Rachel Maclean: ...effectively challenge their landlord if they consider their fees are unreasonable. We are due to bring forward further leasehold reforms later in this parliament. With regard specifically to social housing tenants living in housing associations I refer the Hon. Member to the oral answers given on 27 March 2023 (Official Report, HC, Volume 730, Column 644) and to the answers given to...
Rachel Maclean: I am not giving way. The Leader of the Opposition says that his is now the party of the yimbys. We all want housing for our own children and grandchildren—I am a mother of four; my second grandchild, Henry, was born just last night—so this Government stand squarely behind the aspiration of families across the country to buy a home of their own and get on the housing ladder. But what have...
Rachel Maclean: ...should ensure that sites in rural areas respect the scale of, and do not dominate, the nearest settled community, and avoid placing undue pressure on local infrastructure. Regarding other forms of housing, the National Planning Policy Framework states that planning policies and decisions should avoid the development of isolated homes in the countryside unless certain circumstances apply,...
Rachel Maclean: We assess levels of damp and overcrowding by tenure through the English Housing Survey, which can be found here. Local level data will be held by the local authority in question. Everyone deserves a decent home - one that is free from dangerous damp and mould and overcrowding - which is why we committed to reducing the number of non-decent rented homes by 50% by 2030. We are reviewing the...
Rachel Maclean: ...Government, and it is fantastic compared with the woeful record of the last Labour Government. At the same time, we are not complacent about the scale of the challenges that have dogged England’s housing market for decades, as many hon. Members have mentioned: demand outstripping supply, local shortages and residents being priced out of the places they grew up in. That is why we have...
Rachel Maclean: The hon. Gentleman must be telepathic, because I was just about to come to that point. We are more broadly focused on accelerating housing delivery to make home buying a reality for a new generation, so we must build homes in the places that people want to live and work. As the Prime Minister said, and I agree with him, we want decisions about homes to be driven locally, which is why we need...
Rachel Maclean: ...determination and, as she says, that of the Opposition Members, including her opposite number on the Front Bench, the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), and other Members across the House. I pay tribute to everybody, because I know how much work has gone into the Bill. The Minister knows as well as anybody else that changing the law on its own is not enough. She has been clear...
Rachel Maclean: No. I need to wind up. This Conservative Government have made the provision of affordable housing part of our plan to build more homes across the country, including in Luton, so that we can provide aspiring homeowners with a step on to the housing ladder. The affordable homes programme is worth £11.5 billion and will deliver thousands of affordable homes to rent or buy. The Government are...
Rachel Maclean: ...such a huge impact on her constituents. The Government stand firmly behind local leaders, in Oxfordshire and elsewhere, through upcoming measures such as legislative changes supporting sustainable housing growth. I think the hon. Lady started from 30 years ago, but I will not go quite that far back—I will go back just to 2017. Oxfordshire has long been pivotal to the UK economy, with...
Rachel Maclean: ...help them and that places duties on them to intervene earlier, so that they can be there when families most need their help, which is what we all want to see. Of course, we need to fix the broken housing market. My goodness, how many times have we heard that in this place? Again, this is not a new issue. For 30 or 40 years, all Governments have not built enough houses. We heard absolutely...
Rachel Maclean: ...Howden (Mr Davis) for securing this important debate. It is a tribute to him that so many people have come to the Chamber to reflect the experiences of their constituents and to speak about local housing conditions. I thank the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Andrew Western); the two former Housing Ministers who spoke, my right hon. Friends the Members for North West Hampshire (Kit...
Rachel Maclean: ...to follow the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas). I do not agree with her views, and I hope I will be able to explain why. We have to start with the political reality of the House of Commons today. It is abundantly clear that there is no majority in this House for a no-deal Brexit. As someone who supports Brexit and wants to see it happen, I believe the Prime Minister...
Rachel Maclean: ...-2020 36 2020-2021 58 To improve the length of time taken to process medical licensing applications, the DVLA has recruited additional staff. This includes increasing the number of in-house doctors it employs and temporary administrative staff. Nurse caseworkers are being utilised to deal with specific conditions. The DVLA is also working with the relevant bodies to explore...
Rachel Maclean: ...should have access to a good quality and safe homes. Selective licensing is a targeted tool to improve standards and safety in the private rented sector in areas suffering from issues such as poor housing quality, levels of deprivation and anti-social behaviour. In the White Paper: A Fairer Private Rented Sector, we set out how we are going to reform the private rented sector to level up...
Rachel Maclean: ..., and it causes considerable frustration, annoyance and anger among local residents who have bought those properties and expect to have those facilities there. They have paid good money for the houses that they have moved into. I will certainly discuss that issue with my hon. Friend further; there are a number of legal frameworks that we may be able to use to assist with that. I will...
Rachel Maclean: ...agree with the premise of the hon. Lady’s question, which is that the devolved nations have been underfunded. Her Government in Wales is led by the Labour party, and it is up to them to deliver housing for people who live in Wales. I suggest that she address her comments to their door. We recognise the struggles that renters have faced in recent months, which is why we have taken...
Rachel Maclean: ...change and added the issue of violence against women and girls to the strategic police requirement. I think she has broadly welcomed this very important step. It is vital to point out to the House how significant it is: it is putting crimes of violence against women and girls on a par with terrorism, serious violence and drug offences. That is an enormous change to the policing operation...
Rachel Maclean: ...is short, I will focus on a few key issues. I cannot support the motion for a few crucial reasons, the first of which is that the SNP has not clarified its own domestic position adequately to the House. We have heard that there have been many debates on the issue, and the Minister has clarified that there are powers available in the Scotland Act 2016, passed by this House, so I ask SNP...
Rachel Maclean: As previously outlined to this House on 7 June 2023, the number of long-term empty homes remains substantially lower than when records began in 2004. As of May 2010, over 300,000 homes in England had been standing empty for longer than 6 months. As of October 2022, the number of long-term empty properties had fallen to 248,633. The Government wants to encourage empty homes back into use and...
Rachel Maclean: ...of potential schemes, across the public, private and conservation sectors. Our ambition is to move as quickly as possible to ensure real world environmental benefits are secured alongside new housing delivery. This means establishing a strategic approach for catchments that offsets the limited nutrients outflow from new housing at the same time as starting to restore Habitats Sites which...
