Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Thursday 22nd April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Bird, on securing the debate and on the uniquely powerful way he has introduced it. The Government will have a lot of help on hand to answer the first question the debate raises: the assessment of the risk of mass evictions. In all the statistics we have from the many agencies in the field, the Government point to the cliff edge, which has been postponed yet another month to the end of May. Much of what I say will build on what the noble Lord, Lord Bird, said.

The National Residential Landlords Association estimates there will be 800,000 people in arrears, the people the noble Lord described, who have never contemplated or imagined homelessness. They now face a real possibility of eviction for failure to pay rent. Fifty-eight percent of them have never had rent debt before, and almost one-fifth have debts of more than £1,000. Most at risk are the 11% of private renters who are now unemployed. As we know, Covid has hit the youngest hardest, taking their jobs and job prospects away. They will feel the full force of homelessness. The lucky ones will be able to retreat to the safety of the family home or squash in with friends, but there will be many who will not be able to do that.

It is significant that the NRLA has made common cause with housing charities. They have urged the Government to prepare a long-term strategy, rather than fight fires month to month. The NRLA estimates that about one-third of landlords will leave the market anyway or reduce their holdings. The Minister for Justice said on Monday in this House that it was nothing to do with him and that it is a housing problem. Of course, it is, but it sits urgently within a long-term structural problem of a failing housing market that can be solved only by making a priority of affordable and social housing. I am sure the Minister will tell us how much money has gone into supporting tenants and mortgages. Very well done, but it is absolutely the right thing for the Government to spend their money on.

The second exam question today is: what next? What is the long-term plan? What will it consist of? How will it address housing needs and costs and welfare benefits? When will it be announced? These are the answers the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee has asked for. It has asked for a strategic, resilient exit plan for the sector to transition out of the pandemic into stability and, specifically, for a modest financial package of discretionary housing payments of between £200 million and £300 million.

I therefore have a few questions for the Minister. When do the Government plan to respond to the Select Committee report and this proposition? When will the Government make a decision on the future of the £20 weekly uplift to child benefit? When will the Government bring forward their long-anticipated renters reform Bill? If the Government still do not know what to do, will they make a start by following the example of Wales and creating longer term security for tenants?

Housing Strategy

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Wednesday 24th March 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I must start by saying how unusual and how sad it is to have a housing debate without the voice of Lord Greaves. I am sure that many of us were very shocked at his sudden death. He will be greatly missed.

Like every other noble Lord who has spoken, I welcome this report and the way in which the most reverend Primate introduced it. It is an opportunity to welcome a report of unusual coherence and inclusivity, and I am not surprised that it has had such a positive response—I think it really speaks to the nation.

What is particularly impressive is not only the bold and radical view that the Church has taken about its own role and resources in the long term, particularly about its own land and assets, but how alive it is to the range of urgent issues facing families in many different situations, which, as many noble Lords have said, have become so much worse over the past year. It is worse for rough sleepers, who were already incredibly vulnerable, worse for people with mental health difficulties and a precarious grasp on housing, worse for tenants who had a temporary reprieve but do not know how long that will last, and worse for mortgage holders fearful of losing their jobs.

We have never spent so much time in our own homes, and they have never felt safer, but we also remember the minority for whom they have never felt more dangerous. Coming out of lockdown will bring terrible uncertainties for millions of people. While temporary solutions have been found, we all know that the emergency planning that has been forced on the Government will have made many of the systemic problems worse.

As we know, the gaps between housing supply and demand and affordability and income have become wider each year. The devastating reality of what this has meant has been laid bare by the pandemic, which has preyed on the poorest, the worst housed and the most overcrowded communities. Yesterday, the British Academy, in another very timely and powerful report, said that

“the pandemic has exposed, exacerbated and solidified existing inequalities in society. It has also made some individuals and groups living in particular places and communities even more vulnerable than before”.

As the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, said, where you live has long been a shameful determinant of life chances and life expectancy. Decent housing must be in the front line as we prepare for the next pandemic.

A better time and case for a radical delivery plan for decent, affordable housing—indeed, for harnessing the power of place—could not be made. Building homes, however decent, without investing in community and its resources, is simply to design in isolation and failure. If we design in good design, we build in resilience, neighbourliness and responsibility, as well as beauty, in places that can provide for older people to age in place, a right that is denied to so many of them today—I should say “us”, not “them”. This argument was powerfully set out five years ago in a report by a Select Committee of this House, Building Better Places. I wish so much that our advice had been taken then.

In this report, the Church understands all this. It gets it. It has seized the moment and, at this time when the future seems so problematic, it has challenged the Government to come up with an explicit long-term framework for affordable homes. It offers the hope that new thinking, new partnership and new policies are within our grasp. To achieve this, it has mapped out how shared responsibility works. While there are things that only the Government can do, equally there are some things only the Church can now do, and it will do it. One of those things is, of course, for it to use its assets and land to help to house the nation. I know that it will not be easy, but I am sure the Church will get all the help it can use to deal with the legal and charitable obstacles. I hope that the Government will take a lead in this. When does the Minister plan to meet the Archbishop and his team to discuss implementing this report? I would like an answer this evening.

I am saddened that the Government seems so deaf to the argument on safety. The report states unequivocally that the Government must make a commitment to remove all unsafe cladding by June 2022 and provide complete protection for leaseholders from remediation and other associated costs. Yet, as we know, that was rejected this week in another place. Perhaps the Minister is prepared to tell us why. I say to him that it is not too late to change his mind. There will never be a better opportunity for brave thinking. I think the country is more than ready for this. I can see the Minister thinks that is rather funny, but it is a very serious point.

The Government have a unique opportunity to take a good, hard look at what the consultation process on their White Paper on planning has produced and to go back to the drawing board, because there is a strong consensus that the policies set out in it are not going to meet the Government’s targets. They simply do not match the hour or the need—I shall explain why—and neither do they in any way reflect the way the pandemic has brought to life the value of community, the importance of green space and quiet neighbourhoods, and the extraordinary reliance we place on local services for lifesaving. For all these reasons, I think the Government have an opportunity and a reason to look again at the White Paper and particularly at its definitions of social infrastructure.

There are other reasons too. First, in the consultation responses, there is genuine anxiety that a single infrastructure levy will pit housing against other infrastructure projects and that housing will lose out. The Chartered Institute of Housing, the RTPI, the TCPA and the Federation of Master Builders, which the Government need on their side, are very concerned that

“affordable housing will in essence be competing (unless ring-fenced) with other resource-hungry infrastructure needs, such as transport.”

Can the Minister say whether affordable housing will be ring-fenced? Put quite simply, the Government are facing the prospect of not meeting their own targets for housing.

Secondly, the White Paper contradicts the Coming Home report in another fundamental way on sustainability. We have had many arguments in this House on the failure to address the energy inefficiencies of the current housing stock. The TCPA says that the White Paper creates “real uncertainty” about the role of planning in tackling climate change as it fails to provide detailed explanations of how low-carbon reductions will be achieved via the new framework.

Thirdly, there are real fears that the new centralised emphasis will reduce local choice and public trust in the system. This is compounded by the deep concerns over the Government’s controversial permitted development rights—not only do they remove the full rights to object provided through the planning system but developers are no longer under any obligation to provide any affordable housing at all. We are going backwards.

Fourthly and finally, Coming Home places welcome emphasis on the fact that homes should be a delight and a joy to live in. How can this be achieved when the path of permitted development has already permitted the conversion of office blocks into rabbit hutches for housing?

The Government have already shown that they can change their mind—for example, on how they calculate housing need, although, again, I think the new definition is far too narrow and excludes the important priorities of health—and it is very good to do so. My plea to the Minister is that he be brave and think as boldly as the Church has done. Forget about fiddling around with the planning system; that is what Governments do when they do not want to tackle the difficult issues such as land hoarding. Be aware that planning changes usually slow things down rather than speed them up. Shift the emphasis away from the opportunistic developer and rebuild and reinvest in local authority capacity to plan and deliver social housing. Let that be his legacy, because there will never be a better time to do the difficult stuff.

We have seen so many barriers broken down over the past year while we have all been living inside so many barriers. In every research lab, hospital, care home and ordinary home, people have done what they thought impossible a year ago. If we can change so much, so quickly and so beneficially, there is no reason at all why we cannot realise the ambitions set out in this important report, which I know will have enormous resonance.

Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Bill

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Report stage & Lords Hansard
Wednesday 17th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lucas (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I thoroughly support the amendments, not to the point of wishing to divide on them but to say that the provision of public toilets is something that Parliament should have its eye on and that the Government should keep us in touch with. I do not believe for a moment that any of us want to go back to the condition of a few centuries ago when there were no such things. Those of us who are my age will have had the chance to sample such environments on our travels. Although I can attest for the sheer romance of being out on a dark evening and listening to the dung beetles scenting what is going on and humming towards you, that is really not the way that we, or anyone else in this world, should seek to run our towns.

I very much hope that the Government, in their attention in this Bill and in the consultation that they are conducting on toilets generally, will evolve a system of making sure that our provision of public toilets is not only sufficient to ensure that we have clean and hygienic towns and cities but that all those who might otherwise be restricted in their access to the world by a lack of public toilet provision are not so restricted. I encourage the Government, even if they do not accept these amendments today, to put the feeling that lies behind them into practice and, in due course, into law.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I can speak very briefly to Amendments 3 and 6, which I sincerely support. A review after 12 months and annual reviews thereafter are essential if we are going to get a real grip on how effective this Act has been, and we all want it to succeed. There may well be other ways of collecting statistics, but a specific return is very important, not least for planning for the future, and that is where I shall place my emphasis.

The Minister was very kind and met us this week. He seemed to share our concern that we must not go backwards in the provision of public lavatories and our feeling that this is an opportunity to start to plan much more strategically and successfully for the future. The Victorians, with their deep awareness of the priority of public health, infectious diseases and the rights of men and women, were in no doubt about the importance of public lavatories. We ought to take our lead from them, because Covid has had a devastating effect on public services. Provision of, and the priority we have given to, decent public lavatories has deteriorated.

As we heard from the British Toilet Association this week, there is no doubt that this service is in crisis. That is not a word it uses loosely. Covid has shown what happens when public loos are shut with no thought for what else might happen when everything around them is also shut—all the ancillary provision in shops, public buildings and so on. It matters now that there are only public loos available, and it has proved a real nightmare in some places, with the cuts in services—we have heard about Birmingham and the City of London already this evening.

This is a moment of opportunity which may override a sense of despair for three reasons. First, there is now a wider understanding than ever before of public health and how disease spreads, and people are aware of the need to take responsibility for their own health.

Secondly, public lavatories are now the only lavatories available to people in public spaces. When they are closed or in a disgusting state, it is no wonder that people are not very happy about leaving home and tend to reconcile themselves to staying in and feeling trapped and claustrophobic in the way we have all experienced to some extent during Covid.

Thirdly, this has direct economic consequences. It is not simply a right; it is a social and economic function. It means, in particular, that our town centres, which are suffering so badly, will have less appeal and less reason to be visited. They have taken the brunt of Covid in so many ways—there are forests of estate agents’ signs in the town I live in. If the Government are serious about making town centres the centre of our communities again, they have to prioritise the provision of public loos.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Alderdice) (LD)]

The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I am going to follow the lead of the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, and commend the amendment that was moved very eloquently by my noble friend on the Front Bench. I have said everything I wanted to say about the importance of keeping accurate records, and a regular and transparent check on how effective the legislation is and the difference that it is making. That is sufficient from me this evening as well

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Alderdice) (LD)]

The noble Earl, Lord Lytton, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock.

Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Bill

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Wednesday 24th February 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Thomas of Winchester (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I so agree with what the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, just said. I support Amendment 11, but am speaking to Amendment 14, which follows Amendment 11 in this group, calling on the Government to undertake a review of the impact of the Act on the provision of accessible lavatories within a year of its passing.

There are three reasons why we need to know whether the change in rating for stand-alone public loos is resulting in more accessible facilities. First, the population is getting older, so there will be more disabled and elderly people about in the future than there are now, which means that the need for accessible toilets will grow. Secondly, sadly, there will not be so many food outlets on the high street which have accessible toilets for use by the general public, because of multiple closures in the wake of the pandemic. Thirdly, thousands of disabled people, like me, have spent the last year shielding, which means that they will not have been out and about. Many will now be more fearful than ever about going out without knowing where they can spend a penny in an accessible toilet. The Minister may say that any review should be done by local authorities, but we will not have a national picture unless the Government take ownership of it. Perhaps the British Toilet Association could help with up-to-date information.

I asked the Minister, at a meeting to which he kindly agreed, whether he could tell us how the £30 million rollout of Changing Places was going. These wonderful facilities are absolutely vital to about 250,000 disabled people. They are needed in town centres, arts venues, hospitals and wherever there are large gatherings of people. We have heard a bit about them this afternoon. Perhaps the Minister will undertake to give us more specific information at the next stage of the Bill.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas of Winchester, and to support what she said. I am speaking in support of Amendment 11 and particularly to Amendment 13. I am conscious that the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, is not able to be in her place today, because we all know what a superb advocate she is for all these matters. I am happy to support these amendments, because they are significant.

Amendment 13 makes clear what everybody who supports the Bill already knows: that we want to ensure that it works; that it is seen to be working; and that the evidence is collected and available for us to see. There is a matter of principle here: that public policy changes should be seen to be effective, especially when public money is involved; that when local funds are dedicated to a particular purpose, they are used for that purpose; and that there is transparency and agency in local and national government.

There is also a practical issue here. As the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, said, we have waited a long time for practical and universal initiatives to be taken to stop the closure of public lavatories and to place them in their proper context, which is within a robust and vigilant policy for local health and safety, rather than in some afterthought where no one is really interested in what happens to them.

As I said on Second Reading, the Bill is very welcome, but it would be a major disappointment if the funding that is going to be generated is not used for that purpose. We have to know the impact of the Bill, that it works and that it has achieved its purpose, and we need the evidence to be published. As other noble Lords have said, it is all the more crucial that we know this, because the measures will be introduced at a time when local authorities have never been more strapped, and it has never been more difficult to decide on priorities. We need to know that this small change will take its place in the range of priorities.

Local government needs financial and political investment to repair the damage and help to rebuild communities. I think that the Bill is part of that and part of the fabric of our whole public health and preventive health system, for the personal reasons that many noble Lords have raised today, and as part of a series of principles. I support these amendments and look forward to the Minister’s response. I cannot see any possible reason for rejecting them and I hope I am right in that respect.

[Baroness Randerson (LD) [V]]

My Lords, all the amendments in this group are designed to ensure that the Bill is not the end of the matter, and that the Government are forced to confront the appalling and declining state of public conveniences in Britain. The Bill will not start to tackle the many problems. The Explanatory Memorandum tells us that it will involve redistributing £6 million back to local authorities in England. There are 343 local authorities in England—of course, I realise that there is some double counting because of two-tier areas—but this number does not include parish councils. There are 9,000 of those, many of which go on to take responsibility for public toilets. The Committee can immediately see from those figures that £6 million will not go far; it will be swallowed up in the general budget of local authorities, which are chronically short of cash.

Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No. 2) Bill

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Monday 18th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I want to focus my remarks on the Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Bill. I was unable to speak on this Bill when it was first introduced—what seems like a lifetime ago—and I welcome it now with a particular interest.

In 2008, when I was standing where the Minister is now, I was pleased to introduce the then first-ever guidance on public lavatories, designed to prevent further closures, improve access and quality and, in general, to make the point that public lavatories should not be a national joke—let alone a national disgrace—but a local asset, which local people can rely on and take as much pride in as any other local provision. The case made then is the same as made now eloquently by the Minister: that everyone of all ages and conditions should be able to count as of right and dignity on there being a decent public loo accessible. We wanted to expand access and encouraged private partners in retail to consider how they could make their loos more accessible. As the Minister has reflected, a great deal of good practice has been inspired at local level: for example, by encouraging the use of S106 to build more loos and in notable innovations and changes.

However, that was not a national strategy, which was at that time beyond my reach. Sadly, however welcome, neither is this Bill a national strategy. That alone would ensure that there were minimum mandatory standards of access, provision and quality tailored for special needs, particularly those of the elderly and disabled, and the many people who suffer from medical conditions and require frequent access. This is therefore a reactive Bill; it is long overdue and reflects decades of pressure from the British Toilet Association. It has worked with successive Governments to achieve it and we should be very grateful to it, but I think it would agree that a national strategy would be welcome now.

The statistics suggest that in the last decade almost 700 loos have been closed, accelerated, I have no doubt, by the vast cuts in local authority spending. In addition to the loss of public lavatories, we also need to face—as sadly the Bill does not—the degraded and frankly disgusting nature of so many of them. Even in the most beautiful towns such as the one I live in, Lewes in Sussex, our local loos are frankly a disgrace. Other local authorities—Ceredigion in Wales is an exemplar—take huge and award-winning pride in what they offer their local community and tourists. If it can make it an important priority, every local authority can. I should add here how glad I am that Wales is also sharing in this measure.

As with everything else, Covid has exposed the importance of things we took for granted. The awful impacts following closures of public loos revealed that only too graphically. We have also become more aware, as shops and buildings close, that public loos become the only option for people who are still working in the outdoors.

This Bill, which provides business rates relief, is long overdue. It is a modest proposal but it has, in effect, removed what was, frankly, always a historic anomaly. The exam question is: what sort and what scale of difference will it make? In principle, it will certainly incentivise better local provision and free up resources, and it might stop the closure of some local lavatories. However, it is impossible to tell whether it will have a real impact, given that current estimates are that there is a black hole of about £10 billion in local authority finance. It goes without saying that the funding deficit makes it simply impossible for local authorities to provide the services which are so badly needed. As we approach post-Covid better community building, that has to be at the heart of it.

The Bill can be improved in this House. For example, I would like to see more emphasis on how loos in public buildings such as museums, town halls and libraries could be involved. However, I have some real questions for the Minister, primarily regarding how far this small amount of extra funding will go to address the extent of the loss of provisions. My questions are these. What estimates have been made for the public loos that will now be saved? How will this be monitored or reviewed? What guarantees are there that this money will be spent on what it is intended for, rather than lost in the other huge demands of local authorities? What incentives are there that this money will also provide for caring for public loos and providing extra facilities, such as changing places? Finally, does the Minister agree with me that the essential thing now is to build on this Bill, and to recognise that public health—as we know acutely at the moment—needs constant vigilance and constant investment, and local agency and partnership? I ask our Minister to take the lead in pressing for a national strategy.

Public lavatories were a sign of public dignity, of high standards and municipal confidence. They were constructed with care and beauty by our Victorian ancestors. They should also be a fundamental part not only of our public health strategy but of our strategies for equality, ensuring that children can be cared for and comforted when they are out and that parents do not have to search in desperation for a friendly pub, and ensuring that people of all ages, and people with medical conditions, are free to leave their homes without a battle plan for finding a loo and living constantly in fear of embarrassment. This is not a trivial or facetious issue. It is far more profound than we give it credit for because, to take it seriously, if we do not prioritise it, it is discriminatory and dangerous. I really hope that the expectations held for this small but important Bill are fulfilled.

Housing: Rent and Covid-19

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Thursday 8th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I just point out that as a Minister, I am part of the Government and I will always try to respond as such. We do not see an eviction epidemic. We are fully behind the noble Lord’s mission to end homelessness, as he knows, and we will invest in that endeavour.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that many of the people in arrears and liable to fall into homelessness are young people working in the hospitality or entertainment industries, which are very much at risk now? Will he urge his Treasury colleagues to lift the benefit cap to support them and others like them through the winter? Does he agree that this is bound to be cheaper and more humane than the cost of more homelessness?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, we recognise that this is a terribly difficult pandemic, and a number of renters have had to move back home on losing their jobs. That is the kind of mobility you see in a seismic pandemic such as this, but the Government have increased the benefit cap, which has cost £9 billion in total. We will take further measures if necessary.

End of Eviction Moratorium

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I return to the question put by my noble friend Lady Wilcox. If the Minister looks at the Welsh situation more closely, he will find that the Welsh Government have indeed extended tenure to prevent evictions. He said that the Government might look at loan arrangements that help people keep out of debt. Can he set out exactly what the Government are looking at and when we might expect a similar response in England to that in Wales?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, what I said was that we would look at and consider the loan arrangement but that we are not making a commitment to it—indeed, it is based only on an announcement—so that we can see what the Welsh Government intend to do. I pointed out that there are great similarities between the situation in Wales and in this country regarding the court system and the six-month notice period.

Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development and Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Andrews (Lab)]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord German, for introducing this debate—and for the way he introduced it—and to the Minister for the time he gave some of us on Monday to express our concerns. He will therefore anticipate much of what I will say.

The Minister made it clear in that meeting that the purpose of this instrument is essentially to help the Government meet their housing targets. I completely appreciate that but, as he will know, I do not think this is the way to do it. In fact, I do not think it will help very much; it will make a marginal difference, as we have heard—possibly 800 homes a year, but probably far less. Of course, none of them will be affordable because it is permitted development.

This SI will guarantee uncontrolled profits for developers who are looking around at the scale of building in the centre of London, for example, thinking “I want some of the action” and taking opportunities to do just that. It will also damage the prospects and well- being of residents of existing residential blocks of flats who in different ways will be put at serious risk by this.

The impact statement reflects the imbalance in interests expressed. It reveals the scale of profit potential for developers, which has been estimated by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership—which is very authoritative—to be between £20 billion and £40 billion. However, it is silent on the costs to the well-being and safety of residents, tenants and leaseholders from these massive interventions to existing buildings. It is also silent on the prospect of huge increases in the cost of enfranchisement, which will follow from the uplift in the value of a freehold. In this case, this policy absolutely cuts against what the Ministry of Justice wants, which is essentially a much simpler, more accessible and cheaper form of enfranchisement.

When launching the policy, the Secretary of State was, like other Ministers, silent on this point too. All he referred to was the opportunity for individual families and homes to add a storey. Yes, the policy is presented as one of gentle densification; there is nothing gentle about the impact on residents. I must declare an interest as a resident of a block of flats in London which is already threatened with such an upward extension. We have not been consulted; we do not want it; it is unpredictable and problematic in terms of buildability, safety and loss of amenity. We may well be faced with a choice between living in a building site—ceilings coming down and holes in the walls—or evacuating, and there is no compensation for the loss of peaceful enjoyment.

There will be resort to law, but only for people who can afford it. The Government knew from the start that this was an unpopular policy, as the noble Lord, Lord German, explained, and many of the issues raised were completely ignored. I suspect the Minister is discomforted by what he has inherited here; will he consider whether anything more can be done to protect residents by way of the planning Bill coming down the track, or can he commit to an early review of the policy rather than waiting the normal five years? Will he also seize the opportunity presented by the Law Commission to accelerate the reforms in leaseholding and look for ways to restrain the colossal prospects of developers? It is an unfair, unbalanced and inefficient policy, but we have a chance to do something about it.

Planning Rules

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Tuesday 28th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, certain uses—such as theatres, pubs and other venues—are protected in the planning rules. This will continue to ensure that we have entirely the sorts of uses that the noble Lord is seeking to protect.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of the recent report of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership on the deregulation of upward extension developments? This report has calculated how great would be the profits to developers but how little would be the benefit to public housing, as well as documenting the crucial loss of rights and assets to leaseholders. Will the Minister please meet me and other noble Lords to discuss our concerns over this issue as soon as possible?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I am aware of the issue raised by noble Baroness and would be happy to meet her as soon as she is able to.

Covid-19: Local Government Finance

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Tuesday 7th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

It has been announced that tax deficits will be deferred over three years, rather than one. That was directly in response to the Local Government Association. It is clear that the financial stability of local councils is being kept under review, with monthly updates to the department. I am sure that more announcements will be forthcoming.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that, because of Covid, referrals to children’s social care have fallen by more than half in some areas? Children’s services are braced for a huge influx of cases of children at risk when schools return. Will the Government make sure that those services have the extra funds they need to protect those vulnerable children? The £500 million allocated so far is simply not enough.

[Lord Greenhalgh]

Social care for children is recognised as a priority service for the Government. I give the assurance that the funding required, as a result of demand pressures from this pandemic, will be looked at and covered.