Queen’s Speech

Baroness Andrews Excerpts

Monday 17th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Andrews (Lab)]

My Lords, it gives me great pleasure to join with other noble Lords in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Morse, and my noble friend Lord Coaker on their wonderful maiden speeches. We look forward very much to hearing more from them. I must confess that I was a bit jealous, as never in this House have I made a speech which has been greeted with a clap of thunder. It sets a new standard for all of us to see what we can achieve.

The fundamental question at the heart of this debate is: what does it mean and what does it take to build better for the communities of the future? Many noble Lords have answered that question this evening with great sophistication and power: good jobs, lifelong skills, decent incomes, accessible, affordable housing for all ages, robust local services, reliable transport and a safe, clean, beautiful place to live in. These are basic rights and requirements, but they are without the reach of many people in this country. Yet the opportunity is staring us in the face. After the unparalleled last 15 months, there is a real appetite and a real sense of urgency for change.

There has never been a better time for the Government to tackle the long-term, fundamental, systemic problems which face this country: for example, the failed housing market, which is geared towards the developer; and a disjointed, vulnerable social care system, which is financially ruinous for many families and yet does not guarantee good quality or choice of social care. What an opportunity for a Government to turn to the country and say, in a paraphrase of another time: “We have the tools, we can do the job, we have shown that we can act fast, we can inspire innovation on an unparalleled scale, we can find the money for what we need to do, because the people expect us to do better and to do differently, in a way which is safer, fairer and more efficient.”

I am very disappointed that the Government seem not to have been able to grasp that. I am sad to say that I find that the Queen’s Speech fails on three basic tests. The Minister opening the debate today gave us a catalogue of reasons for delay. I do not think that is good enough. The first test is about honouring promises. There was nothing on social care, of course, but the charge sheet on housing is much longer. Housing has become almost totemic in its significance as a place of safety and distress, and increasing homelessness looks even more likely when housing subsidies are withdrawn.

Many noble Lords have said that there is nothing about accelerating social housing, only the statement that the Government will continue to legislate on the social housing proposal White Paper proposals and will legislate as soon as practicable. The White Paper was three years in the making and that was four years ago. There is nothing on renters’ reform. That was promised 17 months ago. There was no mention of a White Paper. Reform seems to be receding. There was nothing on landlord registration. That was promised 13 years ago in the Rugg review. There was nothing on the scale of leasehold reform that we were anticipating. Yes, ground rent reform is important, but it is the low-hanging fruit of leasehold reform. When can we expect these Bills? I welcome the building safety Bill, of course. I hope the Minister has answers to the many questions raised on it.

The second basic test is that policies should at least agree with each other. The two Ministers at the Dispatch Box this evening are at odds with each other. The new planning Bill is virtually incompatible with the Government’s targets for a greener and healthier economy. The Justice Minister has promised leasehold reform while the Housing Minister presses ahead with permitted development which will, for example, remove the rights of leaseholders, who will have storeys built above their heads while losing their rights to object.

The third test for a Queen’s Speech is that it should at least find support among its own friends. I think the planning Bill has more enemies than friends already. One speech from the other place last week says it all. It

“would reduce local democracy, remove the opportunity for local people to comment on specific developments, and remove the ability of local authorities to set development policies locally.”

It

“would also lead to fewer affordable homes, because they hand developers a get-out clause … what we will see is not more homes, but, potentially, the wrong homes … in the wrong places”.—[Official Report, Commons, 11/5/21; col. 39.]

In this case, Theresa May was absolutely right and many others agree with her. The Bill is described by the CPRE as a descent into the dark ages of planning. It means the end of the Section 106 agreements, which my noble friend referred to, and fewer mechanisms for ensuring that affordable housing targets are met. Unless the Bill is changed, it will not build faster, better or greener. I am afraid I can assure the Minister that it will have a lively passage through this House.