Speeches by Eshalomi.

“I start by paying tribute to Members from across the House who have tabled an amendment at this stage, and to the Minister, who has engaged constructively with Members between Second Reading and Report. As we debate this Bill today, it is important to remember why it is so badly needed: the dire situation that many ten…”

“I know that the shadow Minister cares passionately about this area, especially in the light of his local government experience. Given that financial pressures on local authorities are added to by the need to provide temporary accommodation to families facing eviction, does he agree that we should have abolished section…”

“I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement this afternoon. I know that he takes this subject really seriously. He was in my constituency just before Christmas, although it is a shame that he did not go into the PET scanner. I welcome the improvements in terms of education. For the many parents who, like me, have to b…”

“I welcome the Minister’s response, and ask that the Government continue to keep the House regularly updated. As the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) said, the House should not forget this issue. In December, I met Islamic Relief, which is based in my constituency, and it gave me an update on some of…”

“Essentially, the additional funding that councils have received is going to be absorbed because rents are going up higher, and that is forcing families up and down the country into temporary accommodation for much longer. We should not be calling it temporary accommodation, Prime Minister—people are there for 14 or 15 …”

“Good afternoon, Prime Minister. We are in a housing crisis, so I would be grateful if you could explain to the Committee why you took the decision to freeze the local housing allowance rate this year.”

“You talked about homes. In less than a week, most of us in this room will be able to spend Christmas with our loved ones in a warm, safe home, yet 160,000 children will wake up on Christmas day in temporary accommodation. A feature on the BBC “News at Ten” last night showed the reality of people paying thousands of pou…”

“We are very grateful for and welcome the Government’s ambition on new homes, but the figures—you quoted the 1.5 million—have to be deliverable. You may be aware that new dwellings dropped this year, and the number of planning permissions granted fell by 15%. Earlier you talked about planning reform, regulation and addi…”

“Yes, but Prime Minister, do you understand that the additional funding to address homelessness is effectively redundant if you are not dealing with the root causes of people being forced into temporary accommodation, which include the freezing of the LHA?”

“Again, we commend and welcome that, but do you think it is right, then, that the Government have not set targets for how many homes they will deliver a year? They have not set out what tenure those homes will be, but yet you are asking local councils to report back on their targets. Another thing that is coming up, whi…”

“I thank the Minister for outlining this much-needed funding uplift. I agree with him that councils up and down the country, regardless of their political persuasion, need the Government to support them, not to criticise and denigrate them, which is sadly what we have had in some cases over the past 14 years. He mention…”

“You are supposed to sing it!”

“I welcome the Minister’s announcement on the Green Paper on the future of the Post Office. It is also welcome that the Government are taking additional steps towards financial redress for the postmasters who suffered such horrendous treatment in that scandal. I am concerned that this new deal for postmasters comes at t…”

“I share the Secretary of State’s concern about the black hole that was left. This will have been a difficult decision for her to make and bring to the House today. However, I think about the many people across all our constituencies who have contacted us about the matter, including my constituent Valerie, who wrote to …”

“I thank the Minister for the statement. It is about how we bring local leaders back to the agenda and back to the central aims that they have been complaining about over the last 14 years. It is important that any devolution reforms build trust among local people, who rely on vital services from housing and planning to…”

“I welcome the greater detail on the changes to the NPPF that the Minister has outlined this morning. He is right: we have to be bold. As he has outlined, the social housing sector is in crisis. At the Select Committee’s recent evidence session, he mentioned a figure of around 160,000 children in temporary accommodation…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for making a really passionate speech. My constituent Ed Hall, who is in the Gallery, was one of the founding members of the legal campaign to lift the ban. Ed was sacked from the Royal Navy for being gay in 1988 and founded the first legal challenge group in 1994. When I met him, he spok…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for making such a powerful speech on behalf of his constituents. What he has described reflects all our inboxes. Does he agree that to address residents’, tenants’ and leaseholders’ concerns in a timely manner with good customer care does not cost any money?”

“I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of the deadlines. However, the National Audit Office report published last month shows that the majority of buildings affected by cladding have not been identified. Will the Secretary of State go further by delivering a more joined-up approach, so that we can identify and…”

“I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) on outlining the concerns of his constituents. In the short four-and-a-half months that he has been here, championing their cause has been central to his role as an MP. This evening a number of colleagues will touch on the technicalities outl…”