Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Justin Tomlinson

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

My commitment to making sure that we follow through on the issue of remediating unsafe buildings is total. There are 24 buildings over 18 metres that have yet to be remediated in the way that the right hon. Gentleman sets out. My priority—I will meet developers shortly—is to ensure that they sign the contract, which they committed to do in the summer, thanks to the hard work of my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and to make sure that they fulfil their responsibilities. We are also taking action against those freeholders who have declined to remediate the buildings that they are committed to look after. We have served a pre-action notice on the owners of Vista tower in Stevenage with precisely the intention of making sure that they honour their obligations.

[Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)]

Home ownership is absolutely key to social mobility, but as historically low interest rates come to an end, that becomes more difficult for future generations and existing homeowners. Will the Secretary of State commit to work with Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert to make sure that as we collectively navigate the changing landscape we communicate the most helpful advice to help people to deal with the changes?

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to communicate clearly with the public about all the support and options that are available. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor is coming to the House later this afternoon precisely to give the kind of calm, clear messaging that we want so that we can reassure investors and the markets that there is a clear way forward on this vital question so that we can get interest rates as low as possible