Sajid Javid
Main Page: Sajid Javid (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
John Penrose (Weston-super-Mare) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid)
My hon. Friend highlights the importance of increasing brownfield development and building to higher densities to deliver more homes. I announced our plan for urban regeneration at our party conference and I will set out further proposals as part of our housing White Paper later this year.
John Penrose
I am delighted at the progress that my right hon. Friend has made so far, but may I urge him to go further still? I encourage him to include proposals to build up, not out, in his forthcoming White Paper, to cut development pressure on green fields, release huge numbers of new buildable sites, regenerate urban centres and, most important of all, cut the cost of new homes dramatically?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the need for more homes in the right places so that the housing market works for everyone. That means encouraging urban regeneration, making the best of brownfield land and building new homes where people desperately need them. Later this year, my housing White Paper will ensure that that happens across the country, including Weston-super-Mare.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Surely the Secretary of State is not going to fiddle-faddle with regulations like this at that level. What this country needs, given the housing and homes crisis—the deepest in a hundred years—is bold, imaginative innovation in the house-building programme, and we want it now.
Sajid Javid
I think “fiddle-faddle” is an appropriate description of what happened under 13 years of Labour government, when house building fell to its lowest level since the 1920s.
Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)
Recently the leader of Rossendale Borough Council and I wrote jointly to the Minister for Housing and Planning to say that our objectively assessed housing requirement did not take account of topographical and flooding issues in the Rossendale valley. Will the Secretary of State, on behalf of our hon. Friend the Minister, agree to a meeting with the leader of the local authority, Alyson Barnes, and me to discuss those specific issues?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend makes a passionate case, and while it would not be appropriate to comment on the details, I can make sure that the Minister for Housing and Planning meets him.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
I declare my interest as a member of Kettering Borough Council.
My constituents would broadly support the idea of building up, not out, but in middle England towns such as Kettering, with its limited public transport options, the problem is that the more residents we squeeze into any street, the greater the pressure on parking spaces. Does my right hon. Friend accept that there is a big difference between inner-city developments and developments of this sort in middle England towns?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend is right, and highlights the need for correct and adequate infrastructure in towns and villages across the country if we are to build the homes that we need. The proposals that we will introduce later this year, including the White Paper, will certainly take account of that.
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid)
One person sleeping on the streets is one too many. All too often, support and intervention are only provided at crisis point, which is why we have launched our £40 million homelessness prevention programme—an end-to-end approach to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping to get people back on their feet.
Luciana Berger
St Mungo’s reported last week that four in 10 people sleeping rough in England have mental health conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Poor mental health makes it harder for rough sleepers to get off the streets and almost impossible to gain access to mainstream NHS services. St Mungo’s reports that
“the small number of specialist…mental health services are facing cuts or disappearing altogether.”
How exactly is the Secretary of State addressing the growing mental health crisis among people sleeping on the streets?
Sajid Javid
The hon. Lady raises an important issue. As she rightly points out, homelessness is not just an issue of providing enough homes but of dealing with other causes. There is a cross-party working group on homelessness, and the Government are working across all Departments to deal with these complex issues. I am sure that we will make further progress.
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)
It is often alleged—I am not sure how much statistical evidence there is—that a disproportionate number of rough sleepers in Britain come from the armed services. Will the Secretary of State tell us, first, whether or not that is true and whether there is any statistical evidence; and secondly, what more can be done to ensure that when people leaved the armed services they are given proper accommodation and kept off the streets?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. It is a disproportionate number, which is unacceptable. Almost all local authorities have signed up to the armed forces covenant, which will help, but we have to do more. The fact that the Government have committed £500 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next four years will certainly help.
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)
Two weeks ago, I joined the excellent Wintercomfort organisation in Cambridge, which provides services for rough sleepers in the city. It was in no doubt that the numbers are rising inexorably. How can reducing the support for supported housing in any way help to deal with this issue?
Sajid Javid
The hon. Gentleman should know that we are not reducing support for supported housing. This is an issue that we continue to take seriously and that we will continue tackling.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Clearly, having any single individual sleeping rough in this country is a disgrace. Will my right hon. Friend take urgent action to identify the people who are sleeping rough and to ensure that they get the help and support that they need, so that they have a home of their own and they can get back to a normal way of life?
Sajid Javid
Of course the Government can help with that. My hon. Friend will know that last December the Government committed to looking at options, including legislation, to deal with homelessness and to help rough sleepers. I am pleased to announce to the House today that the Government will be supporting his Bill, the Homelessness Reduction Bill, which is also supported by Crisis and Shelter. I thank him for all his hard work on the Bill and also thank the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones), who is responsible for local government.
John Healey (Wentworth and Dearne) (Lab)
It is good to see the Secretary of State and his new team in place, and it is even better to see our new strong Labour team in place. We will hold the Secretary of State and his team hard to account for the public for their failings.
With Labour in government, the number of homeless people sleeping rough on our streets fell by three quarters. Since 2010, the number has doubled. Why does the Secretary of State think that that has happened?
Sajid Javid
The right hon. Gentleman has raised the issue of Labour in government. Let me remind him what happened—he was a Housing Minister for some of that time. Labour cut the number of houses available for social rent by 421,000. Since we have been in office, more council housing has been built, helping people to find homes, than in the entire 13 years of the Labour Government. If Labour had spent as much effort on building homes as it does on building its Front-Bench team, we would have had better results.
John Healey
You can’t help the homeless if you won’t build the homes. Over the past six years, the Secretary of State’s Government have cut all funding for building new, genuinely affordable social housing. He asks about my record. In 2009, when I stood where he is standing, Labour in government started 40,000 new social rented homes. Last year, it was 1,000. From Labour’s Front Bench, I welcome the Secretary of State’s backing for the Bill promoted by the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), but will the right hon. Gentleman take the opportunity on Friday also to deal with the causes of rising homelessness? Build more affordable housing. Act on private renting and reverse the crude cuts to housing benefit for the most vulnerable people.
Sajid Javid
Again, the right hon. Gentleman raises his record in office. The House needs to be reminded that, under Labour, house building fell to its lowest level since the 1920s. That is Labour’s record, and Labour will never get away from it. Soon we will introduce a White Paper on housing. Let us see if he is able to support it.
Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid)
The Government are fully committed to neighbourhood planning, which enables communities to shape the development and growth of their local area in a positive manner. The Neighbourhood Planning Bill will further strengthen and future-proof the process and ensure that communities have the support that they need.
Jason McCartney
I think we would all welcome local communities being involved in their local plans in more detail. However, does the Secretary of State agree that one of the big challenges is ensuring that developers use land that they already have planning permission for, with a particular emphasis, as we have heard, on brownfield sites?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend makes a good point. Where sites have planning permission, developers should move ahead as quickly as possible. People in desperate need of housing expect developers to work with the local authorities to deliver those new homes. That is why we are trying to help where we can. The Neighbourhood Planning Bill will make a difference, as will the £3 billion home building fund that was announced last month.
Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)
There will be no real localism while developers have the right to appeal planning decisions and communities do not. In cases where a neighbourhood plan is in place, will the Secretary of State commit to seriously consider allowing a community right of appeal when a developer proposes a speculative development that goes against that plan?
Sajid Javid
A community right to appeal would further slow down the planning process, which is not in anyone’s interest. We need more homes built in this country and we need them built quickly, and measures such as those in the Neighbourhood Planning Bill are precisely the ones that will help.
Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)
In Eastleigh, we face countless hostile planning applications, some destroying ancient woodland and beautiful green spaces. Does the Secretary of State agree that the borough council’s failure to deliver a local plan and much needed associated policies for neighbourhood plans prevents councils such as Botley from bringing forward their neighbourhood plans, thereby letting down my constituents?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend has been a consistent champion in this House of the need for Eastleigh to have an up-to-date and properly supported local plan. Eastleigh Borough Council needs to get its act together. Her constituents deserve to have their voices heard, and our neighbourhood plan will strengthen that right.
Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab)
In a recent appeal by the developer, the Planning Inspectorate totally overlooked the local neighbourhood plan in Tettenhall in my constituency. From memory, it made one passing reference to that plan in a 17-page decision upholding the developer’s appeal. I would not expect the Secretary of State to comment on a particular appeal, but will he have a look at how seriously the Planning Inspectorate takes local neighbourhood plans?
Sajid Javid
It would be wrong of me to comment on the detail of a particular planning application, but I hope that the hon. Gentleman will agree that the Neighbourhood Planning Bill, which is now before Parliament, will strengthen these neighbourhood plans. It will bring them into legal force far quicker, it will make it much easier to modify them and it will give more support, including financially, for communities to put them together.
Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)
Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid)
As well as some challenges, leaving the EU presents some fresh opportunities for the whole country. Working with Government colleagues, I am determined that local government takes advantage of those opportunities.
Gavin Newlands
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has stated that only one third of the £1.3 billion of structural funds Scotland will receive up to 2020 has been allocated to local authorities. Some 20,000 businesses will benefit from these funds, potentially creating up to 11,000 jobs. Will the Secretary of State guarantee that there will be no financial detriment to our local communities if Scotland is dragged out of the EU through hard Brexit?
Sajid Javid
The hon. Gentleman will know that, first, the Chancellor has already guaranteed that any application for EU structural funds up to the autumn statement will be fully honoured and, beyond that, that fund applications will be honoured as long as they meet the UK national interest. However, leaving the EU also gives us an opportunity to design a new fit-for-purpose investment model that will benefit all our communities in the UK in exactly the way we want.
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend share the view of his predecessor—that local government should have a say in the withdrawal negotiations?
Sajid Javid
Yes, I do. I agree with my hon. Friend that the impact across the country of leaving the EU will be felt by local authorities in some ways—we have just heard a good example of that—and I assure him that I am having a very strong dialogue with the relevant Ministers to make sure that local government’s voice is heard.
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)
The Secretary of State has just said that the Government will guarantee the funding for EU-supported council schemes signed off before the autumn statement, and perhaps those signed off before we leave the EU. On support for farmers under the common agricultural policy, however, the Government are going to guarantee every single penny up to 2020. Why will the Government not give the same treatment to local communities, which will really suffer if these important schemes are lost because of the Government’s failure to give them proper support?
Sajid Javid
We will make sure that no community suffers. That is why we have the transition process. The guarantees we have given local councils and local communities are very important. Again, once we leave the EU, we will be able to design a system that fits the needs of the UK and no one else.
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)
My right hon. Friend is dead right to say there will be opportunities. Is it not the case that, whereas at the moment local councils and regions are forbidden to fund regional airports and other forms of infrastructure under EU law, that will no longer be the case and the United Kingdom will be able to choose what is best for our citizens?
Sajid Javid
As always, my hon. Friend makes a very important point. Once we leave the EU, no EU rules or regulations will apply, and we will be able to come up with those that best suit the needs of local communities.
Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)
It is a very interesting point that the hon. Gentleman over there has just made.
Does the Secretary of State not accept that, even if we are not members of the EU, state aid rules may still apply under World Trade Organisation rules, so local authorities will still have to abide by a lot of these rules?
Mr Speaker
The “hon. Gentleman over there” was the hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant).
Sajid Javid
The hon. Lady mentioned WTO rules, if I heard her correctly. That may or may not be the case, but even if it were, she will understand that WTO rules are not the same as EU rules.
Alison Thewliss
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. I will certainly table more questions to find out more detail on that.
The Secretary of State may be aware that Glasgow City Council has produced a document with a series of requests of the Scottish Government and the UK Government to help to prevent the detriment that is likely as a result of a hard Brexit. I expect other local authorities around the UK will do something similar. How will he ensure that the range of voices within local government is listened to and acted on by this Government?
Sajid Javid
I will make sure the voices of English local government are heard. When it comes to Scottish local government, I am sure it will work with the Scottish Government, who, as we have seen today, are engaged in the process.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab)
I declare an interest as a member of Oldham Council.
In July, the Secretary of State highlighted the importance of local government having a say in the process of leaving the EU. He also committed to having a conversation with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, so it would be great to get an update on those conversations and to find out exactly what role local government will have.
Sajid Javid
The hon. Gentleman will know that the process is ongoing and will take a number of months, if not years, so there will be plenty of opportunity for dialogue, including within the Government. I have had discussions with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on various issues that will affect local government, but I will not give a running commentary on them.
Jim McMahon
I do not think that anyone is expecting a running commentary, but any commentary would represent progress, given the silence at the moment. Local government wants to know what part it will play; at the moment that understanding is fuzzy, to say the least. The Secretary of State will know the importance of EU structural funds—£5.3 billion of investment that is vital to many of our local communities—and the ability to administer those funds is a key component of the 10 devolution deals that are set so far. Does he agree that uncertainty about the future of those funds is stopping the vital long-term planning that is needed and risks damaging those devolution deals, which have only just been agreed, and that the poorest in the community will suffer as a result?
Sajid Javid
The Chancellor has provided significant certainty about structural funds, especially for applications that are made before the autumn statement. Recently, at the Conservative party conference, he provided further certainty about funds beyond then. That is exactly what business is looking for.
James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid)
I led the inaugural midlands engine trade mission to north America in September. I am leading a second mission to China this month. Establishing a mayoral combined authority within the west midlands will help to bring about even more trade and investment opportunities for the midlands engine.
James Morris
The black country economy and the west midlands have had a substantial revival over the past few years. In the last year alone, there has been a 46% increase in foreign direct investment in the black country. Does the Secretary of State agree that we need to do all we can to take advantage of the devolution settlement in the west midlands, in the context of the midlands engine, to drive the growth of trade and investment into the west midlands from around the world?
Sajid Javid
The black country and the wider west midlands have seen strong performance of inward investment and exports. Our historic west midlands devolution deal includes an investment fund of £1 billion to drive growth, and what we also need to drive growth is strong local leadership. There is no doubt in my mind that Andy Street will bring that to the west midlands.
Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab)
There are many great businesses in Stoke-on-Trent, such as engineering firm Brown McFarlane, that want to grow through trade and investment. Thus far, however, we have had very little engagement from John Peace and the midlands engine. We are not part of the combined authority of the west midlands and the black country. Will the Minister tell the House when John Peace will be visiting Stoke-on-Trent, and what plans the midlands engine has for north Staffordshire?
Sajid Javid
I agree with the hon. Gentleman that there are many excellent businesses in his part of the world, and I think that Sir John Peace is a fantastic choice to chair the midlands engine. The hon. Gentleman rightly makes the point that the midlands engine is not the same as the west midlands devolution deal. I am sure that Sir John Peace will take a great interest in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, and I will make sure that he hears the hon. Gentleman’s case.
Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)
Another key part of the midlands engine will be the Lincolnshire devolution deal. Will the Secretary of State join me in encouraging the eight out of 10 councils that have voted for it already to work with the Government to make sure that we get the best devolution deal for Lincolnshire and that Lincolnshire does not turn its back on half a billion pounds of Government money?
Sajid Javid
My hon. Friend highlights the importance of these devolution deals, including that for greater Lincolnshire, in bringing about more growth and better productivity in all regions of the UK. As my hon. Friend said, eight councils out of 10 have accepted the deal—I hope the others will as well—which will make a great difference to jobs and growth.
Andy Burnham
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
One cannot help but notice that all the talk these days is of the midlands engine. Suddenly, the northern powerhouse is about as popular on the Conservative Benches as its originator, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne). Although I am not against investment in the midlands, will the Secretary of State give a cast-iron guarantee that manifesto commitments to invest in the north, including in High Speed 3, will not be delayed or diluted by new commitments to the midlands?
Sajid Javid
I know that the right hon. Gentleman has significant ambitions, but he must not talk down the north at every opportunity. He will know that the Government are as committed as ever to the northern powerhouse, and that applies to all our commitments around investment and growth.
Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)
Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid)
The recess was far from a quiet period in my Department. Earlier this month we announced the £5 billion of funding for new homes, we have continued to drive forward devolution deals, and we are in the process of offering councils extra certainty through four-year funding settlements, but there is plenty more to come, including the White Paper—and, if I am even daring to dream, the press pack outside No. 10 might stop confusing me with Sadiq Khan.
Dan Jarvis
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. I am sure he shares my concern about the very high number of excess winter deaths in our country each year. He will understand the importance of Government, national and local, working together to address this, so will he say what specific plans his Department has to co-ordinate activity and minimise the number of cold weather deaths this winter?
Sajid Javid
The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue and rightly highlights the need for co-ordinated Government action. Public Health England has already published a cold weather plan, which gives recommendations for the NHS and public health and social care and community organisations to work together and help the people who are most vulnerable this winter.
Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)
Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State’s Department is supposed to be England’s voice in government, yet standing up for the English and the services they depend on seems low on Ministers’ list of priorities. The independent Care Quality Commission pointed out recently that the Government’s huge funding cuts have left services for England’s elderly and vulnerable at tipping point. With the social care crisis across England getting worse week by week, when might we expect the Secretary of State to act?
Sajid Javid
I recognise that there is growing demand for social care across the UK, especially in England, which is why in the last spending review we pledged an additional £3.5 billion by 2020, including allowing councils to have a social care precept, so there is money that is ring-fenced, and also the better care fund.
Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)
Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)
Sajid Javid
I assure the hon. Gentleman that we will. I am pleased that he has expressed his views about the importance of Unionism. It is key that we continue to work together—that is when we are at our strongest. I support the Union, and Unionism is absolutely central to that. That is my view and that is the Prime Minister’s view.
Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)
General aviation airfields, not least White Waltham in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, make a valuable contribution to pilot training, business aviation and sporting aviation. Is the Minister aware that they are now seriously under threat? It is proposed that Redhill aerodrome will become an estate of 4,500 homes, and he will know about Wellesbourne airfield near his constituency. Please can we have a policy that protects general aviation airfields across the country, because otherwise they will all be covered with concrete?
Mr Speaker
We are extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but the extinguisher has run out of water.
Sajid Javid
The hon. Gentleman is always passionate. He can invite me and I would love to come.
Mr Speaker
I would call the hon and learned Member for South East Cambridgeshire if she were standing, but she is not and so I cannot. She is now, so I call Lucy Frazer.
Lucy Frazer (South East Cambridgeshire) (Con)
I would like to refer to the question raised by my friend, the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger), who mentioned the link between mental health and homelessness. Does the Secretary of State understand that the reports say there is a link, with 60% of people from the homeless community also having mental health issues? What is he doing to liaise with the Department of Health and with local authorities to change that link?
Sajid Javid
As my hon. and learned Friend highlights once again, homelessness is more than just a housing issue. She can be assured that we are working across government—my Department, the Department of Health and the Treasury—in making sure that we are doing everything we can, as our recent announcement on homelessness helps to demonstrate.
Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)
One of the main ways that developers in London manage down the levels of affordable housing is by a financial viability assessment. Does the Minister agree that all local authorities should make those assessments public at the start of the planning process, so that communities can transparently scrutinise them?