Business of the House

Paul Waugh Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Member for raising that issue, which I know is of concern to other Members across the House. She is right that we have taken the very difficult decision, due to the challenging economic situation and the inheritance we were left by the previous Government, to end this particular fund. However, we do remain committed to the community sector and community empowerment, and we will deliver on our manifesto commitment to replace the community right to bid with a strengthened right to buy assets of community value. I will ensure that further updates are given to the House in due course.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

Deeplish community centre in Rochdale has just celebrated 35 years of providing pre-school clubs, holiday playgroups and elderly lunch clubs, as well as jobs and training for people in the heart of Rochdale. The key thing is that it proudly retains its Sure Start status, as it did under the last Labour Government, and it is the family hub that helped rebuild the nearby Deeplish primary school, which I had the pleasure of welcoming to Westminster last year. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Sohail Ahmad and all those who have built this fantastic community device over the last few years?

[Lucy Powell]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating all those involved with the Deeplish community centre in his constituency on celebrating its 35th birthday. He is a fellow Greater Manchester MP, and we are both well aware of the really good work that the Mayor, Andy Burnham, has been doing there to ensure we have early years provision. We have maintained the Sure Start model to some degree to ensure that everybody gets the very best start in life.