Florence Eshalomi
MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“Many residents across the country have lived with uncertainty about the safety of their homes, their financial security and their ability to move on with their lives. We recognise the impact that building safety can have not only on people’s homes, but on their wellbeing and peace of mind.”
“Government remediation programmes require that fire risk appraisals of external walls be undertaken using this methodology. To further safeguard quality and ensure consistency in assessments, the remediation Bill will mandate how external wall assessments are carried out, to align with our best practice remediation programmes and ensure a…”
“My hon. Friend will know that I will definitely continue to lobby Treasury colleagues very hard, and any help from colleagues around the House will be helpful. In the meantime, the current system includes a new initiative looking at digital building control programmes.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for raising that point. He highlighted examples of various developments in his constituency, including Drayton Park and Highbury Gardens, underlining the fact that innocent leaseholders have continued to pay exorbitant fees for many years.”
“The evidence is informing ongoing engagement with insurers and wider work to understand how insurance costs can better reflect improvements in building safety as remediation progresses.”
“We are considering how we can go further to protect residents, particularly those who fall outside existing protections, and to ensure that no responsible party can avoid its obligations.”
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“However, it is important that this change is not used to ride through significant changes without Committees having the chance to carry out proper scrutiny into how the measure will impact the lives of people up and down the country. It must also not be used to bypass scrutiny when a statement is amended so much over time as to become a de facto new statement. That is part of the role that we were elected to carry out by this House, and it is something that helps give confidence to the whole House that we have properly considered the statements before us.”
“As the Minister said then, this is “about ensuring that scrutiny is proportionate to the changes being made,”. —[ Official Report , 9 June 2025; Vol. 768, c. 756.] However, we must be honest and say that even amendments to statements can have a massive impact on our communities up and down the country. Sometimes that impact is even bigger than that of Bills, which are subject to the full weight of parliamentary scrutiny. I understand the point that the Minister made in Committee, which is that the system has led to unacceptable delays, sometimes for several months. I also know as much as anyone that just because a Committee recommends something to Ministers, it is far from a guarantee that the Government will change their policy.”
“I also welcome reforms to address water supply and encourage the building of badly needed reservoirs, as well as measures to ensure that developers have extra time to commence work when a court grants a judicial review. That sensible and proportional approach will ensure that permissions do not expire through no fault of the developer, and avoid any unnecessary repetition of the whole planning process. As Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, I wish to touch on two points that relate to the scrutiny we have in this place for planning and infrastructure. The first relates to Lords amendment 1, which is identical to amendment 83, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier) on Report.”
“I pay tribute to those in the other place for their work in getting us to this stage. I am conscious of time—it is a Thursday, and many Members want to speak—so I will not go into great depth on the amendments. However, I welcome the changes that the Government have made in the other place, and the work of Ministers to reach a compromise to get the Bill on to the statute book as soon as possible. I particularly welcome the series of pragmatic Government amendments on environmental delivery plans. It is critical to ensure that any system to protect our environment is robust, and the measures outlined by the Government will go some way to quelling some of the fears outlined not just in the other place but by Members across this House on Report.”
“My hon. Friend is a proud advocate of highlighting that issue, which we constantly raise with the Minister. This is about ensuring that our councils are part of the building process, and the new social and affordable homes package—the £39 billion—will help to ensure that we build those homes. It is good to see that package. The prospectus was announced last week, and bids will be coming in from February 2026—build, baby, build!”
“As we come to the end of celebrating Black History Month, it is vital that we continue to promote diversity in all workplaces. Does the Minister agree that it is fundamental for us to have DEI practices in all workforces so that we can fight for equality, fairness and transparency and prevent discrimination, especially the discrimination that far too many people still face in the workplace?”
“As transport geeks will know, the British Transport police has a strange funding mechanism: it is funded by the industry, not by the Home Office. As we take on more control of the public network and train services, responsibility for funding will fall to the Government. Will the Home Secretary and Transport Secretary consider that, and ensure that the British Transport police is fully funded to protect people on public transport?”
“I associate myself with the powerful tributes to the train driver, staff and members of the public. The incident demonstrates the importance of having more than one staff member on trains. The train guards play a vital role in protecting passengers. My constituency is home to Vauxhall and Waterloo—busy mainline stations. In under six weeks, millions of people will travel home for Christmas on the public network. They need to be reassured that train travel is an efficient and good way to travel across the country. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary mentioned that there will be additional resources across the network for the next few weeks. Will that go on into the busy Christmas period? This issue is also covered by the Department for Transport.”
“We hope that the strategy will include an impact assessment to show how the policy changes will add up to the 1.5 million new homes and finally give the sector some certainty about what is planned for the rest of this Parliament. Our most urgent request of the Government is to bring forward the long-term housing strategy within weeks, not months. The sector needs to have confidence in the road map ahead. We think that some of the pragmatic, uncontroversial reforms to land value capture would help to unlock new homes and should be part of that road map. We look forward to a timely response from the Government. I thank all the witnesses and organisations who supported our inquiry, and I commend the report to the House.”
“We recommend that the Government implement a new 30-month local plan timeline as a priority so that the national reforms lead to change on the ground. The truth is that while planning reform might be able to deliver more planning permissions, that is not the same as building 1.5 million new homes. The Government must look at the wider issues in the housing market such as mortgages, build-out rates and the workforce capacity. They have started consultation on some of those issues, but there is no overarching long-term housing strategy. The Government promised that the strategy would be published in spring of this year, but we are still waiting.”
“Therefore, we recommend that the Government bring forward the funding development corporations at the Budget so that the land agreements are in place before the final locations are confirmed in the spring. Finally, our report takes a step back from land value to consider the progress towards the target of 1.5 million new homes. It is fair to say that the Department has had a busy first year, with a range of planning reform and legislation. However, our Committee has heard a lot of doubt and uncertainty from the sector. Even the Government told us that the target is “stretching” and “hugely ambitious”. The Government were quick to update the housing targets in the national planning policy framework last year, but on average local plans are still taking seven years to produce.”
“Our report also finds that there is a vital opportunity for land value capture in new towns to fund the roads, GPs and schools that they will need. However, we are concerned that some of the opportunity may have already been missed. The Government have published maps of possible site locations, yet without policy to protect their land value from speculative development. The new towns taskforce specifically recommended that the Government protect the locations or risk “jeopardising the new town plans.” We are concerned that land values in those areas may already be rising, long before the Government have set up the development corporations to purchase the land.”
“My Committee has asked to see what impact assessment the Department has done on that, but the modelling has not been published yet. We are concerned that, in evidence to our inquiry, the Greater London Authority said that reducing affordable housing targets can inflate land values, inflate developer returns and slow down housing delivery. The Department must therefore publish its modelling in the coming weeks. The Committee has recommended that if there is a decline in the number of affordable homes built in London, the Government should reinstate the 35% target. That is an area that my Committee wants to scrutinise further in coming weeks, including when the detailed consultation is launched in November.”
“Therefore, the Government must push for greater coverage of CIL where it is financially viable. To support that, we recommend that the Government publish a map of CIL coverage. That would make the whole system easier for developers to navigate and bring an end to the complex patchwork of different local rates. The evidence we heard from across the sector, including from developers, was clear: the Government must extend CIL coverage where possible to support new communities and unlock more housing. That is why we were surprised to hear last week that the Government are planning to cut CIL for some developments in London and effectively cut London’s affordable housing target from 35% to 20%. The Secretary of State has said that cutting London’s target will increase the number of social and affordable homes built overall.”
“What is more, the Government are restricting access to level 7 planning apprenticeships, despite the skills White Paper’s ambition for more young people to pursue degree-level apprenticeships. We recommend that the Government look at that again and extend access to degree- level planning apprenticeships to students of all ages. We heard that only 52% of local authorities are currently charging the community infrastructure levy, perhaps in no small part because planning departments are so stretched. Local authorities often want their staff to prioritise affordable housing delivery rather than administering CIL, which cannot be used to fund affordable housing. However, where CIL is charged, we have heard that it is a vital tool to fund infrastructure, which residents expect alongside new housing.”
“We heard that local authorities are often tasked with formulating complex legal wording when they should be focusing on site- specific factors such as the community benefits from the development. We therefore recommend that the Government should introduce template clauses for section 106 agreements, and that local authorities should be encouraged to adopt them. Local planning authorities must be supported with the resources they need to negotiate section 106 agreements on behalf of communities, but the reality is that planning departments have been long stretched. The Government’s pledge to fund 300 new planning officers demonstrates that they recognise the problem, but that is equivalent to less than one planning officer in each local authority in England.”
“If the Government are serious about delivering new towns, new communities and the infrastructure they require, they must look at reforming land value capture. Our inquiry considered how pragmatic reforms can help to support a rapid increase in house building, which would contribute to the Government’s target of delivering 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament. Our report also takes stock of the Government’s first-year progress towards that target. Stakeholders told our inquiry that there are several easy wins for reform of section 106. Modest changes could streamline the process for local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprise developers, while delivering more affordable housing, including much-needed homes for social rent. Currently, the section 106 negotiation process can be unpredictable, complex and drawn out.”
“The value of private land also rises when we build new infrastructure nearby, such as road schemes or train links. Those increases in land values are not caused by investment from landowners; they are the result of decisions by local authorities. It is therefore right that land value capture policies seek to recover a fair percentage of those profits for public benefit. Currently, England’s land value capture system has two key parts. The first is planning obligations through section 106 agreements, which require developers to build affordable homes and public infrastructure alongside homes. The second is the community infrastructure levy—a cash payment to local authorities to fund roads, GPs, schools and other critical investment.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. This week, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee published our third report, following our inquiry into land value capture. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allocating time for this statement, and I thank the HCLG Committee staff for their help in preparing the report. I also thank our specialist adviser, Professor Richard Dunning from the University of Liverpool, for his guidance throughout the process. In many ways, the cost of land is one of the biggest root causes of the housing crisis. Land is usually the single biggest expense of any new housing development. When farmland is granted planning permission for housing, its value can soar.”
“I thank my fellow Committee member for her useful points. I know this is an issue close to her heart. She represents a rural constituency where additional infrastructure is needed with the new housing, because people need to get to work as well as having somewhere to live, and community facilities are vital. For far too long, many developers have been promising the earth to get over the hurdle of the planning application. Good developers fulfil their obligations, but some renege on them. We hope the Government will look at our recommendations to make the process a lot easier so that there is transparency and, most importantly, so that communities get the infrastructure that they were promised as part of the new developments.”
“I thank the hon. Member for his question. I know that there are constituencies on the outskirts of London that are feeling the impact of a lack of affordable housing, and there are issues with temporary accommodation. A number of London boroughs simply do not have enough homes to house people, so they look to neighbouring boroughs. The Government are working with the Mayor of London to investigate the issue. They are challenging the mayor on his commitments in the London plan, and we continue to work with him to look at that as well. The Government hope to commit to ensuring that our Committee has monthly updates on the new affordable housing targets that they have agreed with the mayor. That will be open for public scrutiny once the Committee has looked at that.”
“It is really good to have my hon. Friend’s knowledge and expertise on the Committee; he is always citing reasons why new towns are successful and something that this Government should support wholeheartedly. The key thing that we want to ensure is that funding is attached to deliver on those recommendations, including by ensuring a mixture of homes in new towns. The new towns taskforce has recommended a 40% target for affordable homes, including a minimum target of 20% for social rent. We hope the Government will look favourably on that recommendation, and we can see how building those homes will help to make a dent in the housing crisis that exists across all constituencies in the UK.”
“I want to tease out more from the Secretary of State on private funding, because in a number of cases, developers commit to something, but then the viability issue comes up, and the money never seems to appear. Will she ensure that there is funding to secure the transport infrastructure that will be vital if there is any new airport runway?”
“I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and am pleased to hear that this will be a thorough and meaningful consultation, because even though my constituency is not near the airport, my constituents in Camberwell, Stockwell and Brixton write to me regularly to say that they are suffering from air and noise pollution. The Secretary of State talked about infrastructure; a key point will be ensuring that more people use public transport to get to Heathrow. The reality is that some upgrades to the airport have not had the funding over many years, as the Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), highlighted.”
“13. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Climate Change Committee’s 2025 report entitled “Progress in reducing emissions”.”
“I welcome the Minister to her place—it is good to see her among the line of men on the Treasury Bench. I have just finished chairing a meeting of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee. One issue that we discussed was decent home standards. Emissions from homes is another key area that we need to bear down on, given the Government’s priority of improving minimum energy performance certificate standards by 2030. I appreciate that the Minister has been in post for only a few weeks, but what discussions has she had with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that the private rented sector database will contain information on EPC ratings, so that all our residents can live in warm, secure and safe homes?”
“Does the Prime Minister agree that any initiative that bypasses the Palestinians in favour of externally imposed initiatives will fail?”
“I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister on the awful attack in Manchester and the attack in Peacehaven. I want to highlight the issue of aid workers and the work of UNRWA with many British aid organisations including Oxfam, and Christian Aid and Islamic Relief, which are both based in my constituency. The UN has highlighted that to date, over 500 aid workers have lost their lives, including British aid workers. We must recognise the hard work that aid workers are doing. The Prime Minister has been very clear—and we are united in this House—that Hamas must not have any role in the rebuilding of Gaza. It has to be led by Palestinian civil society and the communities who have faced decades of siege, occupation and military violence.”
“I welcome the Secretary of State and his Ministers to their positions. I very much look forward to welcoming them to meetings of the Select Committee; we are a fair and robust Committee. The Minister highlighted the inter-ministerial group, which the former Secretary of State chaired and saw as being very important. The issue cuts across all departmental groups. It is important, because within two months, as we go into the next year, and in the next financial year, we will see over 170,000 young children in temporary accommodation —in homelessness. That should worry all of us. The inter-ministerial group has met four times. Can the Minister confirm that the group will continue to be convened—and if it will, who will chair it?”
“Every community should feel confident about reporting crime to the police, but we know that for every hate crime reported, many more go unreported, because people do not feel safe or have confidence in the police. Will the Home Secretary look at some of the issues across our police forces?”
“I thank the Home Secretary for her statement and agree with her that anyone seeking to divide us will only unite us. I join hon. Members in paying tribute to both Melvin and Adrian’s families. I refer the Home Secretary to the comments from my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane) about looking at the issues in policing across the country. Sadly, the Home Secretary will be aware of the recent exposé on the Met police, who are responsible for some of the major counter-terrorism operations across the country. Those seeking to protect people who report hate crime should not be the perpetrators of hate crime, and we saw some disgraceful behaviour in that exposé. This week is National Hate Crime Awareness Week.”
“All our diplomats working across many missions in many countries do not make the headlines, but they are representing the UK with distinction week in, week out. I know that is replicated across many countries, including the deputy ambassador in Washington, who has taken over from Lord Mandelson. He has been described as a “highly regarded diplomat”, so we wish him well in his temporary role. The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry), rightly highlighted a number of important questions. I hope that the Government will be listening.”
“First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the many victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s appalling abuse. For many of them, this story is not a political one; it is a personal one. No one could fail to be moved by listening to the brother and sister on the news this Sunday in their first interview in the UK, with the void that family will now feel from their loss. Let us not detract from them and probably the many more victims who still have not come forward but are caught up in this scandalous and horrific abuse. I will keep my remarks short. I have recently returned from a trade envoy visit to Nigeria. What struck me on that visit was the hard work and dedication of our civil servants. I met the British deputy high commissioner.”
“Will the Minister—the Foreign Secretary is not here—assure the House that the recruitment process will be strengthened so that in future our ambassadors will bolster the standing of our civil servants on the global stage?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for making her point. I think about the amount of abuse that many parliamentarians in this Chamber sadly face—particularly black and minority ethnic Members—just for their mere existence. I know about the horrific domestic abuse that my hon. Friend has faced, and I hope that, with time, the Labour leadership will look at some of the issues around suspension. She will know that I am not privy to that, but I know that many of us continue to raise these issues with the leadership. I will finish by highlighting some of the many questions that I hope the Minister will respond to. The key question that many people are asking, including many of my constituents, is about the recruitment process going forward.”
“I thank the Minister for outlining the strongest condemnation of the attacks and the blatant disregard for Qatar’s sovereignty. I refer the House to my registered interests, as I visited Qatar last year and spoke to Ministers there. I saw how diligently they are working, day in and day out, to secure the ceasefire and the hostages, and to get that urgent aid in. Does the Minister share my view that Qatar’s role in mediating this conflict will be blown into jeopardy by the recent attack, and will he ensure that the Prime Minister continues to condemn this attack when he meets the Israeli President later this week?”
“My hon. Friend knows that one of the busy floating bus stops in my constituency is right outside St Thomas’ hospital, which I will confess I have had a few bumps on. She and I did oppose its introduction. Does she agree that all floating bus stops should be reviewed, so that when patients are going to important sites such as hospital, they are not being knocked from their bikes or buggies?”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that by getting this right and ensuring that we have bus stops that are accessible for everybody, including partially sighted people and disabled people, we will encourage more people to use public transport, because they will feel that it is safe and accessible for them?”
“Returning to the point made by the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, will the Minister assure me that those ongoing discussions with the police are happening, including with the chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, who said on the “World at One” today that the protests are “not sustainable”?”
“I thank the Minister for his response to the urgent question, but I concur with some of the comments from my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy) about people being arrested, including my constituents, some of whom were protesting peacefully. I want to come back to the issue of the impact on frontline policing. As a central London MP, I am seeing resources being drawn away from my local police to deal with the protests. My constituents want those frontline police officers to be solving crime on their streets; the Minister will understand the sheer scale of their concerns about ensuring the police can get to grips with that locally.”
“I hear the Minister’s calls for the commissioners, Birmingham and the unions to resolve this issue, but what more can he and the Government do to bring everyone around the table so that we can finally bring an end to the dispute?”
“I thank the Minister for outlining the Government’s work to maintain vital collection services for residents, who want to see their city cleaned up rather than another summer of this, given the recent heatwave. Strike action has now passed the six-month mark. As the Minister just outlined, it is important that we consider the hardship felt by many of the striking workers. Many of them do not want to politicise this; they just want to do the right thing by their families. One recently told the BBC: “Morale’s quite low… Everyone’s trying to stay strong and together, but it is very difficult. The union has tried to help us out with strike pay, but for a lot of people it doesn’t cover their…bills. It puts a massive strain on our family. Kids, money—money’s tight, credit cards are maxed out”. Nobody should be put in that position.”
“We are seeing children being killed while trying to access vital food and aid. We must ask ourselves: what more can we be doing? We are seeing children malnourished and starving. I ask the Foreign Secretary: where is the real action from this Government to stop that, so that more children can live?”
“I want to gently point out to the Foreign Secretary that the reason so many of us are here is that we have been waiting a long time for this statement. With the situation unfolding, as many colleagues have said, our constituents continue to write to us. Last week, Save the Children held a photo exhibition in Parliament in partnership with Choose Love and the photographer Misan Harriman—I should declare that he is the chair of the Southbank Centre, which is in my constituency. I want to read a clip from that exhibition. A question next to one of the pictures asked: “If you had one superpower, what would it be and why?” The answer of the young girl in the photo was: “the ability to change events in order to help my country to become free and help my children live in a safe environment like the rest of the children in the world”.”
“For far too long we have knocked on doors and people have said that they are interested but not registered to vote, so that is vital. On ensuring candidates still feel safe, this is a big challenge and a threat to democracy. Will my hon. Friend outline what work she will be doing with the Electoral Commission on the intimidation and abuse faced by candidates?”
“I thank the Minister for the written statement and for her work behind the scenes. We should welcome the opportunity for more people to be enfranchised. We should be very clear that one person losing the right to vote at the ballot box is one person too many. It is really important that we look at the issues around voter ID, and ensure more opportunities for people to have other forms of voter ID at the ballot box. It is important that we enfranchise our young people to vote. They participate in public life already, so they should also be entitled to vote. It is really important to have system where it is easier to be registered to vote. When you move home, before you have even unpacked you get a council tax bill—the council already has your details—so it is good that we are looking at a system to ensure people are registered to vote.”
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is really important that Members of Parliament are accurate in our statements, and I just want some clarity. The hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) mentioned bags of postal votes, but you will be aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, that under the Elections Act 2022 and a subsequent statutory instrument—I served on its Committee as the shadow Minister for democracy—people handling postal votes will now be limited to handling no more than five postal votes for elections, plus their own postal votes. Does the hon. Member want to reflect on his statement about people carrying multiple bags of postal votes?”
“This afternoon, I visited Centrepoint, where I spoke to young people living in self-contained flats and met the staff who are working to support those young people. The Secretary of State will be aware that a coalition of 150 charities supporting young people are calling for a specific youth-focused section in the ending homelessness strategy; estimates show that would save £8.5 billion a year. Does the Minister agree that it is not only morally right but economically smart to have a youth-specific chapter in that new strategy?”
“I welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcement. This will make a big difference for many families in my constituency. An issue of which the Secretary of State is aware is the SEND override and the problems that it is causing local authorities. Second only to temporary accommodation and adult social care, SEND is the key area on which many of them are focusing, so I welcome the fact that she wants to work with campaigners and families in looking into this long-term issue. She also mentioned the digital offer for the Best Start family hubs. As she will know, many families—the very ones we need to target—are digitally excluded. Will she tell us a bit more about what that digital offer will be?”
“Can he give us an update on how we will ensure we have a workforce that is fit, so that we can achieve our ambitious 10-year plan for the NHS?”