Angela Rayner
MP for Ashton-under-Lyne · Labour · United Kingdom
“With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on local government reorganisation. This Government are committed to delivering good growth across the country and power in every postcode, with places able to set their own ambitions and integrate services to meet people’s needs.”
“I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place and thank him for his constructive comments. It is disappointing that I have had to come to the House to make this statement.”
“I gently say to the hon. Member that while I appreciate she uses language like “shock and anger”, it was important to me, as Secretary of State, to make the right decision, so I came to this House and spoke to hon. Members to ensure that I do that. I still believe that local government reform will unlock potential for the hon.”
“Let me be really clear: this has not been overturned. As Secretary of State, I have made the decision to withdraw so that I can have a look and clear sight of what is going on, and review those decisions. I have done that in good conscience because I want to ensure that we get this absolutely right.”
“Finally, my Department will provide support to council leaders, officers and Members representing impacted areas, and the Minister for Local Government has written to leaders and copied in Members of this House.”
“I have set out already that I want to be able to review these decisions to ensure myself that they are the right ones, and I think that is the correct course of action. Respecting the court process means that the way to do this is to withdraw and consider afresh.”
The complete record
Every one of 602 lines we hold for Angela Rayner, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 13.
“My hon. Friend makes an important point. Cladding is one element of what many tenants face with unsafe buildings, and we are looking at how we can strengthen measures to ensure that action is taken. Some local authorities have already started to take enforcement action, and I have pushed hard to ensure that we continue to do that. If a building is unsafe, people should not have to live in it, and it should be dealt with as quickly as possible. We are bringing local authority leaders and Ministers together through the new leaders’ council to work through these issues. I thank them all for their engagement today, including our mayors.”
“I have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has attended the G20 summit, strengthening the UK’s ties with major economies to drive jobs and security at home. This week marks 1,000 days of Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. This week also marks Equal Pay Day. I am extremely proud that this Government have introduced the Employment Rights Bill, strengthening the rights of working women and making work pay. This morning, I will have meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that sensitive issue. It is absolutely horrifying to hear her account of it, and I agree that it is abhorrent. Although the Human Tissue Authority strictly regulates the public display of human remains, with fines or imprisonment for breaches, it does not cover sales or purchases. However, I will ensure that a meeting is arranged with the appropriate Minister to discuss the troubling cases that my hon. Friend raises.”
“I think it is astonishing that—first, may I welcome the hon. Member to his place? Many people might not know that he was the Minister with responsibility for growth when, under Liz Truss, inflation was at 11.1% and growth flatlined, so we are doing much better than he did.”
“First of all, we are absolutely committed to our British farmers, and— [Interruption.] That is why we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over the next two years. That is the largest ever amount for sustainable food production in the UK, and it is alongside £60 million to support those affected by extreme wet weather and over £200 million to tackle disease outbreaks. The hon. Gentleman’s party could not even get the money out the door for farmers, failing to spend over £300 million on farming budgets. The farmers know that they were in it for themselves, and that is why we are in government and they are not.”
“The hon. Gentleman talks about the facts, and I absolutely stand by the figures that the Government have set out. The vast majority of estate owners will be totally unaffected. The hon. Gentleman wants to talk about the figures. I will be crystal clear: the vast majority of estate owners will see no change and pay no tax on land passed on that is valued at £1 million. Couples can pass on £3 million tax-free, and those above the threshold will pay only half the normal rate and can pay it over 10 years interest-free.”
“I think it is an audacity for the hon. Gentleman to stand at the Dispatch Box and suggest in some way that Labour broke promises or raised taxes. I will school the hon. Gentleman: it was his Government who raised taxes to their highest level for a generation. [ Interruption. ]”
“It was the hon. Gentleman’s Government who crashed the economy—who saw inflation rise to 11.1% and growth flatline. It was his Government who spent the reserves three times over. I will take no lessons from the hon. Gentleman.”
“We took the difficult decisions to fix the £22 billion black hole that they left behind, and while they are reinventing the past, we are investing in the future.”
“After that display, it is clear that the hon. Gentleman did not recognise the result of the general election and has learned nothing. While this Government have been fixing the mess that the Conservatives left, they have been desperately trying to rewrite history. They come here every week, jumping on a new bandwagon and taking a new pot-shot, but with absolutely no word on what they will do differently. Last week, the Leader of the Opposition admitted that she supported Labour’s plans to invest in the NHS, schools and homes. The Conservatives want all the benefits of the Budget, but have no idea how they will pay for them. The faces may change, but it is the same old Tory party: straight back to putting everything on the credit card, spending the reserves three times over.”
“The situation in the middle east is catastrophic, and I know the whole House is horrified at the terrible loss of civilian life. We are calling at every opportunity for an immediate ceasefire, with the release of the hostages and more aid into Gaza, but we urge Israel to ensure that UNRWA can continue its lifesaving work, something the Foreign Secretary has discussed directly with the Israeli Foreign Minister. We have imposed sanctions in response to appalling incidents of settler violence and have suspended export licences for arms, following a review that found a clear risk that they may be used to commit or facilitate violations of international law. We will continue to seek a two-state solution, with a secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestine.”
“I thank the hon. Member for that question. The Chancellor is sat near me, and I know that, through our discussions, we wanted to ensure that social care was protected. That is why we confirmed £600 million of new grant funding for social care next year, an uplift to local government spending and an £86 million increase to the disabled facilities grant. Our Employment Rights Bill will help deliver the first ever fair pay agreement for the social care sector as well, and we will also ensure that the NHS is funded to help with the social care situation.”
“Again, I am sorry to hear that Cathy is distressed by the scaremongering around what the Labour party is doing. The Budget delivered £5 billion for farming over the next two years—a record amount. The last Government failed to spend £300 million on farmers. Our plan is sensible, fair and proportionate, and protects the smaller estates while fixing public services that they rely on.”
“Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed in school and beyond, and I am sorry to hear of the experience in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Last week, I visited Ravensfield primary school in my constituency, and its school council had a lot to say about the resources to our schools. We have increased the core schools budget by £2.3 billion next year, increasing per-pupil funding in real terms. As her constituency is the home of the British Army, I know she will also welcome the expansion of childcare support to service families deployed overseas, saving families around £3,400 a year. I am happy to ensure that she gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.”
“The hon. Member talks about CVs, and it is good to see him doing well on his Bench: once a Labour councillor, then a Tory MP, now a Reform Chief Whip. Every time he switches party, he gets a promotion. I have already outlined what we have done to support our farmers. We will continue to support the farmers and we will continue to invest in our public services to get Britain back on track.”
“Free speech and our press are incredibly important—they are part of our democracy—but in direct response to my hon. Friend’s question, the police are independent and it is a live investigation, so it would not be appropriate for me to comment on that. I believe that we should have a free press. It is part of our democracy, and we should have free speech, but with that comes responsibility for those who do it.”
“I say to the hon. Gentleman and to Duncan and Nicola that this Government have not declared war on farmers. The vast majority of farms will not pay any inheritance tax. We have protected them. We have been as generous as we can. The farmers rely on our public services, like everybody else. We inherited a £22 billion black hole from the Conservatives, who spent reserves three times over. We are investing in our schools, our hospitals, our public services and housing. If the hon. Gentleman does not agree with that, then, like the Leader of the Opposition, he should say what he would do differently .”
“I am sorry to hear about the situation in Stroud, and I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue for women in his constituency. The Darzi report clearly set out that under the previous Government, the NHS was broken, with patients waiting too long for care. We are committed to ensuring that all women and babies receive safe, compassionate and personalised care through pregnancy, birth and, critically, the following months. We will ensure that maternity services deliver the best outcomes for patients as we invest to build an NHS fit for the future.”
“The right hon. Lady is right to say that I value the work of care providers and carers across the whole of the United Kingdom. That is why we have put in additional funding through the Budget. We have been ensuring that for care providers and charities, including hospices, the tax regime is among the most generous in the world. That includes tax relief for charities and their donors worth more than £6 billion for the tax year ending April 2024. We have put record funding into our NHS, we have increased funding into adult and children’s social care and we will continue to support our public services, which were left on their knees by the last Government.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for being such a champion for Plymouth. As he knows, we are providing £25 billion extra over the next two years for the Department of Health and Social Care, including the largest real-terms capital budget since 2010. We will ensure that every corner of the UK will see the generosity, and that services will improve for them. I will make sure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss in detail how Plymouth can capitalise on that.”
“We have committed to 350 banking hubs through this Parliament. I am sure that the Minister will be happy to meet the hon. Member on that point. I hope he will thankful for the levelling-up fund round 2 money that we secured, with £14.3 million going to Waltham Cross renaissance project, to regenerate the town centre for his constituents.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his expertise and his work before he came to this place. Tory austerity has decimated neighbourhood policing. We will put thousands more neighbourhood police and police community support officers back on our streets, to ensure that every community has a named local officer. We will tackle illegal drugs, halve knife crime, crack down on antisocial behaviour and go after the gangs who lure young people into violence.”
“As the right hon. Gentleman knows, we always follow the strict rules on planning, ensuring that safety and other factors are always taken into consideration, and we will continue to do so.”
“I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. Unjustified increases to service charges are completely unacceptable. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will provide homeowners with greater rights, powers and protections over their homes, including greater transparency over service charges. Leaseholders have been ripped off for too long. It is this Government who will sort it out.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. We are committed to championing human rights, including the right to freedom of religion and belief. I join him in marking Red Wednesday, an important moment to show support for all those persecuted around the world for their religion and belief. Today, we will light up Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office buildings in the UK in red in support of that. Envoy roles are under consideration and will be decided on in due course.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this case. My thoughts are with Harshita’s family in this horrifying set of circumstances, where Harshita should have been protected and felt protected. The Government are committed to halving violence against women and girls. We continue to do our work, hopefully across the House, to make sure that we can end the circumstances Harshita faced and we can stop this kind of barbaric action.”
“Mr Speaker, what can I say? I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman—may I say my hon. Friend?—about the Spelthorne Litter Pickers. Those who come together to volunteer and help, in particular young people who do a lot of this, play an important role in all our constituencies. I think across the whole House we congratulate the Spelthorne Litter Pickers on their award, and all those who do voluntary work to support our communities.”
“I too declare an interest: my hon. Friend and I used to be convenors for Unison North West, and I champion the work that she has done on behalf of her constituents and for working people. The Government are delivering on their plan to make work pay, and to ensure that employment rights are fit for a modern economy. The Employment Rights Bill will benefit people in some of the most deprived areas in the country, and will save them up to £600 a year in replacing lost income from the hidden costs of insecure work. I commend the work that many Members—some on the Opposition Benches, but in particular some on ours—have done to bring the Bill to fruition.”
“I know where the right hon. Gentleman is trying to go with this. While it is tempting— [Interruption.] What I will say to the right hon. Gentleman is that in the last four months our Chancellor has shown more competence than the last four Chancellors that were appointed by his Government.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who is entirely right to raise the subject of the impact of the SNP’s irresponsible management of Scotland’s finances and the austerity that it is inflicting on his constituents. Our Budget rejected a return to austerity. We delivered the largest real-terms funding settlement for Scotland since devolution, and the result of the Budget is clear: the SNP has the powers, it has the money, and it has no more excuses.”
“I am sincerely sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s constituent’s husband, the terrible diagnosis at stage 4, and the delays leading up to that. We have explained before how difficult the inheritance was in respect of the cancer diagnosis waiting lists. People are waiting far too long for treatment, which is why the Chancellor put a record amount of money into our NHS so that we could catch cancer in time. I know that the Health Secretary is determined, as a personal endeavour, to ensure that people do not have to wait and do not end up in the circumstances that are so tragic for the hon. Lady’s constituent.”
“This Government are committed to delivering 1.5 million quality homes over this Parliament. Under the Tories, house building plummeted as they bowed to pressure from their Back Benchers to scrap local housing targets. We are taking bold action to reform our planning system, deliver a new generation of new towns and unblock stalled housing sites.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Compulsory purchase orders can be used by local authorities to acquire empty properties where the authority can demonstrate that the acquisition would be in the public interest. I am also aware that there is a problem with homes built under section 106 agreements being left empty. The Government will continue to work with house builders, local authorities and affordable housing providers to tackle the problems. I am sure that the Housing Minister will be happy to meet him.”
“The hon. Member will know that we are looking at a number of measures to help council houses to be built. Further measures will be announced in the Budget, as I have mentioned in a written ministerial statement today. We want councils and social housing providers to be able to build those homes, and we will help them as much as we can.”
“I welcome my hon. Friend to his place, and the reason he is here—he is absolutely correct on this—is that the previous Government did nothing to help house building, and we did not see growth either. This Government will reform our planning system, deliver a new generation of new towns, unblock stalled housing sites and reform the housing market, as well as delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation.”
“The right hon. Member will know that we have already set out a number of steps, including the brownfield passport and the national planning policy framework, and the use of local housing targets to ensure that brownfield is used first and we get the houses that we desperately need. For the last 14 years, the Conservatives failed to meet their housing target every single year. This Government are determined to meet our target.”
“Britain is facing the sharpest housing crisis ever because of the failure of Conservative Members. We will ensure, through our mandatory housing targets and in the announcements that have been made, and that will be made in the Budget, that we get the houses that Britain needs. [ Interruption. ]”
“We will ensure that houses are built to decent homes standards, which we have already set out, and that we meet those targets—unlike in the 14 years under the Conservatives.”
“This Government are getting on with fixing the mess the Tories left behind. We will deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation, and at the Budget this week the Chancellor will set out the next steps, including an additional £500 million for the existing affordable homes programme to deliver up to 5,000 new social and affordable homes.”
“I welcome my hon. Friend to his place, and he is absolutely right: it is a source of national shame that just over 1.3 million households are on social housing waiting lists. Nearly 14,000 of them are in Northumberland alone. This Government do not accept that it has to be this way; we will deliver a fairer, more sustainable right-to-buy scheme where existing social housing stock is protected to meet housing need. I recognise the particular housing challenges faced by rural communities, and that is why the Government announced that the 2021 to 2026 affordable homes programme will be targeted, so that 5% to 10% of delivery outside London will be homes in rural areas.”
“Again, my hon. Friend makes an important point. We want to support councils to make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply. That is why the Chancellor will set out at the Budget our plans to allow councils to keep 100% of the receipts generated by right-to-buy sales and to increase protections for newly built social homes. We are committed to giving first-time buyers a first chance to buy homes and to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme.”
“I once got stranded in Rugby on a train, so I have visited that wonderful area before. I am in complete agreement with my hon. Friend; councils should not be losing homes through right to buy quicker than they can be replaced. It is great to hear that councillors in Rugby are working hard to meet demand. The Chancellor will set out at the Budget the action we are taking to reduce right-to-buy discounts to deliver a more sustainable scheme. We will also increase protections on newly built social housing to allow councils to keep 100% of the receipts generated by right-to-buy sales.”
“I agree with the hon. Member about nuisance neighbours; we do need to do something about that. That is why there are provisions, so that councils can take action on people who are nuisance neighbours. They should not be terrorising other people who are trying to live nice lives.”
“The hon. Member makes an important point, and I welcome her to her place. We want to see communities being able to build houses, and we want to ensure that those houses are safe and secure and that we work with community housing trusts and others to deliver the 1.5 million homes. I am sure that the Housing Minister will be happy to meet her to discuss the matter.”
“The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I am aware of those concerns, and the Government will continue to work with house builders, local authorities and affordable housing providers to tackle the problem. We need to make sure that section 106 notices are adhered to and that when we have affordable and social housing on those sites, they are tenanted and people are in there.”
“As I have already told the House, this week’s Budget will set out our next steps to put us on the path to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation. The Chancellor will set out further details on a number of measures, including a cash injection for the affordable homes programme, confirming funding for new social housing projects and a consultation on a long-term social housing rent settlement. We will provide certainty and stability, and reform right to buy to deliver a fair, sustainable scheme.”
“Far be it from me to take on the Hazel Grove 16 and 17 year-olds—the hon. Member knows that I know Hazel Grove very well. This Government are committed to our manifesto commitment to give votes at 16, and we will make sure that we do that before the next general election.”
“I am really proud of our Employment Rights Bill and I am really proud to stand here as someone who advocates for flexible working. We do not dictate to councils how they run their services; we work with councils. The right hon. Lady should be able to work out that flexible working is no threat to business and no threat to the economy. In fact, it will boost productivity.”
“The new deal for working people is contained in the Employment Rights Bill, which had its Second Reading last week. We will continue to push forward other measures that do not require legislation, but what we hope to see is a new culture between business, trade unions and local communities to ensure that work really does pay.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I cannot wait to join him at Bubbles in the Park on a future date, as Burnley is not that far away from my constituency. He is absolutely right to celebrate the work of volunteers in communities and public servants, who give their time and energy to strengthen our local areas and bring people together.”