Building Homes and Renewing Communities

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work she has been doing. We are making almost £1.95 billion available to stand-alone fire and rescue authorities in England through the local government finance settlement. That can be used for training and preparation, and prevention based on local risks. We are making wildfire advice more visible, including through social media, during high-risk periods. We have the “Fire Kills” campaign, and the education platform led by the National Fire Chiefs Council. I have mentioned the wildfire summit, which will consider how we can go further.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

An estimated 1.4 million consented homes in England remain unbuilt. Why will the Secretary of State not concentrate on getting those homes built before demanding that councils surrender more green-belt and greenfield land? Otherwise, developers just cherry-pick the most profitable sites, instead of building the homes for which they have already been given permission.

[Angela Rayner]

My simple answer is that we are doing that. It is why we strengthened the national planning policy framework. As I have said, this is not just about one lever; a number of factors need to be considered. We have been doing that, and that includes having mandatory housing targets and plans for local areas. We are strengthening, we are pushing, and we are making sure that we fix the mess that the previous Government left us.