Rachel Maclean: The 2004 Housing Act places a duty on local authorities to take enforcement action if they identify an 'crowding and space' hazard at the most dangerous 'category 1' level, as assessed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The HHSRS operates by evaluating the potential risk of harm to any actual or potential occupier from their living environment. For crowding and space...
Rachel Maclean: ...a tenant's biggest monthly expense. Individuals who need help to make their rent payments may be eligible for a range of financial support through the welfare system. We have maintained the Local Housing Allowance at its increased rate following a significant investment of almost £1 billion in 2020. For those most in need, Discretionary Housing Payments are available to help meet a...
Rachel Maclean: May I welcome the UK Government’s leadership in the fight against Daesh and thank the Foreign Secretary for updating the House? Just as we show leadership in this area, is it not right therefore that we bring forward more leadership in the areas of cyber-security and online radicalisation? Will he update the House with more detail of the measures that are being taken to tackle this scourge...
Rachel Maclean: I commend my hon. Friend for raising that concern in the House and standing up for her constituents. I fully understand that this is a long- running issue involving several parties, including the water utility company and the housing developer. I completely share her and her constituents’ frustration. I would be delighted to ask my noble Friend the roads Minister, who deals with this, to...
Rachel Maclean: I am sure that I speak for all Members in expressing disappointment that the FGM Bill did not receive its Second Reading in the House last week. I am pleased to see that the Government have committed to bring the Bill back in Government time. Will my hon. Friend confirm that her door always remains open for any Member of this House who wishes to discuss what the Government are doing to stop...
Rachel Maclean: I thank my hon. Friend for his determination in bringing forward this innovative measure, which will enable the Government to meet their ambition of delivering the houses that are needed all over our community. He is right to say that local communities should be able to set their own local design codes. That will be a fantastic way for them to create a huge number of houses, building up, out...
Rachel Maclean: ...this issue. I will read his report with great interest. I draw the House’s attention to the work that the Government and the Department are doing to tackle the damp and mould that is in so many houses and that caused the tragic death of Awaab Ishak. It is always right that we look to see what more we can do.
Rachel Maclean: We have announced £10 billion of investment in housing supply since the start of this Parliament, with our interventions due to ultimately unlock over 1 million new homes. We are also investing £11.5 billion in the latest Affordable Homes Programme to provide tens of thousands of new homes across the country. Annual housing supply is up 10% compared to the previous year with over 232,000...
Rachel Maclean: ...the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 185863 on 30 May 2023. Almshouses play a valuable role in providing homes for communities across the country. Registration with the Regulator of Social Housing is voluntary for almshouses, and a number of almshouses do choose to register. Where almshouses are registered with the Regulator, they are required to meet the Regulator's economic and...
Rachel Maclean: ...the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Let me end by saying that I think it important for us all to work together proactively across the entire system. Landlords have a stake in this. Bromford Housing Association in Redditch told me that although people are in arrears when they go into its housing, there is not a single case of an eviction. Rather than evicting vulnerable tenants, they...
Rachel Maclean: ...data on private landlords is the English Private Landlord Survey. As part of the English Private Landlord Survey, we collect data on landlords' plans for their portfolio. It is important we have a housing market that works for everyone. The Government is driving up the supply of new homes by diversifying the market; investing in affordable housing; and increasing land supply for new homes...
Rachel Maclean: I was not expecting to be called, Mr Speaker—thank you. Will the Leader of the House please advise me how best to raise in this House the issue of the £29 million that is ready and waiting for the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch? It wants to start the work, and the patients are looking forward to the investment and the improvements in our health service for which they have waited a long...
Rachel Maclean: I am aware that my hon. Friend represents an area with acute environmental sensitivities and he is right to raise those concerns on the Floor of the House. We work across Government not only to tackle the storm overflow issue to which he refers, but to find a way to allow house building and other types of building that is much needed to drive jobs and investment, and to support businesses in...
Rachel Maclean: The Government strongly believes that self and custom build housing can play a crucial role as part of a wider package of measures to boost home ownership and diversify the housing market as well as helping to deliver the homes people want. We have put in place a number of interventions to support the sector, including the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding legislation, sometimes known as...
Rachel Maclean: ...To be clear, our approach means that there will be no overall loss in environmental outcomes. Not only do the measures that we are taking address the very small amount of nutrient run-off from new housing, but at the same time, we are investing in the improvement of environmental outcomes. We do not agree that this is regression on environmental standards. We are taking direct action to...
Rachel Maclean: ...from the outset. We know there is more to be done, which is why we are taking two key further steps on new homes. First, we have made great strides in tackling the needless practice of selling new houses as leasehold. Our actions, including prohibiting Government programmes such as Help to Buy from funding new leasehold houses, have seen the share of new houses sold as leasehold cut from...
Rachel Maclean: ...to make sure that the Government deliver a strong, functioning private rented sector. As has been reflected during the course of the debate, private rented accommodation is the second largest housing sector in England, providing homes for 4.6 million households and an estimated 11 million tenants. It plays a vital role in supporting people to study away from home, explore new locations or...
Rachel Maclean: ...to conclude my remarks, so let me reiterate my huge thanks to my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden. He is absolutely right to articulate so powerfully the case for driving up housing supply. That is our ambition—to build the homes that this country needs—and that is what this Conservative Government, working with Members on all sides of the House, will achieve.
Rachel Maclean: This Government remains committed to supporting local authorities to continue to deliver their new and existing supply plans for council housing. In March of this year, we announced a preferential borrowing rate for council housebuilding from the Public Works Loan Board. We have also recently introduced greater flexibilities on how councils can spend their Right to Buy receipts to make local...
Rachel Maclean: More than 70 Opposition Members have brought us back to this House today, supposedly to talk about and scrutinise Brexit, when we have had three years to talk about Brexit in this House, and I have not heard a single original point made by any Opposition Member today. Has the Prime Minister heard any new arguments? Does he think that the people in this country are interested in what is being...
