Miatta Fahnbulleh

I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) for securing this debate, for speaking with such conviction about the importance of community-owned assets and for highlighting the importance of the Ultimate Picture Palace—I do know it—which is a treasured asset in her community. I know she has been a long-standing champion for communities in her constituency, and I recognise the work she has done to bring local voices to this House. As a fellow Co-operative Member, I share her ambition, passion and commitment for community ownership and power. Community-owned assets matter because they are not just buildings, but places where people meet, organise, volunteer, learn and support one another. When communities lose them, they lose not just bricks and mortar, but connection, pride and opportunity. That is why this Government believe strongly that communities should have more power to protect the places they value. My right hon. Friend is seeing that at first hand in Greater Leys, as it is one of the neighbourhoods receiving long-term funding and support through the Pride in Place programme. That 10-year commitment reflects both the strength of the community and the challenges it faces, and it gives local people the certainty they need to plan ahead and to shape the area for the long term. Alongside the Pride in Place programme, the Government have also introduced the Pride in Place impact fund. The fund is designed to provide rapid, visible improvements to community spaces, public places and high streets in areas that need immediate support. Further communities across the country are benefiting from that additional route for action, where quicker intervention is needed. Together, the two approaches reflect a deliberate choice by this Government to combine long-term, locally-led change with the ability to respond quickly where urgent improvements are required. They serve different purposes, but both are rooted in the same fundamental principle of putting communities in the driving seat and ensuring that they decide what is best for their area and their priorities.