Lords
Debate
20 October 2025
6 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, first, I declare my interest as vice-president of the Local Government Association.
I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, for bringing forward this purpose clause. It serves as a timely reminder of what the Bill is meant to achieve: the delivery of 1.5 million new homes and important …
My Lords, the Government’s Amendment 4—the new clause to be inserted after Clause 2—relates to projects concerning water. As I understand it, this amendment would allow projects carried out by third parties, appointed by water undertakers, to fall within the definition of a nationally significant in…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
14 October 2025
4 contributions
Renters’ Rights Bill
I thank your Lordships for your thoughts and speeches. I am pleased about, and support, the amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, being accepted by the Government.
The Minister has not changed her position on my amendment. I understand the comments regarding the deposit scheme. On the re…
My Lords, I still do not understand why a group of students is not being looked after quite the same as other students. Therefore, I urge the House to support my Motion H1 to send the Bill back to the other place with our concerns for equality in the student housing sector, with housing for students…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
17 September 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, for bringing forward Amendment 356A for the consideration of the Committee today. The proposed new clause would allow for pre-consolidation amendments to be made to planning legislation in anticipation of a full future consolidatio…
My Lords, we are nearly there. I thank all noble Lords from across the House for their contributions to the Bill. Over long and often intricate debates, sometimes stretching well into the night, your Lordships have engaged with candour, with insight and with seriousness befitting the weight of these…
Lords
Debate
15 September 2025
4 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 195A and to our probing opposition to Clause 93 standing part of the Bill.
Starting with Amendment 195A, I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify what is meant in practice by the provision that allows a development corporation to
“do anything necessary …
The Minister also mentioned the money that has been put aside by the Government to support further planning, skills training et cetera. Did she say that that could be used also by development corporations? I had the understanding that it was for local government and not for development corporations.
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
11 September 2025
6 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I will speak very briefly on this group of amendments, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker. On these Benches, we fully recognise the importance of ensuring that Gypsy and Traveller communities have access to appropriate accommodation. However, we do not believe—to put it blunt…
My Lords, I first thank my noble friend Lady Hodgson of Abinger and the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, for raising this important issue of village and specific land protection.
We fully appreciate the intention behind seeking to make better use of underused land by the Government, but concerns remai…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
10 September 2025
Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025
My Lords, I thank all noble Baronesses for their thoughtful contributions today, and I again express my gratitude to Awaab’s family for their tireless campaigning in reaching this point, as well as to the organisations and campaigners that have supported them.
I am very pleased to note the general …
Lords
Debate
9 September 2025
8 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, and my noble friend Lord Banner for their careful thought and experience in tabling these amendments. On Amendment 135D, I recognise the concerns expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, in seeking to restrict appeals to the Court of Appeal where the …
My Lords, I wish to speak briefly on Amendment 133, tabled by my noble friend Lord Murray of Blidworth. We welcome the opportunity the amendment provides to hear more from the Government on how they intend to reduce the risk of lengthy and expensive litigation within the planning process. As many in…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
9 September 2025
5 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, before I turn to the substance of the amendments in this group, I begin by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Khan. Although he sat on the Opposition Benches, he always approached his shadow ministerial duties in your Lordships’ House with courtesy, commitment and friendship. He was diligent, e…
My Lords, this has gone a different way, has it not?
I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, for tabling Amendment 120. Not knowing which way it would go, and not totally agreeing with my noble friend at the back, I think this raises an important point of principle that deserves to be co…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
5 September 2025
Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill
My Lords, I begin with a few words of thanks, first to my honourable friend in the other place, the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith, who has worked very hard in bringing this important Bill through the other place and to this noble Chamber. I also extend thanks to my noble friend Lord Murphy of…
Lords
Debate
4 September 2025
9 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I start by reiterating our view that the Bill does not go far enough. It tweaks processes, roles, fees and training but leaves the fundamental planning framework—the very framework needed to unlock genuine house building—without the proper reform that Ministers promised. We now hear in the…
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in an important debate. In closing the debate for the Official Opposition, I would simply like to say that a number of crucial issues have been raised this morning by noble Lords across the Committee. We hope that Ministers will continue to …
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
1 September 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Coffey for bringing Amendment 94F to the attention of your Lordships. It would ensure that the duty relating to environmental principles was published in full. I ask the Minister: how are the Government going to monitor compliance in relation to environmental p…
Lords
Debate
21 July 2025
Renters’ Rights Bill
My Lords, we on these Benches have been clear throughout the Bill that we support it very much: its main provisions, including the abolition of no-fault evictions and fixed-term tenancies, and its clear emphasis on tenants’ rights and much more transparency. There is no doubt that it is a radical Bi…
Lords
Debate
17 July 2025
4 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
The noble Lord cannot withdraw his amendment until I have withdrawn mine.
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her replies and I look forward to continuing to work with her throughout the Bill. I again thank the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, for bringing this forward; it is a debate that is useful to…
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Coffey for explaining this group. That leaves me no need to go through it again, but I am pleased to support her Amendments 17 and 23. I will be brief, but I wanted to say something about both of them, especially Amendment 17. This amendment is vital because it…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
17 July 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I first declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, for bringing forward a purpose clause which, as we have said, allows us to focus on the Government’s stated intent, specifically its overarching vision to enable h…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 July 2025
Commission on Antisemitism Report
As I said in answer to the previous question about education, we communicate the examples of good practice that we have seen—for example, in Winchester—across the whole schools community. I am sure that my noble friend the Education Minister will take those on board. I agree with the noble Baroness …
Lords
Debate
15 July 2025
8 contributions
Renters’ Rights Bill
My Lords, fines must be proportionate, yet, as the Bill stands, the threshold for imposing fines on landlords is worryingly low, and the scale of those fines is notably high. This combination is troubling. Setting fines at such significant levels, in some cases representing a substantial portion of …
I am sorry.
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
Housebuilders: Information Sharing
I thank the noble Baroness, although I have set out already the action that we are taking to support SMEs, including the £100 million in SME accelerator loans. We are working collaboratively with all stakeholders, including large developers. That includes setting up the major sites accelerator, whic…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
2 contributions
Rutland Lieutenancy
We need to have the Lib Dems go next on this one, please.
The Government’s starting point on elections is for all elections to go ahead unless there is a strong justification. So we anticipate that for areas except Surrey—which, as the noble Baroness will be aware, is moving on a much faster timescale, being on the most ambitious timeline—there could be el…
Lords
Debate
7 July 2025
6 contributions
Renters’ Rights Bill
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to this debate, in particular the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, for his thoughtful and balanced Amendment 48. This Bill must work for renters, but it must also work for landlords. We have discussed pets at length throughout the stages of the Bill a…
My Lords, the issue of pet-related damage is understandably a source of concern for landlords. This group of amendments raises important questions about how we balance—that word balance again—the increased rights granted to tenants to keep pets with the responsibilities and protections that landlord…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
1 July 2025
2 contributions
Renters’ Rights Bill
My Lords, the payment of rent in advance can provide significant benefits to tenants that go beyond simply avoiding late fees or demonstrating financial security. Many tenants choose to pay rent in advance for financial planning, to ease the stress of monthly payments or to manage upcoming financial…
My Lords, allowing tenants, where mutually agreed, to pay rent in advance of up to six months provides an important option for many, particularly those who may face barriers such as a poor credit history, overseas students without a UK credit record or those who simply wish to manage their finances …
Lords
Debate
1 July 2025
9 contributions
Renters’ Rights Bill
My Lords, I declare my interest as vice-president of the Local Government Association. As we begin the first day on Report, I would like to start by thanking the Minister for the meetings she has held with me and my noble friend Lord Jamieson on the Bill—we really appreciate those meetings.
I suspe…
My Lords, at the heart of the Bill is a duty to protect young people, because it is primarily young people who rely on the private rented sector. Students are no exception: many are leaving home for the first time, stepping into higher education with courage and ambition. For them, the need for clar…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
25 June 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, we welcome the stated aim of getting Britain building and kick-starting our economic growth, delivering much-needed housing and critical infrastructure. We also recognise the urgent need to fundamentally reform and improve our planning systems. We must build more homes—more affordable home…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 June 2025
Social Housing
That is an important question, and we will see answers on the various specialist housing provisions in the housing strategy, which will be published later this year. The noble Baroness is right to point to the particular need for supported housing, which will be included in the strategy. We made som…
Lords
Debate
17 June 2025
Holocaust Memorial Bill
My Lords, I rise very briefly to say that I am not going to respond to all the contributions from the noble Lords. I think there are still some outstanding concerns, but let me reassure noble Lords who have them that, subject to the passage of the Bill in the other House and on to the statute book, …
Lords
Oral Questions
17 June 2025
Cladding: High-rise Buildings
Let me echo the sentiments expressed by the noble Baroness in relation to the victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The Government are committed to taking the next steps respectfully and carefully. We have accepted all the inquiry’s findings and will take action on all 58 recommendations to build a…