Danny Beales
MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip · Labour · United Kingdom
“Several of my constituents have been failed by Capita; with the support of my team, they have been battling to get the pensions that they are owed and deserve. Frustratingly, for some the June milestone has come and gone. Just last Friday I met Barbara, whose husband passed away in January.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) and the members of her Committee for their excellent pre-legislative scrutiny work, which we have heard about today.”
“As the Chair of the Select Committee has mentioned, leaseholders overwhelmingly responded to the survey that they want to see this change, and the Property Institute, RICS and even the managing directors of FirstPort and Rendall & Rittner are all supportive of the need for more effective regulation and a regulator of managing agents.”
“I understand that the Government are willing to move on mandatory qualifications for managing agents—again, that is welcome —but I am concerned that, without an independent regulator to enforce codes of conduct and ensure we can reap the benefits of those qualifications, that will be of little benefit to many leaseholders.”
“As Members have said, there are countless examples of service failure from managing agents. I welcome the Minister’s actions to date, and the proposals in the draft Bill to cap exploitative ground rents, which will save thousands of pounds over the lifetime of leases, pushing for service charge reform and transparency, and pushing for com…”
“There are significant costs and financial waste in the current system, and the leasehold brand has been exceptionally damaged by the poor behaviour of managing agents. A regulator has the chance to restore confidence in leasehold and commonhold in the future.”
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“Several of my constituents have been failed by Capita; with the support of my team, they have been battling to get the pensions that they are owed and deserve. Frustratingly, for some the June milestone has come and gone. Just last Friday I met Barbara, whose husband passed away in January. On top of that grief and sorrow, she is still battling to get her late husband’s pension. She has been asked by Capita for the same documents over and over again. Does the Minister agree that that is completely unacceptable, and can he assure me and the rest of the House that every single option is still on the table, including bringing the contract back in-house?”
“The establishment of a regulator would be a clear signal to existing leaseholders that we are serious about protecting them, as well as a signal to the property and construction sectors that this Government are focused on restoring stability to the housing market and, crucially, calling time on the poor practice of rogue managing agents, which are far too common in our system, finally fulfilling the promise of ending fleecehold for good.”
“As the Chair of the Select Committee has mentioned, leaseholders overwhelmingly responded to the survey that they want to see this change, and the Property Institute, RICS and even the managing directors of FirstPort and Rendall & Rittner are all supportive of the need for more effective regulation and a regulator of managing agents. Those in the industry understand that there is nothing to gain from the poor behaviour of some undermining the good behaviour of many more. Yes, we need to take forward the existing important proposals in the draft Bill, but the time for the regulation of managing agents is now—in this Bill. It is vital that something is done and is clearly seen to be done before the next election for existing leaseholders struggling day in and day out with rogue managing agents.”
“There are significant costs and financial waste in the current system, and the leasehold brand has been exceptionally damaged by the poor behaviour of managing agents. A regulator has the chance to restore confidence in leasehold and commonhold in the future. Secondly, introducing a regulator for managing agents would help ensure the success of the commonhold tenure. The need for managing agents will not go away with the introduction of commonhold. Thirdly, introducing a regulator for managing agents is strongly supported by those in the system, the customer—the leaseholder—and also the provider of services themselves.”
“I understand that the Government are willing to move on mandatory qualifications for managing agents—again, that is welcome —but I am concerned that, without an independent regulator to enforce codes of conduct and ensure we can reap the benefits of those qualifications, that will be of little benefit to many leaseholders. Furthermore, without a dedicated regulator, the burden of enforcement will continue to fall on individual leaseholders—and, in future, commonholders—to take up lengthy and expensive legal action to hold their managing agents to account. Three key benefits show why a managing agent regulator is desirable. First, good regulation is good for markets, and I think this will help growth, not hinder it.”
“As Members have said, there are countless examples of service failure from managing agents. I welcome the Minister’s actions to date, and the proposals in the draft Bill to cap exploitative ground rents, which will save thousands of pounds over the lifetime of leases, pushing for service charge reform and transparency, and pushing for commonhold as the default form of tenure. These are long overdue changes. However, having seen these cases at first hand, I know that more is needed. My ten-minute rule Bill in the last Session proposed the establishment of an independent regulator of managing agents, modelled on the excellent recommendations of Lord Best’s 2019 report.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) and the members of her Committee for their excellent pre-legislative scrutiny work, which we have heard about today. Since becoming an MP, one of the most common issues I hear from my constituents is the poor quality of service provided by managing agents to local leaseholders. When the boilers broke at Walsham Court and Hinds Court last November, residents tried to contact Anthem, but to no avail, and they were left without water for four weeks. Middlesex House residents were left without water for days, without extra support and supplies, until my office intervened. At Armstrong House, FirstPort has let the quality of communal areas deteriorate to a shockingly poor extent. I could go on for hours, but I have only three minutes to go.”
“These settlements are not “unhelpful”, as the Opposition have claimed today; they are illegal. My constituents and I are horrified by the ongoing settler violence and the expansion of these illegal settlements. In that context, I welcome the Minister’s clear condemnation and the further actions he has committed to today. Will he assure me and my constituents that his Department is working with Treasury colleagues to fully map and understand the exposure of UK financial institutions to the financing of illegal settlements, their expansion and trade within them? When his Department and the Treasury understand that, are they committed to taking action against those institutions?”
“There were serious floods in Ruislip Gardens in 2024, which I have discussed with the Minister before; 100 homes were flooded, and access to ongoing affordable insurance was a major concern for many residents. Part of the flooding review recommended improved individual householder resilience measures, and I welcome some of the measures announced today to incentivise that—such as the flood performance certificates—but according to feedback that I have received, it can still be very expensive for cash-poor individuals to fund them up front. What options are being explored for access to affordable finance, and what other measures are being considered that might make this possible?”
“The Met police play a vital role in keeping those who work in, live in and visit London safe, including us here in this Chamber. The Labour Government and our Mayor have stepped up and increased funding, but at the same time, the unique challenges that the Met faces— policing protests, complex crimes and terrorism—have all increased, meaning that, despite the uplift, there remains a gap in funding. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on future funding for the Met, and in particular the opportunity to bridge the funding gap by enabling the force to retain a proportion of the value of the cryptocurrency it recently seized as part of Op Manor—estimated to be worth between £3 billion and £9 billion—so that we can invest in the equipment, police stations and police officers that we desperately need?”
“We have seen the official Opposition potentially abandon their support for this Bill, and we have seen the unofficial opposition in Reform champion hatred and push against equality for LGBT people. I and others in the community are afraid. That is why today is important, because the Government are making a clear and definitive statement about conversion practices. Does the Minister agree that conversion practices are abuse, plain and simple? Will she assure me that, as this is a draft Bill, there will be time to discuss the issue, mentioned previously in Committee, of the definition of medical professionals? That must be tightly defined so that we can ensure there is no back-door get-out for those who would seek to continue these abusive practices.”
“Today has been a long time coming. I thank the Minister for her hard, relentless and committed work in delivering this comprehensive and inclusive draft Bill. We were promised it in 2018, and it has been in four King’s and Queen’s Speeches. The LGBT community will rightly welcome today’s statement, but it is unfortunate that the official Opposition have not. As an LGBT person myself, that is a reminder of how much fear there is in the community now about the change of discourse in this country in relation to LGBT rights. That has been fuelled by the far-right and by international Christian and other organisations in America funding organisations here in the UK.”
“My hon. Friend is making a powerful and moving speech. Further to her point, does she not agree that the Opposition’s motion to prevent a clinical trial would not give people information, options and choices? It would cut down information, options and choices. She mentioned a constituent in her 80s who clearly did not grow out of her gender dysphoria, and this motion would close off lifesaving and life-changing treatment for the 7% of people who do not grow out of gender dysphoria.”
“I thank the hon. Member, my constituency neighbour, for giving way on that point. There is a lot of “what about” in her remarks; will she reflect on Dr Hilary Cass’s comments that the trial will lead to less harm than would otherwise be the case? Why does she believe that Dr Cass is saying that? Does she doubt her expertise in this instance?”
“I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. The Conservative party committed to and commissioned the Cass review, and today’s statement takes forward Dr Cass’s recommendations in full—guided not by ideology, but by evidence. Some Members who are critical of that approach have said in this place that these young people just need love. I agree that we should show trans people and trans young people more care and compassion—far too often, those things have not been demonstrated in public discourse in recent months and years—but trans people and trans young people also need and deserve high-quality, evidence-based and timely healthcare. I therefore welcome today’s statement and the Secretary of State’s commitment. Will he say that this Government are still committed to rolling out gender clinics in every region?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate, and I know that she is a strong advocate for mental health in her role on the APPG. In the NHS, it is vital that funding for mental health keeps pace with funding for physical health care, and the mental health investment standard has been a crucial policy in driving parity of investment. Does she agree that it is vital that the mental health investment standard is retained in the NHS?”
“The Minister is being kind with her time, as always. As part of our inquiry into mental health services, the Health and Social Care Committee visited the 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centre pilots and Trieste, where the model originated. They have clearly been hugely successful already. The Minister mentioned the broader neighbourhood healthcare changes; can she assure us that the learnings from those hubs will be spread across the country? Will there be a clear road map for rolling out these services to every area?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. He is touching on broader sectors, and he is exactly right that this is an epidemic across public-facing and customer-facing roles. I recently went to a GP surgery where receptionists told me they deal with sometimes weekly incidents of racial abuse. They showed me windows that had been smashed by patients who were unhappy about the service they were receiving. It feels as though there has been a cultural shift in what people deem to be acceptable behaviour towards, for example, ticket guards at stations and receptionists. Recently, a member of staff at our hospital was seriously attacked. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to send a clear message that these behaviours are not acceptable and properly resource the police to crack down on these incidents?”
“That could be banning orders from town centres, banning orders from the transport system of people who persistently dodge fares and assault and abuse staff, and other forms of deterrent to stop these behaviours blighting our town centres and public services.”
“A frustration I have heard about local enforcement is that even if the issues are reported—they are often not, unfortunately, because people give up—and the police come out, and an arrest is made for theft, abuse or the other things we are discussing today, the perpetrator can be back on the street that day, often committing the same sorts of offences, because they are not held in custody. They will wait a long time to go to court, and prisons are in a dire state after 14 years of Tory government left us with no places. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to think about alternative forms of punishment and deterrence?”
“The Secretary of State is absolutely right: Thames Water has let down my constituents and Londoners more broadly with years of chronic under-investment, while paying record levels of bonuses and dividends. I recently visited my local sewage treatment works, and saw proposed improvements to increase storm surge capacity on site and to improve filtration levels to clean up our waterways. Will the Secretary of State assure me and my constituents that those much-needed planned improvements will not be further delayed by ongoing institutional uncertainty about the future of Thames Water, so that we can finally turn the page on 14 years of Tory neglect of our waterways?”
“Does she also agree that the geographical remit needs to be widened slightly and that we need to do more nationally to ensure that those funds get to communities?”
“The hon. Lady is being generous with her time, and I thank her for bringing this important debate to the House. She has expertly described the ongoing impacts in communities like ours. Residents in West Ruislip and Ickenham in my constituency live day in, day out with the consequences of HS2 works. As she rightly points out, residents often ask what compensation and support exists. It is frustrating in that regard that the community and environment fund and the business and local economy fund, which were allocated across the country, remain significantly unspent. Millions of pounds are still unspent, despite our communities being blighted. Does she agree that that is frustrating for our communities and local organisations, who could benefit from that money but are shut out of those funds?”
“Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate about improving access to innovative new medicines on the NHS, and on the importance of removing barriers such as this one?”
“I hope you will join me, Mr Speaker, in wishing Wealdstone football club good luck in their FA trophy final at Wembley on Sunday. The early access programme gives the NHS access to life-changing and innovative drugs for free. I recently met Sarcoma UK, which told me of the difference that these drugs make to many patients. However, as a result of a recent decision by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to charge VAT on these drugs, which are provided for free, Bayer has withdrawn from the programme, and other pharmaceutical companies are considering following its approach. This is very worrying to many patients who already have access to drugs, and to others who would like access to innovative drugs in future.”
“I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate on an issue that matters to my constituents in Hillingdon, to her constituents and to many constituents across the west London area. As she rightly points out, there have been discussions about the third runway being privately financed, but as she has touched on, there are public sector burdens and costs too, including from the extra pressure on the Elizabeth line, because of the capacity that will be needed, and on the local road network. Does she agree that it is vital when looking at the economic case that possible public sector pressures are fully accounted for in the decision-making process? Does she agree that the Government’s four tests are absolutely vital, and that we need transparency about how those tests will be measured and assessed?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for being so generous with her time; she is leading the debate excellently. Like many Members, I have been contacted by constituents raising this issue. On Friday, Karen, one of my constituents, talked to me at my coffee morning specifically about the issue of new approach methodologies and their potential to unlock a much more humane approach to testing medicines. My hon. Friend rightly raises AI’s potential to model biological processes. Does she agree that, as the UK is a leader in both the life sciences and AI, with focus, joint Government working and funding we should be able to lead the way in new AI modelling to replace animal testing? That could potentially be a growth story for the country and something we could export internationally to address this issue and finally put an end to animal testing.”
“Can he outline what quick action will take place to hold Capita to account, bring about improvements and ensure my constituents can look forward to their well-earned retirement?”
“I have been contacted by several constituents who have experienced challenges and delays in accessing their pensions via the scheme that Capita has managed, or should I say mismanaged, for some time, including Bindu, Duncan and Ann-Marie. Tony, a civil servant for 40 years, should be looking forward to a well-earned retirement this year, but he has not been able to access his information on the portal. He cannot get through on the phone, and one occasion spent four hours trying to speak to an adviser before giving up. I am sure the Minister agrees that people find it extremely worrying not to be able to plan for their retirement and understand what is ahead of them. Does he agree that this situation is completely unacceptable?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this very important debate. I know this is a subject on which he has much knowledge, experience and passion. ShopMobility, a group of volunteers who provide mobility aids at the shopping centre to get people out and about in the town centre, have recently reported to me that many of their customers are coming to them waiting for wheelchair provision from the contractor, sometimes for more than six months. I have also had young people with cerebral palsy and other conditions unable to get basic repairs to their existing equipment. Does he agree with me that these are simply unacceptable levels of services for what is vital equipment, not optional extras? Is that not exactly why, as he says, we need an independent review body to scrutinise the poor performance of the contractors and commissioners?”
“I will just pick up on that point about competitiveness and competitive advantage. Is it not the case that those much-visited cities—Paris, Rome, many cities in Spain and others throughout Europe—have measures such as this proposed levy, yet they have not seen decreases in tourism? How is that a competitive advantage point for us? Is it not actually the case that tourists want the culture, events, activities and even investments in policing that this sort of measure could fund?”
“I thank the Minister for that response. As well as grid capacity for much-needed new homes and infrastructure such as Hillingdon hospital, capacity is needed in west London for the large number of data centres being proposed at a regional level. What actions are being taken to strategically co-ordinate those demands and, crucially, to secure local benefits such as jobs and heat capture to lower household bills? Those things are present in the local planning system in Hillingdon, but are not being secured.”
“And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the United Kingdom, Declares that an alternative Post Office site must be provided on Uxbridge High Street before its planned closure in June. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to put pressure on the Post Office to provide an alternative Post Office site on Uxbridge High Street before closing its existing branch. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003177]”
“I wish to present a petition about the imminent closure of the post office on Uxbridge High Street. With no plans for an alternative provision, this has left many of my constituents devastated, especially those vulnerable people in my constituency who rely on this vital service. Over various community petitions, led by Tony Burles, Masoud Dildar and Trust Phenyo, more than 1,000 residents have called for action to be taken by the council and the Post Office to secure a site, which shows just how much this means to the people of Uxbridge. The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to put pressure on the Post Office to provide an alternative post office site in Uxbridge before closing its existing branch.”
“The right hon. Lady talks about a comprehensive plan and giving people choices, but this is not a comprehensive plan for student loan reform; it is a plan written on the back of a fag packet. It basically revolves around restricting university access, which is always the go-to solution for the Conservatives. In truth, it will mean that people like me—I was the first person in my family to go to university—will not get to go to university. People who go to Brunel University in my constituency will face restrictions in course levels. That is not a widening of opportunity and choice, but a restriction of them.”
“My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. This place is much better for her presence, speaking up for people in her situation. It sounds like we had a similar background, but I was fortunate enough to be on a plan 1 system and, under a Labour Government, benefited not only from an educational maintenance allowance to stay on at sixth form, but from grants as well as loans. It sounds like she was not able to benefit from that because of the Conservative party. Does she agree that the restoring of maintenance grants and the uplifting of maintenance loans to match the cost of living will benefit people who come from backgrounds such as ours?”
“When they say that fewer young people should go to uni, they almost never mean that they should not, or that their children should not, and they do not mean that the universities in their constituencies should close. They are talking about other people, including those at universities such as Brunel in my constituency. They look down on the arts or “ology” courses that they feel have less benefit, and to be frank, that is elitism.”
“It is important that, rather than going for any one of those changes, we properly analyse the options and the distributional impacts—work which the Conservative party clearly did not do given the half-baked proposals before us. It is quite baffling that the Conservatives moved this motion. Having been the architects of this regressive student loans system, having maintained the system for a decade, having continually frozen the repayment thresholds, and having trebled the fees when in coalition with the Lib Dems and cut maintenance grants for the poorest, they now pretend to be the party of students. However, the mask has slipped in the last section of the Conservatives’ motion. They plan to pay for their minor change by reducing the number of people going to university.”
“I was happy to contribute towards my university education on the basis that most people at my school would not go to university, but a system that was one of contribution and fairness has become an aggressive system, and I believe it is time to review the plan 2, and now plan 5, loans systems. I have heard from many of my constituents about the system as it is operating, including those at Brunel University. Recently, a teacher told me about the challenges of repaying her loan and how she is considering going part-time as a result of high interest rates. There are clearly a number of options that could be taken, such as changing the RPI basis to a CPI basis, capping lifetime interest costs and uprating the thresholds once again. Suggestions have also been made by the Good Growth Foundation.”
“I welcome the opportunity to discuss the student loans system. I took out a student loan under the plan 1 system. I am, fortunately, not young enough to have benefited from a plan 2, or, now, a plan 5 loan. However, despite having graduated with about £40,000 of student debt, I did consider myself fortunate—fortunate that I went to university under a Labour Government who had widened participation in higher education and created a fees, grants and loans system that enabled me to go to university and pay my living costs, which my single-parent family would not have been able to do without the grants that were, unfortunately, then cut by the Conservatives.”
“I welcome the fact that the Chancellor and the Minister with responsibility for higher education have acknowledged that action is needed on student loans and are actively reviewing the student loans system. I hope that the Treasury Committee’s full inquiry, which is under way, will be fully and promptly responded to by the Government. Let us be clear: the proposals before us would not solve the student loans system. They are a gimmick that would close participation and close doors of opportunity, which is exactly the opposite of what people and young people in this country need.”
“I hear from young people in my constituency about the impact of starting a family or getting on the housing ladder. There was a generational compact that if people worked hard and got on, they would do better than their parents’ generation, but things we had come to take for granted were broken under the 14 years of Conservative Government. Action was needed, and I am pleased that this Government are reforming and scrapping the broken leasehold system, capping ground rents and taking action on service charges. They have introduced the Renters Rights Act, which the Conservative party opposed. They are taking action on childcare with the 30 hours free childcare, and bringing down inflation and interest rates.”
“I completely agree that everyone who would and could benefit from a university education should be able to go. We do not widen opportunities by cutting them. John Burn-Murdoch’s analysis in the Financial Times has shown that other developed countries have increased participation in higher education and not seen the impact on graduate wages that we have seen. That is not inevitable as part of wider higher education participation. We have seen it because of the stagnation in the economy and of productivity caused by the last Conservative Government, not because of higher education participation. There is a range of cost of living pressures on younger people. Yes, there are student loan costs, but there are also rising housing costs, the stagnation of wages more generally, childcare costs and renting costs, many of which need urgent action.”
“We recently looked at vaccinations, and there have recently been a number of outbreaks of different diseases across the country, some of which are associated with declining vaccination rates—although that is not directly related to this incident. Will the Secretary of State update us on his thoughts about whether the last Government’s 2023 vaccination strategy needs a fresh look in order to deal with both uptake and responses to outbreaks?”
“I, too, welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and join him in expressing our sympathies with and condolences to the families who have lost young people in recent days. Obviously, parents and students are very concerned at the moment, and there are reports online that private pharmacies are selling vaccinations for several hundreds of pounds. Can the Secretary of State assure this House that NHS England and the Department of Health are monitoring any possible price gouging on vaccinations and that there is no profiteering following these tragic events? I echo the comments of the Chair of the Health Committee.”
“This Wednesday marked Holi, a festival celebrated by millions around the world and here in the UK. Last year, I had the privilege of celebrating Holi with Hindu cultural groups in West Drayton and Uxbridge. We threw colourful paint and played traditional games, and children described what the first Holi festival that they celebrated meant to them. They will be celebrating again this Sunday, so will the Leader of the House join me in wishing them and all our constituents a happy Holi? Will he thank them for the contribution that they make to our communities and our country?”
“Finally—I appreciate your patience, Dr Murrison— I am very proud to have been born in Hillingdon, to have grown up there and to represent that community today. I represent every single person in Hillingdon, whether they have lived there for 20 years or 20 days. Every single one of them makes Hillingdon the fantastic place that it is. They work in our NHS, run businesses and keep our community working, and I am proud of each and every one of them.”
“We have heard about the excellent work of schools, charities, voluntary groups and faith groups. I have had the pleasure of hosting the multi-faith Hillingdon group here in Parliament and of launching Hillingdon Together alongside many of these organisations, in order to try and bring people together. There are 200 individuals and organisations signed up. It is true that these organisations have often faced cuts in recent years. In particular, it is paradoxical that the communities where cohesion is needed most often have less infrastructure, and are often unable to access the funding pots that become available, because it is difficult to move quickly and to put in bids to national and local funds. I hope that the Minister can address that issue in the future cohesion strategy.”
“We also have to ensure that institutions locally and nationally promote true and accurate information, particularly about sensitive topics and when they are using state-funded sources of information, such as local council publications. Secondly, we have to tackle online misinformation, as we have heard. On countless occasions, we have seen how online platforms are used to sow division. We know that there are actors, locally and internationally, who actively inflame hate. It is hard to tackle online misinformation issues; I am not going to pretend otherwise. However, we are seeing a positive start to the Government’s consultation on the use of social media by young people. I support that and hope we can do more in this space. Thirdly, we also need to support the organisations that are the glue of our communities.”
“The flags in West Drayton show none of these values, and that Hillingdon Council has not taken these torn and dirty flags down that line our streets signals to me that the council is either endorsing the racist intent of some of those who put these flags up, or is too afraid to remove them. Either way, it’s a poor show, and I feel for the families and young children who have to look at these flags every day and are reminded that some people think that they are not welcome.” That perfectly describes the situation we face. We must not hide behind our flag, but address this issue head on. That is difficult. I know that there is abuse and even hatred of council officers who try to remove flags, and we need to stand with them if they make that decision. Inaction is not enough when we see these issues on our streets.”