Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report

Tim Farron Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. At the heart of the new regulatory regime is the requirement that all landlords treat their tenants with fairness and respect, and take action so that the services they provide have fair and equitable outcomes. Social landlords are required to understand and provide information and support that recognise the diverse needs of their tenants, including those arising from protected characteristics. That has not been so in the past, and, if I am honest, it does not feel like it is the case today when I speak to residents of the community. That is why I have pushed the council in that particular area and why this Government are bringing forward legislation that says we respect people. Whether they are social tenants or private tenants, they deserve a safe and secure home and to be treated with dignity and respect.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

I welcome the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement, and the moves towards centralised regulation and improved safety generally. Does the report not serve as a single act of shame for this country? As she just said, it reveals that the safety and quality of social housing has been considered to matter less, because the people who live in social housing have been considered to matter less. Should that point of view, which has been in place since the decline in building standards in the 1960s, not be a matter of deep national repentance?

As the Deputy Prime Minister seeks to tackle that, has she spoken to or is she continuing to speak to her right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer? There is a cost to making sure that we build to a high standard, as we did immediately after the war, while also expanding the number of social rented homes, particularly in parts of the country where build costs are more expensive, such as London and the Lake district.

[Angela Rayner]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the way in which he articulated that point. I am still dismayed to this day by archaic attitudes towards people in social tenancy. I was a social tenant for a very long time and grew up in a council house. The issue is the way that these people were treated, especially after this report. I ask anyone who works in social housing to read the report—or at least the executive findings, if they do not want to go through the chapters that I went through. Sir Martin outlines the horrifying way that people were treated. That is a shame for our country, and we must do better. Hopefully, the legislation we are bringing forward will bring about a cultural change.

I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman that social housing should be of high quality, safe, affordable and warm, and this Government will continue to ensure that. Safety will not be compromised in our building 1.5 million homes; nor will building 1.5 million homes compromise our ability to bring up to standard homes that are not up to standard. We have all seen the reports, and we have all seen on television programmes that show people still living in damp, mouldy properties. That has to end.