National Plan to End Homelessness

Debate between Lord Wigley and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

Two pieces of work are going on here around the homelessness strategy and the child poverty strategy. Having set up a Housing First scheme in my local authority when I was a council leader, I know it is very important that you do not tackle just one issue. The roof over the head is key but so is support for complex needs. That is why homelessness is such a complex issue—you have to tackle the underlying issues. Those issues can be drug and alcohol abuse, poor mental health, financial capacity, chaotic lifestyles or any combination of those factors. All these things have to be worked on at the same time, which is why it is crucial that we have the interministerial working group. It is working across departments to tackle all these issues together so that we can make a real impact on homelessness.

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, homelessness is a scandal in all parts of these islands. Is there not more scope for taking unused or underutilised buildings within local or central government and using the capital value of them to release the funds necessary to modify them and find an urgent answer to a problem that, at Christmastime, we should all be aware of?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I agree with the noble Lord about the scandal of homelessness. That is exacerbated in the wintertime. Of course, we want to see both more homes and more buildings generally brought back into use. The Government’s strategy on delivering more housing is looking at this from a number of different angles. Local authorities already have a wide range of powers available to help tackle long-term empty homes. We are committed to empowering their use. We outlined in the English devolution White Paper the intent to strengthen the ability to take over the management of empty homes. We will review how effectively social housing providers use their properties. This is really important. There can be nothing more demoralising if you have not got anywhere to live than to walk along streets and see empty homes. We have to tackle this; we were left with an absolute crisis and this Government are determined to make a real difference in this area.

High-rise Buildings: Safety Remediation

Debate between Lord Wigley and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is quite right to raise the issue of insurance premiums. Work has been going on to reduce those premiums for leaseholders. We have seen improvements for leaseholders who previously found themselves unable to sell or remortgage their homes, but we remain vigilant and will continue to hold the 10 major lenders to account, following their commitment to lend on properties even if the remediation is not yet complete.

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, I draw the attention of the House to a family interest in a high-rise flat. Does the Minister accept that it is a matter not just of getting an agreement to starting dates on these schemes of remediation but of completion dates? Many schemes seem to be dragging on and on, and there will not be satisfaction in terms of safety reassurance or saleability until there is a much more stringent approach to the completion date of this necessary work.

Car Parking Companies

Debate between Lord Wigley and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

That was some of the worst practice that we have seen, and there has been a lot of media interest in this. I see, as probably we all do, people wrestling to download apps when there is no wifi, so that they can pay their parking charges. Both private parking trade associations have recognised this as an issue. They have worked collaboratively to take immediate steps to ensure that motorists no longer receive parking charges in that kind of scenario. This came into effect at the start of February. We welcome those steps taken by the industry, but there is still more to do.

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, in her consultation, will the Minister ensure that she links up with the devolved Government in Cardiff? Many of these companies operate in England and in Wales. In Wales, some of the regulations may vary and they take no notice of them. Can she include that in any consultation?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I hope that anybody in Wales who is interested in this will contribute to the consultation. We want much better practice in these arrangements, across the United Kingdom. Any contributions to the consultation will be welcome.