Baroness Taylor of Stevenage — Hansard

Lords Debate 3 July 2026

My Lords, I will resist the temptation to talk about last thing on a Friday being the graveyard slot. This is a very serious topic. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed, for tabling this Private Member’s Bill and for giving me the opportunity to meet with him yesterday to talk through what he wante…

Lords Committee Stage 30 June 2026

Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026

My Lords, as part of the Renters’ Rights Act, a transforming set of reforms to bring more protections and security for tenants in the private rented sector, we are introducing a new landlord redress scheme. The service will resolve issues for tenants where their landlord has failed to address a legi…

Lords Statutory Instrument 30 June 2026 4 contributions

Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026

My Lords, these regulations were laid before the House on 1 June and, following a minor correction, relaid on 8 June. They set out the arrangements for a national scheme of delegation for planning decisions in England and a maximum limit on the number of members who may sit on planning committees. T…

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their thoughtful and strongly expressed contributions to this debate. I understand why those points have been made. I shall pick out some of the issues that have been raised. I think all noble Lords who spoke raised the issue of why the reform of planning commi…

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Lords Committee Stage 23 June 2026

Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026

My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 27 April. The Government were clear in our manifesto that housing need in England cannot be met without planning for growth on a larger than local scale and that we would introduce new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning. T…

Lords Committee Stage 23 June 2026 3 contributions

Local Government (Structural and Boundary Changes) (Control of Disposals etc.) (Amendment) Order 2026

My Lords, the statutory instrument was laid on 14 May 2026, and it will make a small but important amendment to existing provisions governing key financial decisions, including land disposal and contracts by councils during periods of local government reorganisation. The Government’s programme of re…

I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, and the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, for their responses to this statutory instrument. I will try to respond to the questions. There are no plans to change council retention policies for paperwork, and they are not affected by this SI, so that is not…

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Lords Proceedings 22 June 2026 8 contributions

Home Ownership: First-time Buyers

My Lords, the Government are reforming the broken home-buying and home-selling system to slash delays, cuts costs and stop sales falling through. Last week—it was on Friday, so it may not have got the attention it deserved, like my noble friend’s announcement—we published a road map setting out acti…

We are already doing that. We made that announcement on Friday. From speaking to lenders, we know that many first-time buyers are not aware of all the innovative mortgage products that might help them, or that recent mortgage reforms may help them get on the housing ladder. I had a meeting with the …

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Lords Statutory Instrument 16 June 2026

Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (Amendment) Order 2026

My Lords, over the last year Parliament has debated, agreed and decided that the voting system for mayors and police and crime commissioners should be changed to the supplementary voting system, or SV, through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, which received Royal Assent in …

Lords Debate 15 June 2026 7 contributions

Social Housing Bill [HL]

My Lords, before I address the amendment, perhaps I may declare an interest, and in doing so apologise that I neglected to declare it at Second Reading. One of my daughters works for a housing association. I should have said that at Second Reading; it is in the register of interests. I also add my c…

My Lords, I will speak to government Amendments 4, 6 and 122 in my name now and then come back to close at the end, if that is all right with noble Lords. The Government clearly set out in our response to the consultation on reforming the right to buy that we would prevent existing property owners …

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Lords Debate 15 June 2026

Social Housing Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank noble Lords who have taken part in the debate on this group of amendments, which consider a range of issues relating to the operation of the disposals measures in the Bill. The Bill is about supporting the supply of new social housing and to achieve this we must ensure that we are …

Lords Proceedings 11 June 2026 8 contributions

Sustainable Drainage Systems

My Lords, the National Planning Policy Framework requires all new development that could affect drainage to incorporate sustainable drainage systems. We recently consulted on changes to the NPPF, including on sustainable drainage systems, and we will respond in due course. We had more than 20,000 re…

We are proposing a requirement that SUDS are designed in accordance with new national standards, as well as a new policy to discourage the creation of new river culverts and to encourage the removal of existing ones to help drive river renaturalisation and improve water management. The National Plan…

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Lords Proceedings 11 June 2026 8 contributions

Antisemitism

My Lords, antisemitism is a crisis for all of us and the Government are absolutely clear that it is unacceptable and has no place in our communities. It manifests across society—in schools, synagogues, workplaces and beyond—and that is why it requires a whole-of-society response. We are acting acros…

I am grateful to my noble friend for making that important point. All communities need to feel safe in our country, and some of the recent incidents have meant that many communities do not feel safe now. My noble friend referred to the welcoming Jewish culture, and I was delighted to see that Jewish…

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Lords Proceedings 8 June 2026 8 contributions

Affordable Housing: Young People

My Lords, the Government have committed to delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, and young people will benefit from this. The £39 billion social and affordable homes programme aims to deliver around 300,000 new social and affordable homes, including at least …

I recognise the noble Baroness’s concerns, and I welcomed the opportunity to speak to her on this matter during the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Act; I subsequently went to visit one of the schemes she had mentioned to me. The nationally described space standard sets minimum standards …

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Lords Debate 1 June 2026

Social Housing Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to open this Second Reading on the Social Housing Bill. I look forward to listening carefully to noble Lords’ contributions from across the House. I am particularly conscious that many in this Chamber bring deep experience of housing, local government, saf…

Lords Proceedings 1 June 2026 16 contributions

Donations to Political Parties

My Lords, foreign interference is a threat to our democracy. That is why we are currently legislating to tighten the rules on who can make political donations and strengthening checks on and the transparency of those donations. We are also acting on the recommendations of Philip Rycroft’s independen…

It is important that any money spent from the public purse is spent in a way that commands the confidence of the public. It is critical that processes are in place to monitor that spending and to make sure that it is used for the purposes it is there for. It is critical that it is properly and legal…

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Lords Proceedings 18 May 2026 8 contributions

Local Government Pension Scheme

My Lords, the Government’s position on these matters remains unchanged from the 2016 guidance, which was amended in 2017. Decisions on boycotts and divestment are matters of UK foreign policy and are for central government, not local authorities. It is not appropriate for local authorities to adopt …

On the last point, I listened very carefully to the noble Baroness’s contributions on the pensions Bill. If she came to meet me, I would treat it as a teach-in on pensions, so I have no problems with having a meeting. The Government are finalising the investment strategy statement guidance in the li…

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Lords Committee Stage 18 May 2026

Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026

My Lords, these regulations were laid before the House on 9 March. I draw the Committee’s attention to a minor typographical correction: at Regulation 4(3)(c)(i), the words “the right” should have a space between them. This was identified after the SI was laid and has been rectified through a corre…

Lords Committee Stage 18 May 2026 3 contributions

Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority Regulations 2026

My Lords, these regulations were laid on 16 March 2026. When referring to the Hampshire and the Solent combined county authority hereafter, I will use the term “strategic authority” unless there is a particular reason to be specific. This Government were elected on a manifesto commitment to widen a…

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, for his comments. I know that he has great experience of dealing with matters such as this. I will pick up each of his points in turn. The first is the issue of restructuring for its own sake. That is just not where we are with this. We have had exten…

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Lords Debate 28 April 2026 5 contributions

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

My Lords, in moving Motion A, I will speak also to Motions B and C. What a privilege it is at the end of this Session of Parliament to bring back the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to the House of Lords to consider amendments and reasons from the other place. This landmark devolu…

My Lords, I want to thank the Minister for introducing this third round of ping-pong and for her willingness to listen to alternative points of view and effect numerous changes to the Bill. The Government have demonstrated that willingness to compromise and alter. For me, this has been an example of…

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Lords Debate 27 April 2026 13 contributions

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

My Lords, in moving Motion A, I will also speak to Motions B, B1, C, C1, D, E, E1, F and F1. It is a pleasure to bring the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill back to the House of Lords to consider the amendments and reasons from the other place. I again thank my colleague in the other…

My Lords, I will speak to Motion E1, as an amendment to Motion E. I have listened very carefully to what the Minister, who I hold in the highest regard, has said this evening. But I am disappointed that the other place continues to disagree with our amendment—in its view, because it is not necessary…

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Lords Debate 23 April 2026 20 contributions

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

My Lords, in moving Motion A, I will also speak to Motions B, C, C1, H and H1. It is a pleasure to bring the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill back to the House of Lords to consider the amendments and reasons from the other place. I thank all noble Lords who engaged extensively in th…

My Lords, I beg to move Motion A1 as an amendment to Motion A. The Commons have disagreed with our amendment, which was carried 285 to 156: a majority of 129 and a pretty convincing endorsement of the strength of feeling in the Chamber for rural affairs to get the recognition they deserve. I am grat…

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Lords Oral Questions 23 April 2026 8 contributions

Home Ownership: First-Time Buyers

I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Recently, the Prime Minister said: “For my family growing up, the roof over our heads was everything. But for so many families today, homeownership is a distant dream. My government will make it a reality once again”. For millions of people renting or …

My Lords, I will follow up the important points that the noble Lord made. Home ownership makes up 62% of housing tenure, and getting first-time buyers to their first house is crucial, but social housing also plays a really important part in helping people to get into a decent, secure and affordable …

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Lords Statutory Instrument 21 April 2026 5 contributions

Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026

The Minister has not told us at all, and nor indeed does the Explanatory Memorandum tell us, the nature of the legal vulnerability that was implicit in the decision to reconsider. The fact that the decision had to be taken by an independent Minister in her own department, not by the Secretary of Sta…

The logic of the Government’s original position clearly was not logic at all, because if the elections can now take place, as well as the reorganisation, this postponement was not required at all, was it?

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Lords Statutory Instrument 20 April 2026

Building Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 10 and 25 February be approved. Relevant document: 54th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 15 April.

Lords Oral Questions 20 April 2026 7 contributions

Business Improvement District Ballots: Digital Voting

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for that Answer, which leads to my further question. Business improvement district ballots involve a clearly defined electorate of registered voters. They are overseen by local authority returning officers, and they determine real financial commitments …

My Lords, a quick look at international comparisons for introducing digital voting suggests that experiments in other advanced democratic countries have shown that it is okay at the local level, where the likelihood of cyber attack is low, but at the national level it is open to too many risks to tr…

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Lords Oral Questions 16 April 2026 8 contributions

Local Resilience Forums

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that response. If one believes in the concept of a whole of society and whole of government approach to resilience and preparedness, local resilience forums are an essential part of that mix. I hope my noble friend will relay to her ministerial colleagues …

My Lords, utilising modern science and technology, the police appear to be addressing the most serious crime very effectively. But we all know that we have an epidemic of offending on our streets—and our high streets—unmatched in my lifetime, with shoplifting, phone-snatching, drug-dealing and rogue…

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