Local Government Reorganisation

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Thursday 26th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

Nobody could accuse the right hon. Gentleman of not saying what he really thinks about the proposals; I am glad that he had the opportunity to do that. He asked about proposals being locally led. Of course, all the proposals have been put forward by the areas they affect. Residents and others had their chance to feed into the consultation, and we weighed those consultation responses alongside other factors that he will be aware of. He mentioned some of them, including finances.

The right hon. Gentleman asked about the Boundary Commission. Officials have engaged with it extensively. I have met it to talk through the process, and I am confident that it can do the work needed to make the process a success. Finally, on finances, I have spent the past six months or so listening, day after day, to councils that have deficits caused by a failure in the special educational needs and disabilities system, a failure in children’s care and a failure in adult social care, presided over by a Government of which he was an active part, so if I was him, I would be cautious about lecturing other people about council borrowing.

[Mr Speaker]

Just to let people know, normally Front Benchers would not speak during an urgent question, but for those whose constituency is affected by this issue, and who have direct involvement, there is a dispensation today.

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[Alison McGovern]

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. I have been working closely with the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), and other Ministers in the Department for Education to improve our children’s services. We will ensure that we do that through this reorganisation process. Nothing matters more than the fortunes of our kids, and it is up to us in central Government and local government to work together to deliver good childhoods for all of them.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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[Alison McGovern]

I thank my hon. Friend for making his way through the alphabet soup of devolution. I will make sure that the Minister for devolution hears his points. She will have read his letter and I am sure will respond to it. The next stage of our plan is to make sure that all places in this country have a plan for growth, and we will listen to what he says as we move forward.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Father of the House.

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[Mr Speaker]

I am not sure whether you are being dragged into a devolved matter, Minister, but go ahead if you are happy to answer.

[Alison McGovern]

It would not be the same if I did not get to answer the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), Mr Speaker. I say to the hon. Gentleman that, before and throughout my time in Government, I have always considered what is happening in Northern Ireland to learn lessons from it. I thank him for making that point.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 12th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

I am proud to say that this settlement reconnects council funding with deprivation, and I have already explained the detail of that to the House. We will ensure that all councils are heard during this consultation period, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend as one of my good friends and colleagues from our city region, which is of course the best one in the country, as you know, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Definitely, after Lancashire. I call Max Wilkinson to ask the final question.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 24th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

There we have it: in a question about homelessness, we have a Tory MP getting up and asking how he can say no to more homes. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I call the shadow Minister.

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[Alison McGovern]

As I said in an earlier answer, we made a policy statement on the fair funding review consultation last week. In addition, as I have said, the vast majority of upper-tier councils will see their incomes increase in real terms over the next three years. More details will come as we finalise funding arrangements. The Department will work closely with Buckinghamshire and all other councils to ensure that their finances are stabilised after 14 rocky years.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Callum Anderson, a Buckinghamshire MP.

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[Alison McGovern]

I refer the hon. Lady, who asks a very reasonable question, to the response I gave some moments ago. Collectively, we must leave no stone unturned when it comes to available land for housing, particularly in the capital, where we desperately need more social and affordable homes.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.

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[The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Minister is answering the question. Please, Mr Law: you could at least wait until she has finished before entering the Chamber.

[Alison McGovern]

The Government keep the homelessness code of guidance under regular review, and this will continue once we have published the strategy that I mentioned previously. We will develop further good practice guidance and toolkits to support local government to deliver homelessness services.

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[The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)]

Under our new approach to funding, in places like Luton, which were starved of the resources that they needed for far too long, and for which we can evidence significant levels of deprivation, councils can expect to see the resources that they need in order to help people properly.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrats spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

The party of Liz Truss just doesn’t learn, does it? The Conservatives are happy to make tax policy that is absolute fantasy. People need real homes to live in, not this kind of thing, and the Conservatives simply will not get a hearing until they look at their record and learn to say sorry.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

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[Alison McGovern]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point. Homelessness can be about rough sleeping, but there is also hidden homelessness. Our forthcoming strategy needs to consider all that in the round. He asks me what lesson I take from what happened a few years ago—and, I would argue, from how we reduced rough sleeping in the past. I would say that politics is about choices. We took the choice last week to invest, in-year, an extra £84 million in preventing and addressing homelessness. That is the right thing to ensure that everybody in this country is safe and has a roof over their head.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

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[The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)]

It is important that we get that right, and we will have further discussions about it shortly. I might disagree with my hon. Friend on the importance of Pride in Place, which will turn around some of the decline created by the Conservative party.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

We will not build the much-needed 1.5 million homes without bringing people into the construction sector. That is why, as part of our new approach for employers, we have partnered with the construction sector and set up specific schemes with them. We are also talking directly across Whitehall with other Government Departments and with the sector about moving people into great jobs in construction.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

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[The Minister for Employment (Alison McGovern)]

Yes, that is exactly how we are working, and I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Our “Get Britain Working” plan identified Cornwall as a rural industrial legacy employment area, and we specifically pointed out the lack of connectivity. That is why, when it comes to our new jobcentres service, we are also trialling jobcentres on wheels: buses that can take support to where people are and which are designed for rural areas. They recently featured on “The One Show”.

[Mr Speaker]

We come to the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 17th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

Through my hon. Friend, I give my thanks to everybody at Harlow jobcentre, because it sounds like they have their shoulders to the wheel in getting job opportunities for people who need them. When we arrived in the Department, we uncovered that there was not nearly a good enough relationship between the Department and employers. That is why we put a new strategy in place to do the basics well: there is a single point of contact and we are making sure that there is on-the-job training that is tailored to specific employers. We will be doing more to promote change in that area, but I thank everyone in Harlow for the efforts they are making.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 3rd February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

As I have said several times, we are working quickly to bring forward the detail of that plan. In fact, only last week we had a parliamentary engagement session so that colleagues across the House could be brought up to speed on the detail of that work. I sat on the Opposition Benches and watched for 14 years as the Conservatives put our children into poverty. We will waste no time in dealing with this problem.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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[The Minister for Employment (Alison McGovern)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and I am so pleased to hear about that work in Bracknell Forest. That is why the fourth part of our child poverty strategy is about local support. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and his constituents to ensure that strategy is a success.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

Anybody who sees that, in the British economy, there are nearly 1 million young people out of work or training—not doing anything—would say that is a dreadful legacy left by the previous Administration. That is why the youth guarantee is at the heart of our “Get Britain Working” plan.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Before I call Dr Jeevun Sandher, may I offer him my congratulations on his engagement?

[Dr Jeevun Sandher (Loughborough) (Lab)]

That is incredibly kind of you, Mr Speaker.

Young non-graduates are finding it far harder to get good, well-paid jobs. The number of young people not in education, employment or training has nearly doubled since 2013, and youth unemployment is at its highest rate in almost a decade because young people are not getting the skills they need. On top of that, they are becoming far sicker; one in three young people currently has a mental health problem, and that figure is rising. What are the Government and the Department doing to give young people the skills and the health support that they need to get good, well-paying jobs?

[Alison McGovern]

That question demonstrates the quality analysis I would expect from recently engaged economists on the Labour Benches. The Minister for Skills and I have been working closely on the youth guarantee, because we know that it is only by colleges and jobcentres working in hand in hand that we will get young people the skills that they need to succeed.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

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[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have to shorten questions a little, so that I can get others in.

[Alison McGovern]

I am not entirely sure that the issues the hon. and learned Gentleman raises are completely within my responsibilities. However, DWP colleagues in Northern Ireland work closely with business, and I am sure that they will continue to do so, whatever the prevailing economic circumstances.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Employment (Alison McGovern)]

There have been changes to ensure that referrals are GDPR-compliant, but I will happily discuss this issue with my hon. Friend. The very best jobcentres are closely linked with local support organisations, and we must ensure that that is the case everywhere.

[Mr Speaker]

We come to the shadow Secretary of State.

Carer’s Allowance

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Alison McGovern

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

I will make a bit of progress.

We are looking closely at how the benefits system currently works, and it is right that the Government focus on addressing overpayments of carer’s allowance. As I was just saying, we have set up an independent review, but we have heard the concerns about the broader system, including the earnings limit and the lack of taper. As Members will know, earlier this year the Work and Pensions Committee, which was then chaired by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham, raised a number of issues with carer’s allowance—not only overpayments, but the need for modernisation more generally. As the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton will know, we have given the Committee’s recommendations the detailed consideration that they deserve, and we will respond later in the autumn.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. May I gently say to the Minister that she should look towards the Chair when speaking? I struggle to hear when she is constantly looking the other way. We operate in the third person, which is why Members should always speak through the Chair. Otherwise, I struggle to catch the words.

[Alison McGovern]

I apologise, Mr Speaker. You would think that after 14 years I would be able to get it right.