Local Government Finance

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I have every confidence in the details that we are publishing today. We will be working with local authorities, as I have said, to make sure that they can set their budgets in the normal way and move towards financial sustainability.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

I thank the Government for delivering an early Christmas present to my constituents in Bedford and Kempston. The granting of planning permission for the Universal Studios theme park is a landmark moment not just for the eastern region but for the whole UK, as it will bring in around £50 billion of investment and tens of thousands of jobs. Does the Minister agree that Bedford borough council, which is already under significant financial pressure, will need additional Government investment to meet the extra demand on local public services, to support growth and to put our region firmly on the global map?

[Alison McGovern]

I have to agree with my hon. Friend that it is not just the people of Bedford who are excited about Universal Studios; the excitement can be felt across the United Kingdom. Today’s settlement hopefully helps us on that journey, but I will happily meet him to discuss the impacts on Bedford and the wider area.

Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) for securing the debate, and the East of England all-party parliamentary group for its report “Opportunity East: One Year On”, which rightly highlights our region’s huge potential.

The Oxford-Cambridge arc is already an innovation engine, home to world-class universities, leading research institutions and a dynamic private sector. Universal Studios’ proposed multibillion-pound investment in Bedfordshire offers a once-in-a-generation boost to jobs, tourism and long-term growth. East West Rail will better connect our research, technology and business clusters, thereby spreading opportunities far beyond the line itself. Yet alongside the potential, I must again record my opposition to the demolition of homes in my constituency for the East West Rail project. Residents’ concerns must be heard and decisions made with transparency and fairness.

The report is right to note deep-rooted challenges such as housing shortages, but I want to focus on one issue that particularly concerns me: water. The east of England is the UK’s driest region, receiving barely two thirds of average rainfall, and Water Resources East warns of a shortfall of 800 million litres a day by 2050.

Housing targets matter, but water and sewage capacity must be central to planning from day one. Water pollution, mentioned only once in the report, is a major concern to my constituents. I welcome the Government’s action to hold polluters, including Anglian Water, to account and to modernise infrastructure, but we need stronger protections against over-abstraction. I oppose building on the flood plain in Kempston, and I believe we must invest in rivers and waterways across Bedford, Milton Keynes and the arc so that they become the natural and economic assets they should be.

The Opportunity East report makes it clear that our region is ready to deliver green energy, growth, research, skills and new homes for the whole UK, but only if our basic infrastructure is secured, with water treated as a strategic priority. The water industry needs root-and-branch reform, and I hope the forthcoming White Paper and water reform Bill set out a credible path to deliver the improvements our region urgently needs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Monday 4th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young]

The hon. Gentleman, like various Members who have spoken, is a committed campaigner on this issue. I enjoyed our time together in the Public Bill Committee. We need to strike the balance he has just spoken about. That is why we are discussing the Bill with both landlord groups and tenant groups. We are meeting colleagues on the Government Benches and the Labour Benches, and those in the smaller parties, too. We are ensuring that when we bring the Bill back it is in the best possible shape so that it affords protections and security for tenants, but protections, in fairness, for landlords too.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

8. What his planned timescale is for reviewing the flood recovery framework.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Simon Hoare)]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. I am pleased to report that the review of the flood recovery framework has already begun and I expect the work to be completed by autumn this year. We will, of course, update Parliament in the usual way when that review is completed.

[Mohammad Yasin]

My constituent Lucy owns Ride Leisure Events on Wyboston Lakes, which flooded again during Storm Henk. She cannot get insurance and her business is not entitled to compensation under the flood recovery framework because of the Government’s arbitrary decision to expect cash-strapped councils to cover the cost if fewer than 50 properties are impacted. It is very unfair that my constituent has fallen through the safety net. She will not be the only one, with property in Kempston regularly affected by flooding. Will the Minister crack that anomaly in the framework and help my constituent save her business?

[Simon Hoare]

I am sorry to hear about that case, and if the hon. Gentleman wishes to write to me giving details of the business, I will of course look into it. As for Storm Henk, 2,241 properties have been identified as eligible for grant support. That covers 16 upper-tier local authorities, and to date payments of £788,743 have been reported by authorities to impacted householders and businesses. There always has to be a rubric in these cases, and this issue will be considered during the flood recovery framework review, on which, as I have said, we will report back to the House. However, the offer is there: if the hon. Gentleman wishes to write to me, I will happily look at what he has to say.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Monday 4th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young]

It is fantastic that Stoke-on-Trent has been chosen as one of the 20 places to benefit from the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s £200 million investment in the Heritage Places initiative. The fund will make its funding decisions under that initiative and independent from Government. However, I am sure that the National Lottery has heard my hon. Friend’s loud cry for Burslem, and I am sure it will look at it favourably.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

T6. Sacha from Kempston, Bedford, is one of an increasing number of freeholders who are afflicted by estate maintenance charges. Will the Secretary of State commit to a review into the role of those excessive, unpredictable and often opaque fees and insurance costs that not only treat mostly new homeowners as cash cows, but are putting their homes at risk?

[Michael Gove]

That is a very important point, and yes, we are on it.

Nutrient Neutrality: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Maclean]

The hon. Lady is right to highlight the fact that there is a focus on wetlands but other projects are in scope of the credit scheme. However, she has hit the nail on the head: the key point is that some of these things take a very long time to come on stream but we need to start unblocking those houses now, which is why we have taken this proportionate approach with the amendments.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

Over the summer, I met members of the Bedfordshire Great Ouse Valley Environment Trust. They are concerned that our river is the fifth most polluted in England with forever toxins—the level is a shocking 10 times that considered safe—not to mention raw sewage and nitrate and phosphate contamination. Can the Minister explain to my constituents why the Government are decreasing protections for our beautiful river when what is needed is an urgent plan to clean up our dirty waterways?

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

Like many of my constituents in Bedford and Kempston, I listened intently to the Chancellor’s Budget announcement last week. It was an opportunity for the Government to unleash Britain’s potential and realise the nation’s economic promise. Once again, the Tory Budget failed to deliver.

We should not be fooled by avoiding recession on a technicality. There is no room for boasts and bluster when we face being the only country in the G7 that will see negative growth this period. For all the bravado that surrounded the extension of the energy price cap scheme, have the Government reflected on how we got to a position where such a guarantee was necessary for struggling households across the country?

My constituents are worried about the state of the NHS, the number of police on the streets and the progress of infrastructure projects that will change the physical, social and economic landscape of our towns—issues that were all but ignored in the Budget. The Chancellor may have fudged this Budget, but he has had a long parliamentary career. Given his previous incarnation as Health Secretary, he must acknowledge the importance of health for boosting the economy. This is about not just physical health—the impact of mental health is incredibly significant. In my constituency, we are waiting for the delivery of a new mental health unit, comprising vital services and beds for both adults and young people. The project has spent years in the long grass. The site is approved, the funding is ready and there is a wealth of local support, yet we wait. Progress is blocked by the current Tory Government, who cannot resolve a bureaucratic technicality that limits capital investment, delaying a scheme that will change lives. Why will the Government not take mental health seriously?

Bedfordshire MPs from both sides of the House have raised concerns about policing in the region and how an unfair formula funds us as if we were a rural force—ignoring the many urban areas across the county, including an international airport. Our police force faces major challenges arising from this misclassification and, as a result, so do our constituents. Why did the Government think that policing was not important enough to focus on last week?

The Government have pledged up to £15 million in local capacity funding to support local authorities along the East West Rail route, which runs through Bedford and Kempston. We are told to expect a route announcement from the Department for Transport in May—one that may or may not bring an end to the years of uncertainty for residents whose homes are blighted by a current proposal that lacks any detail or clarity about alignment or scale. If the project had been a road one, residents in a similar position may already have been eligible for payouts under blight and compulsory purchase. Instead, my constituents—many of whom have a genuine need to sell—are fighting for acknowledgement from EWR and, by extension, the DFT. They were promised consultations and payout schemes that have not materialised.

There is a better way. The Government should support Labour’s plans to empower our communities, invest in our economy and fix our public services.

Levelling-up Missions: East of England

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2023 Westminster Hall

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I congratulate the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) on securing this important debate, and for the work that he and others here do with the APPG to promote and improve the eastern region. I read the APPG’s report into levelling up with great interest. It is obvious that the potential in the region is not being unleashed. In essence, we are underfunded; our funding per head of population is near the bottom of the table, despite the fact that the region is one of only three that are net contributors to the Exchequer.

I will not be the only MP in the room to feel profound disappointment at the Government’s latest levelling-up fund allocation. My constituents in Bedford and Kempston got a raw deal yet again, when a second attempt to access levelling-up funding was rejected. The funding would have regenerated the area around the Saxon Centre in Kempston by encouraging new businesses and public services, including a desperately needed new health centre, and improving the town’s walking and cycling infrastructure. It is a real blow to everyone at Bedford Borough Council who worked so hard on a great bid that ticked a lot of boxes in the Government’s stated levelling-up aims—in particular, delivering pride in place and crime reduction. My constituents pay their taxes too, so it is not right that they miss out. They can see where the money has gone, and they know the area has not been levelled up, which has become a meaningless slogan.

Instead of pitting towns, communities and regions against each other, we need the Government to improve areas through long-term, sustained support that is based on need—not these random, piecemeal hand-out schemes. The public continually have to pay more for less, and that is most obvious in health services. There is an overall failure to invest in critical infrastructure, such as modernising in-patient mental health services and GP hubs. Government bureaucracy is holding up Whitehall capital funding allocations. As a result, the Borough of Bedford is unable to attract desperately needed GPs and community-based health professionals to the area because the primary care estate is not fit for purpose. I hope that the Minister will say when the Government will finally release the funding to build the facilities to relieve the pressure on our hospitals and get patients in Bedford, Kempston and across the eastern region the appropriate community care.

On transport infrastructure, the Government’s handling of the East West Rail project has been shambolic. Bedford residents are sick and tired of waiting for a detailed decision on the project. Reasonable requests for information from residents, such as to see a business case, have not yet materialised. A lack of transparency has created significant and understandable distrust in the project. It also came as a big blow for rail users when train services on the Bedford to Bletchley line were suspended when Vivarail entered administration in December.

So far, the Government’s levelling-up agenda has delivered the worst living standards in the past 70 years. I think my constituents would prefer the Government concentrate on getting the basics right and delivering public services that work again. Only thoughtful, long-term investment in our region will unlock the vast potential and deliver the prosperity my constituents richly deserve.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

1. What steps he is taking to enhance private renter security in the context of the cost of living crisis.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

16. What steps he is taking to enhance private renter security in the context of the cost of living crisis.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Mr Simon Clarke)]

We understand the pressures that renters are facing with increasing rents and energy bills. That is why we have provided more than £37 billion of support this year to those who need it the most. Everyone deserves to live in a safe and secure home, and the Prime Minister is committed to the ban on section 21 no-fault evictions to protect tenants.

Ensuring a fair deal for renters remains a priority for the Government. The Government consultation on introducing a decent homes standard for the rented sector closed on Friday, and we are carefully considering our next steps to support the rental market.

[Mohammad Yasin]

The Prime Minister has U-turned on scrapping unfair section 21 no-fault evictions, but the freeze on housing benefit rates still stands. Millions are struggling to afford rent or are worried about being evicted during a cost of living crisis. They deserve much better than the chaos in Government. Will the Secretary of State give private renters the certainty that they need by immediately publishing the renters reform Bill?

[Mr Clarke]

We will bring forward reforms for renters when parliamentary time allows. What I can say in reply to the hon. Gentleman’s point about housing benefit is that we recognise that it is an extremely important and sensitive area of policy: that is why we have maintained local housing allowance rates at increased levels following the covid pandemic. We keep all these issues under review, and clearly this is something that we will be coming back to in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

That is an intriguing idea, and it would be a significant development. My hon. Friend is, I think, probably the most effective Member of Parliament in the borough of Wigan, and can I say that I look forward to working closely with him on that?

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

Since the Tories came into power, 800,000 fewer households aged under 45 own their homes, nearly 1 million more people now rent—often at a cost higher than a mortgage—and the number of truly affordable homes and new social rented homes being built has fallen by over 80%. Is the Secretary of State ashamed of this record, which is failing a generation of young people?

[Michael Gove]

No, but there is more to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Monday 16th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew]

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is completely wrong. We have a very ambitious affordable homes programme. More than £11 billion is being spent on a range of different options. We are also introducing an infrastructure levy that makes as many, if not more, contributions to the delivery of affordable homes. I do not understand why the hon. Gentleman has a problem with giving people in social housing the opportunity to become homeowners. I have to tell him that on the council estate where I grew up, it made a real, transformational difference to the social mobility of the families who were able to enjoy that great policy.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

10. What steps he is taking to help reduce financial pressures on local authority budgets.

[The Minister for Levelling Up Communities (Kemi Badenoch)]

As I mentioned before, this year’s local government finance settlement makes available £54.1 billion for councils in England—an increase of £3.7 billion on last year’s settlement—to ensure that councils have the resources that they need to deliver key services. That includes more than £1 billion for councils to meet social care pressures, and a new un-ringfenced 2022-23 services grant worth £822 million.

[Mohammad Yasin]

As a result of the Government’s actions—they cut Bedford Borough Council’s revenue support grant from over £30 million in 2015 to just £6.1 million in 2022-23—local authorities have been forced to raise council tax precepts to meet vital costs. The adult social care burden is ever increasing, and cannot be paid for unless the RSG is increased to a realistic level. Will the Minister tell us when the fair funding review will finally be published?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue. We recognise that adult social care costs are increasing, which is why we have provided additional funding. For the hon. Gentleman’s borough of Bedford, we have provided an additional £2 million for this settlement year. We will continue to look at the pressure that councils are under, but I remind him that this settlement increased budgets significantly. Bedford Borough Council received a core spending power increase of 6.5% this year, worth £9.6 million. That makes available up to £156 million-worth of spending.