Matt Rodda

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Parliament's party history for this member: Labour (8 Jun 2017 – present).

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1. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   I warmly welcome the Budget. It offers breathing space for both families and businesses, and, crucially, hope for the future. Although this is a time of really quite severe international headwinds, as we are all very aware, there are real signs of growth in the British economy. We are jointly leading the G7 in terms of growth, and the IMF is welcoming the Government’s measures to reduce debt and deficit. Let me deal briefly with the key measures that will offer breathing space and support to families and businesses, before moving on to some of the longer-term measures. Many of my constituents live in older properties, in Victorian houses or possibly houses built in the 1930s, and I was delighted to note that they will benefit from a host of measures to reduce their energy bills in what will be a very hard winter for them. That shows a real understanding of the pressures on families at this difficult time. I particularly thank the Chancellor for his offer of £100 paid directly to residents, which I consider very sensible. That, and a range of other measures, will help to reduce the current severe pressure on family finances. The measures to support small businesses, particularly those in our high streets, will also be welcomed in <span id="399" class="column-number" data-column-number="399"></span>Reading and many other towns and cities. Moreover, 47% of small hospitality, leisure and retail businesses in the south-east will now not pay business rates. In the time available to me, I want to say something about the longer-term measures, particularly those relating to improved devolution to help businesses and development and regeneration, along with a series of other measures to support businesses and homeowners. When it comes to regeneration, the new mayoralties that have been announced present some real opportunities. I warmly welcome the Thames Valley mayoralty of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon, and, in particular, the scope for mayors to free up land near railway stations. As many Members on both sides of the House have seen, a huge pool of land is available. On one side of the railway in my own town of Reading, a £1 billion regeneration project is bringing jobs, growth and new housing to the town centre. On the other side, where there are a series of small, fractured sites where developers are not working with one another, there is no regeneration. One of the significant advances is that bringing in mayors allows the creation of a mayoral development corporation, which can bring together those disparate sites and make them much more attractive to developers. I look forward to hearing more from the Chancellor and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about that type of work as the whole mayoral scheme moves forward in the new year. The support for home ownership, and the support for new council houses, is warmly welcome in my area. We have high house prices, and many people are struggling to get on the housing ladder. The growth of businesses in the Thames valley is partly due to the inward movement of people from across the rest of the UK and around the world, so housing is needed, and these are two important measures to support home ownership and ensure that there are homes for people to rent. Finally, I warmly welcome the measures to support entrepreneurship, which I hope will significantly support our tech entrepreneurs. Some 300,000 people in Berkshire work in tech or telecoms, and they are driving growth in our county, across southern England and, indeed, across the country as a whole. We have benefited from a number of key infrastructure projects, particularly the Elizabeth line. I look forward to many others in the future, including the western rail link to Heathrow, but the help to support entrepreneurs is important. I warmly welcome that and commend the Treasury for its work. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; it has been a pleasure to speak today.

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2. 27 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill

   I thank the Secretary of State for her drive and determination on this very important matter. Will she give the House a little more detail relating to that group of residents and, in particular, those who face issues with dangerous materials inside their property, such as wood, which have led to a potential fire safety problem?

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3. 27 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill

   Could I pay my own tribute to the whole Grenfell family? I think we all remember quite vividly the moment when we heard on the news about this absolutely and utterly appalling disaster. Our hearts go out to all those who were affected and their families, particularly at this time when so many people must be thinking about the anniversary <span id="249" class="column-number" data-column-number="249"></span>next year as well. It was quite clear, as other hon. Members have said, that this was a complete and utter failure of regulation, and I am so pleased that the Bill is tackling that. As other Members have said, cladding is an issue around the whole country, and I will address some matters in my constituency, but first, I thank the Secretary of State and the ministerial team for their drive and ambition on this important matter after some years of what, sadly, can only be described as drift under the last Government. I wholeheartedly welcome the Bill, and in particular some of its key elements and points. It creates greater certainty, which is long overdue. It gives regulators the powers they need. It makes companies that made unsafe products contribute towards remediation—that is such an important point, as other Members have said. Most of all, it ensures that residents have a route to remediation, which is utterly important. I am conscious of time as some other Member wish to speak, so I would like to turn to Reading. There are serious concerns locally, like those we have heard from Members describing the situations in their own constituencies. Our town has grown and changed dramatically within my lifetime, from being a county town made up of Victorian terraces and many brick buildings to now having a large number of taller buildings, many of which are blocks of flats. Obviously, the recent crisis has a huge implication for our community and for other towns across the county of Berkshire. At the time of the Grenfell disaster, I remember receiving a briefing from the Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service, and I can only say that it had an utterly chilling effect on those who listened to it—on myself, local councillors and others. The situation they described was one of a service trying to cope with serious concerns and issues across a large English county. For example, as Members have described, they mentioned the problem of cladding on many buildings—a number of them below 11 metres—as well as related issues such as poor compartmentalisation. I remember them talking about blocks in Slough where builders had unwittingly drilled holes through walls that were meant to prevent fire. In Reading, some blocks had very serious problems with compartmentalisation. There were a whole series of issues with dangerous wooden cladding, dangerous wooden fittings in foyers or doors that were not fire-safe at all—and all of this existed in just one county. Fire and rescue service staff and local authority staff were enormously pressed to deal with it. I remember listening to the accounts of waking watches being set up and thinking how terrifying it must have been to live in one of the blocks that were affected, just after Grenfell, when people were very aware of the disaster and horror that had happened not far away, in London. Those people had to live through a waking watch every single night. They were not able to have a whole range of items, and they could not cook certain types of food because of the fire risks from frying and other common forms of cooking. This was a huge issue for our community, particularly in the town centre and nearby areas. Many building owners were extremely responsible and acted as quickly as they could, despite the supply problems, the lack of skilled tradespeople, <span id="250" class="column-number" data-column-number="250"></span>problems with putting up scaffolding and the pandemic that followed. I pay tribute to a number of housing associations that acted very quickly. Luckily, all the council housing in Reading was not affected because it was not built using cladding; the council had taken a very robust approach to that. However, there were a number of problems with private blocks that were either rented or leasehold, and some of those issues have continued right up to the present day; there have been local media reports on ITV and the BBC that have highlighted some of the problems. Like other Members—indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) put it very well—I have constituents who bought flats in blocks with cladding and were then trapped in them. They were struggling to sleep, and they lived in complete stress. Sometimes, I think it is fair to say that they had moments of terror living in these flats where they clearly were at great risk. They could not get the work done, and they were facing huge financial costs, which has been a problem across the whole country. I am so pleased that the current Government have gripped this and want to tackle it and to introduce some reassurance and routes to remediation at a much greater pace. I would like to press the Minister on the point about flats under 11 metres, and I hope she will be able to respond to this when she winds up the debate. It is great to hear about the fund for flats under 11 metres—there will be a number of these in many medium-sized towns—but there are other non-cladding-based fire safety issues in exactly this type of block. That includes the issues I mentioned, such as dangerous wooden items in the foyer of a large block in Reading, and wooden balconies; in one case, a building had wooden balconies next to an underground car park, which was then discovered to be a huge fire risk. Some of these risks are in blocks under 11 metres, which may not be covered by the fund. Could the Minister elaborate on the nature of the fund, to provide further reassurance to residents? Could the Minister also look into the wider issue of fire safety in buildings under 11 metres? As will be the case in many constituencies, we have a significant number of older blocks that are under 11 metres and might date back to the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s. They may not have dangerous cladding, but there might be issues with fire safety doors, evacuation procedures and a whole series of things. Because of the large number of these flats, residents will be concerned about the capacity of local authorities or the fire service to investigate. If the Minister could provide more information on that point, it would be very reassuring to residents in Reading and other similar towns. I am conscious of time, so I will conclude by wholeheartedly welcoming the Bill. It is a huge step forward, and I really welcome the drive and thrust of activity from the Department on this matter. I am sure that the whole House will once again want to offer their thoughts to the families of the Grenfell community. I look forward to hearing more from the Minister.

   Hansard source
4. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   Civil Service Pensions

   I declare an interest, as I hold a civil service pension. I thank the Minister for her statement. Like other Members of the House, I have a number of constituents who provided years of service in the civil service. They have retired yet have had to wait months to be paid. Could the Minister say more about the pressure she is putting on Capita and the options for taking the whole matter in-house?

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5. 21 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   E-scooters and E-bikes: Regulation

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for securing this important debate. I am aware of the time pressure, so I will try to be brief.<span id="395WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="395WH"></span> I strongly support cycling and the legal use of electric bicycles, where permitted. However, I am afraid to say the irresponsible use of e-bikes and e-scooters is a serious problem in my constituency, and residents have raised a range of issues on a range of fronts. First, intimidating behaviour on footpaths and pavements, particularly near and in parks, is causing serious concern in many parts of the town. That includes e-scooters whizzing down narrow streets where the pavements are less than 1 metre wide, e-bike riders riding over the two road bridges across the Thames on the pedestrian footpaths and intimidating residents, the lack of use of bells and the speed at which people are riding the bikes. It also includes high-powered electric motorbikes—I think that is the only way to describe them. I have seen two absolutely shocking incidents relating to these types of vehicles. In one case, it was a group of black-clad young people with black balaclavas riding around the Reading inner distribution road, a major highway around the town centre, pulling wheelies in front of cars. On another occasion, I saw a similarly dressed group doing dangerous stunts and jumps in a park, close to where families were picnicking with toddlers. That is absolutely irresponsible and utterly unacceptable. I am pleased to say there is some good news. As the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) mentioned, Thames Valley police is taking a firm line. It has been crushing the bikes, using drones to follow them in parks and using the new legislation introduced by the Government to arrive at people’s houses and confiscate them immediately rather than having to issue a warning, which was previously the case. Our local council has also secured a public space protection order, which gives local council officers more powers to address the bikes. I praise the police and the council for the action they are taking, but I ask the Minister to see what further powers could be used to try to contain this very serious problem.

   Hansard source
6. 15 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   National Care Service

   I declare an interest, as I have a close relative working in the care sector. I welcome the Minister’s statement on this important matter. Could she say more about how she and the Department plan to build consensus across the wider community and with stakeholders, as well as with political parties?

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7. 14 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   Nepal: UK Government Support

   I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for the situation in Nepal. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the Government’s response to the recent terrible floods in Nepal. I hope that the debate will be an important opportunity to demonstrate the strong links between Britain and Nepal and to understand more about the response to those dreadful floods. I also want to ask the Minister for an update on the response and on Britain’s continuing support for the longer-term reconstruction of the affected area and the development of Nepal more broadly. I will start, however, by echoing the Prime Minister’s words on the disaster by saying that Nepal has always been there for Britain, and now Britain needs to be there for Nepal. As everybody here will know, we have a very strong—some would say special—relationship with Nepal that goes back over 200 years. The Gurkhas served in the British Army throughout the 19th century and in world war one, world war two and numerous other conflicts since, including Malaysia, Brunei, the Falklands and Afghanistan. More recently, Gurkha soldiers were deployed to deal with the civil emergency in south Wales when they helped to tackle the very serious wildfires this summer. I also want to acknowledge and celebrate the significant civil contribution of the British Nepalese community, most notably in my own community and others around the country where British Nepalese residents work in the NHS, our local transport system, small businesses, IT and many other walks of life. There is enormous pride in that connection in Reading and the areas across the country with significant Gurkha and Nepalese communities, and there is also a great deal of support for and concern about the situation in Nepal. I offer my deepest condolences to all those affected by the floods, both the families who lost loved ones and those whose loved ones are still missing. It was a truly awful disaster that affected thousands and thousands of people. I understand the latest estimates are that around 1,400 people lost their lives and that 5,000 are still missing. The images are very difficult to describe. As my colleague Pratikshya Gurung, a local councillor on Reading borough council who is originally from Nepal, said to me at the time, it was so awful that people simply could not watch the news. They could not watch their television because of the horrors that were unfolding. We can all remember the images. Our hearts go out to all of those involved, both families who lost loved ones and families whose loved ones are still missing. The floods have left grieving families, orphans and lost family members. Sadly, several families in my community in Reading, both in my constituency and in neighbouring constituencies, lost loved ones. There has <span id="132WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="132WH"></span>also been a terrible effect on the very large British Nepalese community in Aldershot. I offer my condolences to all the communities around the country. I understand many colleagues will want to speak about their own communities or just offer their support more generally. I pay tribute to the work of other Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey), for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang), for Aldershot (Alex Baker), for Bracknell (Peter Swallow), for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) and for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra), my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) and many others. Many were not able to attend today, but they wanted to offer their support. I also thank the Nepalese armed forces, emergency services, medical staff and many others who led the rescue operation in August and early September, and also their international colleagues, including British personnel. They serve with distinction, and many of them continue to serve in the difficult aftermath of the disaster. I am very proud of the links between Britain and Nepal and the support offered by the British Government, charities in Britain and local communities. I look forward to the Minister updating us on that later. I pay particular tribute to the help offered by our armed services and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the immediate aftermath. I understand from briefings I have had with Ministers that there was incredibly close working between British and Nepalese forces, and that a range of technical help, as well as financial support, was offered to deal with some very specific issues. The FCDO offered a £5 million fund for immediate support, and it increased consular assistance, bringing extra staff into the embassy in Kathmandu. I thank the Government for that prompt response and for the continuing support Britain is offering to Nepal, as the second biggest bilateral donor to the country. I also thank Ministers for the support they have given me and other members of the Nepal all-party parliamentary group. The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) and Baroness Winterton provided vital assistance with casework and with briefings on the fast-moving situation. I turn now to the support provided by charities. The Disasters Emergency Committee has played an important role, and I am pleased to see the continuing work it is undertaking in Nepal. UNICEF provided me with a briefing and support, and the United Nations has done important work in this situation. More locally, I pay tribute to the community groups, including the Greater Reading Nepalese Community Association and others around the country, who provided such heartfelt and important support. I would like to mention a number of local residents, particularly Bhimsen Khadka, who is the chair of the association in Reading; Dev Bahadur and his wife Aruna Gurung; Chandra Budhathoki, who is the head of the Forgotten British Gurkha charity, which provides important support to retired Gurkhas in our area; Pratikshya and Deepak Gurung—Pratikshya is a local councillor; Ram Galami, a retired serviceman who works to support service personnel; and Bipin Duwadi, the chargé d’affaires at the Nepalese embassy, who has been extremely helpful <span id="133WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="133WH"></span>in providing briefings and encouraging ongoing links between Britain and Nepal and those of us who have Nepalese communities in our constituencies. I will offer an indication of what it felt like at the time, because it is worth understanding the sense of feeling—I am sure colleagues will deal with this as well. We had a spontaneous vigil in Reading town centre outside our large Marks &amp; Spencer store on Broad Street, which is the main shopping street in the town. It was on a Sunday evening, and hundreds of people showed up. It was organised by the Greater Reading Nepalese Community Association. However, there was huge support from people who are not from Nepal—people from all walks of life across the town—and that was echoed across the country, from what I understand. The sense of support was incredible. The sense of patriotism—both Nepalese and British patriotism—the deep connection with the armed forces and the sense of solidarity between people was quite overwhelming and powerful. For example, Pratikshya, who is a local councillor, had a resident turn up at her house randomly and say, “I would like to give you 50 quid towards this campaign, because it’s so important to me.” We had other people coming up to us in the street when we had the vigil and asking if they could light a candle to show their support. The level of support was very impressive and, indeed, overwhelming. I would like to thank all those who helped, and that help is continuing and developing. My office and other MPs’ offices have been active in working with local campaigners. I pay particular tribute to English Martyrs school in Reading, and English Martyrs church, which are some of the many organisations that have offered their support—they are offering to do some fundraising through a sponsored walk. That is typical of the kind of community-based activity that is under way, which will support the help for victims and the much-needed long-term reconstruction of the country. I would like to thank everyone for that. I appreciate that other colleagues need to address the issues in their communities, but I would like to ask the Minister a series of specific questions, and I look forward to hearing his answers. One of the biggest impacts has been on families both in Britain and Nepal, and some of the casework is very difficult for us to deal with as local MPs. I cannot go into individual cases, but what has happened to so many families—those in Britain with relatives there, and those in Nepal—is really awful. People who were on pilgrimages to the lakes where the water came from are still missing, and in some cases they are older people. One gentleman from Reading, a retired Gurkha who was on a pilgrimage, is still missing, and there are many others, including from other British communities. Many Hindus make pilgrimages to those sacred lakes. It is worth considering the serious impact on families in the short term and the longer term, and I look forward to the Minister saying a bit more about that. A very large number of people have been affected—something like 84,000, including about 32,000 children, some of whom are orphans. I was speaking to someone about that earlier this week. Some orphans are being cared for in Buddhist monasteries in the area, and some are being cared for and put up in schools. What happened is still having very real practical implications. This is a terrible human tragedy, and there is an ongoing need <span id="134WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="134WH"></span>for practical development and assistance in the area. Nepal is a developing country—it is one of the world’s lower-income countries. Will the Minister provide an update on the humanitarian response and the ongoing work in the area, including within the affected river system? There is a need to rebuild bridges, schools and homes, and to provide greater resilience if climate change is increasing the risk of such threats. In particular, will the Minister address the environmental issues and the long-term concerns? There was a smaller flood this week in the Gorkha district. The Budhi Gandaki river flooded, and a number of people are now missing. It was a mudslide—a large amount of mud and rocks went into the river—so it is not quite the same, although it is happening in the same geographical location. There are great concerns in the British Nepalese community that this type of disaster may occur again. I declare an interest: several members of my family are environmental scientists. My dad visited Nepal for a programme in the 1990s, through which a number of countries provided assistance to developing countries to provide greater resilience against natural disasters of this kind. Separately, I visited Nepal as a walker with my wife some years ago. Will the Minister address the particular risks in mountainous regions such as Nepal with very steep river valleys, high levels of rainfall, glacial lakes and glaciers that may sadly now be melting because of the climate emergency? What are the practical implications? How can the UK and other advanced countries provide greater resources, including monitoring and early warning? What measures can be taken to provide greater resilience to the communities involved, which now appear to be far more at risk of threats from this type of disaster, even on a smaller scale? I look forward to the Minister’s answers to those questions. More generally, will he talk about the ongoing work that Britain is doing with Nepal to encourage its development? Nepal hoped to move out of a certain category of developing countries. It did not quite make it, but it is developing and there is incredible potential. Its new Government are working closely with our Government. The first official visit to the new Government was made by a British Minister, which is an important indication of the special relationship between our two countries. There is scope for greater trade and support, and the British Nepalese community is very active in our country. I look forward to the Minister’s response. I realise that this is not his brief, but will he contact his colleague in the Ministry of Defence and ask for an update for the community on the unrelated issue of pensions for a certain group of Gurkha soldiers—those who retired before 1997 and have a different pension arrangement from that of more recent retirees? Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak, Ms McVey. I am really grateful to Mr Speaker and the House authorities for granting me the opportunity to have this debate. I look forward to hearing more from colleagues and the Minister.

   Hansard source
8. 14 Oct 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   Nepal: UK Government Support

   It has been a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank Mr Speaker for granting this debate, the House and the Members who have spoken today, including the Opposition Front-Bench spokesman and the spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats. Today’s debate has raised some important issues, and like the Prime Minister, I believe that Nepal has always been there for Britain, so now Britain has to be there for Nepal. I was pleased to hear the Minister’s response, and, in particular, about the work under way this week at the UN and the World Bank, where the Foreign Secretary is working closely with the Nepalese Finance Minister. I look forward to hearing more details about that and the vital consular and reconstruction work. <em>Question put and agreed to.</em> <em>Resolved</em><em>,</em> That this House has considered Government support for the situation in Nepal.

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9. 10 Sep 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

   Social Housing Bill [Lords]

   It is a great pleasure to speak in this debate. I welcome this Bill, particularly the very important measures to support victims of domestic violence and the sensible measures to reform the right to buy. In the limited time available to me, I will point out how valuable that is to my constituents in Reading and other similar parts of the country where there is growing demand on public services, a growing population and a shortage of housing. Both as an MP and as a councillor, I have been very aware of the housing shortage in our town. Let me describe some of the issues that residents face; they are quite severe. The cost of housing is high—where I live, a two-bedroom terraced house can cost up to £370,000. That means that for many people, it is extremely difficult to become an owner-occupier, and social, affordable and council housing is extremely important in our community. I have seen terraced houses split up and subdivided into HMOs or two flats for residents, who are under extreme pressure. I have also seen families having to live in emergency housing, so I am very much in favour of more social and council housing, in particular, and I believe that the Bill will help and support that. We are lucky that our local authority is already taking steps, but I believe that the Bill will help it and other local authorities to go much, much further. One of the great pleasures I have had recently as an MP was visiting the opening of new council houses in Coley in Reading and seeing wonderful modern homes that are being built by Reading borough council next to existing council properties—it is using land more efficiently, finding more space for houses and improving local facilities, such as a children’s play park. I would like to see more of that, and I believe the sensible reforms in the Bill will help and support it. I look forward to working with Ministers on exactly that. I should commend my local authority, because it has a number of other sites where building is under way. Other local authorities are doing the same, but I would like to see a broader movement across the country with more councils taking up these sensible policy options, investing in council housing and providing more council homes to residents who unfortunately are unable to buy a home of their own. I would like to flag to the Minister that, as part of that, he has announced the excellent policy of liberalising development near stations. That will help hugely with the supply of housing, particularly in my area—only about 10% of the land near Reading station has been regenerated. I hope the Minister will be able to link up those two policies, and I look forward to talking to him more about that, or perhaps hearing some more about it this afternoon. I also look forward to further action to crack down on irresponsible landlords and support tenants. I know that the Minister is working very hard on a number of measures in that regard, including on management companies. I look forward to hearing more from the Minister, and I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to participate in the debate.

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10. 13 Jul 2026·Parliament·Matt Rodda

    State of Climate and Nature

    I welcome the Minister’s statement and thank her for her work in this important area. Will she say a little more about rewilding in lowland Britain, tree planting and changes to agricultural practices, all of which reduce emissions of carbon and, indeed, capture carbon? Could she perhaps mention the work in towns as well? There is some fantastic work along the Thames in my area that she might want to see.

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