Matt Rodda
MP for Reading Central · Labour · United Kingdom
“Other local authorities are doing the same, but I would like to see a broader movement across the country with more councils taking up these sensible policy options, investing in council housing and providing more council homes to residents who unfortunately are unable to buy a home of their own.”
“It is a great pleasure to speak in this debate. I welcome this Bill, particularly the very important measures to support victims of domestic violence and the sensible measures to reform the right to buy.”
“That means that for many people, it is extremely difficult to become an owner-occupier, and social, affordable and council housing is extremely important in our community. I have seen terraced houses split up and subdivided into HMOs or two flats for residents, who are under extreme pressure.”
“One of the great pleasures I have had recently as an MP was visiting the opening of new council houses in Coley in Reading and seeing wonderful modern homes that are being built by Reading borough council next to existing council properties—it is using land more efficiently, finding more space for houses and improving local facilities, su…”
“I also look forward to further action to crack down on irresponsible landlords and support tenants. I know that the Minister is working very hard on a number of measures in that regard, including on management companies.”
“I welcome the Minister’s statement and thank her for her work in this important area. Will she say a little more about rewilding in lowland Britain, tree planting and changes to agricultural practices, all of which reduce emissions of carbon and, indeed, capture carbon? Could she perhaps mention the work in towns as well?”
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“I welcome the Minister’s statement and thank her for her work in this important area. Will she say a little more about rewilding in lowland Britain, tree planting and changes to agricultural practices, all of which reduce emissions of carbon and, indeed, capture carbon? Could she perhaps mention the work in towns as well? There is some fantastic work along the Thames in my area that she might want to see.”
“My hon. Friend and other colleagues are making some very powerful points today. Is she going to come on to the important issue of medical training and education for doctors and other medical professionals, and the possible benefits of greater public awareness? The Department of Health and Social Care has historically done very important work leading on public awareness campaigns on illnesses and other issues in the health world. I hope that my hon. Friend will be able to highlight that as well.”
“It is important to recognise this wider legacy. In my area of Reading, we are waiting for a new hospital to be built. One was promised by the last Government, but no funding was provided, and there are very real-world implications of continuing with old buildings in such a state, like our A&E. I appreciate my hon. Friend raising this matter, and I look forward to the Minister providing further details.”
“Again and again, residents are being put under pressure. In one case, a resident rightly used the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to demand a breakdown of the payments that they were due to be charged, but the managing agent did not respond by the statutory deadline. That is the level of poor service that some of my residents and colleagues’ residents face. I urge the Minister to continue taking action on this important matter.”
“Friend and others pointed out. In one of the blocks in the area, residents have gone through the extremely lengthy process of getting commonhold. That has led to a 50% reduction in the fees that the residents have to pay. That is a very clear indication of both the necessity of reform and the difficulties that some face in achieving it. I realise that time is pressing, so I will try to pool together several other case studies, from Reading town centre and other parts of our town, relating to failures by FirstPort, Moreland Estate and other management companies. Companies have allowed antisocial behaviour to take place in stairwells, which leaves residents intimidated, and have had a poor response to fire and remediation issues. This is some years after the Grenfell disaster. There is also a series of other difficult problems.”
“For example, it has failed for months to repair the shutters on the entrance to a car park, and has allowing antisocial behaviour to creep into the car park under residents’ properties. It also failed to restore hot water, which was unavailable in some of the flats. There has been a whole series of other problems. For example, Remus expected residents to pay for the upkeep and closure of a park in which there was some antisocial behaviour. There are related issues involving other management companies, such as parking problems on some roads. This is all causing extreme stress for residents in the area. I had a public meeting with a number of residents recently, and they explained that very clearly to me. Rightly, residents are outraged by the behaviour of these companies. The potential for reform is very clear, as my hon.”
“They bought an attractive flat in what they thought was a nice development, only to be let down extremely badly by these companies, who treat them in an appalling way, offer a very poor service, and charge high costs. I will mention two case studies. The first is an attractive development in west Reading, for which Remus is the managing agent. It is near to a large Tesco and some parks. It is an attractive redevelopment of a hospital site, with low and medium-rise brick buildings that fit the built environment. Many young families live there. It should be a pleasant place to live. However, there are problems with antisocial behaviour, and Remus has persistently failed to respond to very reasonable inquiries and requests by residents.”
“I thank the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), for all her work on this issue. I also thank the whole Committee and the experts who testified. I would like to speak in favour of the Government’s proposals, and will briefly describe the situation in my constituency and the wild west of management agents, as described by my hon. Friend. Too many of my residents face deep frustration, even anger, because of the actions of these companies. In many cases, people have worked extremely hard to get a foot on the housing ladder.”
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent point. Does she agree that there is genuine excitement and joy from families when they see the benefits of this investment? She and I have both witnessed that in our community in Reading. The Government are building on a great tradition in that local authority; I wish other local authorities invested to that extent.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement, and I welcome the work to make the scheme fairer and more sustainable. Can she say a little more about the measures under way to encourage rewilding, the planting of trees and other measures further upstream in river catchments, as well as measures to encourage all landowners to behave responsibly and to stop temporary dams from building up under culverts, bridges or in other locations where localised flooding might otherwise happen?”
“Thank you, Mr Turner. I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his time. Just to add to his words on this issue, many local councils are doing the right thing. I had the great pleasure of attending the opening of the new Central library in Reading, in great contrast to the experience of my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) in his town.”
“Will the Secretary of State provide more detail on the innovation fund, particularly on how it will support increased profitability while, at the same time, driving reductions in the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and other dangerous, climate-damaging gases?”
“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. He is absolutely right to point out the benefits of devolution and encouraging local authorities to do more. There are many local authorities, not just at mayoral level but among the smaller local authorities, that have a strong track record. I recommend my own local council, Reading borough council, but there are many others who have introduced swathes of solar and other measures.”
“I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and for robust way in which she is standing up for residents and the environment on this very important issue. My constituents are appalled by the sewage pollution in the River Thames and by the poor quality of customer service offered by Thames Water. We have had numerous breaks in supply and there was an issue with subsidence that closed a road in Reading. Can she tell me more about the process that will be followed by Ofwat and the action she will take through the clean water Bill?”
“I urge the hon. Gentleman to reconsider his point about the importance of building near railway stations. My experience, and that of many other Members along the length of the Elizabeth line, is that it is generating a huge amount of economic growth, which is very significant in our communities. It is also reusing a great deal of brownfield land, and I hope that would also benefit the hon. Gentleman’s constituents.”
“I hope that we can all come together to support that. I should declare a bit of an interest in that not only do I represent a town that has seen huge growth thanks to rail investment, but I was involved in the Paddington rail crash and was lucky to survive it. I am a regular commuter, and I also thank the RMT and ASLEF for supporting my general election campaigns in the past.”
“This important Bill will bring track and train together and deliver enormous benefits for local residents, not least in constituencies such as Reading Central, where we have a significant number of commuters, but also a lot of economic growth generated by rail investment. It is a shame that I was not able to discuss that further with the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) after his slight misunderstanding of my point on this matter. It is important to consider the benefits of rail in terms of economic growth to the country. While the Elizabeth line cost about £18 billion, in the first three years it operated—it has now operated for several years—£42 billion of economic growth was generated by that wise investment. It was backed by both main parties and, I would hope, other smaller parties as well.”
“It is a pleasure to speak in the debate. I want to address some of the issues raised by new clause 22 and other new clauses in relation to disabled people. If I could just make it clear for the sake of the record, I did not mean to sign new clause 22 and, in fact, I have asked the office to remove my name from that clause, although it will not appear in the paperwork until tomorrow. I want to offer my wholehearted support for the Bill and to thank the Minister and, indeed, his predecessor as shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald), who I had the pleasure of working with in opposition.”
“I welcome today’s decisive action. There have been the most appalling tragedies across the country, including in my constituency, where parents have lost children due to online harms. I know the Minister and the Prime Minister are working closely with parents, but may I urge the Minister to continue to do that, to carry out the type of engagement he has been carrying out, and to listen to the example from Australia? We look forward to hearing about more decisive action in the near future.”
“The hon. Lady is being extremely generous with her time. In Reading, which is in the same rail region as my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham), there is an excellent example of where co-ordination between track and train is already emerging in freight. It is offering great benefits to passengers and taking vehicles off the road, as the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) mentioned is happening in the north-west.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) for securing this urgent question, and I thank the Minister for her approach to this difficult and appalling issue in Kent. Can she update the House a little bit more on the work to get meaningful compensation for the affected residents and businesses? In the longer term, what is she doing to improve the system of compensation? Many of my residents who had a water outage had to wait a long time for money to be paid back.”
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Would he agree that the European partnership Bill is particularly important to many small businesses in vital supply chains in the automotive sector and other key areas of our economy, which will benefit directly from that well thought-through measure?”
“Is my hon. Friend aware of the good research which shows that £1 invested in early years education is worth £16 invested later in a child’s life? Does she agree that that wise investment by our Government is both taking the economy forward and supporting families in a meaningful way?”
“The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent point in advocating for his area. Does he agree that sometimes cuts can inadvertently have a damaging effect on neighbouring areas? In my county of Berkshire, where there is an excellent fire service, cuts proposed in neighbouring Oxfordshire would have meant appliances in Reading having to travel up to 25 miles outside Reading to serve and cover for colleagues, leaving Reading exposed. Does he agree that that is not a great way to address these problems?”
“Can I thank my hon. Friend for the Government’s work on this important matter, which is much appreciated by many parents—in particular the work of looking ahead at what further measures might be taken to tackle online harms?”
“On the matter of phones, I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s action. It is important to see this issue from the point of view of parents, children and schools. Schools have to implement the ban, and the Minister has rightly set out how today’s amendment will give clarity to schools so that teachers will understand precisely what is meant. It will give greater signposting to taking action on phones in schools and, as a result, protect children. That is hugely important, and I very much welcome the Government’s work on this matter. I appreciate that other Members want to get in and that time is limited.”
“I hope that these matters can be addressed fully in the consultation, and that we can look in great detail at some of the challenges, because these are extremely difficult issues for our society and for parents. In my own life as a parent, I have found it difficult to fully comprehend the level of risk that is out there. We all face the challenge that social media, gaming and other technologies move very quickly, so it is important that we look at gaming and a range of other matters. I look forward to the consultation exploring this issue fully, looking in depth and, hopefully, answering the pleas from all the parents involved in the campaigns, because this is such a serious and important issue. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend the Minister, and with the Government as a whole, on this matter.”
“It is a pleasure to speak briefly this afternoon. I wanted to speak because we had a tragedy in my constituency, where a young boy of just 13 years old was stabbed and brutally murdered in a local park after a terrible series of incidents of online bullying. This is a very serious matter and I appreciate the Government’s work on it, and the consultation, which has enormous potential. I pay tribute to Olly’s mum and dad, who have been campaigning extremely hard on this matter, to tackle both the scourge of knife crime and social media and online harms. They have argued very powerfully for a ban at 16, but I am aware that there are contrary arguments, as the Select Committee Chair, the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), mentioned earlier. The Molly Rose Foundation and other campaigners take a different view.”
“It would be much appreciated if the Minister had a word with the Transport Department about the need for a direct flight and to pick up on other issues that have been raised by colleagues. I look forward to hearing his response.”
“I will, if I may, add some other practical points and make a request to the Minister to work with the Department for Transport. There are other issues that need to be addressed in relation to benefits and travel back and forth between the UK and Nepal. One that has been mentioned to me today is the lack of a direct flight from Britain to Nepal, which means that elderly veterans and their wives are often in transit in the Gulf—in normal times, I should say. This dramatically extends travel times, which is extremely difficult for residents who do not have any English. I have heard stories of cousins, nephews and other relatives having to accompany elderly pensioners to try to get them through practicalities at airports—things such as customs, finding the right gate and so on.”
“To give the House an idea, the pensions we are talking about can be as little as £300 a month, which, when added to pension credit, may bring the income for a couple to £1,600, but to rent a terraced house in Reading would take that entire income. These are people who are really struggling. They have given us incredible service but are often living in poor-quality accommodation. They are incredibly proud and incredibly hard-working, and they make an enormous contribution to Britain and to local communities across the country. I hope that the Minister, who is a great supporter of our armed forces families and has done a huge amount to support them, will listen to the debate carefully and think about the issues facing this group of veterans and their families.”
“I would like to mention briefly some other notable Gurkhas or Nepalese residents I know. Community worker Ram Galami, a former Gurkha, is a notable member of our community. Pratikshya Gurung is a nurse whose father was a Gurkha in the Indian Army, not the British Army. Most of all, Gyanraj Rai, who many hon. Members may have heard of, is a notable campaigner who has raised the issue of Gurkha pensions for many years. It is worth briefly touching on the significant practical issues that our residents face. My experience of the pre-1997 Gurkhas, who I have campaigned for since 2013, is that many live in poor-quality housing on very small incomes in the south-east of England or outer London—as well as many other high-cost parts of the country—and they are really struggling because of tight finances.”
“If I may, I will briefly pay tribute to one or two individuals before touching on the importance of dealing with the cost of living crisis, particularly for pre-1997 pensioners. Chandra Budhathoki has played an incredible role in developing the Forgotten British Gurkha charity in Reading, which provides support across a whole range of areas to veterans and their families. It is worth considering that often many family members and older Gurkhas—particularly their wives, as well as some other relatives—do not have a very high level of English. When serving in the Army, orders and instructions were often conveyed in Nepali. It is important to remember that there are some practical barriers to life in Britain; Chandra was instrumental in developing that important charity for our community.”
“They have played some part in every war that Britain has been involved in, and they have been involved in some of the most difficult and demanding engagements in British military history, including in particular the defence of India in world war two, when in 1944 Gurkha soldiers were involved in hand-to-hand fighting to stop the Japanese advance on India. They were also involved in the Falklands war and in Afghanistan. I read Kailash Limbu’s book about his service in Afghanistan, which is incredibly powerful and moving; I recommend it to colleagues across the House. The Gurkhas are the bravest of the brave, as has been said. In my community, they make an enormous contribution. We have several thousand Gurkhas and Nepalese residents living in Reading, which is a common experience for communities across Berkshire and outer London.”
“It is a privilege to be able to speak in the debate. I thank the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) for his excellent work in securing it. Many of my remarks will echo comments made by colleagues across the House. I will pay my own tribute to the Gurkhas and their incredible service to this country, mention some local residents in Reading—I would like to get on the record their contribution to our country—and point out some of the severe issues they face as a result of the cost of living crisis. I hope that the Minister will respond to those in his speech. To be clear, we as a country owe a debt of honour to our Gurkhas. For 200 years, they have served this country.”
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and I wholeheartedly support her campaign for her constituents, given the appalling situation they find themselves in. Does she agree that issues are often also at street level where, sadly, a tiny minority of residents drop off mattresses, old furniture and bags of rubbish, leaving them at the end of the street, causing a local stink and an eyesore? In my area, that is being tackled by the local authority, but we would like more resources. It is important that the Minister is present, and I look forward to her addressing the issue later.”
“The Minister is making an excellent speech. I am really pleased to hear about the new strategy and determination from the current Government, in contrast with their predecessors. Would she able to address—this is a niche matter, but it is really important in some areas—the issue of abandoned boats? We have a serious problem in our section of the River Thames with sunken boats. When I walk along the river, I can often spot three or four of them. They are an environmental hazard. Fuel oil could get out of these boats—”
“May I, too, welcome the Minister to her post, and say how wonderful it is to see her leading on this important work? On a point of clarification, I am sure the measure she mentions will be welcomed by local authorities. Certainly the experience in my area is that there are hotspots where local authorities struggle with enforcement on a range of issues, whether that is antisocial behaviour, noise, or other activities. Will the measure apply to all local authorities, or just those in some parts of the country? It would be wonderful if it is all local authorities.”
“Hopefully we can learn from their experience, build on what they have done and take things even further in our country to do even more to protect vulnerable young people and, indeed, vulnerable adults—the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) spoke about some of the appalling things involving adults as well. A specific aspect that is particularly challenging for many of us, as parents, is that this area is evolving so rapidly and it is very difficult for many to keep up. In fact, the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy about the need for parents to be reassured that they were doing the right thing and about the difficulty of finding the right way forward was very powerful. We need to think about how we can help parents, schools and other places where young people are.”
“I have a lot of interest, and I totally understand that in Stuart and Amanda’s case they would like to see a complete ban on social media for under-16s. There is a powerful case for that. I am not completely convinced, however, because I know that the Russell family take a different view and that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham said, there are practical issues around the risk of companies being able to circumvent some of those. I hope that when the Minister responds, he can give an early indication of some of the issues that are being discussed in the consultation. That is important work being led by the Government and it is extremely difficult. It is great that Australia and other countries have already taken some action.”
“Friend the Member for Gravesham (Dr Sullivan) in her work in relation to suicide. I have also come across that issue, which is absolutely appalling. I had the privilege—although it was a very difficult thing to do—of attending an event run by the Molly Rose Foundation. People were shown videos of some of the content she had been exposed to, which was quite shocking, and the deluge of the content and its repetitive nature through the algorithms targeting vulnerable young people—as my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham rightly said—and the way that young people are particularly vulnerable to these terrible images. However, we need to think very carefully—and this is the other point I ask the Minister to address—about the difficulty of trying to then respond to that.”
“Stuart and Amanda have tried very hard to raise awareness of the different aspects of this issue: the huge dangers of knife crime, the dangers of online bullying, the dangers of social media, and the effect of social media on young people. I know them very well as constituents. They have talked to me very powerfully about the way in which their son was addicted to his phone—they tried to take it off him and he threatened to run away. They believe he was being groomed through all sorts of other things that were happening online. It is absolutely shocking to see it from their perspective. Their experience is different to some of the other cases we have heard about today. We have heard some very powerful stories told by other colleagues about issues in their own constituencies, or other ones they have come across, in particular my hon.”
“I want to highlight the point at which the attack on Olly happened: it was before the Online Safety Act became law. However, some of the same issues still appear to be taking place. The two boys who carried out the attack were 13 and 14 years old at the time—it happened in 2021—had both seen videos and other images of knives on 11 different social media platforms. They had seen them repeatedly and none of the companies responsible for those platforms had taken any of that content down. These young people had been bombarded with these images and were sharing them. They were sharing pictures of knives and teenagers playing with knives in bedrooms. That may have influenced their behaviour. It is the most awful thing.”
“First, I will explain the case in Reading, which some Members may know about but others may not. My constituent Olly Stephens had just turned 13 years old when he was stabbed and brutally murdered by two other boys in a local park just yards from his house on the outskirts of the town. It happened through online bullying. The attack was heavily linked to the sharing of images of knives online, which led to his death. None of us can imagine the impact on his parents, Stuart and Amanda Stephens, and what they have been through. They are now incredibly powerful and determined campaigners against online harms. They have worked with Ian Russell and many other families. They have been able to explain some of the horror of what happens in these dreadful incidents. It is worth explaining a little bit about their views on regulating social media.”
“It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward). I have been very impressed and moved by the quality of the speeches from across the House. I really do appreciate the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) securing today’s important debate. I want to touch on two specific aspects of this issue: to try to explain the awful impacts of some these cases, based on a case I have been involved in of a constituent who sadly was killed through online bullying; and to address some of the issues—my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy made very good points about the enormous difficulties that parents face—and ask the Minister to hopefully give us some indication of the Government’s direction of travel.”
“When he looks into this further, can he take submissions from MPs, where we have been carrying out our own, local work? I have done that, with a local consultation that is a mini version of the Government’s one. A very high proportion of people who responded wanted to see firm action. There is a range of views on what that might be, but there is certainly a serious intent to change things.”
“The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. The other thing to consider is that there would be a risk to older teenagers—those over 16—if the ban for under-16s were imposed. We may need to look at a number of complementary, but different, measures, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham also mentioned. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and the Minister might want to reflect on the work done by the company in his constituency. To conclude, it has been a privilege to speak today. This is an extremely difficult subject. It is wonderful that the House has been able to discuss it in some detail this afternoon, and I look forward to the Minister responding in a little bit more detail. I realise that the consultation is under way.”
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, and I congratulate him on securing today’s debate. Has he noticed in his work on this issue that in some cases, some international companies are paying inflationary increases in other jurisdictions where they operate, but not in the UK? There have been a number of instances of that in my area, where pensioners from Berkshire in schemes run by international companies have seen exactly that. For example, Irish pensioners or US pensioners get an increase, but not British pensioners.”
“Given my area is in the south-east of England, I would like to highlight the challenges faced by young people living in higher-cost areas. I know that the Minister cares deeply about this issue, and it was a great pleasure to have her in Reading recently talking to families about special educational needs. She does care and she is looking into this issue, so I hope that we will hear more about it. We have had a terrible inheritance, but action has been taken, and I look forward to hearing more.”
“There have been some thoughtful comments about their power and importance to many people of lower means in encouraging them to get on with studying at university. The Government are doing wider work to tackle the cost of living, and it is important to see the support for maintenance loans in that context. The freeze on rail fares will help students and young people, as will the move to cut energy prices. We have also heard about the work to support renters. Indeed, the work to build more houses will help young people buy their own homes. The Government are helping our young people in many ways. There remains more to be done, as has been said, and I ask the Minister to continue to look into the effects of the plan 2 scheme.”