Oral Answers to Questions

Gareth Thomas Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Samantha Dixon]

Absolutely. I am really encouraged by the way that local communities are seizing the opportunity of Pride in Place funding, and taking it forward to deal with an issue that affects every council across the country.

[Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. Whether he plans to include community-led housing within the long-term housing strategy.

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

The Government recognise that community-led housing delivers a wide range of benefits. We strengthened support for it in the revised national planning policy framework published last year, and in March we announced a 10-year social finance investment to provide capital funding for community-led housing. As part of the development of our long-term housing strategy, we are considering how the Government might further support the growth of the sector.

[Gareth Thomas]

Redwood Housing Co-operative spans five floors of social housing in the iconic OXO Tower on the south bank of the River Thames. Given that Redwood is run by its tenants, charges some of the lowest rents in central London and offers some of the best views, should not every community have a Redwood?

[Matthew Pennycook]

My hon. Friend has long championed co-operatives, and I recognise his commitment to expanding co-ops in London and across the country. With that example, he draws our attention to the benefits that they can provide. We are considering opportunities to legislate to establish a legal framework for a co-operative housing tenure, which would help formalise the rights and responsibilities of both co-operatives and their tenants, and make co-operative housing a more attractive option. As my hon. Friend will know, I am more than happy to discuss the matter with him further at a suitable opportunity in the near future.