Indefinite Leave to Remain

Steve Witherden Excerpts

Monday 8th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. Indefinite leave to remain marks a defining moment for individuals seeking to make Wales and the UK their permanent home. It grants the right to work, access to NHS healthcare and eligibility for the benefits system, enabling people to plan for their future, fully integrate and contribute meaningfully to our communities.

The Government’s recent proposal to double the standard qualifying period from five to 10 years would have devastating consequences. A person on the route to settlement is already required to pay thousands of pounds every 30 months to renew their visa in addition to the healthcare surcharge of over £1,000 per year. Doubling the qualifying period doubles those already extortionate costs, pushing individuals and families further into financial insecurity. The extension also prolongs the time families are forced to live with no recourse to public funds. Children in such households are at significantly greater risk of poverty and deep poverty, impacting their health and educational outcomes and creating long-term effects that will harm our society and economy for years to come.

We recently witnessed a rise in anti-migrant rhetoric and assaults on asylum accommodation, home to many families and children. At a time when far-right groups are exploiting fear, weaponising misinformation and stoking division, our Government should be pushing back firmly and proudly, not forcing some of the most vulnerable in our society to live in limbo for a decade. What we need are shorter, more affordable routes to settlement, not simply because it is the right thing to do but because it strengthens our communities, supports our economy and ensures that children can grow up safe, secure and with hope for the future.

The proposals outlined in the White Paper directly undermine the Government’s own aims of tackling child poverty, raising living standards and growing the economy. I urge the Minister to consult directly with those already on the 10-year route and to undertake a full equality impact assessment before proceeding any further with such damaging proposals. Diolch yn fawr.

[Mark Pritchard in the Chair]

Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Witherden Excerpts

Monday 3rd March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mike Tapp (Dover and Deal) (Lab)]

21. What steps she is taking to build more social housing in Kent.

[Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)]

23. What steps she is taking to build more social housing.

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

The Government are committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation. In our first eight months in office, we have announced £800 million in new funding for the affordable homes programme. This top-up will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half being social rent homes. We will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-to-2026 programme at the spending review.

--- Later in debate ---

[Matthew Pennycook]

The previous Government, to their credit, introduced changes to the building regulations that came into force in June 2022, and under those standards, new homes are being built with high-quality insulation and electric vehicle charging points. Those standards also encourage the use of solar panels, or other forms of low-carbon technology, such as heat pumps. This Government intend to amend building regulations later this year, as part of the introduction of future standards that will set more ambitious energy efficiency and carbon emission requirements for new homes.

[Steve Witherden]

The most recent data shows that nearly 11,500 people are stuck in temporary accommodation in Wales, unable to move on from homelessness due to a shortage of social housing and unaffordable private rents. Given the escalating need for affordable housing across the UK, what conversations has the Department had with the Welsh Government to urgently address this crisis and collaborate on quickly increasing the availability of social homes?

[Matthew Pennycook]

I understand well the pressures in Wales that my hon. Friend describes so eloquently. We know that increasing the supply of social homes is a cornerstone of the Welsh Government’s plans to prevent housing problems and homelessness. We speak regularly with our colleagues in the Welsh Government, and we will continue to work closely with them on our shared objective of getting more social homes built by councils and housing associations.

Employment Rights Bill

Steve Witherden Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 21st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that important point. We all agree across the House that families play an important role, that businesses can help to support families, whatever size or shape they are, and that we must go much further to make that happen.

The Bill goes further by making it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave and mothers who return to work during a six-month period after they return, except in certain specific circumstances. For women in work, we will not stop there. Eight out of 10 menopausal women are in work. For most, there is no support. When workplaces fail to support women, we fail in our moral duty to treat people equally, and employers lose out on talent and skills. On pay, too, we are failing women. The national gender pay gap still stands at over 14% and is not narrowing fast enough, so we will be requiring action plans for large employers to address the pay gap and support women during the menopause.

It is a sad reality that women often find the workplace uncomfortable and unsafe. Sexual harassment at work can destroy confidence and ruin careers. We will do everything in our power to tackle it. The Bill will strengthen the duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment of employees, and it will strengthen protections for whistleblowers by making it explicit that if they do the right thing and speak up about sexual harassment, the law will protect them.

Through this Bill, the party of maternity pay and of the Equal Pay Act 1970 will introduce the next generation of rights for working women. Central to all these reforms is our belief that all employers should always support their employees. The best ones already do.

[Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)]

In early September, over 500 Oscar Mayer workers, organised by Unite the Union, launched strikes against the company’s appalling use of fire and rehire. Many of these workers are my constituents and are facing serious threats to their pay and working conditions, with potential losses of up to £3,000 annually. I hugely support this legislation, but immediate action is crucial to protect my constituents and workers across the UK from such exploitative practices. Will my right hon. Friend provide clarity on the timescales for reforms to unfair dismissal?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. Before the Deputy Prime Minister responds, may I say that if there are declarations of interest to be made, even in interventions, they should be made on the Floor of the House?

Renters’ Rights Bill

Steve Witherden Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)]

Thank you for calling me to speak in this important debate, Madam Deputy Speaker. I, too, praise all the brilliant maiden speeches that we have heard today. As I am one of—I believe—only three Welsh MPs in the Chamber at the moment, right hon. and hon. Members will be pleased to know that I do not intend to speak at length on this matter, which is devolved in Wales.

I welcome this transformative Bill, which provides private renters in England with the long-term security and protections already granted to those in Wales. We heard the shadow Secretary of State speak earlier about delivering on manifestos. Well, we have managed that in Wales, which shows that if there is a sincere and genuine will to implement such measures, it can be done.

Abolishing section 21 is crucial to reducing the threat of unfair evictions and the risk of homelessness. However, there are concerns that landlords will still have the power to evict tenants without cause through excessive rent increases. What measures are the Government introducing to safeguard tenants from such processes?