Contributions
728 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHousing DisrepairI have tremendous respect for the hon. Gentleman and his work, and the work of the Select Committee in total. I will be working very closely with them to ensure that the White…07 Mar 2022HANSARDHousing DisrepairThis Government are committed to driving improvements in both social and private rented homes. This spring we will publish our White Paper setting out our ambitious proposals to…07 Mar 2022HANSARDHelp for Rough SleepersTo a degree, I understand part of the hon. Lady’s point. It is clearly difficult to capture that information, which is why we trust local councils and charities to do it. We have…07 Mar 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe need to introduce the White Paper, which will be published in the spring, first. I look forward to discussing its terms with the hon. Lady so we can ensure that the legislation…07 Mar 2022HANSARDHelp for Rough SleepersI guess that is the point: we need to legislate nationally and provide funding but trust local authorities, local areas and the excellent services of Trinity Winchester and others…07 Mar 2022HANSARDHelp for Rough SleepersWe have committed more than £800 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in this year alone. That includes the investment of £202 million through the rough sleeping…07 Mar 2022HANSARDRough Sleeping: Annual SnapshotToday the annual rough sleeping snapshot is published which shows that the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn has fallen to an eight-year…24 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationI think it goes without saying that the matter we are here to discuss today is one of the utmost seriousness and utmost importance. It has far-reaching implications that go beyond…23 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationI appreciate that the hon. Gentleman is shaking his head, but I would just say that councils need to be encouraged to use the legislation already available to them to the max…23 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationMy right hon. Friend makes an interesting point, but we leave those decisions to councils that are commissioning locally. I guess it is up to us to try to ensure appropriate…23 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationI strongly suspect that during the course of my speech there will be many interventions that I find myself in agreement with, and that is one example. Speaking personally, I have…23 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationI have a horrible feeling that I will mention this point now and repeat it subsequently if I am not able to recalibrate in the course of my speech. We have the report from those…23 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationThe hon. Lady gives me the opportunity to make an important point. The “more than minimal” line was not prescribed in law—to a degree, one might say that it is even worse than…23 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationI agree largely with what the hon. Lady says, but on what other burdens we may place on people to meet the barriers to entry or the conditions we set, we are talking about…23 Feb 2022HANSARD Non-commissioned Exempt AccommodationJust as a particular example, it is possible for councils to investigate such properties, and where landlords are seen to be letting out unsafe properties, they can apply for…23 Feb 2022HANSARDSupported Exempt AccommodationI fully accept the right hon. Gentleman’s point, but part of the purpose of the pilots is to understand not just the scale of the problem, but, more importantly, what type of…09 Feb 2022HANSARDSupported Exempt AccommodationI understand the hon. Lady’s frustration and the case she is making. Having worked for a good-quality provider, I understand the marginal prices that they work on. It is possible…09 Feb 2022HANSARDSupported Exempt AccommodationIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue. I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Shabana Mahmood) for securing this important debate. It is a…09 Feb 2022HANSARDSupported Exempt AccommodationI understand the hon. Lady’s experience, which we share, but to a degree she proves the point of the pilots; some councils have invested in staff to carry out inspections—as I…09 Feb 2022HANSARDSupported Exempt AccommodationThe best way to conclude would be to say that we certainly will not rule out the use of legislation if that proves to be the most important tool that we could deploy. Hopefully we…09 Feb 2022