Oral Answers to Questions

Siobhain McDonagh Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

One of the four pillars of our plan for Britain is a global Britain—that more outward-looking Britain. My hon. Friend is right that this is not just a question of ensuring that we get the right relationship with Europe when we leave the EU. We do want to continue to have a partnership—to be able to trade freely across Europe, and for companies in EU member states to trade with us—but we also want to enhance and improve our arrangements for trade with other parts of the world, including members of the Commonwealth.

[Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) (Lab)]

Q14. Last week, through no fault of her own, Amy and her young daughter became homeless. After months of looking for a flat, she finally went to Merton Council, which told her that it could only offer her temporary accommodation in Birmingham, 140 miles away from her job, her daughter’s school, and the friends and family who make it possible for her to be a working single mum. May I ask the Prime Minister how it can be right that in one of the richest cities in the world, where Russian oligarchs and Chinese banks own scores of properties and leave them empty, a London-born working family like Amy’s have not a room to live in?

[The Prime Minister]

The issue of housing in the London Borough of Merton is one that the hon. Lady and I worked on many years ago when we were on the borough’s housing committee together. I recognise that she has raised a concern about a particular constituent. Obviously I will not comment on that individual case, but I will say is that it is important that, overall, the Government are dealing with the issue of homelessness. We are ensuring that we are building more homes and giving more support to people to get into their own homes, but this will take time as we make sure that those properties are available and that we maintain our record of providing housing support across all types of housing in this country.