Liam Conlon

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) and the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) for securing this important debate. I thank the APPG for ending homelessness for its comprehensive recent report, as well as all those across the homelessness sector who work tirelessly and those whose experience and expertise informed the report. Homelessness in all its forms is rising. In my borough of Bromley—a borough also represented by you, Mr Efford, and by the hon. Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon)—nearly 2,000 households are now in temporary accommodation. Most of them are placed out of borough, in part due to the failure of the Conservative council over several decades to invest in building new homes. I have spoken to families in Beckenham and Penge who have been placed as far away as the midlands, uprooted from their homes, work, schools and support networks in south London. I remember, on my first visit to a school after the election, hearing about the dozens of children at that school who live in the Travelodge, and the impact of that on them. We are short of time, so I want to make a couple of quick points. I welcome the steps the Government have already taken, including the £39 billion of investment to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation, the measures in the Renters’ Rights Bill, and an £84 million cash boost to support families in temporary accommodation. If we are to meet the scale of the challenge, we must work with charities such as St Martin-in-the-Fields and its brilliant chief executive officer Duncan Shrubsole, who is a constituent and a very good friend of mine. To the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree, the last Labour Government achieved so much, and it is in our DNA to tackle this issue. We are making progress, but we need to accelerate. I look forward to the Minister’s response.