Alison McGovern
MP for Birkenhead · Labour · United Kingdom
“As part of that work, we expect all integrated care boards to complete a needs assessment so that we can get a detailed understanding of their current and future population, including people of all ages with palliative care and end-of-life needs.”
“Not for the first time this week, I find myself wholeheartedly agreeing with the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds). He and I agree that we will all act according to our conscience and respect others if they come to a different conclusion.”
“Members and friends will know that in July, I lost my own mum, so I had a very practical education in this topic, and that experience will shape how I take this work forward. To conclude, I thank all hon. Members once again for all they have said.”
“The issue of assisted dying has been subject to extensive and detailed consideration over a number of years, most recently in this House and the other place in the previous Session, as well as outside Parliament.”
“I also respect my hon. Friend and, though it was not a point of order, the House will have heard what she said. I am attempting to address the points that have been raised in the debate, particularly on procedural matters, on social care and palliative care, which I turn to now.”
“On that basis, we would provide technical support to the promoter if Parliament chooses to progress the Bill. That said, I will repeat the comments made by the right hon. Member for East Hampshire from the Opposition Dispatch Box, which I now say on behalf of the Government.”
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“As the Homelessness Minister, my responsibility is to get the homelessness strategy published so that we can look at issues such as those the hon. Gentleman has mentioned, make sure that the guidance is good enough, and—most importantly—get our country’s children out of temporary accommodation and give them a proper roof over their heads.”
“I would be grateful if my hon. Friend would pass on my very best wishes and thanks to Streets2Homes. In the best case, the money we are investing can stop homelessness before it starts through good advice. If a family or an individual do find themselves homeless, support can be in place to get those people into a more stable situation and properly housed. Every penny is worth it, because in the end, long-term homelessness costs the state more.”
“On Thursday 20 November, the Government published a policy statement setting out our plans for the 2026-27 to 2028-29 multi-year local government finance settlement. Through the settlement, we are introducing a system based on need and evidence. In doing so we will target a greater proportion of grant funding at deprived places, ensuring best value for money for taxpayers.”
“I admire my hon. Friend not only for standing up for Warrington, but for her command of the statistical detail. The fair funding review will distribute more funds to deprived areas, and, as she has just demonstrated, the distribution is underpinned by granular data from households in lower-layer super-output areas consisting of between 400 and 1,200 people. That means that we can account for pockets of deprivation within more affluent areas. More broadly, I will happily work with my hon. Friend to ensure that we can stabilise Warrington council’s finances, and I will ensure that officials are in touch with the council.”
“I know that my hon. Friend always stands up for her constituency, and that she always will. Under our proposals, shire district councils are expected to see an average funding increase of 2.7% over the spending review period. Across the Department, we will support district councils in that and other ways, and I look forward to discussing the issue in detail with my hon. Friend and her council.”
“The hon. Gentleman mentions fire. The Minister responsible and I are keeping this issue under review, and we are happy to hear further from him if he has concerns about it.”
“When it comes to rural areas, there are particular challenges for public services. This Government have increased funding for council spending on areas of demand, such as adult social care. We need to make sure that all councils can be financially stable, and can develop the way that they deliver public services, particularly given the challenges that the hon. Lady mentions.”
“Under our new approach to funding, in places like Luton, which were starved of the resources that they needed for far too long, and for which we can evidence significant levels of deprivation, councils can expect to see the resources that they need in order to help people properly.”
“Yes, I will very happily meet my hon. Friend. She is an incredibly powerful champion for Portsmouth and I would be very happy to meet her to discuss her council’s funding.”
“We recently put forward our response on improving standards. We are looking for an opportunity to take that forward, for the reasons the hon. Gentleman mentions.”
“With Cornwall Labour Members of Parliament standing up for Cornwall in this House as they are, I feel assured that Cornwall will be in a much better place. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to make sure that that is the case.”
“Councils up and down the country deserve better, especially in great cities like Derby—and with my hon. Friend as their MP, his community will not want for a brilliant champion.”
“I am considering the issues that Hillingdon is facing, which are really serious and important, and I will be in touch with my hon. Friend soon so that we can discuss them extensively.”
“I will happily meet my hon. Friend—great railway towns like Crewe ought to be invested in. He will have heard from previous answers today that the new measure of deprivation uses fine-grain data, so we can identify those pockets of deprivation, like in Crewe and Nantwich. I look forward to talking with him at length on this subject.”
“Bringing services such as housing, public health and social care under one roof means that one council can see the full picture, spot problems early and, for example, support a family in need of housing and then support the children to stay in school. That often does not happen at the moment—we see families who are dealing with the worst type of homelessness being passed from pillar to post. We have already announced two new unitary councils in Surrey, investing in residents’ futures and putting local authorities there on a sustainable footing. I am also pleased to announce further aspects of the process. This is just the start: we are working with a further 14 areas across England that will benefit from this once-in-a-generation reform, with their proposals due by 28 November.”
“That is the point of reorganisation: so that we have councils that match the real economic footprint of our cities and towns, rather than, in some cases, lines drawn on a map 50 years ago. Councils need to play a much clearer and stronger role in building our economy and making sure that our national growth story includes everyone, everywhere. Local government reorganisation can help to do that. With one council in charge of each area, we will see quicker decisions to grow our towns and cities and connect people to opportunity. Reorganisation will speed up house building, get vital infrastructure projects moving and attract new investment. There are also social and public services benefits.”
“That slows down economic decision making and delivery and leads to fragmentation in our public services. Even in the short months in which I have been the Minister for Local Government, I have heard that from councillors directly. It is confusing—who does what and who is responsible? In our Department, several Ministers were leaders of councils themselves and so have practical experience of the issue. Through local government reorganisation, we are simplifying local government and establishing single-tier unitary councils everywhere. We need stronger local councils equipped to make economic growth more likely, improve public services and empower communities.”
“Gentleman said, everyone in this country would expect the Government to do what we need to do to defend our country. Although that is not my specific responsibility in government, the defence of this country is a collective responsibility and I will work very closely with my colleagues in the Ministry of Defence, as I do week in and week out, to make sure that we are able to deliver on our commitments to keep this country safe. Before I turn to the topics in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, I will briefly set out why we are reorganising local government and why that process is important to the Government’s overall objectives. Nearly a third of our population—about 20 million people—live in areas with two-tier local government services and functions split across county and district councils.”
“Thank you, Mrs Harris; I appreciate that. It is, as ever, a pleasure to serve under your experienced and knowledgeable chairship. I congratulate the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) on securing a debate that is clearly of great importance to his constituency. I think that he asked me two questions, about the place of St Neots and about whether the Government intend to deliver on their defence commitments. Unfortunately, in relation to the specifics of the proposals, I am in the invidious position of not being able to comment. The hon. Gentleman will understand that while we are in an active process of consultation I must reserve my judgment, so that I am able to take a decision based on the facts as they will be presented to me. On defence, I am sure that, as the hon.”
“The Government want to hear them, and I have absolutely no doubt that we will. The hon. Gentleman mentioned local councillors several times. I am sorry to say that I think being a local councillor has become a bit of a thankless task, whichever party local councillors represent, and our politics has become more fractious. I reiterate what an important job they do in providing people with preventive public services, trying to build our economy and being there for members of the public when they most need it. I will finish by saying a massive thank you to all the local councillors in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, in my constituency and right across the country. They do a fantastic job. Question put and agreed to.”
“I am expecting to receive proposals from local authorities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by 28 November, and we anticipate that we will publicly consult on final proposals in the new year. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that I am in a challenging position and it would not be appropriate for me to comment at this stage or provide my view on the specifics that he mentioned, because it would pre-empt future decisions that I have to make under the statutory process. There are clearly strong views locally, which were reflected in his speech. When the time comes to launch the consultation, I am sure I will not need to encourage him and his constituents to make sure that they have their say and feed in their views on the future of local government in their area.”
“The Government’s criteria for unitary local government set out that new unitary councils should enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment. We understand the importance of communities having their say on the future of their local public services, so we have been clear about the importance of councils engaging with local residents and organisations as they develop their proposals. I know that the hon. Gentleman led a Westminster Hall debate on these important issues before the summer recess and has been an active part of discussions on local government reorganisations in his area, as we have heard again today.”
“He mentioned the work of CIPFA; I take the opportunity to pay tribute to CIPFA and the excellent work it does in helping to support councils. We will take more steps shortly to get councils on a firmer footing. I turn to the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. Local authorities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been developing proposals for unitary local government. That follows the commitment made in the English devolution White Paper last December and the invitation letters sent to areas last February. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgments in the round, made with regard to the criteria he mentioned that are in the statutory guidance, the consultation responses received and all the relevant information.”
“The hon. Gentleman rightly raises the fragility of council finances. Everything that we are doing needs to put local authorities on a much firmer footing. The past 15 years have seen town hall finances deteriorate. We are taking steps through the local government finance settlement to address that. More information on that will come shortly. Further local government reorganisation is an opportunity to streamline public services and get councils on a firmer footing. Unfortunately, I am in the invidious position of not being able to comment on the hon. Gentleman’s specific point, but I assure him that all the actions we are taking in relation to local government change have finance stability at their heart.”
“That is why earlier this month the Government announced £84 million additional funding this year for homelessness and rough sleeping, bringing our total investment to record levels—more than £1 billion, and an increase of £316 million on the previous year. Our spending includes more than £644 million for the homelessness prevention grant, and more than £255 million for the rough sleeping prevention and recovery grant. That is a big investment, but, as Members have mentioned, we need a whole-of-Government approach. I will cover that in a moment. but I must also make the point that we will decriminalise rough sleeping by repealing the antiquated Vagrancy Act 1824.”
“That was not good enough. Things have to change. We can all see the number of people sleeping rough on our streets growing. The last annual count of people sleeping rough, which many have mentioned, was two and a half times higher than it was in 2010. It is not good enough. It has to change. There is even more homelessness that we cannot see: the record number of people in temporary accommodation. It has been heartening recently to see a small amount of progress in our efforts to reduce the number of families and children in B&B accommodation, with the latest stats showing a drop—but I cannot say anything other than the facts: children living in B&B accommodation has to be brought to an end. Even if we have seen a small drop, it is not yet good enough.”
“I am going to get into serious trouble, but I have checked my diary for 1 o’clock on 11 November and, as far as I can tell, I am free—my diary manager can hate me later, but I think that is a date. I look forward to spending more time discussing the homelessness strategy with colleagues in the all-party group. I never fail to feel lucky when I get home to Rock Ferry, where I live, and shut the front door. I have seen the consequences of homelessness on enough people in my life to know the fear it brings. Hon. Members in all parts of the House, as we have heard, care deeply that the Government have a plan to bring down levels of homelessness. I am hopeful that we can all work together on that. In opposition, it took me the best part of a decade to get a small number of new homes built in a derelict part of my constituency.”
“It is a pleasure to serve, as ever, under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) and the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) for their excellent co-chairing of the all-party group and for bringing this business to the House today. I hope it can be reported back to the Backbench Business Committee that 17 Back Benchers contributed, that hon. Members across the House care deeply about this issue, and that it would be good to have more parliamentary time dedicated to this important subject. It is clear from this debate that there is appetite across the House to get this right. The APPG’s recent report provides excellent food for thought, as we complete the homelessness strategy, and I am grateful for it.”
“There are areas, including the strategy to reduce violence against women and girls, the child poverty strategy and our house building goal, where that homelessness strategy will need to connect with the other bits of work that the Government are doing. I am very seized of that. Colleagues will know that I spent some significant time working on the child poverty strategy, so I feel able to hit the ground running and work with my colleagues, the Safeguarding Minister, the Housing Minister and Health Ministers, to make sure that we get this done in a good way and as quickly as possible.”
“Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Rushanara Ali), did a great amount of work, on which I will build. We have heard from colleagues that there is a deep understanding of the importance of prevention, so I want to get this done as quickly as possible. We need to get that strategy out of the door and into the action and delivery phase. I say to colleagues, “Work with me to make sure we can get it done as quickly as possible.” A couple of colleagues asked about the inter-ministerial group. I have already spoken to some ministerial colleagues on that group. We will meet formally very shortly, and I am sure those meetings will keep going—as colleagues have said—under the chairship of the Secretary of State.”
“Councils need funding certainty and flexibility to provide appropriate support to those who need it, which is why this Government are providing the first multi-year funding settlement in a decade. We are simplifying our approach to funding local government so that it can work flexibly to deliver on our shared priorities and make sure that people who need accommodation and support get it. Numerous colleagues asked about multi-year funding. It is absolutely crucial, which is why we are providing it to councils, and I will work with organisations to make sure that we get more stability in the system. Those are the things that are happening already, but I know we have to go further. Later this year we will publish our long-term homelessness strategy. My predecessor, my hon.”
“That question was raised in the debate, as my hon. Friend rightly says. We are keeping the homelessness code of guidance under review, which includes the issue of out-of-area placements. I am particularly concerned about disruption to children’s education; if any Member wanted to give me specific examples that can feed into the homelessness strategy and demonstrate what is wrong, I would welcome that. I hope that also answers the questions raised about reviewing the guidance. Separately from the funding that I just mentioned, we are also providing a huge investment in the local authority housing fund, which is there for councils to buy better accommodation and stop using expensive bed and breakfast hotels. That funding, we think, can get us up to 5,000 extra homes.”
“We also need to bring the Renters’ Rights Bill into effect, so that we can abolish section 21 evictions and prevent private renters from being exploited and discriminated against. The hon. Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon) mentioned the effect of regulation; I wonder if he would support any regulation, because of the argument that we might reduce supply. Nobody wants over-regulation, but are we really saying that renters in this country are not vulnerable and in need of more protection? Most people think that is not right. I will work with him to make sure that we do all we can to get it right, but we have got to take a balanced approach.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am sure I will be meeting a lot of hon. Members regarding the fair funding review—he should not worry about that. I hear the point he makes about the indices of multiple deprivation, and we will have more to say about it very shortly. I know the situation in London only too well from my work over the past year. It is important to make sure that children in London do not grow up in poverty. The strategy we will publish on homelessness will get to the heart of the problem, with more homes incorporating all the work that we have done to change planning. My hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) mentioned planning officers. It is crucially important to get investment there so that we get those homes built.”
“I welcome the involvement of all colleagues, and I stand ready to work with everybody on it. The Government inherited a crisis. We have tried to make some progress quickly, and I hope that colleagues will see that I have wasted no time in getting more money to local authorities to help now, while we complete the strategy. In the end, the long-term approach is what we need. I thank again my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree and the hon. Member for Harrow East for securing this debate and setting out that case. I look forward to working with all Members in this House on our shared goals. No one in this House can be comfortable while our fellow citizens experience such discomfort. None of us believes that our future is secure while our children live in poverty.”
“Coming into this role, I have been utterly shocked by the situation regarding the use of B&Bs and our children. That is why we are working with the 20 local authorities with the highest level of bed and breakfast use for homeless families to identify solutions that actually work for their local circumstances. Backed by £8 million-worth of funding, the emergency accommodation reduction pilots will kick-start new initiatives to try to find the best possible way to get families into better accommodation. Whether through local authorities expanding what they are able to provide because of the investment we are giving, or preventing the use of B&Bs in the first place, we are working hard to try to make that happen. I will finish there, as we will have more opportunities to discuss this issue.”
“A couple of Members correctly mentioned support for victims of domestic abuse and refuge providers. We want to take action on that; I have spoken to the Minister for Safeguarding and we anticipate working together on it. We know that we cannot fix the housing crisis overnight, and that we have to act now to support people who are facing the worst forms of homelessness. That is why we are ensuring that people in temporary accommodation today are in accommodation that is suitable for their needs. I say again that we still have the underlying causes of homelessness—not enough homes and insufficient incomes—and a real crisis in rough sleeping and long-term rough sleeping, as mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree. I agree that this is a desperate situation that needs attention through the strategy.”
“I know that we have more to do to make sure that the supported housing system is functioning properly, and we are not stuck with some of the problems that the hon. Member for Harrow East mentioned. We are acting to implement the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. We consulted on locally-led licensing and new national supported housing standards for support and changes to housing benefit, and we will publish our report as soon as possible. I look forward to discussing that further—on 11 November, if not before. We will press forward with the duty for local authorities to produce supported housing strategies, and guidance will come early next year. These strategies will help local authorities to understand how much and what type of supported housing they have, and identify where their unmet need is.”
“I did mention keeping the matter under review and, as I said, I am sure that we can meet to discuss it. Prevention must be at the heart of our strategy. We heard that from the APPG’s report and I agree with it. That is why we are making record investment into prevention services and why the spending review protected that funding for the next three years. We have done work on top of that to increase it, because it is so important and such a crisis at the moment. As hon. Members have said, however, sometimes housing alone is not enough to tackle homelessness; people need support that is appropriate for their needs to sustain that accommodation. For some people, that means supported housing. Good-quality supported housing can prevent further cycles of homelessness and help people to get back on their feet.”
“Member for Cheadle and everybody who has contributed for the insightful points raised and their ongoing dedication to making sure that local government—our councils—in the north-west have the most powerful voice in this place. We cannot overstate the damage done to the foundations of local government over the past decade and a half. Change has begun and we are ready to listen to all local authorities about how we get this right. I thank the hon. Member for bringing forward this debate. Question put and agreed to.”
“Greater Manchester combined authority and the fantastic Liverpool city region are two excellent and long-standing examples in our region of what can come when devolution happens. In particular, Greater Manchester has secured a £630 million single funding settlement under its trailblazing devolution deal. That replaces fragmented funding pots and gives the combined authority greater flexibility to allocate funds across priority areas. It has been a pleasure, both in my previous role and this one, to work with Mayor Andy Burnham to bring the vision of city governance for Greater Manchester to life, and to devolve functions from the UK Government to Greater Manchester so that he can integrate services and work with local authority leaders to get the best service for residents. I thank the hon.”
“In Stockport, that includes a £1.2 million active travel package, £4.4 million for Cheadle eco business park, and £8.2 million for Cheadle railway station. We have an ambitious programme of reorganisation taking place across England, ending the two-tier system of local government and establishing single tier councils everywhere, including in Lancashire in the north-west. That streamlined approach to local government will also help it to work better. The north-west, I am very proud to say, has led the way on devolution, as part of the Government’s ambition to see all of England access devolved powers by establishing strategic authorities that can make key decisions to drive economic growth and celebrate our towns and cities.”
“On top of that, the Government are setting the foundations to deliver on our plan for change commitment to build 1.5 million homes in England this Parliament, and will deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation. That investment will also be preventive and help to secure councils’ funding in a better way. To focus on the north-west, the Government are investing to help revitalise our districts, towns and cities and to foster thriving communities. Through the local regeneration fund, the north-west is benefiting from over £1.5 billion of investment, combining the levelling-up fund, the towns fund and the pathfinder pilot scheme. That reduces the monitoring burden on councils and lets them prioritise how they deliver locally, without micromanaging from Whitehall.”
“The Government have also already taken the first steps to getting back on track to end homelessness, including investing over £1 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year—an extra £316 million compared with the previous year—to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and to prevent rough sleeping. That may sound like an objectively good thing to do—which of us thinks that families could possibly thrive in temporary accommodation? —but having looked at the books, I am also extremely worried about the cost of homelessness and temporary accommodation to councils. The aim of the investment is therefore not just to stop the terrible moral stain of homelessness, but to help maintain the structural integrity and funding of our councils.”
“For special educational needs and disabilities, we have ensured that funding for schools is increasing by over £4.7 billion a year by 2028-29 compared with the 2025-26 core schools budget that was published at the 2025 spring statement. With that funding, we will reform the SEND system to make mainstream schools more inclusive, improve outcomes and stop parents having to fight for support. We also recognise the pressures that local authorities are facing because of their dedicated schools grant deficits. In June, we announced a two-year extension to the DSG statutory override, which is now due to end in March 2028. We will set out further details in our plan to support local authorities with historical and accruing deficits through the upcoming local government finance settlement.”
“We are determined to invest in prevention, fix the broken care market and crack down on excessive and exploitative profit making. We will set out further detail on funding for children’s social care reform in the local government finance settlement. We are also committed to reform the adult social care system, and to build a national care service. We will consider recommendations from phase 1 of the independent commission into social care led by Baroness Casey when she reports in 2026. The Government have made a major step in boosting the wages and working conditions of adult social care workers across England, with an extra £500 million investment into the first ever fair pay agreement for care workers.”
“For 2025-26, we consolidated almost £700 million into the settlement. We are going further and faster for 2026-27, and will deliver the biggest programme of funding simplification to date. That frees up resources for public services and helps local authorities to decide for themselves the most effective way to spend money in their communities. However, funding reform is only one part of the story. As the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) mentioned, we have to change public services to best serve residents and communities. There are areas where we have to consider not just funding but how the services are changing, and how need for them has shifted. The spending review confirmed more than £2 billion over the next three years for children’s social care reform.”
“This year, those reforms will be delivered through the first multi-year settlement in a decade, giving councils the certainty that they have long called for, enabling more spending on prevention and less on paying for the costs of failure. I would be a rich woman if I had a pound for every time somebody in local government, over the past 14 years, had asked me for multi-year settlements to enable forward planning and focus on prevention. Introducing them is an important cornerstone of the Government’s new approach to local government. The reforms will also change the fragmented local government grant funding landscape. We will consolidate as much revenue funding as possible into the local government finance settlement, bringing funding together into the multi-year settlements so that we do not have such a complex mix of funding.”
“The spending review provided more than £5 billion of new grant funding for local government over the next three years, allowing us to move forward with reforms that will reduce the pressure on local government. This year my predecessor embarked on a consultation on the long delayed fair funding review because the outdated way in which local authorities are funded has left some places behind. We intend to redirect around £2 billion of existing funding to the places and communities that need it most, ensuring the best value for Government and for taxpayers. For the first time since 2013-14, the Government are updating the relative needs formulae that form a key part of how local authorities’ funding allocations are calculated.”
“In recovering the financial position of local authorities, an important golden thread that runs through all the steps that the Government will take is that we will objectively consider need, deprivation, poverty and inequality to make sure that we are supporting local government to help rebalance our country and provide services in a way that helps everybody to have the best chance of thriving. In the north-west, 78% of councils received an allocation of the recovery grant, totalling £146 million—24% of England’s total. That is the first meaningful step towards funding reform, which was not achieved under the Tories. Our ambition does not stop at this year’s settlement.”