Business of the House

Debate between Matt Rodda and Lucy Powell

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

The money absolutely was not there in this case. We are ensuring that we can take forward all these rail plans with confidence.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

I wish to ask the Leader of the House about a local issue that I came across recently. I met a young couple who were being evicted from their house through no fault of their own. I appreciate that the Government are taking urgent action to tackle the problem. On the very same street there are a whole series of other housing problems. May we have a general debate on housing, so that we can discuss the range of issues that many residents face, particularly the shortage of housing and the importance of building more council houses and other affordable homes to buy and rent?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue. He will know that the much enhanced and strengthened Renters (Reform) Bill, which is making its way through the House, will prevent no-fault evictions such as the one he described. I am really pleased that this Government are taking that forward. I saw the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee nodding along sagely at the suggestion of a broader debate on housing, which the hon. Gentleman may want to apply for.

Business of the House

Debate between Matt Rodda and Lucy Powell

Thursday 17th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents face serious problems with antisocial behaviour and crime of various types. The Government are taking renewed action to tackle those problems, and I was pleased to hear some of the announcements from the new Home Secretary. Would the Leader of the House be able to arrange a debate in Government time on this very important matter?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue. Crime and antisocial behaviour blights many communities and is frequently raised at business questions by the Members that represent those communities. That is why we are taking action to create more neighbourhood police, as well as bringing in respect orders and other actions to tackle antisocial behaviour. Home Office questions is next week and he may want to raise the issue then as well.

Business of the House

Debate between Matt Rodda and Lucy Powell

Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Gentleman will know that Housing Ministers and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) have already given a number of statements to the House—and will continue to do so—on the national planning policy framework and our house building programme, which is ambitious and will be a challenge to deliver, but we are determined to do that. He will also know that in the King’s Speech we announced a planning and infrastructure Bill, which will address some of these issues. Strategic local plans will deliver for a place—not just homes, but the infrastructure that areas need.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

I thank the Leader of the House and the Government for their swift action to tackle the large bonuses being paid to the bosses of water companies. My residents in Reading have suffered from appalling problems with water pollution, both in the River Thames and the River Kennet; from the disconnection of family homes from the water supply; from potholes created in local roads; and from a series of other problems. Will the Leader of the House ensure that if we have a debate on water companies, the mismanagement by senior leaders at the top of the industry is included?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I am delighted that today we are introducing the Water (Special Measures) Bill in the other place. It is a really important step on the way to cleaning up our waterways, making water bosses and water companies accountable, and stemming the tide of, frankly, awful pollution and discharges into our rivers, lakes and elsewhere. We are putting in place the tough accountability action that has long been required to do that job.

Online Safety Bill

Debate between Matt Rodda and Lucy Powell

2nd reading
Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I will come on to some of those issues. My hon. Friend makes a valid point.

I fear the Government’s current solution to the balance between free speech and regulation will please no one and takes us down an unhelpful rabbit hole. Some believe the Bill will stifle free speech, with platforms over-zealously taking down legitimate political and other views. In response, the Government have put in what they consider to be protections for freedom of speech and have committed to setting out an exhaustive list of “legal but harmful” content, thus relying almost entirely on a “take down content” approach, which many will still see as Government overreach.

On the other hand, those who want harmful outcomes addressed through stronger regulation are left arguing over a yet-to-be-published list of Government-determined harmful content. This content-driven approach moves us in the wrong direction away from the “duty of care” principles the Bill is supposed to enshrine. The real solution is a systems approach based on outcomes, which would not only solve the free speech question, but make the Bill overall much stronger.

What does that mean in practice? Essentially, rather than going after individual content, go after the business models, systems and policies that drive the impact of such harms—[Interruption.] The Minister for Security and Borders, the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), says from a sedentary position that that is what the Bill does, but none of the leading experts in the field think the same. He should talk to some of them before shouting at me.

The business models of most social media companies are currently based on engagement, as my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Dan Carden) outlined. The more engagement, the more money they make, which rewards controversy, sensationalism and fake news. A post containing a racist slur or anti-vax comment that nobody notices, shares or reads is significantly less harmful than a post that is quickly able to go viral. A collective pile-on can have a profoundly harmful effect on the young person on the receiving end, even though most of the individual posts would not meet the threshold of harmful.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way on that point?

[Lucy Powell]

I will not, sorry. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who I had the privilege of meeting, cited many examples to the Joint Committee on the draft Online Safety Bill of Facebook’s models and algorithms making things much worse. Had the Government chosen to follow the Joint Committee recommendations for a systems-based approach rather than a content-driven one, the Bill would be stronger and concerns about free speech would be reduced.