Homelessness Reduction Bill

It is a pleasure to open today’s proceedings on this important Bill that, if passed, will mark a ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

In a moment.

We all—even I—must sometimes curb our prolixity, and we were very disciplined ...

It was a great pleasure to serve in Committee with the hon. Gentleman. I am delighted to hear tha...

Excellent. I am sure that those rousing words will be followed by action. That might even be the ...

Newham Council has looked into the cost of implementation, and thinks that it will be £2.5 millio...

I am one of nature’s optimists. The Minister is such a reasonable fellow, and so kind-hearted, th...

Enfield, like Newham, contains some of the poorest people in the country with the greatest housin...

I think the best thing to say is that there is a mixed economy among local authorities. Some do v...

This is not just a problem in London. In 2015-16, there were more than 1,000 homelessness prevent...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. However, the problem is clearly greater in some areas than in...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for highlighting this point. I will pass over the typo in lin...

I am not sure what the hon. Gentleman does when he is not passing over typos, but I am afraid his...

There is an extremely high rate of homelessness in Tooting among those aged over 60. I know that ...

Order. Just for good order, would the hon. Lady mind asking the hon. Gentleman to agree, rather t...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is absolutely outrageous that residents aged 60 and over have t...

Absolutely, and I know that you, Madam Deputy Speaker, also care about homelessness in Tooting. W...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Can the Minister not make the point in his own comments? [Interruption.] Very well, I will give w...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his forbearance in taking my intervention. Does he not welcome the...

As the shadow London Minister, I welcome everything the London Mayor welcomes. I do not want us t...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

For the last time, I will.

I am extremely grateful. While we are on this topic, is my hon. Friend also aware that the Charte...

Absolutely, and when I mentioned the quality of members on the Committee from my side, I was of c...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, as always, Madam Deputy Speaker, and it is als...

We also know that the Government are wholeheartedly committed to fulfilling the responsibilities ...

I think the whole House would expect the Government to recognise that there will be extra cost pr...

Long may he reign.

Indeed, but this Minister cannot commit his successor to maintaining a particular position. Howev...

I rise to support new clause 1. This is my first speech on this important Bill, so I congratulate...

The right hon. Gentleman admits that he did not sit on the Bill Committee and that he did not con...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman is saying. There is cross-party support. I support the Bill—the ho...

I urge my right hon. Friend to pay little regard to the comments of the hon. Member for Mid Dorse...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Bill focuses solely on the duties of local authorities, a...

The briefing note from Crisis, the housing charity, says:

“Whilst we understand the intenti...

I have also read the briefing note from Crisis, and the hon. Lady will have seen that Crisis does...

I hear what the right hon. Gentleman is saying. I am slightly disappointed by his approach and by...

I will welcome every single thing the Minister does to address this problem and, yes, I welcome t...

I was not going to say another word because I want the Bill to go through, but I am amazed by the...

The Minister mentioned time. If the Government were making the Bill a priority, perhaps they woul...

It was interesting to listen to the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham). If I did not know...

The figures showing the rise since 2010 are shocking. Does the hon. Lady think that her Governmen...

The Government are trying to tackle rough sleeping, which is not an easy subject to address. The ...

Members on both sides of the House need to be aware that many people who are sleeping rough, even...

I am pleased that my hon. Friend made that point, which I can clearly illustrate with a case I de...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the fact that organisations such as Crisis back the Bill shows tha...

I agree with my hon. Friend. The Government are getting it right. They are acting for the benefit...

I am sure that new clauses 2 and 3, which were tabled by the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Sl...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the reality is that only around 50% of mortgage lenders lend to bu...

That point was discussed earlier. It would be good if mortgage lenders could extend their offer t...

I will be brief because I recognise that we want to get to the final stages of this excellent Bil...

It is a pleasure to follow the Chairman of the Communities and Local Government Committee, the ho...

First, will my hon. Friend make sure, as he always does, that his civil servants are completely a...

My hon. Friend makes an important point about working with local authorities, which we are absolu...

On the issue of working with local authorities, the Minister will know my concerns, which I raise...

We discussed that issue in some detail in Committee, so I am not going to go into great detail to...

The Minister spoke a moment ago about successful implementation and a review to check that it has...

We have set out a significant determination to reduce both rough sleeping and homelessness in gen...

It is true that, recently, the liberalisation of permitted development rights has released many m...

I agree with my hon. Friend. Layering more regulation on to residential landlords will have the n...

I thank everyone who has spoken in this debate. I appreciate all the comments that have been made...

I beg to move amendment 1, page 5, line 32, at end insert—

“( ) But the authority may not g...

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Government amendment 2, page 6, l...

I shall start with amendment 1. At our last Committee sitting on 18 January, I committed to tabli...

Does the Minister agree that it is absolutely fantastic that we are addressing this situation? Gi...

I have been shocked at how little input there has been from the Liberal Democrats: not one Libera...

One of the concerns expressed on Second Reading and in Committee, not least by my hon. Friend the...

I can give my hon. Friend that reassurance. Furthermore, given how the legislation will now work,...

I do not want to take up much time. In the cross-party spirit of the debate, I give credit to my ...

I certainly agree that many local authorities across the country work very hard to help homeless ...

Will the Minister confirm my understanding that the Bill incorporates a particular and special sa...

My hon. Friend has been a diligent member of the Bill Committee, and I thank him for his interven...

I must say that, after the 14 hours and seven sittings in Committee that we have heard about, I w...

I am pleased to support these amendments and to follow the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slau...

The hon. Gentleman says that the protections are in place for applicants. Amendment 2 guarantees ...

This has been discussed during the Select Committee’s homelessness inquiry, in the Bill Committee...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says, and I accept that we would see six months as a minimum, but ...

The Minister will explain that when he winds up. In certain clauses, there is provision for 12-mo...

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for introducing this Bill. I have listened to Members on both sid...

If my hon. Friend would like to go through the 18 pages of the Bill, he will find that people lea...

When we discuss a Bill on Report, there are times when we find ourselves dealing with an awful lo...

I thank the hon. Gentleman—I shall call him my hon. Friend—for giving way. We look forward to the...

That is very helpful. The Select Committee might well want to extend its remit and look at those ...

I will start by responding to the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter). Significant conce...

On Government amendment 2, which I asked the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) about, wh...

If the right hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I will make the points that I was going to make and ...

I beg to move amendment 10, page 11, line 19, at end insert—

193ZA Consequences of refusal ...

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 11, page 11, leave out ...

This is the last set of Government amendments and I am grateful for the forbearance of the House....

The purpose of the amendments is to clarify and give certainty, where required, to certain provis...

I am delighted to rise for the last time on Report in support of a group of amendments. My hon. F...

We have all managed to make this part of the Bill sound very technical, but it seems to me that w...

Obviously, we do not want families or individuals who are reaching a crisis point in their lives,...

I would like to respond to several of the matters raised by colleagues.

The hon. Member for...

I thank the Minister for that helpful clarification. The Committee will try to play a constructiv...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. As ever during this process, he has sought to us...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

This is a very proud moment for me...

I begin where the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), the Bill’s promoter, finished by wi...

I rise to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) on getting so clo...

This is obviously a time for congratulations, and I shall not disappoint, but we should still rem...

It is a great pleasure to follow a whole litany of speeches rightly paying heartfelt tribute to m...

There is indeed a cross-party consensus in support of the Bill, as we showed on Second Reading, i...

I agree with my hon. Friend on her support for the Bill. As I am sure she knows, last Sunday was ...

I am happy to do that. Stunningly good work is being done by volunteers, churches and other faith...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck), who has always been d...

I welcome the Bill, and I want to add my tribute to the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman...

It is a pleasure to follow so many passionate speakers, not least the hon. Member for Dulwich and...

I was pleased to serve on the Bill Committee and to be part of the consideration of a Bill that w...

It is a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Mrs Drummond), w...

I am delighted to support the Bill and to have served on the Bill Committee. I commend the work o...

It is a pleasure to support the private Member’s Bill promoted my hon. Friend the Member for Harr...

I do not want to repeat too many of the comments that have already been made, but I cannot fail t...

First, let me apologise for not referring Members earlier to my entry in the Register of Members’...

I want to add my respect and blessings to the Bill, but first I refer Members to my entry in the ...

How can I follow that tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman)? I have...

I draw the House’s attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.