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...
Rachel Maclean: ...in cases where planning permission has already been granted. This has affected home building of all types, whether that is the redevelopment of empty spaces above high street shops, affordable housing schemes, new care homes or families building their own home. The block on building is hampering local economies and threatening to put small and medium-sized local builders out of business....
Rachel Maclean: Let me begin, Mr Deputy Speaker, by associating myself with what has been said by Members in all parts of the House. We are so glad to see you back in your place. I thank the Minister for coming to the House and agreeing to publish the statements. I think that, on the whole, transparency is a good thing. I also join in the praise that has been given to the civil servants. In my experience,...
Rachel Maclean: ...unable to plan for the future or call where they live a home. Removing them is vital to improving tenant security - protecting their ability to stay in their homes, avoiding unwanted and expensive house moves, and enabling them to put down roots in their local communities. With the threat of retaliatory section 21 evictions removed, tenants will be better able to challenge landlords who...
Rachel Maclean: ...and covered by an appropriate insurance policy. Unlicensed vehicles kept in certain off-road areas can be subject to enforcement action. These locations include, but are not limited to, public house car parks, private and municipal car parks, retail car parks, housing association roads, unadopted/privately maintained roads and common land. However, enforcement action cannot be taken...
Rachel Maclean: ...this debate on an issue that she feels passionately about. Indeed, many of us feel passionately about it, and it is a testament to the persistence and determination of many colleagues in the House that we are again debating this vital issue. As the hon. Member did during the recent Opposition day debate, she brought to the House’s attention powerful examples from her area; I think that...
Rachel Maclean: ...that it would provide access to one of the country’s largest urban extensions and that there would be a sustainable design with access to trunk roads, which is very important for his area. The housing development would provide good-quality housing for his constituents in the local communities, and is part of the very important and strategically recognised Oxford to Cambridge arc. It will...
Rachel Maclean: ...also lead to isolation in and of itself. Social media is one area where young people need to be more aware of the law and how what they post can affect their future job prospects. The other area is housing, which comes up all the time with constituents in my surgery. Unfortunately, there are very bad landlords out there. The Government have done a lot to protect tenants, but sometimes...
Rachel Maclean: ...), answering questions on behalf of the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission is subject to scrutiny and plays a vital role in these processes. For the avoidance of doubt, I remind the House that we are very concerned to get the process of data collection correct. As set out in the voter identification regulations, data collection will take place in polling stations via two forms:...
Rachel Maclean: ...overlooked. The work that is taking place in the domestic homicide review project is looking specifically at the tragic cases of suicide as part of the wider work, and I will be happy to update the House in the normal way. I thank all the Members that have taken part in the debate, including the hon. Members for Vauxhall (Florence Eshalomi) and for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg...
Rachel Maclean: ..., I hope, hear the remarks about that later in my speech. Unfortunately, I cannot do justice to all the questions that are being asked, but I will touch on the importance of a healthy and diverse housing market, including the SME builders that were rightly mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South. We have launched the levelling up home building fund, which provides...
