Local Government Finance
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
It is my pleasure to close this debate. I thank Members from all parts of the House for their important contributions. I also pay tribute to the dedicated public servants working in local government across the country for everything they do to deliver for their communities by providing essential local services, protecting the most vulnerable in our society and helping lay the foundations for a good life for working people. They are doing that with great resilience in the face of significant challenges over 14 years of chaos, under-investment and decline.
Turning the page on the many challenges we have inherited will not be easy, but the settlement we have discussed today, as the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon) has said, is a significant step towards rebuilding local government as we rebuild Britain.
Public service is our collective duty, and we are grateful to those who contributed to the consultation on the provisional settlement and to the Members who made representations. Their input is vital, because strong, empowered local government is central to our plan for change and to delivering the higher growth and higher living standards that every community deserves. This is the change and national renewal that this Labour Government were elected to deliver, and we will achieve that by getting local government back on its feet and working with us in the spirit of true partnership.
We are fundamentally resetting the relationship between central and local government by delivering the greatest transfer of power from Whitehall to our communities in a generation through our landmark English devolution White Paper. Crucially, we are fixing the foundations of local government, starting with the broken funding system that has left many councils of all stripes in crisis. The final settlement does what is needed: it provides a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ core spending power, bringing total spending for the sector to more than £69 billion for 2025-26, as my hon. Friend the Minister stated. With the settlement and the Budget taken together delivering more than £5 billion of new funding for local services over and above council tax income, we are ending the wasteful and costly bidding wars for funding pots that local councils have had to endure and moving towards secure multi-year financial settlements. We are providing more money for social care, increased funding for special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision, and a £600 million recovery grant to support councils with the greatest need. We are responding to the drivers of cost that we know are putting authorities under huge pressure. It is clear that there is much more to do, but this settlement marks a turning point for local government after years of neglect and failure.
Many hon. Members have raised important questions about the impact on local authorities in their constituencies. My hon. Friend the Minister addressed many points during the debate, but I will respond to some others. As the distinguished Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) will know, the National Audit Office’s 2021 report stated that core spending power was 26% lower in 2021 than it had been in 2010. Investment in local authorities has been reduced in recent years. Turning that around will require time.
The opening remarks from the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake), beggared belief. It is as if we did not have 14 years of Conservative government; as if within the space of seven years we can fix the mess that they left behind, with record cuts and record levels of under-investment. We will not take lectures from a Government who consistently failed local government up and down the country and decimated public services. That is the mess that we have inherited and are working hard to fix. We will work cross-party where people are serious about tackling the root causes, but we will not tolerate hypocrisy and the complete denial of the failure of the past 14 years. That is the mess that we are trying to correct.
In rural areas, investment has gone up by 6%; in urban areas 7%—
Rushanara Ali
Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will listen. The Minister tried to respond to his comments but he was not interested in the answers, so he will sit down and listen to my closing remarks. I want to respond to hon. Members across the House who have taken these issues very seriously.
This Government have already invested £3.7 billion in social care. We have recognised the need for investment in response to the rise in national insurance contributions —up by £515 million, as my hon. Friend the Minister pointed out. We have invested £1 billion in SEND and £600 million in the recovery fund. That is a snapshot of the investment that we are putting in. Local government and local services were starved of much-needed support under the last Government. That is what we are trying to correct.
Rushanara Ali
The shadow Minister has had his chance to make his points. It is my turn to sum up, and I want to address the points that have been made.
Rushanara Ali
The hon. Member had his chance to make his point. He should have taken the opportunity to hear the response from the Minister.
On the points about rural funding raised by the shadow Minister and other Members, this Government are absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. As I said, places with significant rural populations will receive an average increase of almost 6% in core spending power next year, which is a real-terms increase. No council will see a reduction.
My hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) raised a number of important points on temporary accommodation and SEND funding, among other things. The final settlement for the new children’s social care prevention grant is worth £270 million. She works tirelessly on her Committee to raise many issues, including homelessness and rough sleeping. This Government have already increased the investment to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping by £233 million, taking the total funding to nearly £1 billion.
My hon. Friend also raised the important matter of the local housing allowance. This Government are focused on increasing the availability of housing and tackling the long-term under-investment in house building, which is why we are determined to ensure we build 1.5 million high-quality homes. We have also invested £500 million in the affordable homes programme, because we recognise that there has been chronic under-investment in social and affordable home building and in the provision of housing over the past 14 years.
The hon. Member for Woking (Mr Forster) raised a number of points on social care, which I have addressed, as well as on national insurance. My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) raised important points about investment in SEND, which I have also addressed.
The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown), made a very thoughtful and considered speech. I have addressed a number of the points he made, including on the rural services delivery grant. He also made a very important point about local audits; it is a scandal that a number of local authorities have not been able to provide the appropriate audits. My hon. Friend the Local Government Minister is working closely with the local authorities to ensure that that happens. It is, sadly, another legacy that we have inherited, but we are determined to work with colleagues, including the hon. and learned Member—my apologies, the hon. Member for North Cotswolds. He is not a KC, although he does have great expertise in his work. We will work together to tackle these issues—we are having to address them, and we are determined to do so.
My hon. Friend the Member for Telford (Shaun Davies) also raised issues around social care, which is a massive challenge that we are determined to tackle in the coming years. We are already investing funding into social care and supporting local authorities that have been struggling.
The hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) raised a number of points, including about home-to-school transport. We are aware that home-to-school transport costs are increasing significantly, in large part due to the pressures in the SEND system, and we are committed to addressing those challenges. The hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Ellie Chowns) raised a number of really important points. The consultation on the multi-year settlement ends on 12 February, and I will welcome her and other hon. Members making their contributions and views heard as part of that consultation.
Rushanara Ali
No.
We are very serious about working with colleagues both in Parliament and in local areas to tackle these very serious challenges, which local authorities need us to address after 14 years of under-investment.
Rushanara Ali
The hon. Member took the opportunity to make a speech. I am sure he will get his clicks on Facebook and Twitter, so he does not need to continue in that vein.
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Please indulge me. Could you give some guidance, on how, under Standing Orders, we can encourage Ministers to debate? This is, after all, a debating chamber. The Minister is either unable or unwilling to debate with right hon. and hon. Members.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
The hon. Gentleman knows full well that that was not a point of order. It is at the Minister’s discretion whether she wishes to take an intervention. I am sure she is coming to her closing remarks.
Rushanara Ali
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Once again, I thank hon. Members for their valuable contributions, even if we do not always agree. The point is that we can all agree that there is much work that needs to be done.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way, because I am about to raise a really important point that has not yet been addressed. A lot of councils are seeing their reserves diminished hugely, and I worry that there are a lot more councils in the pipeline that might well come under a section 114 agreement. Will she commit tonight to her Department working ever more closely with councils to try to prevent them from getting into that situation? As I said in my speech, once we get into that situation it is always more expensive for council tax payers, and they get cuts in their services.
Rushanara Ali
An exemplar contribution. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about ensuring that local authorities receive expertise and support, which is why the local audit office is so important. I know my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution will work with him and his Committee to ensure we get it right, so that local authorities get the right support to ensure their finances are carefully managed.
I thank hon. Members once again for their valuable contributions. As I hope has been clear throughout the course of the debate, the Government are under no illusion about the scale of the challenges before us. There is no silver bullet to solve them. After 14 years, the idea that within the space of seven months all the underlying issues can be resolved is for the birds. I hope hon. Members, including the shadow Minister, recognise that we have to take the issues seriously. Just turning up and scoring points will not do the job. We have to recognise that there are serious issues and challenges. Where we can work together, we must.
I am conscious that I did not give way to the shadow Minister. If he wants to work with us, I am very happy to give way.
David Simmonds
I am grateful to the Minister. I think most of us, certainly on the Conservative Benches—this was acknowledged with gentle humour by a number of colleagues—are determined to work together in a constructive way, because we recognise that this issue has a huge impact, but I have to ask the Minister a question. She referred to an “investment” of £538 million in respect of national insurance contributions. Does she really argue that it is an investment to raise taxes on one group of people to provide a grant to our local authorities to pay another government tax? Would it not surely be better to go for a lower tax, higher growth agenda, rather than seek to tax our way into prosperity, which does not have the best track record in economic history?
Rushanara Ali
Perhaps the shadow Minister did not hear the opening remarks of my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, or my remarks, about what the Government have already invested in local government—billions. Does he want me to go over it again? There is not much time, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I suggest that he goes back and listens to the speech and those announcements. He knows that, in a very challenging set of circumstances, we have invested an additional £5 billion in local government. I hope very much that we can work on areas in which we can agree, but where we cannot, let us agree to disagree.
As I have said, there is no silver bullet that will solve the difficulties that we have to address, many of which we have inherited. Today is the start, not the end, of the process of reform and renewal, but with this settlement we have begun the task of putting councils on a sounder financial footing, fixing the foundations, and strengthening the sector for the long term. This will give councils the certainty and stability that they need in order to plan, move from crisis management to prevention, and deliver the change that the country needs: higher growth, higher living standards, more jobs, more homes and more opportunities as we rebuild as part of our plan for change. We are putting more money into people’s pockets, and putting stability, investment and reform first to deliver national renewal. We are putting Government back in the service of working people. I commend this settlement to the House.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2025–26 (HC 623), which was laid before this House on 3 February, be approved.
Resolved,
That the Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2025–26 (HC 624), which was laid before this House on 3 February, be approved.—(Jim McMahon.)
Proportional Representation: General Elections
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) for opening the debate and by congratulating the Backbench Business Committee and the key Members on securing this debate.
The UK’s democratic system and institutions are strong and are rightly held the world over as a strong example of democracy. I know as someone who was born in another country that the UK’s democratic system has provided inspiration, even though as we have heard many hon. Members believe more work needs to be done in some areas. In defence of our democratic system, I reiterate how much our system and our democracy is cherished. Whichever side of the argument Members are on, it is vital that we work tirelessly to protect our democracy, which faces different kinds of threats in the current climate. Indeed, I hope we will all work together in that endeavour to make sure that we protect the integrity of our system, our institutions and our precious democracy.
How we select our representatives in Parliament is of fundamental importance and Members quite rightly have strong views. The choice of voting system is central to that concern, as we have heard in the many speeches made today, and how votes are cast goes to the heart of our democracy. I, for one, am incredibly proud to have been the first person of British-Bangladeshi heritage to get a democratic mandate in our system in 2010. That democratic mandate must never be delegitimised, even if we believe that there should be a different system. Whatever Members’ arguments, whichever side of the argument they are on, whichever system they believe we should adopt or whether they believe we should retain the current system, it is absolutely vital that we do not delegitimise the democratic mandate that this Government, or any other Government in the past, have been given to serve this country and the people who have voted for us.
Mr Holden
The Minister makes a broader important point about the mandate that individual MPs feel when they are elected to this place. Does she agree that that individual mandate—our names are on the ballot paper—is strengthened under the first-past-the-post system? Does she also agree that that means that our electorate can single out MPs, which could not happen under a party-list system, in order to remove them?
Rushanara Ali
The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the importance of the constituency connection. Hon. Members have made important contributions about alternative systems, outlining their merits and limitations. Each of those systems has its pros and cons, and that has been strongly and powerfully debated by many hon. Members today. I respect those strongly held views on electoral reform.
I know that colleagues will be disappointed, and I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news when there has been a general love-in during the debate across the parties, bar some exceptions, but at this time the Government have no plans to change the voting system for elections to the House of Commons. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] I am getting unlikely cheers; I am not used to being cheered by Conservative Members. As has been pointed out, the first-past-the-post system, while not perfect, provides for a direct relationship between Members of Parliament and their local constituency. A change would require a national conversation and referendum. The Government’s focus and No. 1 priority, having won the general election and secured a mandate, is to kick-start our economy, create the growth that is desperately needed, and improve living standards, our NHS and public services, to serve the people of our country.
Members have put their arguments across eloquently, and I respect those arguments. As others have pointed out, we had an opportunity to change the voting system in the 2011 referendum. Unfortunately for those who are proponents of such a change, that referendum was lost. The processes that underpin our elections are of paramount importance and changes cannot be made lightly; however, I stress that we are not averse to changes to, and innovation in, our democracy. We must continue to monitor all aspects of our electoral system, and ensure that it runs effectively and adapts to the modern challenges that we face as a democracy.
As we set out in our manifesto, we are seeking to make changes, including our commitment to extend the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds. We are continuing to assess the voter identification policy in order to address any inconsistencies. I am pleased that we were able to add veteran cards to the list of accepted documents last year; our veterans community will be able to use them to vote in polling stations this May. We are continuing to consider whether further improvements to policy can be made. I am conscious of the contributions of some hon. Members about the exclusion of legitimate voters. It is crucial that we ensure that people are not disenfranchised, while ensuring that there are not abuses of our system.
As I mentioned, the Liberal Democrat party, in coalition with the Conservative party, secured a referendum on AV in 2011, with considerable cross-party support from Labour Members. The proposal was rejected by 67.9% of votes. While I recognise the strength of feeling, I have made the Government’s position clear. Hon. Members asked whether the Government have any plans for a national commission on electoral reform. At present, we do—we do not. [Laughter.] That was not a Freudian slip. Some hon. Members asked about the London mayoral election and police and crime commissioners, following the changes in the Elections Act 2022. The Government currently have no plans to change the voting system for those polls. Like a number of policies, we will keep these matters under review.
A number of hon. Members suggested that the first-past-the-post system is contributing to a decrease in turnout, and pointed to the low turnout at the last election. It is on all of us to think carefully about the drivers of low turnout, which will be a range of factors. We all have a responsibility, as elected representatives, to work with our parties and communities to promote engagement, particularly among young people. We will work with colleagues to promote that democratic engagement, and ensure that young citizens are active citizens from an early age.
In order to allow my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley enough time to wind up the debate, I will address just one other point. My hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) spoke about foreign interference in relation to funding. Foreign money has no place in UK politics, and it is vital that we protect our democracy from those who seek to interfere in UK elections through illegitimate political donations. That is why we committed in our manifesto to strengthening the rules around donations to political parties. We will work with Members across the House to ensure that we protect the integrity of our democracy.
Cameron Thomas
I invite the Minister to join the APPG for fair elections. She will see that there is a very clear correspondence between first past the post and the lack of engagement over time.
Rushanara Ali
I thank the hon. Member for his invitation, and welcome him to send us information. He knows that I cannot be a member of the all-party group, but I recognise and commend its work. Having been a member of and chaired many all-party groups during my 14 years in opposition, I recognise the importance of their work.
I thank hon. Members across the House for their important contributions to the debate, expressing strongly and deeply held views about a really important subject: the future and nature of our democracy. Whichever side of the argument we are on, it is vital that we always maintain our commitment to working together to protect our democracy, and that we work tirelessly to strengthen our democracy.
A133-A120 Link Road
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) for securing this important debate and for highlighting his concerns about this project, and I thank other hon. Members for their interventions. As someone who spent many years securing debates of this form to raise important issues affecting my constituency, I know how much these debates matter to constituency MPs.
The Government recognise that there are significant benefits to high-quality, large-scale developments that deliver much-needed housing. I am grateful that the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex acknowledges the importance of housing in communities such as his and those up and down the country. We recognise that the right infrastructure must be put in place first, including the right transport infrastructure. Without that, facilities and transport become overstretched. One of the consequences is congestion and delays for existing residents and commercial traffic.
The housing infrastructure fund was established in 2017, primarily to provide up-front infrastructure funding to support the delivery of large-scale strategic housing developments. The £4.2 billion fund will unlock 260,000 homes, 30,000 of which have already been started, with a further 73,000 completions expected during this Parliament. That will make a significant contribution to the Government’s target of 1.5 million homes, which is a major commitment of this Government—previous Governments also had commitments around house building, recognising the need for housing in our country.
The hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex spoke about the Tendring Colchester Borders garden community project in his constituency. That project is expected to initially unlock 5,000 homes at the garden community, and that figure will increase over time to a total of 7,500. The hon. Member highlighted a number of points, and I will restate some of them. This Government are providing £99.9 million from the housing infrastructure fund for Essex county council to build a rapid transit system high-speed bus route. That will run from the north to the south of Colchester, connecting to the new community. I am pleased to note that that is under construction.
I appreciate the concerns that the hon. Member shared about the second item of infrastructure being funded: the A1331 link road, which will connect the A133 and A120. Over the past few years, infrastructure projects across the country have been affected by a number of unexpected factors, such as the pandemic, rising inflation, the shortage of skilled labour and other external events, and in a constrained fiscal environment the Government have had to make tough decisions.
Due to the escalation of the costs with the Tendring project, it is no longer possible to construct the entire link road with the funding available. Additionally, there continue to be delivery challenges with sections of the road, particularly in relation to land acquisition. In response to the request from Essex county council in 2023, the previous Government made the decision to use the available grant to only fund phase 1 of the link road. I appreciate the hon. Member’s concerns about that descoping of the project. I assure him that, together with the first phase of the link road, the existing local road network is sufficient to support 5,000 homes in the garden community. Moreover, I assure him that the intention to deliver the full link remains.
To that end, there is ongoing engagement between Homes England and local partners on the support that will enable the full link road to be delivered as soon as possible. That includes capacity funding to support planning, facilitation of joint working between public and private sector partners, and cross-Government brokerage support, which I hope addresses some of the points the hon. Member raised.
Both Essex county council and the housing developer, Latimer, have committed to use reasonable endeavours to procure delivery of phase 2. Additionally, to safeguard its delivery, there is a planning policy requirement for the developer to demonstrate that funding is in place for the full link road. My Department is also providing support through our new homes accelerator programme, which will help with the pre-planning process for the garden community.
Tendring Colchester Borders garden community is an important project in an area of high demand. The housing infrastructure fund grant is a catalyst for a wider £250 million private sector investment into infrastructure. The new community will include a new country park and significant green and blue infrastructure, promoting sustainable and active travel, a new 25-hectare sports and leisure park to be used in conjunction with the University of Essex, and a new 17-hectare business park for general employment, business and industrial purposes. The Government are committed to the full delivery of the infrastructure originally planned under the housing and infrastructure fund grant.
Sir Bernard Jenkin
The Minister is saying one or two interesting things. First, I have never heard anybody say—I wrote down what she said—that the “local road network is sufficient to support 5,000 homes”. I do not know who has told her that, but I promise her that she has been misinformed. On the point she just made about all the other desirable infrastructure for the development, that has to come out of the section 106 money, which will now, according to the MOU, be diverted to the road. Section 106 money is not unlimited. The possible £60 million for the development—to fund that road—is a very large sum. It is £8,000 per household. Why is she convinced that this is still a viable development?
Rushanara Ali
The hon. Member has set out his critique. What is important is that we get it right, and that requires close working, with him and other hon. Members, and my Department, and that is why the brokerage element of what we do is really important. He makes very important points; we can continue the conversation beyond this debate, as I appreciate that there are a number of complex issues that need to be worked through. However, we are determined to support the development and ensure that it is a success.
Sir Bernard Jenkin
I have little doubt that the delegated authority of the three combined authorities will be minded to give planning permission come what may. However, I reckon that the decision would be subject to judicial review if the road is not guaranteed at the time of planning permission being granted. It is a policy decision to ensure that the road is guaranteed, but what else is then taken away? That itself will be challengeable under judicial review, given that it will be so far from the original plan. I am grateful to hear from the Minister that she wants the conversation to continue. Long may it continue, and I hope that we can reach a satisfactory solution.
Rushanara Ali
I am grateful to the hon. Member, who is an extremely diligent Member of this House, with many years of experience, and a great campaigner. He makes important points about planning matters, which obviously I cannot go into, but I look forward to working with him.
I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate. This Government are committed to making sure we deliver on housing, but it is of course extremely important that we continue to work closely with hon. Members to make sure we address the issues that come up. I very much look forward to continuing the discussion with the hon. Member and to ensuring that my Department can do what it can to support a successful way through on this project.
Question put and agreed to.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
It is an honour to speak in this Holocaust Memorial Day debate, and I am grateful to hon. Members from all parts of the House for their powerful and moving contributions to this important debate. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds), who responded to the debate, and to my ministerial colleague, the Minister for Housing and Planning, for opening it.
This year, Holocaust Memorial Day marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is an especially poignant occasion, because as Members have highlighted, it is the last major anniversary when we can expect to have significant numbers of Holocaust survivors able to share their testimony. We have heard from many hon. Members of the impact that listening to first-hand witnesses has had on them. Indeed, I think of my experience and the impact it has had on me.
We have listened to personal reflections on the lasting influence of visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau and other camps across Europe. Some hon. Members have spoken bravely about their family members’ experience of the Holocaust, and the trauma and suffering experienced by their family. This debate is about remembering the 6 million Jewish men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust: the most horrific of war crimes ever committed. Remembering the Holocaust is a human rights imperative.
The Holocaust stands out as one of the defining moments of history that has shaped the conscience of humanity. The debate has highlighted that the past few years have not been easy for British Jews, with antisemitism on the rise across Europe and the UK. It has also shown that contemporary antisemitism revolves around the Holocaust, with some blaming the Holocaust on Jews, or suggesting that Jews focus on that tragedy to gain advantage.
As well as Holocaust denial, we see the growing use of Holocaust distortion, as has been pointed out by hon. Members, and intentional efforts to excuse or minimise the impact of the Holocaust. Today, Holocaust denial and distortion move instantaneously across social media, and are amplified by algorithms that drive anger, hate and division. As we mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, it is right to be reminded of what unchecked behaviours and violent bigotry can lead to.
We all have a duty and a role to play in rooting out antisemitism where we see it, and the Jewish community can be assured that the Government will stand shoulder to shoulder with them. The message is clear: we cannot remember the victims of the Holocaust without fighting antisemitism and hate today. That is why we remain determined to create the UK national memorial and learning centre in Victoria Tower Gardens. The proposed Holocaust memorial and learning centre’s exhibition will address the impact of antisemitism.
I echo the many tributes paid today to Karen Pollock, the chief executive of the Holocaust Education Trust, who, along with her team, does inspirational work for our country. I also pay tribute to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and its chief executive officer Olivia Marks-Woldman. I pay tribute, too, to other Holocaust remembrance, education and survivor organisations that enrich the work that we do, including Jewish Care’s Holocaust survivors’ centre in Golders Green; the Wiener Holocaust library; the Association of Jewish Refugees; the National Holocaust Centre and Museum in Newark, Nottinghamshire; Holocaust Centre North at Huddersfield University; and University College London’s centre for Holocaust education.
As has been pointed out, we are all aware that the number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling. We will rely on their children and grandchildren to share their testimonies. That is why I pay a special tribute to organisations such as Generation 2 Generation, the Holocaust education charity established to empower second and third-generation Holocaust survivor descendants to present their family histories to a wide variety of audiences. Through the use of survivor testimony, G2G aims to keep Holocaust stories alive, so that we never forget.
Let me speak to the powerful, inspirational and moving speeches made by hon. Members—I will call them my hon. Friends—across the House. I begin with my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (David Pinto-Duschinsky). A number of hon. Members referred to the powerful story of his father as a Holocaust survivor, and the struggles and heroism of Maria. Across the House we are all proud to see my hon. Friend speaking and representing his constituency in this Parliament. We must make sure that children and the next generation continue to learn from stories such as his family’s, to fight intolerance and hatred anywhere across our country and the world. He works passionately, alongside other colleagues, to campaign against intolerance and hate in our country and elsewhere.
I also pay special tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) for his incredibly powerful speech. Over the years I have heard him speak in this debate and in others about his family’s history and their struggles. It is so important that we hear these testimonies, because of the connection that it creates. The trauma that generations face after a genocide never diminishes. It is right that as fellow citizens and friends we support each other, whatever our faith and background, and act in solidarity.
I thank the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake), for his opening speech. He spoke powerfully, as did other Members, about the genocides that, sadly, have taken place since the Holocaust, in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. There are many other examples of human rights violations in our country, which the hon. Gentleman referred to. In opposition, I campaigned for many years against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims. I am incredibly grateful to the British Jewish community, and many others of different faiths and of no faith, for working with me on that campaign to secure the referral of the Myanmar military to the International Court of Justice, precisely on the matter of genocide.
I am grateful for the support of prominent lawyers such as my great friend Philippe Sands, who wrote the book “East West Street”, which documents his own family’s story and the stories of Lemkin and Lauterpacht, the architects of the modern-day international legal framework as we know it. It also documents the enormous contribution of the Jewish community in the post-war period, which continues to influence our international legal system, particularly on human rights and genocide.
Paul Waugh
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s own personal fortitude in standing up to hate, particularly at the last general election when she, along with many other Labour candidates, suffered abuse on the doorstep. There is a lot of talk today about combating hate, but many candidates turned a blind eye to their own supporters who used the phrases “genocide enablers” and “child murderers” in the last election, which was utterly disgusting. Will she join me in condemning that?
Rushanara Ali
It is important that we all ensure that we are peacemakers at home. If we want to see peace and security both here at home and elsewhere in the world, we have to work together in solidarity and be fellow citizens. We have to practice what we preach. It is important that we keep our democracy safe, and that those of all backgrounds who stand for public office locally and nationally can stand for our democratic system, free from hatred, intolerance, bigotry and hostility, whichever party they belong to. That is how we will protect our democracy.
I also draw the House’s attention to the speech made by the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade), who reflected powerfully on her experience of joining delegations to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Along with other hon. Members, she talked about the work of those delegations and their visits to Yad Vashem. I, too, have had the opportunity to make visits over the years on delegations to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories with Members across the House.
I draw attention to a Member in the Lords with whom I had the opportunity to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who was a child of the Kindertransport and who went on to become a Labour Member of Parliament and then a Member of the House of Lords: Lord Dubs. It is because of the heroism of British hero Nicholas Winton that Lord Dubs was able to survive the Holocaust. We had the opportunity to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories together. As we all know, he continues to campaign for child refugees, and has campaigned with many of us over the years for peace in the middle east. There are many others in our country who benefited from the heroism of those who acted to get children out during that period through the Kindertransport.
The hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole talked about the importance of Holocaust education. I am incredibly proud of the fact that this Government, building on the work of the previous Government, continue to be committed to bridging divisions between communities, challenging hatred and working closely with community groups, charities and public sector partners to build that solidarity. This Government are actively exploring more integrated and cohesive approaches to tackling hate crime, and we will share more information in due course. We have allocated £54 million for the Community Security Trust to continue its vital work providing security to schools, synagogues and other Jewish community buildings until 2028. We have also committed to reversing the previous Government’s decision to downgrade the recording and monitoring of antisemitic non-crime hate incidents.
My hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) reflected on the harrowing case of her constituent’s mother, who was kidnapped in Gaza, and talked powerfully about the importance of working together to tackle antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia, and the need to come together, building on the theme of creating a “better future” for all. A number of other hon. Members talked about the importance of the theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day.
My friend the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), who has never since his election in 2010 missed one of these debates, spoke powerfully about the importance of tackling antisemitism, and spoke about the origin of the Holocaust and the escalation of antisemitism. He also spoke powerfully about the Holocaust Memorial Bill and the education centre. He raised some important questions about the work on lessons from Auschwitz. The Department for Education, along with our Department, supports the teaching of Holocaust education by funding two programmes—one, as he referred to, for 16 to 18-year-olds—and creating the opportunity for young people to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. We will continue to work together to ensure that we support the education effort. The Department for Education set out an ambitious plan to enable students to have the opportunity to hear recorded survivor testimony. The autumn Budget committed £2 million to support that work. The Department is also exploring how it can support schools to fulfil that ambition.
My hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt) also talked about the importance of Holocaust education, as did a number of Members, and the vital need to ensure that we continue to invest in Holocaust education. I have seen how powerful that is in schools in my constituency, including with, along with the organisations I mentioned, the Anne Frank Trust UK and many others.
The hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) raised a question about resourcing. Over the past 20 years, the UK has committed more than £2.5 million of funds to projects dealing with the aftermath of the Srebrenica genocide, including towards the funding of the construction of the Srebrenica-Potočari Genocide Memorial centre.
My hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Jon Pearce) highlighted the increase in antisemitic attacks since 7 October. As I said, we are taking action to provide support and protection for synagogues, schools and other important institutions. Any form of racism and racial hatred is completely unacceptable in our society. We have allocated £54 million up to 2028 for the CST to continue its work of providing security to institutions that feel at risk and under threat. The CST recorded a total of 325 university-related incidents over the two academic years covered by its report, with 53 incidents in 2023 and 272 in 2024. That 117% rise, from a total of 150 campus incidents recorded from 2020 to 2022, is completely unacceptable. We know that we must act to ensure that protection is available. We will do all we can to support students, and to ensure that students from different backgrounds and faiths can come together and not be allowed to be divided by forces that seek to divide people from different communities, particularly in the British Jewish community and the British Muslim community.
The hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) talked about the critical importance of tackling disinformation and extremism. The Online Safety Act 2023 was introduced by the previous Government and this Government have committed to implementing it. The online space has become more and more problematic, and we must tackle the underlying causes as best we can to protect people against antisemitism and other forms of hate.
My hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward), like other hon. Members, made an incredibly powerful contribution. She drew attention to her great-grandfather and her Jewish heritage. I found it incredibly moving, as I did not know about her great-grandfather and his story. I pay tribute to her for the tireless work she has done throughout her career to fight for those who are suffering globally, and in particular for her work on humanitarian issues in conflict zones and her work with Medical Aid for Palestinians. She is an inspiration to so many of us in the House.
My hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy) talked about the Holocaust Memorial Day “80 Candles for 80 Years” project, which the Deputy Prime Minister took part in. He also referred to the UK being a signatory to the Stockholm declaration, the UK’s presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the contribution that the UK is making.
The hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) talked powerfully about the need to guard against the demonisation of Jews, Muslims and refugees and to constantly fight intolerance and hatred. My hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) spoke powerfully about the importance of recognising and remembering the Srebrenica massacre and the genocide in Bosnia. It was a genocide, as has been confirmed by the international courts, and we must never forget the victims. The UK has consistently urged all political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region to reject hate speech and to condemn any glorification of the perpetrators of genocide and war crimes. Over the past 20 years, the UK has committed more than £2.5 million of funding to projects dealing with the aftermath of the Srebrenica genocide.
The hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) highlighted the unity across the House in this very important debate, and I hope we can maintain that. When it comes to fighting intolerance, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and hatred towards other minority groups—those with protected characteristics, those with disabilities and many others—I hope that we can find common cause and that it is not only on days like this that we come together; I hope we can work consistently against hatred, intolerance and demonisation.
I turn to the interventions that this Government, building on the work of the previous Government, are making to protect the British Muslim community. After the 7 October terrorist attack, and in the light of the war in Gaza, anti-Muslim hatred and intolerance has grown in our country. This year, the Government have made up to £29.4 million of protective security funding available to British Muslim community organisations, to protect institutions from being targeted. We have sadly seen examples of the targeting of mosques, faith schools and other organisations. We have also committed more than £1 million to support victims of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.
My hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) talked powerfully about the history of antisemitism through the centuries and the stories of blood libel in the 11th century. It is a great source of pride to see him in this House, as the first representative of Jewish heritage and Jewish faith for his constituency; we are incredibly proud to have him here.
Other Members have spoken powerfully about a range of issues. I will not be able to refer to each one of them, but their contributions today have been inspiring and powerful. It is incredibly heartening to hear about their leadership roles in their communities, because, regardless of whether someone is a local representative, or a national representative as a Member of Parliament, the need to constantly fight intolerance wherever we see it must guide and influence our work in our everyday lives. That is the vital and painstaking work of Holocaust education charities in our constituencies. In my own constituency, I have seen at first hand the way that such organisations bring together different communities, and children and adults of different faiths and none, to learn from the history of what happened in the Holocaust and make sure that we do not allow such atrocities to happen again.
This year’s national ceremony will be filmed and broadcast on BBC One at 7 pm on Monday 27 January. At 8 pm, there will be a “light the darkness” moment, when iconic buildings across the United Kingdom will be lit up to remember the Holocaust. They include the Houses of Parliament, Cardiff castle, Edinburgh castle, Belfast city hall, Tyne bridge, Clifford’s Tower in York, the London Eye, Stormont and the Royal Liver building. We can all play our part by placing a candle in our windows at 8 pm. It is our responsibility to inspire future generations to stand up against hatred, prejudice and evil. The lessons of the Holocaust are not Jewish but universal, and they remain relevant today.
As my hon. Friend the Minister of State said in his opening remarks, the long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza began on Sunday 19 February. We saw the release of three hostages taken on 7 October, including the British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, and the release of hundreds of Palestinians. Across this House, we all hope that these first tentative steps will lead to a lasting peace in which Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security.
On a personal note, I pay tribute to the British Jewish community in my own constituency, where they have had a presence for many generations. In particular, I recognise the contribution that they made in the Battle of Cable Street, when they stood up with trade unionists and many others to fight Oswald Mosley’s fascists. Throughout the generations, and in working with others across our society, the Jewish community made places such as the east end of London safe for people like me and for those from the British Catholic community, the British Muslim community and many others. That is the spirit of our country: different communities coming together to support each other and to create a safe space for us to fight against intolerance.
I would like us to take a moment to remember all the Holocaust survivors who shared their testimonies and are no longer with us. I pay tribute to them for the work that they did over many decades.
The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 is “For a better future”. As others have said, it is an opportunity for people to come together, learn about the past and take action to make a better future for all. There is much we can all do to create a better future. We can speak up against Holocaust and genocide denial and distortion. We can challenge prejudice. We can encourage others to learn about the Holocaust, the other victims of the Nazis and subsequent genocides. In remembering the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of the Nazis’ other victims, let us all vow to work together in unity and solidarity for a better future.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered Holocaust Memorial Day.
Rough Sleeping Winter Pressures Funding 2024-25
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
I am pleased to announce to the House that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced additional funding to local authorities to support people sleeping rough this winter.
On 6 November, I set out £10 million of rough sleeping winter pressures funding to local authorities across England. Today, my Department has increased this by a further £20 million.
The decision to provide additional funding underlines our commitment to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, and the significant pressures local authorities face. I have written to council leaders asking them to use this additional funding to safeguard people who are particularly vulnerable and at risk of sleeping rough this winter; and to encourage further join-up between councils and their local community and voluntary sector partnerships.
This £20 million allocation has been made available to 250 local authorities with the greatest rough sleeping pressures and across all London boroughs. The funding will support a range of services, including finding solutions for vulnerable people sleeping rough long term and supporting them with sustaining a life away from the streets. It will also continue to fund specialist support to vulnerable groups such as veterans, care leavers and victims of domestic abuse who are sleeping rough. Allocations will be published on www.gov.uk.
The Government are committed to getting us back on track to ending homelessness. This winter pressures funding for 2024-25 will enable local authorities to act to save lives.
[HCWS371]
Oral Answers to Questions
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
Funding for homelessness services in England is increasing next year by £233 million, taking the total to a record £1 billion. This will help prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and in rough sleeping. Today, I have announced the tripling of emergency winter pressures funding from £10 million to £30 million. Housing and homelessness is a devolved responsibility, but we engage with devolved Administrations on a regular basis to share best practice and inform our cross-Government strategy on homelessness, which is being chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.
Ruth Jones
I thank the Minister for her answer and welcome today’s announcement. Given that young people’s experiences of homelessness differ considerably from those of other age groups across all countries in the UK, will the Minister commit to addressing their needs specifically in the homelessness strategy that is coming up?
Rushanara Ali
My hon. Friend makes a really important point about the impact on children and young people. It is an absolute scandal that nearly 160,000 children are in temporary accommodation, and we are determined to ensure that the Government’s long-term strategy addresses the underlying issues affecting youth homelessness. We are working with mayors, councils and key stakeholders, including in the charitable sector, to get us back on track to ending homelessness.
David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)
St Mungo’s has reported a 27% rise in rough sleeping in London under this Government compared with the same period under the last Government. Will this Government commit to removing the ringfences that they have introduced around the homelessness prevention grant, heeding councils’ calls to give them back the flexibility they need to get rough sleepers and homeless households into accommodation and avoid the cost shunts they impose on council tax payers?
Rushanara Ali
I thank the shadow Minister for his question. The fact is that this Government are investing record amounts of funding to tackle the root causes. That requires action on prevention, and we are working with councils to ensure that we address those underlying causes. We have inherited a mess—record levels of homelessness and rough sleeping—and we are determined to get a grip on it. That means action on prevention as well as addressing the impact of homelessness and rough sleeping, and that is what we are determined to do.
David Simmonds
One strategy that councils use to address homelessness is to move homeless households elsewhere in the country. That can be an appropriate response, but it needs to be done in consultation with the receiving authority. Does the Minister share my concern that Labour-led Rushmoor council is using the standards procedure to attack its own members for bringing this legitimate matter of concern to public attention?
Rushanara Ali
The shadow Minister will be aware that the shortage of housing is driving out-of-area placements. I am very happy to come back to him on his specific example, but the Deputy Prime Minister has written to councils setting out their responsibilities and that out-of-area placements should be a last resort. We will continue to work with councils to support them as they deal with the challenge of the underlying problem, which is the housing shortage and the crisis that has been left behind. We are determined to ensure that we get a grip by providing the support they need with funding, as well as the 1.5 million homes that this Government are determined to build.
Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
The Secretary of State is leading the charge in building 1.5 million homes to tackle the supply challenge that we face as a country, because of the housing crisis we inherited. We also announced £500 million for the affordable homes programme in the Budget and funding for homelessness services has gone up by £233 million, bringing the total to a billion pounds. I am pleased to say that Luton will receive more than £6.3 million. Furthermore, we are investing £210,000 in the emergency accommodation reduction pilot.
Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)
Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)
Rushanara Ali
Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining trust in our electoral system and our democracy. The UK already has a strong framework that makes clear that only those with a legitimate interest in UK elections can make political donations, but the Government committed in our manifesto to strengthening the rules on donations to political parties in order to protect our democracy from foreign interference. We will bring forward proposals in due course.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)
Rushanara Ali
I thank my hon. Friend for sharing that excellent example of the vital work of Derby City Mission. I am pleased that it received £272,000 of Government funding through the night shelter transformation fund, to help people off the streets and into their own accommodation. The Government’s investment of nearly a billion pounds will allow partners to develop vital services for those in need, and we will draw on those lessons.
Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)
The hugely increased housing target for East Hampshire gets further skewed by the extent of its overlap with a national park. Will the Housing Minister meet me to discuss our unusual situation and the case for having two separately set housing targets?
Paula Barker (Liverpool Wavertree) (Lab)
Rushanara Ali
The Vagrancy Act is antiquated and no longer fit for purpose. No one should be criminalised for sleeping rough on the streets. We want to ensure that we avoid criminalising the most vulnerable, while also ensuring that the police and local authorities have the tools they need to make communities feel safe. We are currently considering our next steps.
Mr Lee Dillon (Newbury) (LD)
Will the Government look at redefining affordable housing in national policy so that it is pegged to average local income rather than at the whim of an overheated housing market?
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
It was freezing over the weekend in York. Despite working with North Yorkshire emergency accommodation services, I was unable to find accommodation for a very vulnerable constituent of mine. Will the Minister ensure that in the homelessness review we hold local authorities to account and that no resident’s case is put in the “too difficult to manage” box?
Rushanara Ali
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that deeply troubling set of circumstances. We will not only ensure an immediate response through the funding that we are providing, but ensure that we bring to our cross-Government strategy the perspectives and experiences of those who are affected.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
The Planning Inspectorate has overturned the democratic decision of Walsall council and decided to allow a battery energy storage system to go ahead at Chapel Lane in my constituency, a green-belt site in a historical open space. As this creates a dangerous precedent, will the Secretary of State clarify whether we will see more of this under her new policies on the grey belt?
Rushanara Ali
I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the case. He will be aware that we are acting as quickly as possible to support local authorities to provide the necessary support to those affected, such as his constituent.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
Many residents of West Suffolk who live in new build homes put up with management companies that fail to do the basic things expected of them, from sorting out roads and planting trees to maintaining shared spaces. They often pass the buck to the developers, who pass it back again. What plans have the Government to get to grips with these cowboy companies?
Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill
Rushanara Ali ExcerptsFriday 17th January 2025
(1 year ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Act 2025 View all Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Act 2025 Debates Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) on her Bill successfully reaching Second Reading. I thank election officials and express my gratitude for all the work they did at the general election and in other elections.
The Bill provides the legal framework for applications to vote by post or proxy in devolved elections in Scotland and Wales to be made online through the services already in place for UK parliamentary elections and local elections. It will also deliver changes to align application procedures for different types of elections, which will reduce the risk of confusion among electors about which arrangements they have in place for different elections, as has been said. By enabling access to those online services, the Bill will make the lives of thousands of electors easier and encourage participation in our democracy. In short, my hon. Friend’s Bill addresses a difference that, if not resolved, would see electors in Scotland and Wales having less choice than those in England when it comes to electoral services. The Government wholeheartedly support the aim of removing that divergence.
I am delighted that we have had such a great turnout of Members for the debate. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank), for Erewash (Adam Thompson), for Southport (Patrick Hurley), for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), for Bathgate and Linlithgow (Kirsteen Sullivan), for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi), for Bangor Aberconwy (Claire Hughes), for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes), for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) and for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for their contributions. I thank the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes), for his contribution. It is extremely beneficial and helpful that there is agreement on the need to do this, and I am grateful for that cross-party support. I will not have the opportunity to respond to all the points in the debate. If I do not cover them all in the short time I have, I will be happy to follow up in writing.
We are committed to supporting returning officers in ensuring access to participation, particularly of those with disabilities and older voters, as mentioned by my hon. Friends. We continue to work closely with organisations that support disabled individuals to participate in our democratic process. On the point made about the complexity of the electoral system, we will work closely across the sector to gather feedback, analysis and ideas.
A number of hon. Members raised the importance of increasing engagement in the political process and increasing participation, including the voting age and younger voters. Various factors can impact voter turnout levels at elections, as was highlighted in the Electoral Commission’s report last year in the general election. As set out in our manifesto, the Government are committed to strengthening our democracy and widening participation in our elections. We will ensure that every legitimate voter has the opportunity to vote and is encouraged to exercise their right to vote, and we are making good progress on several areas to deliver those commitments.
Work is also under way on extending the franchise for all UK elections to 16 and 17-year-olds, and legislation for that will be introduced in due course, strengthening our democracy and empowering young people to participate in it. We firmly believe in building a strong foundation for democratic participation among young people, and we will work closely with stakeholders to ensure that it is implemented appropriately.
The Bill puts citizens’ needs at its heart and supports the use of technology in delivering services. Ensuring that people’s voices can be heard and encouraging participation are vital to our democracy. I know that colleagues in the Scottish and Welsh Governments share the same objectives. I am therefore delighted that they have chosen to take advantage of this innovation in their elections. My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith articulated the benefits to electors of bringing Scottish and Welsh elections into the scope of the digital service, and I do not intend to repeat them. Instead, it may be helpful to provide some context by giving Members a brief overview of the history of the online absent vote applications services and outline how this Government will support the implementation of the legislation.
Before the launch of the digital service, any electors who wished to vote by post or proxy would have to request a form by post—as has been pointed out—or print out a form, complete it and return it to their local electoral registration office. That could be a cumbersome and difficult process, and some electors may have had to rely on others to help them with it. The online postal vote and proxy vote allocation services, launched on 31 October 2023, resulted from a thorough design and testing process involving 3,000 citizens across the UK. They have been used to great effect by more than 2 million citizens, both at the local elections in May 2024 and at the most recent general election.
The Bill provides the legal framework for applications for devolved elections in Scotland and Wales to be received through the UK online service, along with some changes to align application procedures, which my hon. Friend has described. Making that legal framework a reality will require further regulations to be designed and delivered by the Scottish and Welsh Governments, with whom the responsibility for devolved polls lies. The Government, having had the experience of delivering these changes for reserved elections, stand ready to provide any advice and support that may be required, and will work closely with the devolved Governments in facilitating the digital change. I assure the House that any changes required to the digital services will need to meet the same robust standards required of all gov.uk services.
Let me turn to some of the points that Members have made. We acknowledge that the Electoral Commission’s findings, set out in its report published last November, identified some problems with aspects of the system for voting by post. In a minority of cases, electors were unable to return their postal ballot packs in time for the 2024 general election, which was a particular problem for overseas electors. We are carefully considering the commission’s findings and recommendations, and we will respond to its report on the 2024 election in the coming weeks. However, it is important to note that the Electoral Commission also found that the majority of people who voted by post were satisfied with the method, and overall postal voter turnout remained high, at 80%. I am confident that the introduction of online absent vote applications for devolved polls would have benefits for administrators in Scotland and Wales rather than having any negative impact.
Discussions have been held with the Scottish and Welsh Governments about the costs associated with their joining the online absent vote application services. As the work involved in the extension of the service is being done at their request, it is appropriate for them to cover the costs of any further work that needs to be completed to achieve alignment. Both Governments have agreed to cover the costs of implementing the services for their devolved elections. Because much of the work involved in designing the services has already been completed, the costs associated with their adoption by Scotland and Wales are likely to be lower than the initial costs incurred before the launch in October 2023.
I hope that, given the time, I can respond in writing to the point made by the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes). I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith for her brilliant work on the Bill. I look forward to taking this work forward with her in Committee, and I hope that she is pleased with the outcome today.
Tackling Homelessness and Rough Sleeping: 2025-26 Funding
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year, 1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
We are facing a homelessness crisis across the country, with unprecedented levels of homelessness and a sharp increase in rough sleeping. There are a record 123,100 households living in temporary accommodation, including 159,380 children. The number of people sleeping rough on our streets is rising with almost 4,000 people sleeping rough on a single night in 2023. This did not happen overnight; it is the result of 14 years of neglect. This is the legacy this Government have inherited, and I am determined to address these failures head on, but it will take time to put right and get us back on track to ending homelessness and for good.
We are already tackling the root causes of homelessness. This Government will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, and with the Renters Rights’ Bill we will abolish section 21 “no fault” evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.
We are also taking action to support councils to deliver homelessness and rough sleeping services. In the autumn Budget, we announced that funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year, 2024-25. This brings the total spend on homelessness and rough sleeping to nearly £1 billion in 2025-26, a record level of funding.
Today I am setting out how we will use that funding to deliver three important changes as the first steps in our long-term plan to tackle homelessness.
First, we must increase our focus on prevention and stopping households from becoming homeless in the first place. The current system is not working, and local authorities have been unable to invest in preventative interventions. This results in more households entering temporary accommodation, at great cost to the individuals and the council.
I am therefore providing an uplift of £192.9 million to the homelessness prevention grant, bringing total funding for 2025-26 to £633.2 million, the largest investment in this grant since it began. This will be allocated to all local authorities in England based on homelessness pressures. We will require at least 49% of this grant to be spent on activities to prevent and relieve homelessness, including associated staff costs, to help ensure this increase in funding is used to prevent families and single people from reaching crisis point.
Secondly, we must address the growing use of bed-and-breakfast (B&B) and nightly-let accommodation for homeless families. The number of families living in these types of emergency accommodation has nearly doubled in three years, with 4 in 10 homeless families living in B&B or nightly-let accommodation. Not only do these forms of accommodation provide limited stability for families and often lack basic facilities such as proper cooking facilities, they are also among the most expensive for councils. We must address this and ensure that where homelessness cannot be prevented, temporary accommodation provides safe, decent housing with as much stability for children as possible. I want to see the use of emergency accommodation for homeless families reduce and to eliminate the use of B&Bs for families other than in genuine emergencies.
As a first step to addressing this, my Department will work with 20 local authorities facing the most acute pressures for B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of emergency accommodation reduction pilots, backed by £5 million to test innovative approaches and kick-start new initiatives. My Department’s team of homelessness experts will work in partnership with pilot local authorities to identify solutions which work for their local circumstances and share the learning across the country.
Thirdly, we must streamline funding structures, reduce bureaucracy and support councils to do what they do best: deliver services to meet the needs of their local communities. Our rough sleeping and single homelessness programmes, including our new streamlined rough sleeping prevention and recovery grant, will provide up to £280.75 million in funding in 2025-26, allocated to local authorities and their delivery partners across the country to help support them to continue vital services for some of the most vulnerable people in society. Our sector support grants will continue to support the skills and capacity of our valued voluntary sector partners. Our investment in prevention will stop people from rough sleeping in the first place, meaning local authorities will be able to target their rough sleeping resources at those who need help the most.
In addition, 15 local area partnerships across England will continue to be supported through the changing futures programme. We are providing £10 million in 2025-26 to improve support and outcomes for people experiencing multiple disadvantage.
This is only the first step to meeting our commitment to getting the country back on track to ending homelessness. We will continue to work across government to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness, including developing a long-term homelessness strategy, which we will publish next year following the multi-year spending review.
[HCWS336]
Responsibilities of Housing Developers
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year, 1 month ago)
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I congratulate the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) on securing this debate and on his introductory speech. He made important points about the importance of consultation, the responsibilities of housing developers and the need for quality service provision, community infrastructure and a range of other issues. Those are important points that we can all relate to from our own constituencies.
Other Members raised the important issues of housing supply and the housing crisis. We can all agree about the need to address the housing shortage in our country. It was helpful to be reminded of the Conservative party’s manifesto commitment of 1.6 million, along with my party’s commitment of 1.5 million over the next five years. On this important agenda, there is much that we can agree on. It is vital that national Government, regional government, local government and, of course, developers, on which we rely to deliver good-quality, safe and secure housing fit for communities and our country, work closely in partnership. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity—the first since the developments of the 1950s—to provide the housing that our country desperately needs.
We are in the middle of the most acute of crises in living memory; I see that first hand in my work as homelessness Minister, given the pressures of the housing shortage in many parts of our country. For too long, too few homes have been built and even fewer have been affordable, putting the dream of home ownership out of the reach of too many. That is creating an intergenerational set of tensions. Today’s under-30s are less than half as likely to be homeowners as those of the same age in the 1990s. There were only 210,000 first-time buyers last year, and they were particularly concentrated in the younger generation. That is the lowest figure since the global financial crisis.
We have seen house prices rise during that period, too. I know that across parties we can agree that we need to ensure that the younger generation have the hope of home ownership, should they wish to be homeowners, and that those who want to live in other forms of housing can get access to good-quality, affordable accommodation, be that shared ownership or other types of accommodation. We have inherited a set of challenges that we must address. That requires serious work across parties, where possible. There are 123,000 households, including 150,000 children, in temporary accommodation, which affects communities and constituencies up and down the country. We have a shared responsibility to tackle those issues.
As for the points made on planning and local consultation, we take those very seriously. The suggested changes to the national policy and planning framework, which we consulted on this summer, are first steps to correcting some of the issues that have arisen. By strengthening the housing targets and allowing development on poor-quality grey belt land, we will get Britain building again to kick-start our mission for delivering those 1.5 million homes. We are clear that our mission cannot be at the expense of quality. The hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley and others have made important points, and although I will not be able to address them all, I will make sure that officials pick them up. Colleagues have raised a number of specific constituency cases, and I am happy to pick those up in writing as well.
Robbie Moore
I want to pick up on the point about the grey belt. I will use an example from my own constituency where we have challenges. The local authority is developing its local plan, but genuine concerns have been raised that where houses are being allocated, the need is not being identified—in other words, green belt or grey belt is being prioritised over brown-belt land. Could the Minister outline what conversations she is having with the likes of Bradford council, which is Labour-controlled, so that brownfield sites can be prioritised rather than green belt and greenfield, which has negative implications?
Rushanara Ali
I will come to that point, which picks up on the hon. Gentleman’s earlier point about consultation, proper partnership working and engagement. We very much want to see that partnership with local authorities and communities, and I will come to the points about planning requirements as well.
We have been in government for only just over five months, but I hope colleagues can see that we have hit the ground running on a number of agendas, including leasehold reform and decent homes, which have been mentioned. We recognise that there is an urgency and a backlog of issues that need to be addressed. I hope that we can work on those issues collectively, because our constituents desperately need us to bring improvements.
Since coming into government, we have taken immediate steps to support the rapid delivery of homes by launching the new homes accelerator and establishing the new towns taskforce. We believe that the generation of new towns will provide new opportunities for millions of people and unlock much-needed economic growth. The construction sector, for instance, will generate additional jobs for communities up and down the country. These are important opportunities for our country.
We have also secured investment through the investment summit, including £60 billion and £0.5 billion on housing specifically. We need to see that investment in housing in our country. The Government have also put a down payment on our commitment, announcing £5 billion towards a housing supply package for England over the next five years, including £0.5 billion for social and affordable housing schemes.
The hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley is absolutely right about developers. We need to ensure that developers fulfil their responsibility. He is very aware of safety, and other colleagues also raised that issue. The remediation action plan, following the recently published Grenfell phase 2 report, set out some of the issues relating to quality and safety. It is vital that the next wave of housing that is built is safe and secure. The legislative programme that will come with the remediation action plan and the response to phase 2 is critical to ensure that we address those issues.
More widely, it is vital that we do not compromise on the quality of housing when increasing the supply. We are mindful that we need to address both issues. The points about the contributions made by the community infrastructure levy and section 106 planning obligations are well made. In particular, section 106 delivers nearly half of all affordable homes per year. The hon. Gentleman made some important points about the need for local communities to benefit, which is crucial. He will be aware that local authorities have that strategic role. We have seen some great examples in different parts of the country—I have seen it in my own constituency—of how well that can work if communities are engaged and involved. I hope that happens with the hon. Gentleman’s local authority and with others, whether they are Labour or Conservative-controlled. We all want to see that benefit to our communities.
The hon. Gentleman raised a number of issues related to consultation. Local planning authorities are required to undertake local consultation as part of the process of preparing a plan for their local area, to comply with the specific requirements in regulations 18 and 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. He will be aware, as will others, of the requirement to consult and involve communities, including the commitment to a statement of community involvement.
We are committed to the devolution agenda. Contrary to what the shadow Minister said earlier, that means giving more power to local communities, including devolved budgets, to empower local leaders and mayors to work strategically with national Government, in order to deliver on the housing agenda. The hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley also raised issues in relation to section 106, which I have already addressed.
My hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) made a point about 200 planning officers. The Government have already committed £46 million to boost the capacity and capability in local planning, which will be crucial in local areas.
Rushanara Ali
I am afraid not, because I need to wrap up my remarks, but I am happy to pick up afterwards.
We have already invested significant resources to tackle the housing crisis. As a Government, we are very aware that we need to make sure that the national planning policy framework is fit for purpose, and that communities are engaged and involved with it. I hope that the work under way will be an opportunity for hon. Members to engage early on to make sure we get the process right and they can feed in the concerns and interests of their constituents. I look forward to continuing the conversation and to making sure that we can develop an agenda grounded in the interests of communities up and down the country, with local leaders and national Government working collectively.
Due to time constraints, I am unable to address all the points made but I am happy to pick up on any that I have not addressed, either in writing or in follow-up discussions. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley for securing this debate and for raising the issues. I should say that work, including a written ministerial statement, is already under way to tackle the concerns about the responsibilities of leaseholders, as well as in relation to housing standards.
Oral Answers to Questions
Rushanara Ali Excerpts(1 year, 2 months ago)
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Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
We are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. Funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million, taking the total spend to almost £1 billion in 2025-26. We are also abolishing no-fault evictions and will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation.
Chris Webb
Over the past two years, we have witnessed a staggering 50% increase in homelessness in Blackpool, underlining the urgent need for support in our communities. Blackpool’s homelessness partnership, through which the council works with the third sector and local charities, has done outstanding work to prevent homelessness, but we need more support. What steps will the Minister take to support and strengthen local efforts to ensure immediate relief and long-term solutions for some of the most vulnerable in our society?
Rushanara Ali
This Government have already made £10 million of additional funding available to local authorities, including Blackpool, to tackle rough sleeping pressures this winter, and we are developing a long-term, cross-departmental strategy. The £547 million rough sleeping initiative will continue to support local authorities across England by funding tailored rough sleeping services, which includes funding of £313,000 for Blackpool borough council in 2024-25.
Steve Race
As a result of the Localism Act 2011, introduced by the Conservative party, the ringfence around homelessness funding was removed. Due to that, and despite the good work that the Government are doing on funding homelessness services, Tory-led Devon county council is consulting on cutting its entire homelessness support budget, which would have a devastating impact on people and on the city of Exeter. Does the Minister agree that councils should really invest that money in homelessness services and not squirrel it away in other pots across the council?
Rushanara Ali
We are absolutely focused on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, and their root causes. The previous Government left local authorities in a dire condition. The autumn Budget announced £4 billion of additional funding for local authorities and services, and funding for homelessness services is increasing next year, but I will look into the points my hon. Friend raises. We are determined that wherever people live they are protected from the risk of homelessness and rough sleeping.
Warinder Juss
Although in my constituency we have the City of Wolverhampton council’s homelessness prevention strategy, which has had some success in tackling homelessness, last week I was contacted by a constituent fleeing domestic violence and finding it difficult to get permanent social housing for herself and her daughter. Crisis, the national homelessness charity, reports a 15% increase in children living in temporary accommodation—the highest on record—and we know that issues such as substance misuse and lack of proper employment also cause homelessness. Will the Minister please confirm how her Department is helping councils to deal with the societal and economic issues that can cause homelessness?
Rushanara Ali
My hon. Friend raises really important issues about how multiple underlying causes can drive people into homelessness. We are determined to tackle the root causes, which is why the Deputy Prime Minister is chairing the inter-departmental taskforce on homelessness and rough sleeping. The previous Labour Government took action, and cut homelessness and rough sleeping. We are determined to ensure that we tackle the underlying issues, which means reforming the supported housing that victims of domestic violence need and ensuring that local government works with mayors and national Government to tackle these issues. We are absolutely committed to doing that.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)
Wokingham borough council is under intense financial pressure, making the crucial task of reducing homelessness a significant challenge. Initial estimates are that the Budget’s new funding for local government will be more than swallowed up by cost increases in employers’ national insurance contributions and the national minimum wage, let alone the ever-growing demand for statutory services. Will the Minister meet me and the leader and chief executive of our council, so we can discuss the future of its finances and what we can do to reduce homelessness?
Rushanara Ali
I am aware that the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon), has already met the hon. Gentleman, but I am happy to look at the specific issues he raises in relation to homelessness. To reassure him, we are working across Government on these very issues, looking at how different agendas can be brought together to tackle the deep-rooted issues affecting homelessness and rough sleeping, and how best we can support local areas. I look forward to engaging Members from across the House as we develop that very important cross-departmental strategy to tackle the deep-rooted causes of homelessness and rough sleeping.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Rural homelessness has risen by 40% in just the last five years. In our communities, that is massively fed by the fact that average house prices are about 12 times above local incomes, as well as insufficient local housing. Does the Minister agree that we need to give planning powers to local authorities and national parks, so that they can designate exclusively for social rented housing and developments that therefore cannot be used for expensive housing for which, frankly, there is no need?
Rushanara Ali
As I said, we have an ambitious plan for affordable and social housing, which fits within the Government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes. It is vital to make supply available. We are putting in funding, including £500 million for the affordable homes programme, which will build 5,000 properties. The hon. Gentleman is aware of the work we are doing to ensure that there is a proper and effective national planning framework to go hand in hand with local work with local authorities. I hope he can see that we are very much working in the spirit of ensuring that we increase supply, provide affordable and social housing, and tackle the root causes that need to be addressed.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
Some 18,000 homes with planning permission across Somerset are waiting to be built, but nutrient neutrality issues, flood risk and the national shortage of planners are preventing or delaying the delivery of those much-needed homes. What discussions has the Minister had with Cabinet colleagues about fixing the issue and ensuring that appropriate homes are built to help reduce the strain caused by the lack of housing in Somerset?
Rushanara Ali
I can reassure the hon Lady that the Government are addressing those issues and will take appropriate action. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and other Ministers are very much engaged with this important agenda.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
Sadly, homelessness is projected to rise by 27% this year. The Government’s broken promise on national insurance rises has wreaked havoc across the charitable sector, with 110 national homelessness charities warning the Chancellor that £50 million to £60 million will be lost in the sector and Homeless Link calling the increase
“the final nail in the coffin”
for the sector. Will the Minister listen to that warning, and what will she be doing to convey these concerns to the Chancellor and change this disastrous policy?
Rushanara Ali
I welcome the shadow Minister to his position. May I remind him of the record of his party in government? In those 14 years, 123,000 households, including 150,000 children, were living in temporary accommodation—not to mention the scandal of rough sleeping and the deaths caused by that Government’s neglect. We are investing to tackle those issues and the mess that the hon. Gentleman’s party left behind. We have already announced £233 million in the Budget; Conservative Members need to decide whether to back us on the investment we are making to clean up the mess that he and they have left behind.
Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)
The hon. Member will be aware that the Electoral Commission has published a report on the general election, and we will consider its findings and will come back in due course on this matter and others.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
Mr Speaker
Order. I am sorry, but I have to get everybody in. It is not just about your question.
Rushanara Ali
I am very sorry to hear about the experience of my hon. Friend’s constituent. I refer to my previous comments; I am very happy to meet and engage with her on her work to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
If Wiltshire embraces the opportunity to join Dorset and Somerset in an elected mayoral authority, will there be local elections all-out in Wiltshire next spring?