Naushabah Khan MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak as a member of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, and in support of new clause 50. For too long, affordable housing has become a catch-all term that means anything but. Shared ownership and discounted market schemes are products that may work for some, but for many, they offer no real housing security. What those people need is not the option of getting a foot on the property ladder in the distant future, but a roof over their heads now. They need security, stability and homes that are truly affordable, and that means social rent. If we are serious about tackling the housing emergency, then clear, national targets for delivery of social rent homes are essential. That is why I support new clause 50, which would bring forward the accountability and direction that we need to get building and start delivering for those who have been let down for too long. As housing charity Shelter identifies, building more social rent homes is the only lasting solution to the housing emergency. Those homes are genuinely affordable because their rent is linked to local income; there are secure tenancies; and any rent increases are more predictable. In my constituency—I know colleagues from across the House will recognise this from their inboxes—families are trapped in substandard housing or temporary accommodation for years on end. Many of us have, I fear, become desensitised to the stories of families with no kitchen to cook in, no quiet space for children to learn, and no peace in which to rest. That is the daily reality for far too many families in the UK. This is a national scandal. Let us be honest: it did not appear overnight. For over a decade, the previous Government failed to build the homes that this country desperately needs. They dismantled council house building, slashed local authority budgets, and left the private rented sector unchecked. Those failures have left this Government with an inheritance of a hollowed-out system that responds to homelessness after the fact, instead of preventing it at root. I welcome the fact that this Labour Government are changing this reality for families in my constituency through significant policy changes, and by allocating £800 million to the affordable homes programme, and I am proud that a significant proportion of those homes will be for social rent, but we need to go further. Publishing or updating planning guidance on how local and national decision makers can contribute to the delivery of social rented homes can make a significant difference. That would align planning, investment and delivery with a shared goal. We know the scale of the challenge. As many have noted, we need to build 90,000 social rented homes each year, not just for the remainder of this Parliament, but for the next decade, to meet current demand and get on top of the deep backlog. We must equip councils and delivery partners with the resources, planning powers and clarity of mission that they need. New clause 50 supports that clarity, making sure that every local and regional planning decision is pulling in the same direction. I agree with the Minister on the need for strategic planning, the potential that spatial development strategies have to unlock large-scale regional housing solutions, and the power of land value uplift to fund affordable homes. These are important tools, but they would be better supported by clear targets. Setting a national target for social rented homes is not about Whitehall dictating numbers from above; it is about saying that we are serious about tackling homelessness. I echo the words of this Government: this country needs builders, not blockers. Central to that sentiment must be setting a clear social housing strategy, so that we know not just that we must build, but how much we must build, and hold ourselves accountable for delivering those homes.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Bank Closures and Banking Hubs · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) for securing this important debate. Access to cash is important, but it is only one part of the story. The closure of bank branches strips communities across our country not just of access to money, but of access to advice and support services that cannot simply be replicated online. It goes further than that. For some elderly residents this is about a sense of community and purpose, such as the weekly trip with friends to interact with others, plan a food shop, go to a supermarket or even visit friends. I remember when I was a child, when my grandfather was due to make his regular trip to the bank, he would get suited and booted, have a haircut and tell us all proudly that he was off to the bank. It was also the highlight of my week, because I always received a £5 note afterwards. In my constituency of Gillingham and Rainham, I was pleased to announce only last week that we will be getting a banking hub, following a recent campaign. For clarity, we do have a Nationwide on site at the minute. I have heard directly from residents about how much this means to them. I have received numerous letters describing their struggles when they have not been able to access banking services. Many residents have described long journeys to neighbouring towns, often relying on friends or public transport just to withdraw cash or speak to somebody in person. Other residents have spoken of the confusion and anxiety caused by using online banking that they neither trusted nor understood. We are talking about people who find themselves in effect locked out of the system simply because they do not use an app or a smartphone. These are real people in our communities, not a small minority. According to Age UK, more than 2.5 million people over 65 have never used the internet, and the access to cash review found that around 10 million UK adults would struggle in a cashless society. Many of them also lack digital literacy or the infrastructure to bank online. This includes people with disabilities, carers, those for whom English is not a first language, and people living on low incomes who cannot afford broadband or mobile data. We should not expect them to adapt to a system that was not designed for them in the first place. The reality is that high street banks have for some time been taking decisions based on commercial viability rather than community need. I understand that banks are not charities, but the Government do have a responsibility to ensure that no one is cut off from basic services because they are not digital or because they are not profitable. If we want to prevent digital exclusion from becoming a permanent feature of our society, banking hubs must be part of a national strategy. That includes ensuring they are well-promoted, well-resourced and available in all the places of greatest need. I am pleased that my constituency will benefit from a banking hub, but we need to go further. The criteria need to change, and we must ensure this is based not just on access to cash but, importantly, on the services that banking hubs provide to a community.

• 25 Apr 2025 · Devolution (Immigration) (Scotland) Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that given that the SNP has failed to run vital services in Scotland, we should not give it control of a border?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Knife Crime: Children and Young People · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) for bringing this debate to the House, and I commend colleagues for their powerful speeches. It is clear that there is an undeniable consensus across the House on the need to get this right. However, consensus alone is not enough. A national crisis has devastated families and shattered futures, and it continues to cause damage. The Office for National Statistics reported 50,000 knife-related offences in 2022-23. In just one year, 50,000 lives were affected, and there were 50,000 incidents of fear, injury and, sadly for some, tragedy. In my Gillingham and Rainham constituency, we had several incidents in recent years, including the stabbing of a 17-year-old boy in the town centre by two other young people. Members across the House will be familiar with visiting local schools in their constituencies, and many will agree that students are often the toughest crowd—never shy of asking direct and uncompromising questions, with a grilling that would put any Select Committee to the test. Time and again, however, one issue persists: safety. Students ask me why they should feel afraid to walk through their high street in the evening, why their communities do not feel safe, and why more is not being done to protect them. It troubles me that most of that stands in stark contrast to my own experience growing up in the very same community and in the same area. I wish to tell those students that the fear and the sense of abandonment that they feel today is not inevitable. Some of it is the direct result of years of neglect. In reality, the Conservatives left behind a legacy of cuts and, at times, indifference to the futures of young people across this country. They dismantled the very support systems designed to keep young people safe: £1 billion was stripped from youth services, 760 youth centres were shut down, and 4,500 youth workers were lost. The evidence is clear: every £1 invested in youth work prevents greater costs down the line. In viewing knife crime as the public health crisis that it truly is, we must recognise that the principles of upstream prevention have never been more pertinent. The truth is that by the time a young person picks up a knife, we have already failed them. That is why the Government’s coalition on knife crime is a significant step in the right direction, allowing us to get to the root causes of knife crime, not just the symptoms. I also welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to bringing back neighbourhood policing, which will work towards restoring the trust and presence that have been dismantled. Communities such as mine are desperate for officers who will build relationships, prevent crime before it happens and reassure those who have lost faith. However, we cannot arrest our way out of this crisis. We must invest in young people, not only to steer them away from crime but to offer them a future beyond it. Like many others, I have binge-watched the compelling drama “Adolescence”, which highlights so well the toxic online culture that our young people are exposed to.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Conflict in Gaza · Hansard source

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  I think we have all been shocked and horrified to see the escalation in Gaza over the past few days. I thank the Foreign Secretary for his words today. What work is he doing with the international community and directly with the Israeli Government to lift the blockade on aid and ensure that it can get to the Palestinian people, particularly given the escalations we have seen in recent days?

• 2 Dec 2024 · Community Ownership of Local Assets · Hansard source

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  14. What steps her Department is taking to support community ownership of local assets.

• 2 Dec 2024 · Community Ownership of Local Assets · Hansard source

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  I recently met the friends of the Flying Saucer pub, a community group in my constituency who are working to bring this asset of community value back into local hands. Will the Minister assure my constituents that the Government are committed to supporting the retention of community assets such as this, and will he agree to meet me to discuss the Flying Saucer campaign and the broader challenges that communities face in reclaiming and retaining such assets?

• 22 Oct 2024 · Renters' Rights Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q I have a question about the wider implications of the Bill and the impact on local authorities. For example, it would be helpful to understand whether you feel the abolishment of section 21 will have a wider implication, and how it might help to tackle some of the bigger homelessness challenges that local authorities are currently seeing—or whether it will have an impact at all. Cllr Adam Hug: I think the provision will help; the whole point is that we are desperate for this. It has been talked about for a long time and as soon as it can be brought in to provide security in the market, it will be extremely helpful to help stabilise a lot of tenancies where there is still uncertainty. The quicker it can come in, the more helpful it will be. The Bill will not be a magic bullet that will solve the homelessness problems that councils are facing. I pointed out earlier one of the small technical challenges: the duties that local government will be dealing with will be extended in time and go up, we think, from 56 days to 21 weeks on average under the prevention duty. That is a small price to pay, but ultimately, we would like some help paying for that price. In terms of stability in the private rented sector, this measure is long overdue and will hopefully take some heat out of the sector, but there are all sorts of things going on that mean that it is going to take a long time to turn around the wider issues of local government finance for temporary accommodation, because that is one of the biggest pressures; there are so many councils at the moment that are working hard to procure as much temporary accommodation as possible.

• 9 Oct 2024 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for bringing forward this legislation, which will have a significant impact on many of my constituents in Gillingham and Rainham, where the number of people living in the private rented sector has increased by 162% in the last two decades. It is vital that the law catches up with the reality of people’s lives. That is why I am so proud that this Government have brought in the Bill at this point, when the previous Government failed to do so. The rights of tenants do not have to be pitted against those of landlords. Having a system that is inherently fair, gives renters stability and offers them the right to live in a home of a decent standard should not be seen as an attack on landlords, many of whom are doing the right thing. It should be seen as an opportunity to create a healthy and stable private rented market that plays a fundamental role in tackling the housing crisis, rather than adding to it. Like many colleagues who have spoken, I find that housing is the No. 1 issue that my constituents contact me about. Some have raised the appalling conditions that they live in but are too scared to raise with their landlord for risk of eviction. Others are concerned about the significant rent hikes that they face, which they cannot afford, while many have received a section 21 notice and have been forced to leave the property that they have lived in for decades, with no alternative. An insecure rental market places significant pressures on local councils. My local authority, Medway, faces budget pressures when it comes to temporary accommodation—the costs are £3 million above what was forecast—and other authorities are in a similar situation, or much worse. That is an unsustainable position for cash-strapped councils to face year on year. With that in mind, I welcome the strides that the Bill makes in ending rental discrimination; it makes it illegal to discriminate against those on housing benefit, and empowers tenants to challenge unreasonable rent hikes. There is also the much-needed end to section 21 notices. I campaigned for that while working for a homelessness charity, and the sector was deeply disappointed when the previous Government failed to deliver it. However, further safeguards are required to ensure that protections are robust, and there should be clear evidence thresholds that enable tenants to understand better how they can benefit from the changes in the law. That should also apply to the exemptions that we have specified for landlords. For example, if a landlord chooses to sell their property and, as a result, evict their tenant, the legislation should include a clear evidence baseline, setting out the parameters for what is considered to be a genuine intention to sell. Finally, local authorities will be crucial to the Bill’s success; it places new regulatory and enforcement responsibilities on them, so proper resourcing will be necessary to support that work. This important, much-needed Bill has the ability to reform the sector robustly, and I hope the Minister will continue to review opportunities to ensure that it is strengthened as it progresses.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Sir David Amess Adjournment Debate · Hansard source

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  I congratulate everybody in the House who has made their maiden speech today. They have spoken so passionately about their constituencies that I wish to visit them all, although I say to my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Test (Satvir Kaur) that I will come only if she promises to treat me to a fish-finger sandwich. I am honoured to give my maiden speech today, and I do so in the mother of all Parliaments with the greatest humility. I will never forget that the people of Gillingham and Rainham have sent me, a Muslim woman, here and it is only with their authority and trust that I speak. It is a privilege that I will never take lightly, which is why I would also like to begin by paying tribute to Sir David Amess, who embodied everything it means to be a public servant; I have learned a lot about him in the Chamber today. I take this opportunity to acknowledge my predecessor, Rehman Chishti, who served his constituents faithfully over many years. Rehman arrived in this country at six years of age not speaking a word of English, but with the support of a community and our schools and teachers, he was eventually called to the Bar and then elected as an MP. He should be proud of his achievements in Parliament, and I wish him well with whatever the future holds for him. His story could only really happen in the UK, and I know the feeling: it is the feeling that I could not make sense anywhere else. I could visit Kenya, where my mother was born, or Pakistan, where my father comes from, but the moment I uttered a single word or walked a few metres, anyone who would care to would know that I was not from there, because the only place I truly feel myself is my hometown. I am a child of Gillingham and Rainham, no matter how much a small minority might insist that I am not. I could say, “I’m a Gillingham girl, I know I am, I’m sure I am.” And now that I have said that, I can return to the Rainham end of the Priestfield stadium with my head held high. It is that confidence that I want every child in my constituency to have, because opportunity is no good to a generation that feels so beaten down that they dare not look up. I want them to have confidence that they can set a course for their life and have the means to get there, or at least know how to make it possible. But that has to come from somewhere; it has to start with someone. For me, it was my grandparents, the first generation of my family to emigrate to the UK. My grandfather worked on the railways and my grandmother was a fruit picker. They made Gillingham and Rainham their home and taught me that nothing is easy, that things have to be earned, and that when we work together—as a family, as workers, as a collective—we achieve more. They were my first political role models. It is because of my parents that I am standing here today. My father never stopped believing in me, and he did not want me to be held back by the same things in life that had held him back. Before he sadly passed away in 2020, he made me promise to not stop until I had made the change I wanted to see. I wish he were here to witness this today, but I know that with my mother’s support—she is in the Gallery—I can do just that, not by myself, but together with all my colleagues, our movement and the people of Gillingham and Rainham, with whom I make common cause. There is so much to build on. If the House has not already guessed, we are the home to the mighty Gillingham football club. League one will be lucky to have us when we are good and ready. We also have Medway maritime hospital, a pillar of our community, staffed by dedicated professionals who do an outstanding job under increasingly difficult circumstances. Madam Deputy Speaker, I am not sure whether your privileges extend to a Disney+ subscription, but if they do, please ensure that you watch “Shōgun”, which is based on the life of Will Adams. He was born in Gillingham and was the first Englishman to navigate to Japan in 1598, and he later became a samurai. When we are not exporting military heroes, we are making them. Gillingham and Rainham has a proud military and naval history, sharing a former naval dockyard and the Royal Engineers with neighbouring constituencies. We face our challenges. From speaking to residents over the years, I know that a story of decline and disillusionment has become all too familiar, after years of neglect and a lack of hope. The worst of it is that it is not unknown. It is not a new insight; this has been spoken of many times in this House and the other place. It is said, it is forgotten, and we move on. Over time, feeling hopeless is the only rational response left to the public. I hear it at first hand from countless residents, who are worried whether their children will have the same opportunities they had growing up, and whether our community will continue to thrive in the years to come. Those concerns are not unique to Gillingham and Rainham, but are deeply felt by the people I represent. It is my duty to ensure that their voice is heard in this House and that their needs are met by our Government, so that we can not only rebuild trust in our politics, but once again proudly say that this country is a place where anyone, regardless of background, can succeed. That is why I welcome the Government’s pledge to improve children’s speaking skills as a helpful step to breaking down class barriers. It is those values that underpin my politics, and it is my experience that will drive my work as a Member of Parliament. Having a place to call home should be a fundamental right. Working for more than a decade in the housing industry, and most recently for the homelessness charity St Mungo’s, has taught me that how someone accesses housing impacts everything, from their physical and mental health to their life chances. That is why I will always champion my constituents’ right to good-quality, genuinely affordable homes. That work was started in my constituency by the late alderman Paul Harriott, who also recognised that housing is more than just having a roof over your head. I will work tirelessly to improve our local healthcare services. The pressures on our NHS are immense, and it is vital that we secure the necessary resources and support to ensure that everyone has access to the best possible healthcare. The regeneration of our high streets is a matter of great concern to my constituents, so I will advocate for policies that support small businesses, encourage investment and help to restore the vitality of our town centres, just like the Love Gillingham initiative that I proudly announced only last week. Finally, I want to acknowledge the incredible sense of community in my constituency. Whether it is neighbours looking out for one another, volunteers working to support the most vulnerable or local groups coming together to tackle common challenges, it is clear that people care deeply about their community and each other. As their representative, I pledge to work in that same spirit of co-operation and compassion. I will listen to the people I serve, and I will fight for their interests in this House. The challenges we face are significant, but I am confident that together we can start to rebuild Gillingham and Rainham.