Housing and Planning Bill

It is a pity that we are dealing with the four most contentious aspects of the Bill in one two-ho...

I thank the hon. Lady for giving way so early. I wanted gently to challenge her comments about to...

I remind the Minister that we voted against the programme motion.

Amendment 53 safeguards t...

Of course, this is not just about the loss of council properties in high-value areas. The impact ...

My hon. Friend makes an additional point about how truly appalling and nonsensical the policy is....

Is not the concern that we should see this in the overall context of Government policy? Not only ...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and one that we want to emphasise this afternoon. Most c...

My hon. Friend talked about the impact on homelessness. Across the country, there are probably mi...

My hon. Friend makes a truly brilliant point that we should reflect on in the Chamber this aftern...

Did not Westminster council let the cat out of the bag on pay to stay with a leaflet that it dist...

My hon. Friend makes a relevant point about the proposals.

So why are the Government now im...

One of the examples that has been given to me is that of a tenant who has been offered a promotio...

I could not agree more. The proposals are an attack on aspiration, leaving some families with imp...

Is the hon. Lady seriously suggesting to the House that people should receive heavily subsidised ...

As we did our best to explain to the hon. Gentleman in Committee, such housing is often not subsi...

We should kill the myth of subsidised council housing. Under the rules which this Government chan...

My hon. Friend has won that round of the debate.

So shocking is chapter 5 of part 4 that we...

My hon. Friend mentions a lady working in London who was concerned about people like her for econ...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We have pointed that out to the Minister on a number of ...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case. She rightly mentions London, as do a number of colleagu...

I totally agree; I am really pleased that my hon. Friend has reminded me that we need to consider...

The definition of “affordable homes” has been described by one hon. Member of this House as “elas...

My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point. What we are trying to say in this debate is that t...

My hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan) are making exactly th...

I totally agree. We are attempting to show how unappealing the measures put forward by the hon. M...

I shall not detain the House for long, as I am not sure that anyone would hear me. However, my co...

My hon. Friend is making a valiant charge on behalf of all of us who have very expensive houses i...

I thank my hon. Friend, and I agree with her.

The Minister has been very generous in the ti...

I rise to speak in favour of amendment 89, tabled in my name and that of my right hon. Friend the...

Rubbish!

The Member who has heckled describes the Bill as I would—rubbish.

In fact, on balance, the ...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I will give way once and then I want to make some progress.

My right hon. Friend is right to quote the Evening Standard saying that this will be disastrous. ...

My hon. Friend will know that I spend a lot of time visiting all 32 London boroughs. This morning...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, who has been heckling me loudly and rather rudely from a s...

I am sure he would never heckle from a sedentary position. The starter home provisions give a 20%...

It usually takes a parliamentarian years to become out of touch, but the hon. Gentleman has done ...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a good case. I understand entirely why he is focusing on London, b...

I agree completely with the hon. Gentleman, but I would go a step further. I do not think that th...

I will be brief, because we do not have a lot of time. Clearly, we are discussing a national issu...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Just give me a moment, please.

When my hon. Friend the Minister wraps up on this group of a...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

In just one moment, if the hon. Lady does not mind.

The G15 would even be able to replace e...

rose—

I said I would let the hon. Gentleman intervene, and I will let him do so before I finish my spee...

Will the hon. Gentleman make it clear whether he agrees that the forced sale of empty council pro...

As the hon. Gentleman knows, I stood on a manifesto that included a commitment to extending the r...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

In a second: I am just answering the previous intervention.

That achievement would not be p...

rose—

rose—

I am not going to take any more interventions. [Interruption.] I did take an intervention.

...

The National Audit Office study of the disposal of public land showed that, in the last tranche, ...

My hon. Friend makes my point for me. That is absolutely essential. We will not get best value ou...

Let me first welcome the amendments tabled by the Government, as the Minister announced to the Co...

My hon. Friend is, as always, making a very powerful speech. This issue will affect not just indi...

My hon. Friend must have been looking over my shoulder. I am sure she cannot read my handwriting—...

One argument that was put forward in support of the heinous bedroom tax was that it would encoura...

This proposal will indeed discourage people from moving from a secure tenancy on a family home to...

I have kept the House up to date with my struggles to get on the property ladder as a 29-year-old...

My hon. Friend is rightly highlighting the challenges in Bath. I know that the same is true in Ox...

Yes, I absolutely endorse my hon. Friend’s comments. I see from the amendments before us today th...

I wish to make a few remarks on the impact of the Government’s proposals on Stockport.

The ...

Like all London MPs, particularly inner-London MPs, I welcome any efforts that boost supply and t...

The right hon. Gentleman represents a major part of central London that has some of the highest l...

It is not absolutely worthless, although I echo the comments made earlier on that issue, and hope...

rose—

I will not take any more interventions because I know that other Members want to speak.

On ...

It is a genuine pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Ma...

The hon. Lady is a fellow member of the Communities and Local Government Committee. She rightly s...

A definition of affordability that bears no relation to median income—the key test—is meaningless...

On that point, will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not take a further intervention from the hon. Gentleman for the time being, if that is oka...

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the debate, given that I was a member of the Pub...

On the point about discretion, in schedule 4, proposed new section 81B(2)(b) of the Housing Act 1...

I hope that the Minister will clarify that point, but the key thing is the possibility of new lon...

Many of us have said repeatedly that we have a major housing crisis and that not only is the Bill...

Given the time pressures, I shall limit my remarks to my amendment 109. I have made it clear that...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Probably not, because there is not much time left and I do not want to prevent others from speaki...

I support the amendments tabled in the name of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. I wan...

rose—

I shall give way in a few moments.

I join others in congratulating my hon. Friend the Membe...

Perhaps the Minister will explain why the joint duty on the Secretary of State, the Mayor of Lond...

Well, it did not get through Committee. As we shall come on to later, it is interesting to reflec...

rose—

I am not giving way at the moment.

I intend to use the flexibility of the agreement process...

I would like the Minister to add South Cambridgeshire to the list.

I am happy to work with South Cambridgeshire. In fact, we are working well with it; it provides a...

Will the Minister explain how building houses in areas other than the part of Brent North where 5...

I suggest that the hon. Gentleman Google #ownyourhouse, where he will find a range of Government ...

Will the Minister give way?

No, not at this stage.

Opposition Members had their chance to vote against these clauses in...

Will the Minister give way?

Not at this stage.

Government amendments 9 and 11 will enable this part of the Bill to come...

Will the Minister give way?

Will the Minister give way?

I will not give way at this stage, because we are short of time and I want to respond to the poin...

Is the Minister aware that in the 1980s, the late Willie Whitelaw expressed concern to the then P...

I appreciate that one of the problems of the right to buy is that for 13 years, for every 170 hom...

Will the Minister give way?

No, not at this point.

We heard the thoughts of the hon. Member for City of Durham on amend...

Will the Minister give way?

No, I will not give way at this stage. I must try to deal with all the points that other Members ...

Will the Minister confirm that if someone with a secure tenancy applies for a transfer, and a new...

In the interests of speed, I suggest that the hon. Gentleman should look at the report of what I ...

As I said, we would have liked to remove the chapters on the forced sale of council housing and t...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I had an exchange with the Minister at the end of the ...

Order. The hon. Gentleman is aware that that is almost certainly more a point of annoyance than a...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 3—Conversion of leaseh...

First, I shall respond to the point raised by the Chairman of the Select Committee. I know he has...

rose—

I will give way later in my comments. This is the final group before we send this Bill to the oth...

I rise to speak to new clauses 52 to 54 and amendments 154, 99 and 67.

New clause 52 follow...

I am sure that the hon. Lady will reflect the frustrations of colleagues across the House when it...

That matter was raised earlier. At the moment, the private rented sector is massively increasing,...

My hon. Friend is making a very strong case for the Government to take electrical safety checks m...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and that is exactly right. Across the private rente...

I rise to speak in favour of new clause 42. It is a contradictory situation, but in very high-val...

I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for St Albans (Mrs Main), who, apart from her other duties...

It is always a particular pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpa...

Before coming to Parliament I was involved in a case in which the bank required an immediate repa...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend who I know has professional experience and expertise in this matt...

It is a delight to follow my colleague from the all-party group on London, the hon. Member for Br...

Will the hon. Lady join me in hoping that, where a tenant also receives housing benefit, the land...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that excellent point, which is something I have campaigned on for ...

I want to say a few words about new clause 42. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (M...

There are other exorbitant charges. For instance, mobile owners buy their fuel through site owner...

That is an interesting point. Although I have concentrated on just one aspect of mobile homes, I ...

May I pick up the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) o...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that had commonhold been part of the conditions for developers, wit...

Yes. I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that.

Each Member of this House has on average ...

I want to speak briefly to new clause 3 proposed by the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim...

I recall the situation that the hon. Gentleman describes, because I was sponsoring the whole driv...

I would like to disagree with the hon. Gentleman at length, but time will not allow me to do so. ...

Given the time available, I will move straight on to dealing with the proposals. On the amendment...

Will the Minister give way?

I need to make progress because I have not got long. I am glad to say that the regulator rarely n...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his response, and will of course not press my amendment. I ho...

In the same spirit let me say that I am extremely glad to hear that. I am sure that the Minister ...

Consideration completed. I will now suspend the House for about five minutes in order to make a d...

I can now inform the House that I have completed certification of the Bill, as required by the St...

Yes.

Thank goodness.

I am always happy to hear the Minister’s voice, but a nod suffices for the purpose.

Under S...

There will now be a joint debate on the consent motion for England and Wales and the consent moti...

I beg to move,

That the Committee consents to the following certified clauses and schedules...

With this we shall consider the consent motion to be moved in the Legislative Grand Committee (En...

The importance of what we are doing in the Chamber today is shown by the fact that so many of my ...

Since so many of the clauses in the Bill have been designated as applying exclusively to England ...

I will come on to that specific point in a few moments. I would, however, point out that the hon....

Many Conservative Members welcome some modest justice for England at last. We welcome the fact th...

As ever, my right hon. Friend tempts me to go just a little beyond the Housing and Planning Bill,...

My hon. Friend has pointed out that the Bill relates to England only. May I put it on the record ...

My hon. Friend makes a good point that relates to the consent motion on English-only matters. Obv...

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that the removal of secure tenancies from council tenants was not...

We had that debate in Committee and earlier today on Report. The hon. Gentleman should look caref...

rose—

I will not take any more interventions on the Bill. This is about English votes for English laws....

I call John Healey.

No, I do not want to speak.

I do not call John Healey. I beg the right hon. Gentleman’s pardon. I call Pete Wishart.

I am grateful, Mrs Laing.

So, this is what an English Parliament looks like. It looks prett...

The hon. Gentleman’s constituents in Perth and North Perthshire, who may well have voted for him,...

The hon. Gentleman tempts me. I will say a couple of things to him. First, I was elected on the s...

rose—

How can I resist the right hon. Gentleman?

If the hon. Gentleman is such a passionate believer in us settling everything together, why am I ...

The right hon. Gentleman just does not understand, so I will try to explain it to him patiently o...

Order. The hon. Gentleman is a Member of this House and has a right to be heard. He will be heard...

I did not know whether I was a Member of this House or an international observer, but I will take...

May I remind the hon. Gentleman that what we have before us is a consent mechanism for Members fr...

Let me tell the hon. Gentleman what it feels like to us. What it feels like to me, and to my righ...

While Conservative Members find their handkerchiefs to mop their tears, will the hon. Gentleman s...

We have no great interest in this Bill. [Interruption.] I do not know why that comes as a surpris...

rose—

I am not giving way again—I am answering the hon. Gentleman’s point.

That is why we took no...

Far too many Members wish to intervene, so I will say no to them all.

Even if I wanted a sa...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Lady, because I like her.

5.30 pm

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. He will know I have a great deal of respect for him. H...

Here is something for the hon. Lady, for whom I have a great deal of respect, to consider: how ab...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, who I also like very much.

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, but I think he has actually got it funda...

In all candour, I have to say that that is not what it feels like on this side of the House. If a...

Does the hon. Gentleman really expect taxpayers to pay for another Parliament just because his fe...

I do not know whether I am grateful or not to the hon. Lady for her intervention. I think she is ...

I think what the House will take from the hon. Gentleman’s animated, passionate and, as ever, flu...

As with so many things, the hon. Gentleman is half right. This has been noted in Scotland. A lot ...

The hon. Gentleman has already told the House that the Scottish nationalist party—[Hon. Members: ...

I say this in all candour to the hon. Gentleman, whom I very much respect: we hear much from our ...

As someone proud to represent an English constituency, I feel—I do not know if my Labour colleagu...

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I knew his would be one of the quality interventions of...

I am delighted the hon. Gentleman has given way, because no SNP Members have participated in the ...

Maybe. It is with great fascination that we hear from the one and only Scottish Labour Member of ...

Speaking as someone who was here in the wee small hours, I can say that Labour Members were notab...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding us that that was the night of the long reshuffle, s...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene. Since the Front Benchers have b...

The hon. Lady has made a creative intervention to put her point directly to the Minister, and I t...

I rise to thank Ministers for taking England on its first step on the journey to justice and fair...

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the work that he has done for many years in championing th...

I entirely agree. We need fairness for England, in respect of the new financial settlement as wel...

We had intended simply to leave the Government to deal with the mess of their own making in this ...

The hon. Gentleman appears to have neglected the apposite point that was made by my hon. Friend t...

Standing Orders can always be altered, particularly by Governments, but by doing it unilaterally ...

I remind hon. Members—although I do not think hon. Members really need to be reminded—that if the...

On a point of order, Madam Chairman. On a serious point of order, I am very conflicted because I ...

The hon. Lady makes a perfectly reasonable point, and it is important that we consider points of ...

Further to that point of order, Madam Chairman. I do apologise for not bringing this to the Speak...

No, again the hon. Lady is making a perfectly reasonable point, but I think I have already answer...

I remind hon. Members that no further debate on the consent motion for England is permitted, and ...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

It is customary on these occasions...

May I take the Secretary of State back to his comment about humility? Will he take this opportuni...

Going back to 2010, the Prime Minister thought it was reasonable that when we were allocating hom...

I applaud the Secretary of State’s commitment to house building, to make sure that more of our co...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right in what she says, and she has made an important contribu...

It is no surprise to hear that the Secretary of State wants to move away from talking about counc...

The hon. Gentleman is completely wrong, and if he looked at our housing plans, he would see that ...

Does the Secretary of State agree that the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) is wrong ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: we need homes provided right across the country, of all the d...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the most important single thing we can do is to get building...

My hon. Friend is right to say that we need to get Britain building again, and we are doing so, w...

Of course, what is affordable to the Secretary of State’s constituents might not be affordable to...

No, we want to see more homes of all types. We have committed to build 1 million homes over the n...

At the weekend, the Prime Minister said on the “Andrew Marr Show” that he expected a million prop...

The reduction in social rented properties happened under the previous Labour Government, when the...

On council houses, is not the real scandal that, in 13 years, the previous Labour Government fail...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As Housing Minister, he made a major contribution to the revi...

I appreciate the Secretary of State kindly giving way. He talked about the previous Labour Govern...

The record of the previous Government is very clear: we built more affordable homes, specifically...

Will the Secretary of State confirm at the Dispatch Box that, under this Bill, there is no block ...

The hon. Gentleman might not be aware that restrictions are in place that prevent, for a consider...

That particular element of the Secretary of State’s scheme does not work in high-value areas wher...

I hope that, on behalf of her constituents, the hon. Lady will welcome the announcements that wer...

On that point, does my right hon. Friend recognise that it is thanks to this Bill, the work of th...

Indeed, and one of the proud pieces of the legacy of the current Mayor of London, our hon. Friend...

As we complete this historic new procedure, I propose the Question that the Bill be now read the ...

As we pass this Bill on to the other place, I thank the officers and staff of the House, particul...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that this Bill makes the lives of Londoners and people in other r...

My hon. Friend is right. The Bill fails to get to grips with the problems of modern life and the ...

Is it not also time that the Government practised what they preach? There are measures in the Bil...

My hon. Friend is right; I could have extended the list. Tory Ministers and Back Benchers have vo...

Will my right hon. Friend add to that list the failure to address the fact that some private land...

My right hon. Friend may well be right in some cases. One of the weaknesses of the enforcement re...

Order. A great many Members wish to speak in this important Third Reading debate. We have only ha...

I am saddened to have heard the speech by the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John He...

Does my hon. Friend recognise the problems that I experienced under the Labour Government of cent...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The London suburbs, in particular, suffered from the lu...

While my hon. Friend is on the subject of Labour’s lack of radicalism, does he share my confusion...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Many local authorities would take that up. Housing co-operati...

I notice that the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray), who criticised us earlier, has si...

I will do my best to stick to Madam Deputy Speaker’s injunction of an informal four-minute limit....

London has experienced a 55% increase in rough sleeping. There is a Tory Mayor and a Tory Governm...

I believe that the level of rough sleeping last year had gone down compared with five years ago. ...

It is difficult to dignify this Bill with analysis, because parts of it are so squalid and vindic...

We will take no lectures from the Government on home ownership. It is at its lowest level for a g...

I need speeches of nearer to three minutes, because I wish to call the hon. Member for Hornchurch...

In welcoming this large and excellent Bill, I thank the Secretary of State, who fell short of acc...

It is right that the Government included a Housing Bill in the Queen’s Speech. Poor housing robs ...

rose—

I probably should not give way to be fair to other Members who wish to speak.

It is a trage...

There have been many good amendments to the Bill, but sadly they were the ones the Government rej...

Is my hon. Friend aware that as a result of this Bill, one of my local housing associations is pr...

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, and in my constituency 500 council homes in Brent would be...

I would like to focus on a couple of areas that I find especially concerning.

First, on the...