Lords
Debate
3 July 2026
Local Plans (Burial Space) Bill [HL]
My Lords, I am also very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, for bringing forward this Bill, and for the clarity of its purpose, which he spoke about.
This is a thoughtful and timely proposal for addressing an issue that other noble Lords have raised, which is clearly important. I…
Lords
Committee Stage
30 June 2026
Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for explaining this SI. To be clear, we support the principle that tenants should have access to effective routes of redress when things go wrong. The overwhelming majority of disputes between landlords and tenants should not require lengthy, costly and stressful court…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
30 June 2026
4 contributions
Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I must first declare my interest as a councillor in Central Bedfordshire. These regulations may appear to be a relatively straightforward implementation of the Planning and Infrastructure Act, but they represent something much more significant. They change one of the fundamental democratic…
I am aware of the time.
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
23 June 2026
2 contributions
Local Government (Structural and Boundary Changes) (Control of Disposals etc.) (Amendment) Order 2026
My Lords, I need to declare again that I am a councillor in central Bedfordshire, although I do not believe we will be impacted by these changes at the moment. At the outset, I make clear that we understand the practical problems that the Government are seeking to address through this instrument. It…
I thank the Minister for her responses, but I just wanted a little clarity on three of the questions that I asked. The first is on the impact of inflation. Roughly speaking, inflation has almost doubled, so £50,000 spent in 2006 is the equivalent of £100,000 now—not quite, but in approximate terms. …
Lords
Proceedings
22 June 2026
Home Ownership: First-time Buyers
My Lords, despite a housing crisis, we are seeing housebuilding plummet as affordability collapses and first-time buyers are reluctant to extend themselves in a period of economic uncertainty. This is particularly the case in London, with an average house price of £661,000. The Minister talked about…
Lords
Debate
17 June 2026
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, I was going to say I was grateful to all noble Lords who had spoken in the debate, but I am certainly most grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, for doing so. She identifies a couple of critical issues: the need for more housing and the need for clarity and information. That is i…
Lords
Debate
15 June 2026
6 contributions
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, I declare an interest as a councillor in Central Bedfordshire. I add my congratulations to those offered to the noble Baroness, Lady Curran, on returning to the Front Bench. I thank noble Lords for their contributions on this first day of Committee. This amendment would abolish right to bu…
My Lords, it is very convenient that my noble friend Lady Scott is in the Chamber, so I can say many thanks for all that she has done and how she helped me come into the House. It is great following someone who is so good, because there is so much to learn and, fortunately, I am still able to access…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
New Towns: Laying the Foundations (Built Environment Committee Report)
My Lords, I must first declare my interest as a councillor in central Bedfordshire, which is the location of two of the new towns: Tempsford and a large chunk of the extension to Milton Keynes. Following the comments of the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, I must also declare it is the locat…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Affordable Housing: Young People
My Lords, where proceeds of right to buy are used to build a new social home, the council housing waiting list reduces and a family has the opportunity to have their own affordable social home. Does the Minister agree that the Government should support and encourage strategies that provide more home…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, I declare my interest as a councillor in Central Bedfordshire Council.
As my noble friend Lady Scott of Bybrook said, we have a housing crisis, and nowhere is that clearer than in London. The noble Lord, Lord Livermore, often speaks of 14 years of a Conservative Government. Well, after 10…
Lords
Committee Stage
18 May 2026
Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these regulations. As she will know, the origins of this policy lie with the previous Conservative Government and the work undertaken through the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 to improve transparency around contractual control agreements over l…
Lords
Committee Stage
18 May 2026
2 contributions
Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Stevenage, for introducing these regulations and outlining their effect. I declare my interest as a councillor in central Bedfordshire, although that does not extend quite as far as Hampshire.
We on these Benches recognise the Government’s broade…
Before the Minister sits down, can she clarify two points?
First, the Minister mentioned the 30-year funding. The point is that, in effect, it has been delayed for two years by a delay to the mayoral elections: obviously, that is of concern locally.
Secondly, in looking at wider devolution, there …
Lords
Debate
23 April 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, noble Lords have rightly highlighted the importance of prioritising brownfield land. The Government fully support the “brownfield first” approach, and we have set this clearly in national policy. We recently consulted on further measures to strengthen this, including higher densities in su…
I thank noble Lords for their support and thank the Minister for her response. I appreciate that the Minister has offered assurances that the Government will set out in regulation that strategic planning authorities, when preparing spatial development strategies, must have regard to the desirability…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Home Ownership: First-Time Buyers
That is a bit rich coming from someone who was in the government party for the past 14 years. First-time buyers benefit from paying no stamp duty on up to £300,000, and they can claim relief on purchases up to £500,000.
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Business Improvement District Ballots: Digital Voting
The decline in our town centres—I speak from personal experience—started long before this Government came to power. Our Government are delivering on their manifesto commitment to protect the high street and rebalance the business rates system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible r…
Lords
Debate
13 April 2026
7 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have contributed to this important debate, which goes to the heart of what we mean by devolution and local choice.
On this side of the House, we believe in democracy and devolution. Amendment 197 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, raises the …
My Lords, I note the dedication of the noble Lord, Lord Pack, to this issue, but he will not be surprised to hear that we cannot support him on this group of amendments. The issue of electoral reform has been debated time and again. I do not believe it would be appropriate to insert these significan…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
26 March 2026
7 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, has raised an interesting point which deserves an answer. On this side of the House, our views were made very clear in Committee: we are on the side of democracy, we believe it is up to the electorate to decide who is best placed to represent them, and we shou…
My Lords, I rise to speak on this group of amendments on collaboration. I will not comment on the government amendments, other than to say that we consider them to be technical and will not stand in the way of the Government. I must declare my interest as an ex-chairman of the Local Government Assoc…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
24 March 2026
6 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I will speak to the amendments in my name and that of my noble friend Lady Scott of Bybrook regarding the changes proposed in this Bill to the mayoral precept arrangements. As we raised in Committee, it is important to ensure value for money and that a mayoral precept is used not to compen…
I thank the Minister for his response. However, we believe that there needs to be greater transparency in the approach to local taxation, to encourage not just accountability for financial decisions but also public trust. Therefore, if the Government do not wish to press ahead with their changes to …
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
24 March 2026
7 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I too declare my interest as a councillor in central Bedfordshire. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, for bringing back this amendment. In Committee, we discussed how much of this Bill, despite its title, centralises rather than devolves. This amendment would enable a strategic…
My Lords, I will speak to the amendments in this group, on the establishment of combined authorities and combined county authorities, in my name and that of my noble friend Lady Scott of Bybrook.
Our concern is about the extensive powers given to the Secretary of State in the Bill. As drafted, Sche…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019
That is slightly tangential to the Question. I know that this is a real frustration both for those living on new estates and for the local authorities that are sometimes charged with picking up the bill for the insufficient quality of roads. Steps will be taken in the forthcoming leasehold and commo…
Lords
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Renters’ Rights Act: Definition of Court Readiness
My Lords, “court readiness” means ensuring that courts and tribunals can operate effectively and maintain swift access to justice under the new tenancy system. We are supporting the justice system with funding to ensure that courts and tribunals have the resources and capacity they need to handle th…
It certainly would not help tenants to delay implementation of the Act. Tenants are waiting for this, and have been for a very long time indeed. We are working very closely with our colleagues in the Ministry of Justice on a number of fronts, including digitisation of the system, ensuring that more …
Lords
Committee Stage
23 March 2026
2 contributions
Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their contributions and their broad support for the Sussex and Brighton authority, which I think is broadly welcomed in the local area.
The noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, asked me about the 6,000 responses. The purpose of the consultation was to gather evidence and …
The time periods are quite compressed, as the next tranche of 14 areas will be decided before the Summer Recess. The decision-making is quite close together and it is up to us to make sure that we get these SIs through, so that the foundation strategic authorities are in place before the mayoral ele…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Birmingham City Council and Unite: Refuse Workers’ Pay
The Conservative Party in Birmingham should not wash its hands of some of the part it played in creating the crisis that Birmingham is facing overall. Birmingham’s recent history has seen one of the largest equal pay crises in modern times. Over the past 15 years, this has cost the council and the p…