This week's Budget will set out our next steps to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable house building. The Chancellor will confirm funding for the affordable homes programme, new social housing projects, and a consultation on long-term social housing rent settlement.

This Government are committed to our manifesto commitment to give votes at 16 and will ensure that this happens before the next general election.

My officials are working with the council to maximise remaining funding available from its town deal. We are calling time on waste from the previous Government, moving towards multi-year funding settlements and ending competitive bidding for pots of money.

As I understand it, the Member for Ilford South says there have been no conflicts of interest and that all interests have been declared in line with his council's rules.

We advocate for flexible working, which is no threat to business or the economy. We do not dictate how councils run their services but work with them to ensure productivity.

We are clear that the pace of remediation has been too slow. We will meet developers to agree a plan for accelerating work in coming weeks, and I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss these issues further.

With less than 48 hours before the fiscal event, I cannot pre-empt the Chancellor. However, we will provide tools like high street rental auctions or community right to buy for communities to control their high streets again.

We want our high streets thriving. We give communities tools like high street rental auctions or community right to buy to reshape their high streets, pushing back on decline.

As the shadow Minister will know from our exchanges in the Renters' Rights Bill Committee, the Government have absolutely no plans to introduce rent controls in any form.

The new deal for working people is contained in the Employment Rights Bill, which had its Second Reading last week. We will continue to push forward other measures that do not require legislation, but what we hope to see is a new culture between business, trade unions and local communities to ensure that work really does pay.

This Government are acutely aware of the impact of the cost of living crisis on working people, and that is firmly in our sights as we approach the spending review this week, but we will have to repair a fair amount of the system, not just the finances. The early warning audit has been left shattered following 14 years of mismanagement, and single-year settlements have left councils not knowing from one year to the next how much money they have to spend, so we will have to introduce multi-year settlements.

The national planning policy guidance will recognise the importance of high-quality open spaces and opportunities for sports, physical activity, health and wellbeing in our communities. Our proposals to release grey-belt land for development will depend on developers' meeting one of the “golden rules” and ensuring that all new developments have accessible green space.

Through Project Gigabit we have a commitment to level up all communities in the United Kingdom, and through the welcome work of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister we have a commitment to reset relationships with the devolved Administrations. Hopefully, by putting those two together, we will be able to make significant progress.

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I cannot wait to join him at Bubbles in the Park on a future date, as Burnley is not that far away from my constituency. He is absolutely right to celebrate the work of volunteers in communities and public servants, who give their time and energy to strengthen our local areas and bring people together.

I am grateful for the question. Of course, I would be very happy to have a meeting. I point the hon. Gentleman towards the very helpful innovation of high street rental auctions at the back end of this year, which will give local authorities the tools to bring into use vacant units and to make sure that developers know that they must use them or let somebody else do so.

It is incredibly important that the relevant infrastructure, amenities and services are in place. We have taken a number of steps to better support that in the short period we have been in office, not least through the national planning policy framework, but there is more to be done in that area. I will keep it under very close review.

The national planning policy framework clearly states that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including flood plains. We consulted on the national planning policy framework and sought views on how the planning system can more effectively manage flood risk. My Department is analysing responses, with a view to publishing a Government response before the end of the year.

May I welcome the Chair of the Select Committee to her place? She will do an outstanding job for local government and housing. The Government absolutely understand how difficult it is for local authorities to make ends meet. We understand that the pressures in adult social care, children's social services and temporary accommodation are biting hard, and we are working through those issues with the sector.