Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 01 September 2020
That characterisation is completely wrong. We have legislated to reform the private rented sector, delivering and implementing many protections for tenants that were not there previously. That is a very welcome step forward. I have made it very clear that we are open to further progress on that, whether that is around rent controls or further protections for tenants.
That is why, in the face of the crisis, we have protected people against eviction. We are extending that, and a £10 million fund to help those who are struggling to pay their rent is a really good, positive step forward, which I hope that Richard Leonard will welcome.
We are also, of course, the Government that has invested record sums in building new social affordable housing. That is fundamentally the way in which we are addressing the housing crisis. I remember one of Richard Leonard’s colleagues, Iain Gray—I am not sure that he is in the chamber right now—saying when he was the leader of the Scottish Labour Party that the problem with Scottish Labour is that it passed world-leading legislation but just forgot to build the houses to implement it. We have got on with building the houses, and we will continue with that investment.
We have limited legislative time between now and the election. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child bill is a flagship piece of legislation. I had discussions not long ago with the Greens, which partly led to today’s announcement on the tenant hardship loan fund. We cannot always find extra time for legislation, but we are open to considering other things that we can do to try to deliver the protections that we want.
On poverty, the Government is introducing the child payment to lift children out of poverty. The previous Labour Administration did not do that, and no other Government across the UK is doing that. We are putting money where our mouth is when it comes to lifting children out of poverty. I hope that a Labour leader would welcome that.