Rachel Blake MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I must declare an interest: my husband works for an organisation that funds the Renters’ Reform Coalition, which has been referred to today. It is a privilege to speak in this debate after serving on the Bill Committee, which took a thorough approach to each element of the Bill. This topic is of great importance to me, I having worked in housing for my entire working life and representing 27,000 private renters in the Cities of London and Westminster. I speak today thinking of those constituents and their experiences. One landlord revoked a promise to provide free heating for their tenant’s home, leading to it becoming infested with mould. The landlord later refused to respond to repeated reports of pests in the property, before subsequently charging that tenant £1,500 to fumigate the house. I also bear in mind my constituents who were evicted under a section 21 notice, are now living in temporary accommodation with three children and have been on the social housing waiting list for nearly 15 years. After being let down by dither and delay from the Members on the Conservative Benches when they were in Government, renters such as my constituents have been denied the crucial powers to hold their landlords to account in even the most basic fashion. If those Members had delivered on their promise and tackled the dissenters in their midst, renters would already have the protections that we are introducing in this legislation. Yet the Opposition have the audacity to claim that the legislation and principles that they had tried to introduce when they were in power will, mysteriously, not work now. On the amendments, the Opposition claim that the legislation will lead to landlords exiting the market, but they repeatedly fail to suggest where the homes owned by landlords would go. Even in his case for new clause 20, the shadow Minister started talking about where the homes might go, so I take the opportunity to ask him directly whether he thinks the homes would disappear. Would he have rather let a home lie vacant than let it out or sell it if it were unprofitable? And if a sale took place, would the mysterious buyers not live there? I will happily give way if he wants to answer—okay, he does not. To continue on to my main point, I want to focus on the parts of the Bill that consider local authority enforcement and the new clauses that address that. Current regulations in the private rented sector have suffered from a lack of enforcement by local authorities due to a lack of knowledge about private rented stock, limited enforcement capacity and the range and complexity of laws relevant to enforcement. The legislation goes a long way towards addressing those issues. The Bill puts local authorities clearly in the driving seat in enforcing regulation, cleaning up the confusion of the past regime. It expands the range of civil penalties that can be used by local authorities to crack down on poor behaviour. Importantly, it introduces mandatory reporting for local authorities’ enforcement activity, ensuring that councils are accountable to their constituents and to central Government. The introduction of the private rented sector database will also fill a key gap in the existing regime: a lack of knowledge of the location and nature of private rented properties. The remaining gap in the regime will be funding, and it is essential that fees for the private rented sector database are sufficient to fund the enforcement measures in the Bill. It is therefore encouraging to see that recognised by Government amendment 40, which I am happy to support.

• 14 Jan 2025 · UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue · Hansard source

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  May I thank the Chancellor for raising the case of my constituent, Jimmy Lai? I know it will mean a lot to him and his family. Does she agree that it is because of the profound differences that it is vital we maintain this strategic engagement?

• 6 Jan 2025 · Frozen Russian Assets: Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin) for securing this debate. I speak today as the constituency Member of Parliament for many of the assets we are discussing. It is easy to throw around the many billions of Russian-owned wealth across the country; for that reason, when referencing the luxurious wealth of Putin’s cronies, all of my calculations today are going to be in the unit of Storm Shadow missiles, each of which costs £800,000. These are the weapons of war that we talk about when we discuss funding the conflict in Ukraine. In total, 28,375 Storm Shadows’ worth of Russian wealth is sanctioned, with profits from that wealth used to repay the extraordinary revenue acceleration funding the UK’s support of Ukraine. To put that in perspective, the UK’s total stock of Storm Shadows was estimated in 2023 to sit between 700 and 1,000. In Westminster alone, according to research by Transparency International, 537 Storm Shadows’ worth of property is owned by Russians accused of corruption or with links to the Kremlin, property that stretches from Belgravia to St James’s and St John’s Wood. Indeed, the most valuable home in the UK, Hanover Lodge, was sold last year for 141 Storm Shadows by Andrey Goncharenko, a former Gazprom executive with ties to the Kremlin. A great deal of that property is owned by or connected to sanctioned individuals, including former Deputy Prime Ministers Igor Shuvalov and Vladimir Potanin. The existence of this property is not just an economic issue; its impact also reaches into the very hearts of our communities. Our buildings and neighbourhoods are weakened when they are used for profit rather than purpose. A strong community is one in which neighbours can be the ones who look after your kids when you have a job interview. It is those communities that are undermined when we let towers of vacant investment properties propagate and turn a blind eye to foreign wealth emptying out British homes. Most recently, these communities have opened their arms to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing from Putin’s illegal invasion. I am the constituency Member for a number of those refugees, and it is thinking of them that gives the overwhelming majority of us in this House the resolve to use every tool at our disposal. That brings us to today’s topic: the seizure of sanctioned assets. As we heard earlier, the significance of this step and the precedent it would set should not escape us as legislators. The first ever permanent seizure of frozen assets occurred only last year, when the National Crime Agency confiscated the assets of Petr Aven for suspected evasion of sanctions. To set out an intentional policy of seizing those assets would be a bold step, and one that would doubtless lead to legal challenge. However, it must be worth us considering every option available for sanctioned assets, particularly when there is a clear argument that it would be justified to use them in supporting the Ukrainian people. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is in complete contravention of international law and violates the sovereignty and self-determination of the Ukrainian people. Furthermore, as has been confirmed by the UN’s independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine, it has enabled a string of other war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks, violations of personal integrity, including executions, torture and ill treatment, and sexual and gender-based violence. As was made clear during the application of the original sanctions, the sanctioned individuals are playing a direct part in this war. They range from propagandists spreading disinformation about the conflict to garner public support, domestically and across the globe, to industrialists manufacturing the chemicals used in Russian weapons, and military and security personnel directly contributing to the invasion. When the war in Ukraine is over, questions will remain about what we do with the 28,000 Storm Shadows of sanctioned wealth belonging to those who funded, championed, and even fought in Putin’s illegal invasion. We must take this opportunity to consider what sort of country we want to be when it comes to that dirty money, and to ensure that we do not let our economy be complicit in the forces that fund evil across the world.

• 17 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  Listening to Members speaking to the amendments has caused me to reflect on the challenges at the heart of this debate. Does my hon. Friend agree that the amendments that are trying to unpick a holistic approach to fixing the foundations of our public finances entirely miss the point, first of the challenge that this Government face in re-establishing confidence in public finances, and secondly of our approach to long-term investment in public services that are so desperately needed? I believe that all the amendments—

• 6 Dec 2024 · European Union (Withdrawal Arrangements) Bill · Hansard source

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  I have been listening carefully to the right hon. Member. I came here today because of the harm that the botched Brexit deal has done to my communities, and because of my fear for what this Bill would do to those communities and the economies in the centre of London. He talks about the frustrating delays in implementing some of the solutions that he believes could make a difference, but I am confused about why he and the Bill’s supporters think that going back so many years, as the Bill proposes, would actually help to make progress on the many issues that I think all Members—even on the Labour Benches—still believe need to be fixed. The right hon. Gentleman supports the Bill, so will he explain why going back might help us to move forward on some of the areas where we think there needs to be progress?

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  We have heard a lot this afternoon about investment in the public sector and what the proposals will do to small businesses, but we have not heard the Opposition recognise that this country needs a healthy workforce. The Bill proposes a sustainable and manageable approach to funding that healthy workforce. Will the hon. Gentleman describe to the House how damaging the previous Government’s treatment of the workforce was, and the long-standing and growing number of people claiming out-of-work benefits? Does he not see that the Bill will make a sustainable contribution?

• 26 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My constituent, the British citizen Jimmy Lai, is in failing health, and I thank the Foreign Secretary and his Department for all their work to uphold his rights under international law. Can the Foreign Secretary share his assessment of the scale of international support for Jimmy Lai’s release?

• 21 Nov 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Communities are really suffering with the increasing number of short-term lets in the Cities of London and Westminster. Local authority time is being used up to clean the mess, and the availability of genuinely affordable homes is being eroded. Landlords are sometimes struggling to evict tenants who are illegally sub-letting into the short-term let tenure. Will the Leader of the House ask a Minister to update us on the Government’s plans to tackle the rise in short-term lets? This affects not just the west end, but communities across the country. We need the registration scheme to come forward quickly, alongside licensing and the ability of local authorities to plan for short-term lets.

• 21 Nov 2024 · G20 and COP29 Summits · Hansard source

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  May I offer my condolences to Lord Prescott’s family? He was a true pioneer and an inspiring role model, and he will be remembered here and in every place that benefited from his leadership and support for communities and neighbourhoods. Last month, I met my constituent Sebastien Lai. We talked about my constituent Jimmy Lai, the British citizen who has been arbitrarily detained. I share my heartfelt thanks and the thanks of my constituent’s family to the Prime Minister for raising his case at the G20. Will he share his expectations as a result of the conversation?

• 5 Nov 2024 · Renters' Rights Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I was referring to the suggestion that the proposed independent living rent body would start setting rents under subsection (2) based on the property size, quality, local incomes and location. Given the constrained market that would establish, surely it might reduce availability even further.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Renters' Rights Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady might be coming on to the impact of the criteria in the new clause, but I am concerned that the market could respond to them by drawing investors into just one location that was already a serious hotspot. It would be helpful to understand more about why they might help.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Renters' Rights Bill (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Lady think that the ombudsman could play a greater role in determining outcomes? Her point on the damage that discrimination can do was well made, but the Bill may be able to address that discrimination in other ways.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Renters' Rights Bill (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?

• 31 Oct 2024 · Renters' Rights Bill (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Lady acknowledge that her description of some kind of arrangement between the ombudsman and her proposed scheme would be incredibly burdensome, complicated and opaque for tenants? It would not necessarily deliver the type of justice she described.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?

• 30 Oct 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I am proud to speak at the first Budget by a Labour Government in 14 years, and the first delivered by a woman Chancellor. What better symbol is there of the hollow outrage of the Conservatives than their completely empty Benches now. I am disappointed, however, that the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) is not here, because his contributions were thoughtful, and I learned quite a bit from them. We have heard how this Budget will fix the foundations of this country, and as someone who has worked in housing all my life, I know a thing or two about what good foundations look like. Earlier today, I asked the Prime Minister about our plans to end homelessness, and he reiterated our strong determination to put an end to homelessness. I am glad to follow the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling). This Budget gets us closer to delivering the 1.5 million homes we need in the next five years to tackle the housing crisis that is so damaging in my constituency. It will avoid the failures of the last Government by ensuring that those homes are delivered alongside the infrastructure that communities need to thrive. We have all heard the stories of homes built with no public transport, no school places and no GP surgeries. The Conservatives delivered only one third of the £4.2 billion they pledged in the housing infrastructure fund. They drained local authorities of capacity, so developer contributions for local infrastructure have gone unspent. They failed to provide any stability to social housing, leaving a black hole in housing revenue accounts. In London alone, that black hole reaches £170 million. That is a direct consequence of 14 years of Tory austerity, a botched Brexit deal and Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget, which sent interest rates skyrocketing, the pound plunging and building costs through the roof. Thanks to this Budget, this Government are back to directly delivering public transport, water and hospitals, alongside the 1.5 million new homes we so desperately need. This Budget chooses a five-year settlement for the social rented sector, giving registered providers the confidence they need to invest in their stock. While Labour councils have been building social housing up and down the country, the last Tory Government pulled the rug out from under them by turbocharging right to buy. As the number of households in temporary accommodation continues to rise, the Tories oversaw a net loss of 6,500 sorely needed council homes. The reforms that our Chancellor has announced today will set discounts back to a reasonable level, put sensible time limits on residence and introduce much-needed protections for new-build council homes. With right-to-buy receipts going straight back to councils, where they belong—a matter close to my heart—we will give local authorities the security and stability they need to plan for the future and deliver a generational boost to social housing. This Government were elected on a mandate to fix the foundations of our economy. This Budget is the first step to delivering that change, and I am proud to support it.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q5. Minutes from here, in the communities of Victoria, Pimlico, Paddington and Covent Garden, there is an unprecedented rise in the number of people sleeping rough after 14 years of the Tory Government. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the cross-departmental homelessness strategy, and does he agree that this Labour Government have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to end rough sleeping for good?

• 29 Oct 2024 · Renters' Rights Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that further work might come through on the way the tribunal operates and how it could operate in future under the Bill, and that the changes to how the tribunal functions might help to deal with the issues addressed by the amendment?

• 24 Oct 2024 · Special Educational Needs and Disabilities · Hansard source

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  I have been working with parents of children with SEND for a number of months now. They talk to me about their children’s experiences in mainstream schools and the fact that the support has not been what it should be, even though they are looking for an inclusive education for their children. Can the Minister outline what support mainstream schools might need in the near future in order to provide that truly inclusive education to so many children who have been let down?

• 24 Oct 2024 · Black History Month · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that a crucial part of reclaiming the narrative, which is the theme of Black History Month, is celebrating historic citizens of our own constituencies? Will she join me in celebrating Olaudah Equiano, who set out his powerful contribution in his autobiography of 1789? He spent many of his days in the City of London and in Westminster, finally passing in Paddington Street. Will she join me in celebrating his life and looking forward to the ongoing celebrations of the powerful contribution he made to our democracy right here?

• 23 Oct 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Some 27,000 people in the Cities of London and Westminster live in the private rented sector. After 14 years of neglect and delay, they face damp and mould in their homes, and risk no-fault evictions and out-of-the-blue rent hikes. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that the Renters’ Rights Bill currently in Committee will transform the lives of private renters and finally rebalance power between tenants and landlords?

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

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  Q Theresa, I was struck by your remarks about rising homelessness. You will be aware from the public P1E data about causes of homelessness that the end of a tenancy is the leading cause of homelessness at the moment. I would be interested to know more about why you think any changes to that would actually increase homelessness. Theresa Wallace: At the moment, a very small percentage of landlords actually terminate tenancies and serve section 21 notices. The majority of those landlords are selling, want to move back in or have rent arrears. It all comes down to our lack of supply, and losing more landlords from the sector. I think we will lose more landlords, and we are losing them at the moment—not just because of this Bill, I have to stress; they are leaving for all sorts of reasons. It might be retirement, or it might be the high interest rates that are affecting them. I do not think it is just the Bill, but our biggest issue is landlords leaving the sector when we do not have enough properties for renters.

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

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  Q Just so I understand, your argument is that there will be a reduction in supply, and that will cause more homelessness. Theresa Wallace: I think there is that, and there is also the matter of introducing this Bill on one date. I think that will cause more homelessness because landlords are panicking, so they will serve their section 21s while they can, to get possession of their properties, and they will come out of the market. If, rather like with the Tenant Fees Act 2019, all new tenancies had to comply and existing tenancies had 12 months to do so, or until the end of their fixed term—that might be sooner—when the Bill came in and landlords saw it working in practice, they might see that things were not as bad as they had feared. Although I understand the reasons behind not wanting two levels, I think that doing it all on one day will have a knock-on effect for tenants. There are tenants who have long-term rents for two or three years, but once this Bill comes in, if they have already had their 12 months, they could suddenly find they have four months’ notice coming their way because their landlord has decided they want to sell or move back in. I do not think we are giving tenants the protection that they thought they had when they secured their tenancy.

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

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  I am a vice-president of the Local Government Association and my husband works for an organisation that has funded the Renters’ Reform Coalition.

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

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  Q Let us take heating as a hazard. What do you think the effective enforcement of heating, or cold, as a hazard would be? Judicaelle Hammond: Sorry, I really cannot give you a proper answer because it would depend on the circumstances.