Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Wednesday 24th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. One of the reasons we put £24 billion into defence alone is that it drives 400,000 jobs around the country, including the building of new frigates and new ships of all kinds. I hope very much that Chatham will benefit from the £100 million funding we put in on 24 December to rejuvenate coastal towns. The planning issue my hon. Friend raises is a matter for the local council, but I do hope a solution can be found that gives the benefits that she describes for the local community.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab) [V]]

Last night, I met again with leaseholders whose lives have been torn apart by the cladding and building safety scandal. The Prime Minister will recall that he told the House on 3 February that “no leaseholder should have to pay for the unaffordable costs of fixing safety defects that they did not cause and are no fault of their own.”—[Official Report, 3 February 2021; Vol. 688, c. 945.]No ifs, no buts: an unequivocal pledge. The Government’s measures so far fall well short of fulfilling it, so could the Prime Minister say now not what has been done, but what he will do to deliver his promise?

[The Prime Minister]

In addition to the £3.5 billion of investment that we have provided to remediate the cladding and the £1.6 billion that we have already done, we are providing a new scheme for leaseholders in the lower-risk buildings of, I think, the kind that the hon. Gentleman is describing, to pay for unsafe remediation over the long term. There will also be a new levy and tax on developers, so that they also contribute to the remediation costs.