Rayner to open party conference with announcement on renters' protections

Angela Rayner will set out measures to protect renters from fire safety defects, damp and mould in her speech at the Labour Party conference.

The deputy prime minister, who is also the housing secretary, will commit to "building homes fit for the future" when she opens the party's first annual gathering since winning the general election.

The package will include bringing forward a Remediation Acceleration Plan this autumn to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings.

Deadly cladding remains on more than half of all residential blocks of flats identified as at risk since the Grenfell fire in 2017.

The issue has come back into the spotlight following the conclusion of the inquiry into the tragedy, which found that "systematic dishonesty" contributed to the blaze that killed 72 people.

The announcement of the acceleration plan was thin on detail, but the government said it would go "further and faster to fix unsafe cladding and make existing homes safe".

Other measures Ms Rayner will announce tomorrow include consulting on a new Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors, and a new law to make landlords respond to complaints about disrepair within legally binding timescales.

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These have already been announced as part of Labour's Renters' Rights Bill, which builds on long-awaited legislation that was promised by the Tories but ultimately shelved ahead of the general election.

The law regarding repairs will be named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died as a direct result of exposure to mould in the social home his family rented in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

The Conservatives first proposed Awaab's Law to cover the social rented sector, but Labour will extend it to cover the private sector in a move they say will help tenants in 746,000 homes with reported serious hazards secure faster repairs.

Speaking ahead of her speech Ms Rayner, who has also pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, said: "Just because Britain isn't working at the moment, it doesn't mean it can't be fixed.

"We will deliver for working people and, in doing so, show that politics can change lives.

"This Labour government is taking a wave of bold action to not only build the housing our country needs and boost social and affordable housing, but to ensure all homes are decent, safe, and warm."

The speech comes as a donations row threatens to overshadow the optimistic mood of the party's first conference while in government for 14 years.

The prime minister has come under scrutiny over the past week for the more than £100,000 worth of gifts he has accepted, including tickets to football matches, concerts and luxury clothes.

Following days of press coverage on the issue, it emerged on Friday that Sir Keir and his most senior ministers - Ms Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves - will no longer accept donations to pay for clothes.

Earlier this morning, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News that there had not been an undue influence in gifts accepted by her colleagues but "we don't want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes".

She defended the prime minister's actions as being within the rules, saying that the taxpayer doesn't fund these things "so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind".

She added: "We expect our politicians to be well turned out, we expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately.

"But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we're open and transparent about them."