Budget Resolutions

Angela Rayner Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)]

This is a Budget with immediate action today and clear direction for the future. If we want to build a Britain where all people can live a good life and live it well, where everyone has control to shape their own lives for themselves, and where no one’s future is limited by where they are from, because the only ceiling is their own ambition, what we need is good growth in every postcode. However, we also know that people need a bit of breathing space right now, which is why we have announced targeted support for households this winter, and action to bring down the cost of essentials.

We are a Government with a clear theory of growth: retake control, and devolve power to places. We are fundamentally shifting where and how decisions are made by transferring powers, resources and functions to mayors, strategic authorities and local authorities across England, and we are working with the devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. That shift means that local leaders with skin in the game can target spending towards the biggest issues in their communities: new housing projects, infrastructure that cuts workers’ commutes, and investment in our town centres.

The fiscal devolution road map published alongside the Budget sets out a new funding model so that local leaders can rise to this challenge: by the end of the decade, local and regional government will retain 100% of the business rates income. It sets out plans for mayoral strategic authorities to receive a share of local income tax revenues from 2028, and details how the overnight visitor levy will work, as well as our plans to explore further fiscal devolution.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

The right hon. Lady has said that she wants to ensure that there is good growth in every postcode and has referred to the business rating system, but in the Budget the Chancellor extended the tax loophole available to holiday lets in postcodes in Cornwall and other tourist areas. Is the right hon. Lady aware that billions of pounds are handed out to second-home owners who flip their properties to holiday letting in order to take advantage of a tax loophole? Would it not be far better to invest that money in social housing for local people in desperate housing need?

--- Later in debate ---

[Angela Rayner]

I know the hon. Gentleman has a private Member’s Bill on this issue, but the Budget provides an extra £1.5 billion for social housing, which I welcome. That takes the overall amount up to £40 billion in the next 10 years. We should welcome that investment.

At the Budget, we also announced £285 million of good growth funding, including incubator funding for areas that are yet to have a mayor, and plans for a £1.5 billion borrowing facility for mayors from 2028. This will give them access to the capital needed to back their local priorities and deliver growth in every postcode. We have also confirmed a £150 million uplift to mayoral capacity funding in 2027-28, to give them the resources they need as their range of powers grow. To support mayors, we are publishing guidance on place-based business cases. This represents a new approach to appraisal that puts local objectives and potential at the heart of decision making.

We recognise that too much of England is not covered by strategic authorities, so we remain committed to filling the gap. This is why I was delighted that we announced at the Budget that we are in the final stages of agreeing devolution deals in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Hertfordshire; Lancashire; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; Stoke and Staffordshire; Surrey; Thames Valley; Kent and Medway; Wessex; and Cornwall. These areas will join Cheshire and Warrington; Cumbria; Sussex and Brighton; Hampshire and the Solent; Greater Essex; and Norfolk and Suffolk at the forefront of the Government’s ambitious programme to expand devolution.

Together, these agreements will mean that over 90% of England’s population is covered by a devolution agreement, with mayoral devolution reaching every part of the north. We will continue working with all remaining areas, including Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, where there is broad agreement but not yet local consensus.

[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

The one county that the Secretary of State did not mention in her very long list is West Sussex, which has been waiting through two and a half years of dither and delay. Will she take this opportunity to tell me the plan for West Sussex?

[Angela Rayner]

I did just say that we are working with all remaining areas. We will continue to do so where we can find local consensus, because we are the party of devolution and believe in working with local leaders.

Later this year, we will publish our full plan for rewiring the state, which will outline a vision for devolution in England. The changes that we have announced are about devolution, not delegation. Where powers and functions are transferred, they will not be duplicated at the centre. This means that, over time, central Government will become smaller but more strategic.

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

The Secretary of State mentioned Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Can she please give a date for when this devolution will happen? We are severely missing out on the funds and pots of money that are going elsewhere.

[Angela Rayner]

Again, we are working with local areas to make sure that we progress as quickly as possible. We are happy to engage with local leaders as part of that programme.

As we move towards a local government finance settlement, we will continue working with local leaders to plan and invest for the long term. I am clear that local government is the foundation of the public services on which neighbourhoods and communities rely, which are essential to our wider ambition to rewire the state.

[Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)]

I wholeheartedly support regional mayors delivering for local communities. This Labour Government always promote localisation and devolution, but how will the Secretary of State ensure that regional mayors interact and work with local councillors? After all, local councillors are elected to represent their local neighbourhoods.

[Angela Rayner]

Our plans are about making sure that mayors work with local authorities. In fact, in my area in Greater Manchester, we have seen the combined authority have really good pulling power, with our economy doing better than other areas, so we want to see that across the whole nation.

That is why the Cabinet statement on rewiring the state committed to the financial sustainability of local authorities, and this Budget is the next step towards that. The upcoming local government finance policy statement will set out our next steps alongside the rewiring the state delivery plan. Good growth is growth that we can see and feel. We need to draw a line under a decade of drift during which the public realm was seen as sideshow to politics—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) should know about sideshows.

Our high streets are where we catch up with friends for a coffee, and those businesses provide solid jobs at the heart of our communities. Those small moments of joy give us real hope, and that is why our strategy is giving hope back to the high streets. New powers, new funding and changes to the business rates system will provide much-needed relief for thousands of cafés, pubs and high street shops. We are freezing all retail, hospitality and leisure bills in real terms to protect them from above inflation increases for the next two years, and we are lifting the small business rate relief threshold for qualifying properties.

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

My constituents will strongly welcome the decision to extend small business rate relief to many more businesses in the Crewe and Nantwich constituency, but they will also welcome the decision to remove small business rate relief from adult gaming centres and vape shops. Will my right hon. Friend join me in saying that this is an important step to incentivise the kind of businesses we want to see and disincentivise those we do not?

[Angela Rayner]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are removing business rate relief for vape shops and adult gaming centres, and giving local authorities stronger tools to tackle business rates avoidance. At the Budget, we announced an extra 20% business rate cut for pubs and all but the largest live music venues. We will also introducing a general anti-avoidance rule for business rates at the earliest opportunity, and expanding what legal costs local authorities can claim when they are unsuccessful.

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

I really welcome the change to the business rates threshold, which will take hundreds of businesses in Bournemouth town centre out of paying rates. However, has my right hon. Friend considered the knock-on impact on business improvement districts, which often step up to fill the gap when councils cannot keep the streets clean or keep shopfronts looking nice? As more areas are coming out of rates, what are the Government doing to look at the impact on BIDs?

[Angela Rayner]

We have been taking forward a number of measures, such as the overnight visitor levy, and working with businesses. As devolution pushes down into local communities, I hope there will be a role for the public realm as well as for businesses and innovators and for those in the community and voluntary sector who do so much as volunteers in our local community.

More broadly, we are also moving Government buildings on to high streets and improving design standards, with a whole-of-Government plan to show the public that the best days of our high streets are yet to come.

[Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)]

Gravesham is one of the youngest boroughs in Kent, but it is the fourth highest in the south-east for young people not in education, employment or training. Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the youth hubs on our high streets in Gravesham, so that young people can find a way back into education, employment and training?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. Before the Secretary of State responds, more than 84 Members are hoping to speak, so every minute we can give Back Benchers will go down well.

[Angela Rayner]

Noted, Madam Deputy Speaker. I really applaud what Gravesham is doing, especially for its young people.

The strategy is backed by £125 million to transform derelict buildings in our high streets, £65 million for community ownership funding and £10 million to deliver high street rental auctions. Alongside this, we are cracking down on illegitimate and illegal businesses, giving councils powers to limit vape shops and adult gaming centres, and reforming licensing.

The state of our town and city centres says so much about us, who we are as a country and whether we are on the right path. Getting our high streets back on track is a crucial step to giving Britain hope again. But this strategy is just one part of our plan to make people proud of their local area. Alongside it, we have confirmed plans for a new No. 10 North priority projects programme. This will unlock homes, jobs, investment and long-term economic growth, with No. 10 North working directly with new strategic authorities. The Budget will also accelerate the delivery of priority projects in West Yorkshire, the West of England and South Yorkshire. These include investment to expand the Leeds College of Building to accommodate over 2,000 new learners, crowding in around £350 million of private investment into Bristol Temple Quarter, and match-funding incubator space in the Don Valley Corridor.

We will continue to support growth in London, as one of the world’s most important cities, working with the Mayor of London to bring forward improvements to the transport network and towards a global city productivity plan. More widely, we have also confirmed that all 20 strategic authorities will be eligible for funding in the new co-operative development programme. This £10 billion programme is the biggest Government-backed boost to co-operatives for decades and shows how we are meeting our commitment to our sister party to double the size of the co-operative economy.

In the years ahead, we will continue to deliver the £5.8 billion Pride in Place programme, putting local residents in charge of change across almost 300 neighbourhoods. This month, we will see the next major milestone of the programme as we reach the deadline for phase 2 neighbourhoods to submit their 10-year plan. We will continue to work with the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, confirming at the Budget the investment in the Edinburgh-Glasgow central belt, funding for the expansion of the M-SParc science park in Anglesey and of Cardiff Parkway station, and the £7.5 million of investment to grow AI and cyber industries in Belfast.

Our plans for good growth will shape the future of this country, but we also know that people need breathing space right now. Alongside radical reforms to reduce bills in the future, we have also announced a series of measures to tackle the cost of living and help make everyday life easier. We know that rising energy costs are going to be tough for a lot of households this winter. That is why we are removing VAT and standing charges from bills, freezing fuel duty and providing £100 per household for energy payments in council tax bands A to D in England. The measures are supporting up to 80% of households in England, and local authorities will get a discretionary fund of £100 million to provide further support to households most in need.

On top of that, we have taken action to make groceries cheaper by cutting import duties; increased the living wage and the minimum wage; extended parental leave; and ended the carer’s allowance cliff edge. We brought in higher tax-free mileage rates and boosted support for nurses, and we are making sure that pensioners in receipt of the full state pension will not have to pay tax.

Britain is a kind, caring nation where people take pride in looking out for each other. In 2026, in the world’s fifth-richest economy, everyone should have a roof over their head. That is why we will make sure that by Christmas this year everyone sleeping rough will be offered a route off the streets. Earlier this year, I announced £442 million for a new rough sleeping programme to meet that milestone. Support off the streets should not just be for Christmas, though, so we are almost doubling that figure with £432 million to keep that offer going for the next two years. That means continuing to help people off the streets, while preventing people from returning and giving them the support that they need. That is why we will make sure there is wraparound support for those people as well.

The Budget makes progress towards our commitment to deliver the biggest boost in council house building since the post-war period. We have announced that we will extend the preferential borrowing rate for councils on top of the £1.5 billion that I mentioned earlier. Our message to local leaders is, “Get ambitious, and we will back you all the way.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s planned AI tool, Assist, will be available to all councils in England by the end of 2027. We also announced the Your First Home scheme to help around 70,000 first-time buyers to get on the ladder. Good growth in every postcode is not just about fairness; it is the simple point that Britain is at its best when every area of the country can play its part. I am proud of this Government’s action, I am proud of our history, and I am proud of this Budget. I commend this statement to the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.