Business of the House

Martin Rhodes Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I praise the efforts of local people in Grangemouth. As my hon. Friend knows, council funding in Scotland is a devolved matter, but as I have said on a number of occasions, the UK Government delivered the largest spending review settlement in the history of the Scottish Parliament, so there is nowhere for local authorities, and indeed the Scottish Government, to hide on these matters. Residents in Grangemouth should expect that record funding to deliver the services that they need and enjoy, and I wish my hon. Friend and his campaigners luck in their efforts.

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

I recently visited Hawthorn Housing Co-operative in my constituency. It has been a registered social landlord since 1987, and it provides homes and services to around 364 tenant members. Given the Government’s strong support for the co-operative movement, and the work that housing co-operatives such as Hawthorn do in communities like Possil in my constituency, will the Leader of the House consider dedicating time to a debate on the importance of support for the co-operative housing sector?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for championing the work of Hawthorn Housing Co-operative. As we have said, housing is about balance, and co-operative housing undoubtedly has an important role to play in that. We are considering opportunities to establish a formal framework for co-operative housing, and we have provided £20 million in support for community-led housing. If my hon. Friend seeks further detail, he could apply for an Adjournment debate on the matter. If he does, I hope that he will be successful.