Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve Reed and Peter Prinsley

Monday 12th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

T1.   If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)]

House building in this country ground to a near halt in 2023 because the previous Government failed to reform our planning system, despite knowing that it is too slow and cumbersome and deters development. Our Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December last year. It delivers fundamental reform to the planning system, speeding up the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure. Thanks to this Government, young people who have been denied the chance of their own home will now get the key to their own front door at last.

[Peter Prinsley]

I am concerned about the villages in my most beautiful constituency of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket; there, people tell me that they are increasingly concerned about the lack of affordable housing in rural communities. What steps is the Minister taking to increase the supply of affordable housing for local people in rural villages through reforms to the planning system, and how will those reforms support the rejuvenation and long-term sustainability of our villages?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Can I just remind everyone that this is topicals? You are meant to set an example, Peter—come on.

Independent Water Commission

Debate between Steve Reed and Peter Prinsley

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

I am more than happy to make sure my hon. Friend gets a meeting with an appropriate Minister. I am sure she will be pleased to know that this Government have ringfenced customers’ money so that it can only be spent on the purposes it was intended for, including upgrading broken and leaking pipes, and will no longer be diverted to pay for bonuses and dividends, as used to happen under the previous Government.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

What a pleasure it was to welcome the Secretary of State to the water meadows in Bury St Edmunds. The Lark and the Linnet in Bury St Edmunds and the Gipping in Stowmarket are disgracefully neglected, and my own laboratory tests reveal dangerously high ammonia levels, for I too have become a citizen scientist. I welcome the decision to scrap Ofwat, but does the Secretary of State agree that our precious Suffolk chalk streams must be protected?

[Steve Reed]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and it was indeed a pleasure to visit Bury St Edmunds—he is very lucky to represent such a beautiful part of the country. In becoming a citizen scientist, he has joined a very proud movement, and I am sure that he will make an important contribution to its work.