Local Government Reorganisation

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. Can I make another exhortation for short questions, please?

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I welcome the four-unitary model for Devon, as I think it best serves the interests of everyone across Devon. This has been a long time in the making for Exeter. It has been increasingly unsustainable to retain Exeter—an economic driver of the region—as a district council. Does the Minister agree that this proposal will allow Exeter to better drive sustainable economic growth, jobs and opportunity, and will mean that decision making is better represented by the people in my city?

[Steve Reed]

I have visited Exeter and know what a great champion my hon. Friend is for his constituents, who live in what is surely one of the most beautiful cities in the country. It has such growth potential, and this proposal will benefit the people living there. The proposal that we have accepted for Devon will allow Exeter to achieve its true potential, as part of a Devon that can also achieve its wider potential. We cannot allow the south-west to continue to be one of the poorest regions of the country. People living there deserve the same opportunities as people who live in wealthier parts of the country.

Local Government Reorganisation

Steve Race Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

I am now aware of the opinion poll because the right hon. Member mentioned it to me a few moments ago, for which I am grateful. He has mentioned a meeting, which I certainly did not attend. I am sure that if he forwards the details, the Department will be able to look at them, but I certainly was not present at any such meeting.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

Two-tier government may have worked in the past, but it is not working today, and it is certainly not working for cities like Exeter. We have a two-tier waste authority, and Devon county council is cutting homelessness funding while we are experiencing an acute homelessness issue in Exeter itself; I could mention many other areas as well. Will the Minister confirm that we will be moving ahead with unitary local government across the country, including Devon and Exeter—I realise that she will not be able to comment on the specifics of any proposal—in order to ensure that cities like Exeter can grow economically, and that local government does serve local people?

[Alison McGovern]

As I mentioned earlier, there is evidence from the Milburn review of child poverty that fragmented services are very bad for vulnerable people living in poverty. There are other examples as well, and I have heard from my hon. Friend about his worries for his city. Dealing with that is the real purpose behind these reforms.

Local Government Reorganisation

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 26th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s move to reorganisation, which will benefit cities such as Exeter. Yesterday, the Minister may have seen official communications from Devon county council that said that reorganisation will

“put the lives of vulnerable people at risk”.

Notwithstanding the fact that, according to Ofsted, children’s services and SEND services in Devon have been failing for many years, does the Minister agree that such comments are irresponsible and not true? Should reorganisation happen in Devon—I hope that it will—will it not be up to authorities to ensure that services are safely and effectively moved to new structures?

[Alison McGovern]

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. I have been working closely with the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), and other Ministers in the Department for Education to improve our children’s services. We will ensure that we do that through this reorganisation process. Nothing matters more than the fortunes of our kids, and it is up to us in central Government and local government to work together to deliver good childhoods for all of them.

Local Government Reorganisation

Steve Race Excerpts

Monday 23rd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that I am unable to discuss the detail of the legal advice, although he will know the decision that we took after considering that legal advice. His earlier point is absolutely right; we should all be motivated by the interests of local people. It is in the interests of local people that we should get rid of the confusion of having two councils in the same area, so that people know which council to contact, and that we should eliminate the wasteful duplication of jobs such as chief executives, finance directors and so on, so that we can spend the savings on improving the local services that make a difference to local people and the communities that they care about so much.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

The reorganisation of local government is very welcome in Exeter, as we are being held back by our county council on numerous fronts. Can the Secretary of State confirm that reorganisation and devolution will enable cities such as Exeter to pull away with our economic development, housing and strategic planning, and will benefit local residents across the city?

[Steve Reed]

I completely agree with what my hon. Friend says. It is very important that we move ahead with local government reorganisation, not just because of the savings it generates, which can be ploughed into frontline services, but because of the boost it can give to local economies. That puts more money into people’s pockets, provides more jobs in the locality and helps those communities to thrive.

Commonhold and Leasehold Reform

Steve Race Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

I always thank the hon. Member for his constructive contributions. As he knows, England and Wales can learn lots from Northern Ireland, but, as ever—particularly in relation to our reforms to housing and planning, as well as to leasehold—there are many things that Northern Ireland can learn from our reforms. I can give him the undertaking that the devolved Administrations will be kept up to date with what we are doing.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I am delighted that we are moving forward on capping ground rents and abolishing the feudal leasehold system. I have been supporting hundreds of residents across Exeter in fighting terrible practices by management companies, and I know that these measures will put money back into people’s pockets. Does the Minister agree that the age of the exploitative leasehold system—and the ripping off of residents—is finally over, and that it is thanks to a Labour Government?

[Matthew Pennycook]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are calling time on the abusive practices of unscrupulous property agents and on the leasehold system as a whole. That is down to a Labour Government finishing the job that the previous Government were unable to complete.

Local Government Reorganisation

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

As the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, his party fiddled funding to councils so that areas voting Labour were less likely to get funded. He does not have to take my word for it: the former Prime Minister was captured on video standing in a garden in Tunbridge Wells and boasting about how he was ripping money away from poorer communities to give it to wealthier communities. Perhaps it has something to do with that.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

As the Secretary of State knows, I am a very strong supporter of local government reform, especially for cities such as Exeter. It is not just about waste; it is about being held back within a two-tier system. It is also worth pointing out that all parties represented on Exeter city council are in favour of unitary status for Exeter. Can the Secretary of State confirm that we are moving full speed ahead with local government reform and that unitary status for places like Exeter will improve services, reduce waste and deliver the sustainable jobs and growth in living standards that we desperately want in our city?

[Steve Reed]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are proceeding with this reorganisation in order to eliminate duplication and the cost of that waste, so that the money can be spent on frontline services instead. I have asked councils for their views on whether postponement would speed up their ability to carry out the reorganisation and get the new, streamlined councils off the ground, and I have responded to their representations.

Local Government Reorganisation

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. I will not respond again to those to which I have already responded. As I mentioned, the majority of the English electorate will get to vote in the elections in 2026 that are not affected by reorganisation. There are other elections going on and, as I said, this does not apply to the majority of councils undergoing reorganisation, either.

A number of councils have raised capacity issues, demand on limited resources and the challenge of getting the transition process right. They have shared details with us, which is why we are writing to them to ask their view formally. We will get on with this process as quickly as we can.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister not just for her statement, but for moving at pace with the local government reorganisation programme. Contrary to what we heard from the shadow Minister, for whom I have great respect, we want local government reorganisation in Exeter and across Devon. I have lost count over the past 18 months of the list of places and topics for which two-tier government is simply not working for a diverse and dynamic city such as Exeter. I will not list them today, Madam Deputy Speaker, but does the Minister agree that streamlining councils and allowing cities such as Exeter to take control of their own economy, destiny and services will deliver real benefits—not just for the economy and for services, but for local people?

Local Government Finance

Steve Race Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

I will.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I welcome the multi-year settlement, and I thank the Minister and the Secretary of State for their engagement with me and Members from across the House as we make the case for our local areas. It looks like Devon county council will get a significant uplift over a period of years. If that is true, I am particularly keen to see the Lib Dem and Green-led Devon county council U-turn on its decision to cut 66% of its homelessness budget, get on top of the weeds that it has allowed to grow throughout our entire city, which are engulfing some communities, and go back on its current consultation to cut library hours. Will the Minister set out how she thinks the increase in funding to local authorities will have a positive impact on services and local people?

[Alison McGovern]

I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he has done, as part of our homelessness strategy, to draw attention to homelessness and rough sleeping in his city of Exeter, which is a wonderful place and deserves to have the county council and others look after it properly. This investment in local authorities will make sure that everyone in our country feels proud of the place where they live. We want to see all our places grow, and I expect all councils to do that work. I look forward to meeting him to discuss this issue further.

Homelessness: Funding

Steve Race Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) for initiating this debate. I ask Members to note my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests; I am a patron of my local homelessness charity, St Petrock’s.

As the largest urban centre for a very wide geography, Exeter has always had a pull factor for people whose housing situation deteriorates. We know that under 14 years of Tory government, homelessness increased substantially again after a period under the last Labour Government when it fell to historic lows due to political attention and drive. The factors driving homelessness are often complex, ranging from benefit changes and poverty to family breakdown, family violence or substance abuse. Researchers at the University of Exeter also look at the little-understood link between acquired brain injury and homelessness. Most people sleeping rough have experienced trauma, either as a child or—as with the veterans who find themselves homeless—in their working life, serving our nation.

According to CoLab Exeter, the city’s homelessness cases have the highest prevalence of complex support needs in the region. I am sad to say that Exeter has one of the highest rates of homeless deaths in the country. That is due in part to the pernicious impact of the highly addictive and dangerous drug Spice on our homeless population. I would like to see that scourge gripped by national authorities.

In this context, there are some bright spots, but there are also areas of significant concern. First, I am pleased that the Government have recently added a further £500,000 to Exeter city council’s budget for homelessness from the rough sleeping prevention and recovery grant, taking our budget this year to £1.8 million. That new money will partly support substance abuse services and children in temporary accommodation. I thank the Minister for that. However, our city, despite being the economic driver for the region and a fast-growing city, sits in a two-tier local government system, with Devon county council as the upper-tier authority with a far larger core budget. Supporting homeless people has historically been divided between the remits of Devon county council and Exeter city council, with housing a city council responsibility and the provision of care and support to an individual a county responsibility. That is where we have far more serious problems.

After proposing at a budget meeting in 2023 to cut its entire £1.4 million homelessness budget for this financial year, the majority of which is spent in Exeter, Devon significantly reduced that budget from £1.4 million to £1 million and then to just £500,000 next year, or to zero; it is not entirely clear to stakeholders. For this year, I am told that the grants have not been paid in full. One stakeholder was informed that they would get Q1 and Q2 payments and a smaller payment—about half of one quarter payment—for the remaining two quarters of the year. There has been little to no communication to service delivery partners, including our local YMCA, which delivers transitional housing for previously homeless people, about the funding decision since it was proposed about 18 months ago.

Providers are therefore working on the assumption that they will lose a majority of their funding from April next year. That means that vital emergency off-the-streets bed spaces and longer-term supported accommodation will be lost. The local support pathway out of homelessness will be significantly damaged, with no funding from other sources available to replace that lost funding.

One organisation, Bournemouth Churches Housing Association, has confirmed that its funding for this financial year has been reduced by 28%, after 10 years without inflationary increases. Its contract with Devon county council ends at the end of March 2026. There is a realistic possibility that Gabriel House, the main hostel provision for people transitioning out of rough sleeping, may close. Gabriel House accommodates 42 former rough sleepers and provides the main stepping stone from the street to more stable housing.

Exeter is already feeling the impact of the decision. At November’s annual rough sleeper count, our team saw a significant increase in the number of people they identified sleeping on the city streets. Another provider, Julian House, has had to close services, as funding to Exeter city council from the rough sleeper initiative and rough sleeper accommodation programme has been cut over previous years.

Labour introduced the Supporting People programme in 2003 as a ringfenced fund, which successfully reduced homelessness and rough sleeping, along with providing a net saving to the Exchequer due to the impacts on other budgets such as health, criminal justice and so on. However, ever since the ringfence was removed in 2009 and the budget absorbed into local authority core grants under the coalition Government, as the hon. Member for Harrow East mentioned, local authorities have been diverting funding to other uses, with the results that we see daily on the streets. I therefore ask the Minister to give serious consideration to reintroducing the ringfence on homelessness prevention funding from central Government to local authorities.

I have received helpful information from the Department, through the Parliamentary Private Secretaries, about the replacement of the rough sleeping initiative and the rough sleeping prevention and recovery grant. However, given that the funding for next year is wrapped up in the local government financial settlement, stakeholders and delivery partners are, at this point, assessing their ability to make it to the end of March without knowing what funding will be made available. That will have a destabilising impact on homelessness prevention services. RSI contracts end in March, so providers will potentially be winding down the projects and beginning redundancy processes in advance of those contracts ending.

I encourage the Minister to view homelessness prevention and elimination through a Total Place-style model in the upcoming homelessness strategy, which is essential if we are to tackle multiple disadvantage rather than continually managing crisis. Although Total Place was mentioned in the Budget, it was limited in its development to five mayoral authorities, which risks leaving places such as Exeter behind at a time when instability is accelerating. Exeter could be an ideal pilot for a Total Place model in a smaller city undergoing transition and, hopefully, devolution, allowing us to demonstrate how integrated preventive investment can work effectively outside larger metropolitan areas.

I pay tribute to the excellent organisations in Exeter that, despite pressures on capacity and funding, have provided vital support for our homeless population and have a wider beneficial impact in our city, including St Petrock’s, the YMCA, CoLab, Gabriel House and Julian House. These organisations do not just need an adequate sum of funding; they also need clarity on where that funding will come from.

Funding uncertainty is part of a long-standing challenge embedded by two-tier delivery of local services—one that I am hopeful will be addressed by local government reorganisation. That is why Exeter city council has applied for unitary status on expanded boundaries. I look forward to working on that with MHCLG.

[Martin Vickers (in the Chair)]

I am afraid that that was not a good example of a four-minute speech. Jim Shannon will show us how it should be done.

Proportional Representation: General Elections

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I will be very brief in so as not to repeat the arguments that have already been made in such a good style by hon. Members across the House. I too wish to take this opportunity to put on record my support for electoral reform, to ensure that the composition of our representatives better reflects the wishes of voters and that voters can exercise more choice.

The Labour party has a long and proud history of supporting the objectives of proportionality and choice in other legislatures across our United Kingdom and, of course, in other elections. Until recently, voters were able to offer a nuanced view, utilising the supplementary vote system in mayoral elections. Sadly, that level of choice was rescinded by the last Conservative Government. As the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) pointed out, that was just one step taken by the Conservative party in its Elections Act 2022, alongside the introduction of the need to show identification when voting, which has left many people feeling locked out of voting altogether.

[Florence Eshalomi]

Another change put forward by the previous Government in the Elections Act was in relation to postal votes, which, again, has disenfranchised many people. Does my hon. Friend believe that if we are to look at electoral reform, we should consider some of the consequences of the changes that were made by the previous Government?

[Steve Race]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend.

As I was about to say, whether it be the inequity of allowing the older person’s bus pass to be used as ID but not the young person’s bus pass, or leaving out entirely the ability to use a veteran’s ID card or a train driver’s licence, the Act was largely unnecessary and introduced many retrograde measures designed to restrict access to our democracy, rather than to encourage participation.

[Paul Holmes]

I have a lot of respect for the hon. Gentleman. He says that the Elections Act restricted people’s ability to vote. Can I therefore ask him what measures he would put in place to stop the restricting of genuine voters from voting when their vote is taken away by fraud?

[Steve Race]

As has already been pointed out, the level of voter fraud in this country was minuscule—

[Paul Holmes]

So that’s okay then.

[Steve Race]

It is not that it is okay, but we have introduced legislation that has essentially restricted many, many more people from voting than otherwise would have happened.

[Mr Holden]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Steve Race]

I will make some progress, if I may.

I am pleased that this Government have legislated to allow the use of the veteran’s ID card, and I ask that they look at a wider range of suitable ID, including train driver licences, in any future review. Preferably, though, we should return to the traditional British approach of not demanding ID to have access to a vote.

On the issue at hand, I want to recommend to colleagues the outcome of the Jenkins Commission of 1998, which designed an elegant solution to the issues that our democracy faces when it comes to representation. Jenkins, one of the great social reformers of this place to whom many of us still owe a great debt of gratitude, proposed a hybrid system that kept many of the benefits of first past the post, such as the strong relationship that an MP has with a defined and manageable area, but with additional proportionality through the additional member system. Constituency MPs would be elected through the alternative vote system to add choice into the system.

Versions of that system are now in operation for elections in the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and the London Assembly, so this is not theoretical and voters understand it perfectly well. This is proof that a Labour Government can and do deliver much-needed social reform and always has.

Although I do not support electoral reform in the sense of pure PR, I absolutely accept that politics is about priorities. This Government have a huge task to do—three things all at once, I believe, which is not something that many Governments have faced before. We must stabilise our public finances, get the economy growing in a sustainable way, and rebuild our public services. That is a mammoth task, but it is what the public demanded when they elected our party with a landslide last year. I can well understand that these issues take priority over time for electoral reform. I do not think that I could look my constituents in Exeter in the eye if I knew that we were spending much time—and it would be much time—in this place discussing how to be elected, rather than addressing their immediate concerns.

As I have mentioned, there is much that we can do to make the current system more democratic and accessible, so I support the call of my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) for a commission to look into this issue and find a way forward. Therefore, although I remain an electoral reformer, I also welcome the Government’s current focus on supporting the development of a stronger economy, grabbing the opportunities that are on offer for my region, and delivering jobs and investment in places such as Exeter, while also working and legislating hard to fix our roads, end our homelessness and housing crisis, clean up our waterways and rebuild our health system.