebridge, which is a village of 60 homes near Hailsham. The developer got permission for 32 affordable homes, and then returned with a revised application for 110 market homes, which was given planning permission.

I do not have any problem with rural exception sites; they do some really good work. However, if this is what the Government are going to rely on for that kind of development, it is really important that we look at how that loophole can be closed, so that developers cannot use them for their own advantage in that way.

Finally, my noble friend Lady Taylor of Stevenage has reminded me that the localism commission, under the chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake, has some really good recommendations about how to build community capacity around local development plans. Perhaps as we go through the Bill it would be worth looking at the work that has been done there. Having said all that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Supported Housing: Funding

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My noble friend knows that we are committed, in our latest manifesto, to expanding Housing First. The findings of our evaluation, together with our experiences from the pilots, will help to inform next steps.

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab)]

My Lords, a recent report for Birmingham City Council found that an increasing number of landlords claiming to provide social housing are not providing adequate support for tenants or residents. Housing charity Crisis has previously called for tighter regulation to prevent this exploitation. Do the Government have any plans to introduce any such legislation? If not, will the Minister explore the need to do so?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, we are aware of the issues in Birmingham. That is one of the reasons why we carried out those pilots, which will inform future policy in this area. It is important that we deal with the small examples where standards are simply unacceptable.

Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill [HL]

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 20th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

My Lords, we now come to the group consisting of Amendment 10. Anyone wishing to press this amendment to a Division must make that clear in the debate.

Clause 9: Financial penalties

Amendment 10

Moved by

--- Later in debate ---

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

My Lords, we now come to the group beginning with Amendment 27. Anyone wishing to press this or anything else in this group to a Division must make that clear in the debate.

Amendment 27

Moved by

Queen’s Speech

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Monday 17th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab)]

My Lords, what a heartfelt and moving maiden speech. My noble friend’s dad and family, watching today, will rightly be so proud.

In 1976, a very young Vernon Coaker started teaching, and that very first classroom set him on the road to here today in your Lordships’ House. That class was 5C. They were tough kids, many struggling to read, with little appetite for authority or school. He recognised then that education would help them, but only so far; real change, the ability to make a difference, not just to those kids in that classroom but to his community and to his country, could come only through Parliament and government. Vernon won Gedling in 1997. It was a marginal seat and he held it, against the odds, at election after election. He was able to do that because he came from—but, crucially, always remained part of and at the heart of—that community.

He is also a principal research fellow in modern slavery and human trafficking at the University of Nottingham, taking the responsibility he had as a Home Office Minister and continuing that engagement and responsibility. I am sure that he will bring his thoughtful and analytical approach, as well as his strong sense of social justice, to debates in this House. Vernon, welcome.

Turning to today’s debate, I want to focus on not the adversities of climate change but the solutions. At this point in history we have not just an opportunity but an obligation to solve the problem of climate change. It is us who can take hold of the lid of Pandora’s box and firmly close it. We want to and can do this through decarbonisation—driving the removal of carbon dioxide from the UK’s economy. Decarbonisation involves two simple actions. First, the Government must invest in renewable energy; secondly, we must reduce and ultimately stop the extraction and use of fossil fuels. These two simple actions, taken together, are the best way to set the future of our planet back on the right track.

Currently, 79% of the UK’s energy comes from fossil fuels. The Government have taken steps to decarbonise the economy. The 10-point plan for the green industrial revolution has made some progress towards decarbonisation, particularly in its uptake of offshore wind energy. However, the steps have been half hearted at best. This Government have seen a regression on the policies that would promote the use of renewable energy. For example, the renewables obligation scheme that created more than 23,000 generating stations and generated 25 gigawatts of energy was closed in 2017, ending its benefit to the renewable energy sector. The feed-in tariff, a policy designed specifically to increase investment in and uptake of renewable energy, has been all but abolished. This has led to uncertainty in Britain’s domestic solar panel industry, reducing Britain’s opportunities for success in the renewable energy and business sector.

As an alternative to this bleak continuation, the Labour Party has a green new deal and has the potential to restore the country’s economy through new business deals and opportunities. Clean energy lies at the heart of the Labour Party’s green new deal and it has the golden touch of creating high-quality, skilled new jobs for people up and down the nation—from solar panel technicians to data scientists, to green financial investors. As the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, said, we urge Her Majesty’s Government to work across the political spectrum to deliver.

David Attenborough, who has been named COP 26 people’s advocate, stated:

“We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited.”


COP 26 is the conference at which we will ultimately decide which path humanity takes. Let us take that right path.

Inclusive Society

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Wednesday 14th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (LD) [V]]

My Lords, one of the results of the pandemic is that an already very poor literacy rate in schools will have worsened further. Adults with poor literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed or in low-paid jobs and there is a link between low levels of literacy and shorter life expectancy, depression and obesity. Nine million adults in the UK are functionally illiterate.

All my younger working life was involved with the book trade, publishing and bookselling. Books were fundamental to my world, so it came as a shock when, in my 20s, I began to realise just how many adults could not read. For some time, I volunteered for what is now the excellent National Literacy Trust. As I got to know my students, it shocked me just how excluded from normal everyday life they were. Illiteracy equals exclusion.

The underinvestment in our libraries is a national disgrace. Funding for public libraries has fallen so much in a decade, from £1 billion in 2009 to under £750 million 10 years later—so it has fallen by a quarter. Before the Minister blames local government for those cuts, let us remember that central government has cut funding for local government at a lethal rate. Let us also remember that the public libraries Act 1964 requires central government to oversee and improve public library services. The cuts have meant public libraries having a quarter less books to lend, fewer professional staff and fewer libraries.

School libraries are extremely important in getting children interested in books and reading. The Sunday Times recently revealed that 2,000 pupils are set to enter secondary school unable to read properly, so I really welcome the UK Children’s Laureate’s campaign. Cressida Cowell is the Children’s Laureate at the moment, and it was previously Michael Rosen—who is also working on this campaign and, of course, has had very severe Covid—Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson. They are all campaigning to get the Government to commit £100 million to restore and refurbish primary school libraries, because literacy is the surest way to build the foundations our children need to develop their knowledge and imagination and to grow a brighter future.

OECD research found that childhood reading ability was a more certain predictor of future success than a family’s socioeconomic status—in other words, it is the key. Children’s literacy is the key to inclusion throughout their life. Literacy is not a cost to the economy or a luxury to be considered when times are good; it is the key to inclusion and a fundamental part of personal achievement and national economic success.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

I am glad that we could make that work. I now call the noble Lord, Lord Jones.

[Lord Jones (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, and acknowledge her steadfast work on poverty.

Newly Prime Ministerial Mrs May made a heartfelt and sincere reference to those “just getting by” from her lectern in Downing Street. That is a thoughtful phrase, but what of those not getting by? How many are not getting by? How many millions? Where is their inclusivity? When shall they get by? Who shall champion them? One recollects the late Lord Dahrendorf’s haunting phrase, “the underclass”—that is not woke but an accurate description.

More than a generation ago, Matthew Parris, the distinguished Times commentator, holed up in the north-east—classic red wall territory—and tried to live on, I think, £70 per week. It was very grim; he managed—just. Today, those at the fringes of our communities and those in hopelessness need our help. The gap between those of us “just getting by” and those of us enjoying prosperity and luxury has become huge. This is a major challenge to the statecraft of Governments.

The Palace of Westminster has lost status. We, swathed in ermine, supported by servants and surrounded by paintings, carvings, statues, silken wallpapers and gilt, talk most concernedly of social justice, poverty and its antidote: inclusivity. But what action might we engender, especially for youth and for black and Asian citizens, as the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, implied?

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

We seem to be getting a bit of feedback from the noble Lord, Lord Jones, so we will carry on to the next speaker, the noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwen, and then, because we have time, we will try to come back to the noble Lord for his conclusion. I call the noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwen.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab) [V]]

The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, has secured this very important debate and introduced it forcefully. I shall focus on children, who have been mentioned by several noble Lords. All children must be included and given a voice in any post-pandemic action affecting them, as they should have been during the pandemic. I hope we will learn from the experience of Covid and have the confidence to explore ideas and implement changes where necessary.

I ask the Government to develop and introduce a children’s charter based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Such a charter could build on what we know and have learned. We have evidence on children to do this, from parliamentary work on children, from the efforts of the former Children’s Commissioner, from the voluntary sector—which is brilliant on children —and from teachers and other people who work with children. An inclusive dialogue on such a charter between all agencies and including children from diverse backgrounds would be a useful and inclusive exercise in itself and could clarify future needs and commitments to our children. Such a charter would be a sign of our commitment to respect and implement the best interests of the child, as set out in the UN convention. Wales has worked on this, and Scotland is doing so.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by the UK Government in 1991, but it is not part of our domestic law. Every five years, our Government are required to report to the UN committee on the progress they have made on implementing the UNCRC. The UN committee responds and our voluntary sector responds, led by the Children’s Rights Alliance for England. It is a useful and critical dialogue. The next one will be in 2022. The last called on the UK to provide better co-ordination of all activities for children across relevant sectors of government and therefore of all structures at national, local and international level to work with children. I strongly support, as others do, the growing enthusiasm for a Cabinet-level Minister for children and for greater co-ordination of services for children at national and local level.

The UNCRC has 45 articles, and I shall highlight but a few. They are all issues we would as parliamentarians believe are important to keep under scrutiny for children. Some we would now wish to enhance as things have changed; for example, concerns about children’s involvement in the internet and other media and some of the dangers, issues of climate change, and issues of aid to children in less developed countries. Other articles of the UNCRC promote the concept of the welfare of the child—that is, all those under 18—as paramount; the right of children to protection from all forms of violence; the right of children to express views on issues relevant to them; the right to a social life; the right to education which develops all talents and abilities, the right to health and learning about health; the right to good adoption practices; the right to family life; the right to support for refugees and immigrants; the right to leisure and play; the right to protection from drugs and other illegal substances; the right to youth justice; the right to benefits through social security, and the right to accurate information from all sources, including the media.

Many of those issues were raised by my noble friend Lady Lister as post-Covid priorities: childcare, fiscal support for children, funding for local authorities, poverty and inequalities. Other noble Lords have also entered this debate on children. 

This very well-respected convention, the UNCRC, could be a basis to work from. How better to create an inclusive society than to involve children, parents, local communities, politicians, the new commissioner for children in England and other commissioners and all those who work with children in developing a charter for children? I believe that this will be a vibrant, exciting and powerful initiative. I believe there is an appetite for developing such a charter and the talent and imagination to do so. How will the Government respond?

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

We appear to have identified the problem with the feedback affecting the noble Lord, Lord Jones, so we will try him again.

[Lord Jones (Lab) [V]]

Mr Tony Blair’s foundational mantra is the place to start: education, education, education—especially north of Greater London. Surely we can fashion, in the 2020s, a skills and apprenticeship programme that properly meets the needs of youth and nation. Prince Bismarck did quite some time ago, so why not have an all-party collaboration to fashion the first national living wage? The minimum wage has been a trailblazer, not least in my own homeland, the lovely land of Wales.

I believe that sport can be a positive for inclusivity. I have met Mr Muhammad Ali and I have watched Sir Viv Richards strike an imperious ton at Old Trafford—and has not Red Devil Mr Rashford kicked open the 10 Downing Street door for the inclusivity of vacational meals for our youngsters? Those are role models indeed. Dame Ellen navigated the oceans, steely-armed Rachael won the Grand National, and a feisty young woman from Britain won and gained Olympic gold.

To conclude, surely a boost to sports provision in northern townships would engender more inclusivity, an alternative to broken glass, empty tubes and spent syringes. Northern Astroturf can rival the playing fields of Eton College.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

Thank you, Lord Jones—that was well worth waiting for. I call the next speaker, the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, who will be followed by the noble Lord, Lord Haskel.

[Lord Roberts of Llandudno (LD) [V]]

Another voice, and this time a loud one, from Wales. What I see from here is the terrible toll that the pandemic has taken on the human family. So many millions have died and so many millions are in terrible straits, but there are one or two positive things as well. I hope that we have learned to avoid some of the mistakes made this time round. If we face a similar challenge, we might be better equipped to meet it. However, there are also positive lessons that could continue. As my noble friend Lord Thurso mentioned, where would we be without virtual communication? Our Parliament would be silent, nobody could continue with their legislation, our councils would have come to a halt, and our churches would not be able to have their Zoom services. Without this new device, for many of us—without Zoom services, and so on—we would be in a world of silence.

Families who have been unable to touch or hug each other have been able to talk together and see each other. I am so grateful, and I am hopeful that being able to see each other virtually will continue, enlarge and strengthen, so that if we ever have another pandemic of this sort, we will know much better how to tackle it. I have friends from Sydney and Toronto, as well as from many places in the United Kingdom, who now do not have to travel to committee meetings but can tackle them from home. A hybrid solution in the future could well be a positive consequence of this pandemic. We will be able to see each other, to travel the world. Is it time that we thought about preparation—although I hope that it is never needed—and prepared people to use this to the utmost in any other similar situation? We must use every possible means to prepare and instruct.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

The noble Lord, Lord Sikka, has withdrawn.

Northamptonshire (Structural Changes) (Supplementary Provision and Amendment) Order 2021

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Thursday 4th March 2021 Lords Chamber

Motion agreed.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

We are just going to swap the speakers, and we are waiting for the Minister, so, rather than adjourn the House, we are going to take one minute, then move straight on.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, I think it would be sensible if we adjourned for two minutes.

No-fault Evictions

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab)]

My Lords, Generation Rent analysis states that:

“Section 21 is the leading cause of statutory homelessness.”


The report continues, saying that

“92% of the rise in homelessness cases … in London can be explained by no-fault evictions”.

However, turning to the immediate, the Government’s ban on bailiff enforcement of eviction ends on 21 February and does not extend to renters in more than six months of arrears. What plans, if any, do Her Majesty’s Government have to revisit these two very important issues?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I point out that the new court rules will certainly prioritise cases such as anti-social behaviour, and that bailiffs do not currently enforce evictions. There have been plenty of protections for tenants throughout this pandemic, and those protections continue. It is important to get a balance between protecting tenants and providing the rights to landlords.

Covid-19 Lockdown: Homelessness and Rough Sleepers

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

The noble Lord makes an important point about focusing on prevention. In all areas of public policy, we want to prevent things happening in the first place. In healthcare, for example, rather than just letting the disease get worse and then responding, we want to prevent it happening in the first place. That is why the money going towards ending rough sleeping—the £700 million that has been committed and continues to be spent—is a part of the wider package for tackling homelessness. There is an absolute resolve to deal with the issues that the noble Lord raises. We will continue to focus on prevention and also on the response to those who are on the streets.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

May I gently remind noble Lords to keep their questions and answers brief? A number of noble Lords still wish to get in.

[Lord Polak (Con)]

I guess it is easy to sit on the sidelines and criticise but on the critical issue of homelessness this Government, and specifically the Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick, together with my noble friend the Minister, ought to be congratulated. As has been said, early in the pandemic they launched the Everyone In project, backed up with £700 million. In addition, the recent announcement of the Protect programme, with a further £15 million, will ensure that councils can offer everyone sleeping rough somewhere safe to go. However, does my noble friend agree that it would be reprehensible if any council used that funding for people who are not sleeping rough?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

My Lords, the time allocated for this Question has elapsed. Rather than adjourn the House, if we can just take a minute to move round, I shall move straight into introducing the Fisheries Bill business.

Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority (Functions and Amendment) Order 2020

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Friday 24th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, on first inspection, this Motion appears a rather dry topic, but from the notable speeches that we have heard from my noble friends Lord Blunkett and Lord Adonis and many other contributors, it is clear that it is far from that. My reason for wanting to speak in this debate dates back to the discussions that I was involved in at the inception of the combined authority and mayoralty. At that time, I was the general secretary of the Labour Party, which has a long history of commitment to devolution, as we have heard from the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, and many others, and to moving resources and decision-making closer to the people who ultimately rely on those resources and powers.

Like many before me, I want to pay tribute to Dan Jarvis and the local leaders who have helped to shape this new combined authority in South Yorkshire. It has taken a huge effort to get here today. Unlike many other combined authorities and mayoralties, this did not come ready made and agreed; Dan and the local authority leaders have built it from scratch. I remember speaking to Dan before the mayoral selections and saying to him, “Let me get this right. You want to stand for selection to become the mayor of a combined authority with no agreed parameters, no staff allocated, no clear mandate on remit or powers, no offices to work from and no agreed salary or terms and conditions.” Dan just looked at me and said, “Well, yeah. We can use this as a step to deliver for the people of South Yorkshire.” It has taken us five years, but we are further down that road. Devolution is a process—it is not an event—and this is part of that process.

These decisions today will put the structures in place to allow local plans to help the transformation of South Yorkshire. What South Yorkshire and many other local authorities need is resources, both financial and practical. This order helps to set out the structure and the framework, but it is only a start in moving the money. Let us not forget that, from 2010 onwards, we saw the new coalition Government impose austerity across local authorities and local government. Let us not forget the tens of millions of pounds that were stripped from local government over the preceding decade.

These measures will support the anchoring institutions —local universities and colleges, South Yorkshire Police, the NHS and local authorities—to work to deliver for the people. We all want to see a stronger, fairer and greener economy come from this crisis, so I hope that the Motion to approve this order will be the first step in achieving that.

Churches: Reopening of Buildings

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, the government advice as published provides a framework for places of worship, including gurdwaras, to open safely, and of course it is down to local decision-making to work within that framework.

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, churches serve many vital and often underrecognised purposes across our communities, which includes providing support to members of both their congregations and the wider community through food banks, childcare services and bereavement support, to name but a few, as well as providing both spiritual and practical support. Has the Minister engaged with churches of all faiths to understand what practical support they require to continue that important work?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, we have engaged with a series of virtual round tables, and the noble Lord is absolutely right that the response during the pandemic and the support for the vulnerable by all faith communities has been simply remarkable. I have also provided some input into a review that has been started by Danny Kruger MP to look into how that can continue during the recovery phase of the pandemic.