Angela Rayner MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 9 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  As the Planning and Infrastructure Bill enters its remaining stages in the Commons, I thank my hon. Friend the Housing Minister and Members across the House for their continued work on this important piece of legislation that will get Britain building again. This weekend marks the eighth anniversary of the Grenfell tower fire. I know that I speak for all Members of this House when I say that the 72 men, women and children who lost their lives at Grenfell will never be forgotten. We have accepted the inquiry’s findings, and will take action on all 58 recommendations to build a more robust and trusted regulatory system that will deliver safe, quality homes for everyone.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I might like a pint; and wouldn’t he like to know?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The Government are committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure that new developments provide the necessary infrastructure that communities expect. We will set out further details in due course. Earlier I mentioned the changes to the national planning policy framework that were announced in December, and we will also support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the shadow Secretary of State for the constructive way in which he has approached this issue. We all remember what happened at Grenfell and the work that the previous Government did, and we are continuing that work, as outlined in phase 2 of the recommendations. The buildings Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham North and Kimberley (Alex Norris) has been meeting—as I have—members of the community, RBKC and others to make sure we continue on that journey. I hesitate to say, though, that the previous Government made a lot of promises that are challenging. We will always put safety first, and we are working to ensure that we deliver on that.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  The shadow Secretary of State has been called a bit later than the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes), for whom I outlined the reasons we have not put an exact figure on that and confirmed that we will build the biggest increase in affordable and social housing in a generation. I say gently to the shadow Secretary of State that we are delivering for working people by banning no-fault evictions and introducing groundbreaking protections for renters, which the Conservatives promised but did not deliver. We are introducing major planning reforms to build 1.5 million homes; they promised 1.6 million homes, but could not get anywhere. We are also delivering the largest ever single package of devolution measures, pushing power out of Westminster. We are delivering where the Conservatives failed.

• 9 Jun 2025 · New Unitary Authorities · Hansard source

  More

  Local government reorganisation will lead to better outcomes for residents and save a significant amount of money that can be reinvested in public services and improve accountability. It is for councils to develop robust, financially sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area.

• 9 Jun 2025 · New Unitary Authorities · Hansard source

  More

  As set out in the invitation letters, and as with previous restructures, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation, but the Government accept that Woking and Thurrock councils hold significant unsupported debt that cannot be managed locally in its entirety. We have committed to providing an initial amount of debt repayment support for these councils in 2026-27 ahead of the reorganisation. This is unprecedented Government support.

• 9 Jun 2025 · New Unitary Authorities · Hansard source

  More

  I am sure that those on the Conservative Benches have an interest in areas of natural beauty as well, and I am sure that the Minister for Housing and Planning will address this point when we discuss the Planning and Infrastructure Bill later today. We take natural beauty and history seriously, and we think that the Bill will be able to do nature recovery and enable us to build the houses that we desperately need.

• 9 Jun 2025 · New Homes: Minimum EPC Rating · Hansard source

  More

  That’s a bit harsh.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  I am disgusted to hear about what happened to that young person and her baby—that is absolutely terrible. The number of people, particularly children, who are in temporary accommodation at the moment is shocking, which is why this Government are committed to the biggest wave of social and affordable housing in a generation. We have not put a particular number on that, not least because we do not have the spending review results—they are coming later this week—but we are clear that we want that number to ramp up and we need that proportion to meet the target of 1.5 million new homes, so I ask the hon. Member to wait just a little bit longer.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  I am not going to stray into individual cases, but what I will say is that since gaining office this Government have confirmed the changes to the national planning policy framework, in particular around section 106, to ensure that when developers seek planning permission and pledge that they are going to do something, they are kept to those pledges.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  The Opposition cannot have it both ways: one way they are saying we are failing to build the homes; and the other way they are saying we are concreting over the green belt. We said that planning reforms alone will not deliver our ambitions, which is why we have committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation. And I say to the hon. Member, as I have said to many people in my life, underestimate me at your peril.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  Coming back to the point that we do need housing, including social and council housing, we have been clear in the changes that we have been making, including in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, to ensure that that infrastructure is there, because that is one of the barriers leading to people rejecting some proposals because the transport connectivity and the facilities are not available. Therefore this Government are committed to ensuring we get the right type of development that supports local need and also, importantly, has the infrastructure alongside it.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  In our first eight months in office, we have announced £800 million in new funding for the affordable homes programme and £2 billion as a down payment on future investment. The previous Government handed back precious cash for social and affordable homes. This Government will get those homes built. The Chancellor will set out details of new investment at the spending review.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is a great champion for Derby and many Members across this House can understand the acute pressures he mentions. The fact is we have not been building enough homes, and we certainly have not been building enough social homes. Therefore, we have already set out some steps, as I mentioned briefly earlier, around the right to buy receipts, and we are consulting on new long-term rent settlements to give providers confidence to build, and we will be investing billions of pounds into social housing. I cannot pre-empt the spending review this week but the Chancellor will set out more then.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have a housing crisis in this country, and it is felt particularly acutely by those who need social and council housing. That is why we have been absolutely clear that we want to deliver the biggest increase to social and affordable housing in a generation. We have already outlined a number of measures, including allowing councils to retain 100% of right-to-buy receipts and making long-term funding settlements for rents. We have set out the investment that we have put into the sector, but we will say more at the spending review.

• 7 Apr 2025 · New Towns · Hansard source

  More

  We are bringing forward the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, as the hon. Member knows, and we have set mandatory targets. Unlike the previous Government, we believe that infrastructure has to come through this process, and we are working across Government to ensure that. We are already pushing further on section 106 notices in our work with developers. We are telling them that we want the houses, need the infrastructure, and want them to do this properly.

• 7 Apr 2025 · New Towns · Hansard source

  More

  Our vision for the next generation of new towns is setting the stage for a house building revolution in the years to come. These will be well-connected, attractive places with all the infrastructure and services needed to sustain thriving communities, including public transport, GP surgeries and schools.

• 7 Apr 2025 · New Towns · Hansard source

  More

  We have not selected the positions for the new towns; the new towns taskforce is still working on those. We have been clear that what the new towns will deliver will be over and above the targets for housing produced through the standard methods, but this is not one of those new towns, because we have not chosen them yet.

• 7 Apr 2025 · New Towns · Hansard source

  More

  I agree with my hon. Friend that the housing crisis is a challenge across the whole of England. The independent new towns taskforce is reviewing submissions to the call for evidence as it continues its work on recommending locations for new towns. The responses to the call for evidence will support the taskforce’s work of developing its recommendations, and the responses demonstrate significant enthusiasm across the country.

• 7 Apr 2025 · New Towns · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There is a lot to admire from the past, including in new towns such as Bracknell. We are learning the lessons from the past for our next generation of new towns, to ensure that they are well connected, well designed, sustainable and attractive places, where people want to live, and it is important that they have the infrastructure, amenities and services that they need to thrive.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  Our country is in the midst of a housing crisis, decades in the making. As our plan for change set out, the Government are committed to the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation. We have already taken decisive action to increase the supply of new homes, with bold reforms to the planning system and the launch of the new homes accelerator programme, which will unblock thousands of homes stuck in the planning system. In the spring statement, we announced a £2 billion down payment to deliver up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes, and we are investing £600 million in training for new construction jobs.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  We are asking London to deliver record levels of house building. Our revised standard method sets the housing need for London at nearly 88,000 homes per year. The previous Government artificially boosted targets for London using an extra 35% urban uplift. That resulted in a target of nearly 100,000 homes—a third of the previous national target—which could not be justified. The London Mayor has started building more new council homes than at any time since the 1970s. He is getting on with building homes while the Tories have failed and are the blockers.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is right to highlight the absolute mess that the previous Government left our housing stock in. We will ensure the biggest increase in social house building in a generation, and provide safe, warm and decent homes, by introducing minimum energy efficiency standards and reviewing the decent homes standard. Recent funding includes £1.29 billion for the warm homes social housing fund, £800 million in top-ups to the current affordable homes programme, and a £2 billion down payment on the future programme, which will be used for regeneration projects that will result in a net increase in the number of homes.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Housing Supply · Hansard source

  More

  We have over 160,000 children in temporary accommodation, as I have said at the Dispatch Box a couple of times, and it is a scandal that we are in this situation. That is why the Government are making these changes. We make no apology for changing the mandatory housing targets to get Britain building again, because we need those homes and those kids deserve better. We also need to cut the number of children living in temporary accommodation, including B&Bs. We are determined to do that.