Oral Answers to Questions

Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts

Monday 24th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Maureen Burke (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Pride in Place funding on Glasgow North East constituency.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)]

Glasgow city will receive £1.5 million of Pride in Place impact funding to improve high streets and invest in community spaces and assets. In addition, neighbourhoods across Scotland will receive up to £20 million through our Pride in Place funding to transform their areas. We are working with the Scotland Office to announce the specific neighbourhoods included in phase 2. This is an exciting chance to put power, money and agency in the hands of communities that have been held back for too long, to drive the change that they want to see.

[Maureen Burke]

My survey of Glasgow North East constituents shows that there is real excitement about the possibility of Pride in Place funding coming their way. From parks and shopfronts to local connectivity, I have been inundated with incredible ideas to transform our corner of Glasgow. Will the Minister commit to giving my constituency bid her full consideration, and will she visit Glasgow North East to see the difference that the investment could make?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I would be delighted to visit Glasgow North East and am pleased to hear of the local enthusiasm for our Pride in Place agenda and my hon. Friend’s work in supporting this locally and championing her constituency. We are working closely with the Scotland Office on phase 2 of the Pride in Place programme to confirm the specific neighbourhoods and will be announcing that shortly.

[Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

6. What the infrastructure requirements are for supporting the proposed new town at Tempsford.

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[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

7. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Pride in Place funding on the Luton South and South Bedfordshire constituency.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)]

We are providing £1.5 million from the Pride in Place impact fund to enable immediate work in Luton to develop community spaces and revitalise local high streets. Work is already under way on this, and I look forward to seeing the impact it will have locally.

[Rachel Hopkins]

I really welcome the £1.5 million Pride in Place impact funding awarded to Luton, and I have launched a survey with my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) to find out what people want to see improved in our town. Does the Minister agree that local people’s voices must be at the heart of shaping the changes they want to see, and that this Labour Government are putting power and investment back in their hands?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

Yes, I agree 100%. May I just thank my hon. Friend for the work that she is doing to bring the voices of her community to the very heart of this? Our Pride in Place strategy represents a new way for Government to work that puts power, agency and the voice of our communities front and centre. We expect all local authorities in receipt of Pride in Place impact funding to work with their MPs and their community to deliver the change that local people want and to focus on local people’s priorities.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

8. What mechanisms his Department has put in place to ensure that communities are consulted on the use of Pride in Place funding in the Slough constituency.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)]

We are providing £1.5 million from the Pride in Place impact fund to enable immediate work in Slough to develop community spaces and revitalise local high streets. Local authorities must engage with their local MP and their residents. We have made that clear and we will continue to reiterate it.

[Mr Dhesi]

I have spoken to hundreds of my Slough constituents who are tired of having a high street where they do not feel safe, that lacks essential local amenities and that is devoid of community spaces, so I am delighted that this Labour Government have given our town, which has been neglected for too long, that £1.5 million Pride in Place boost. Does the Minister agree that it is essential that the local council uses that money wisely and that it listens—not only to my good self, but to local residents about their priorities?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is completely right to remind us about the neglect of our high streets under the last Government, and to reiterate that it is this Government who are putting power and investment into the hands of our communities to drive change. He is also completely right: local authorities must listen to their communities and ensure that investment is focused on their priorities.

[Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)]

9. If he will provide additional support to local councils to help them increase levels of funding for social housing stock.

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[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

13. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of Pride in Place funding eligibility criteria in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)]

Areas across Scotland, including Elgin, will receive up to £20 million of Pride in Place programme funding to transform their areas. Phase 1 places have already been identified, and we are working with the Scotland Office and partners to confirm additional neighbourhoods, which will be announced shortly for phase 2.

[Graham Leadbitter]

The Government are encouraging towns across the UK to apply for Pride in Place funding, but with the specific exclusion that any town applying should not be located in a UK parliamentary constituency with a phase 1 neighbourhood. Does the Minister appreciate that in my constituency of Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, this would exclude Nairn from applying because Elgin is already in receipt of funding, despite Nairn being in a different unitary authority and not even being in the same constituency prior to boundary changes? As a further example, it would also exclude Shetland from applying because Orkney already has funding. Does the Minister agree that this exclusion is nonsensical and discriminatory against large geographies, and needs to be changed?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

The big driver of how we are allocating funding is deprivation. We are taking a slightly different approach in Scotland, where we have also looked at other indicators, including health indicators. As I said, we are working closely with the Scotland Office and local partners to ensure we are getting the Pride in Place programme into the areas that need it, and we will be announcing that allocation in due course.

[Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)]

15. What steps his Department is taking to help ensure adequate levels of accountability of estate management companies.

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[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Meur ras, Mr Speaker. The whole of Cornwall, one of the most deprived regions in northern Europe, missed out on Pride in Place funding, which I can only assume was due to the “trusting your neighbour” indicator being treated as a marker of affluence rather than deprivation in the community needs index. Can the Minister confirm that Cornwall will not be disadvantaged because of that in the next tranche of Pride in Place funding?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)]

My hon. Friend is always a champion for Cornwall. To confirm, there were two things that drove the allocation: indices of multiple deprivation and our community needs index. For places that did not receive Pride in Place funding, within our strategy there is a whole suite of tools and levers that communities can grip in order to drive the change that they want to see. I hope we will see that in Cornwall.

[Rishi Sunak (Richmond and Northallerton) (Con)]

The Great Ayton allotments group received funding from the community ownership fund last year. As the deadline for disbursing the funds approaches, delays in a related planning application are threatening that funding. I thank Department officials for trying to resolve the issue, and I ask Ministers to support that flexibility, because the project means a great deal to the community of Great Ayton.

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I thank the right hon. Member for raising the important work that has been done in his constituency. We will continue to work with that group, because we want to ensure that all communities have the ability to grip assets and drive the change that they want to see.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

For years, Derby residents have felt the full force of Tory austerity, with many services at breaking point. Does the Minister agree that Derby deserves better, and what can the Government do to ensure that the fair funding review delivers for communities such as Derby?

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[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

Is Surrey going to get a mayor?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We are working with all areas to ensure that we are devolving power, whether to strategic authorities or mayors, to make sure that they can grip the economic opportunities and unlock the growth that we did not see under the last Government, but that this Government absolutely want to deliver.

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

Cheshire East council area has pockets of severe deprivation, centred largely around my constituency. Under the previous Government, local government funding allocations never really took account of those deprivations. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can rebalance funding towards the deprived areas in my constituency that have been left behind for too long?