Heritage Pubs Debate Runs Into Drought and Division

High-Level Summary

The sitting opened with a motion for the House to sit in private, which was rejected by 1 vote to 36. The main debate concerned the Heritage Public Houses Bill; Members supported the protection of valued pubs but differed over whether new statutory safeguards were needed alongside existing planning, listing and community-ownership mechanisms. The debate was interrupted by a statement on severe drought conditions in England, and the motion to bring the Heritage Bill debate to a close was later defeated by 13 votes to 36; the debate was adjourned to 15 January 2027. Several private Members’ Bills were objected to and deferred, followed by an Adjournment debate on Surrey Heath transport infrastructure before the House adjourned.

Detailed Summary

Motion to sit in private

Adam Jogee moved that the House sit in private. The motion was put forthwith under Standing Order No. 163 and rejected on division, with Ayes 1 and Noes 36; the transcript records that the question was accordingly negatived. The motion was: “I beg to move, That the House sit in private.”

Heritage Public Houses Bill: Second Reading

Mike Wood, the Bill’s promoter, argued that historic pubs were community institutions and that the destruction of the Crooked House had exposed gaps in the law. He proposed a statutory register of heritage public houses, notification of proposed sales, a community right to buy, interim protection when listing was sought, compensation where listing was refused and a presumption against planning permission for change of use. He said the sale-notification provisions would mean that “secret backroom deals behind closed doors would become impossible”. In response to Alex Ballinger, he said that the timing of any rebuilding of the Crooked House depended on the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision, for which no timeframe had been provided, and added that “the Crooked House must and will rise again from the ashes”.

Speakers and interveners including Adam Jogee, Brian Mathew, Meg Hillier, Rebecca Smith, Linsey Farnsworth, Lincoln Jopp, Lizzi Collinge, Matt Turmaine, Sarah Hall, Markus Campbell-Savours, Chris Murray, Anna Dixon, Kevin Bonavia and Peter Prinsley supported the importance of pubs but raised differing views about the Bill’s scope and necessity. Hillier, Collinge, Hall and others pointed to existing planning controls, local heritage lists, listed-building protections and assets of community value. Hillier said, “We do not necessarily need to legislate for everything; the legislation is already in place”, while Collinge expressed concern about creating “more bureaucracy in the planning system”. Other Members argued that heritage could include interiors, cultural associations, community use and newer venues; Farnsworth said, “The truth is that today’s community pub is tomorrow’s heritage pub”. Markus Campbell-Savours focused on the difficulty of obtaining finance for community acquisitions, stating: “Time alone does not buy a pub. A right to buy does not buy a pub. Financing buys a pub.”

The debate was interrupted under Standing Order No. 11(4) for the drought statement and later resumed. Mike Wood subsequently claimed closure, but the motion that the Question be now put was defeated by 13 votes to 36. The debate was adjourned under Standing Order No. 11(2) and ordered to resume on Friday 15 January 2027. No Minister’s contribution to this debate is included in the supplied transcript.

Drought conditions in England

Emma Hardy reported that drought conditions continued across much of England, with more than 80% of England affected, and that severe drought had been declared in the water-resource zones around Wimbleball, Ardingly, Roadford and Colliford, and in west Cornwall. She said she had directed the Environment Agency to prioritise public water supplies where environmental rules and supply needs could not both be met. Water companies were instructed to monitor reservoir and river levels daily and undertake tougher water-quality monitoring. Hardy said, “While customer supplies are not interrupted, declaring a severe drought allows us to ensure that proactive steps are taken”. She also referred to a new flood and drought resilience taskforce, plans for nine new major reservoirs and measures concerning on-farm storage and flexible abstraction.

Robbie Moore questioned the Government’s response time, the effect on farmers, water-company investment and the timetable for reservoirs. Olivia Blake, Al Pinkerton, Anna Dixon, Mims Davies, Matthew Patrick, Christopher Chope, Kevin Bonavia, Lincoln Jopp, Peter Prinsley, Edward Morello and Lizzi Collinge raised issues including leakage, water-company governance, farming, climate adaptation, floating solar, public water supplies and ownership. Hardy said, “it is this Government who are giving £15 million for on-farm reservoirs”, referred to £720 million for smart technology including metering, and said there were “no immediate plans for standpipes”. She said the Government would continue working with affected Members, water companies and other bodies through the national drought group. The statement concluded without a division.

Private Members’ Bills objected to

The House considered the Second Reading of a series of private Members’ Bills without substantive debate. The Bills concerned emergency and life-saving skills in schools; automated online software access and transparency; public-sector exit payments; BBC licence-fee non-payment for over-75s; BBC privatisation; dangerous dogs; outdoor education; ponds; hospitality and sporting services value-added tax exemptions; meat-killing information; covid-19 vaccine damage payments; notification of withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights; controlled drugs; Northern Ireland Troubles investigations; multi-storey car-park safety; and the sale and supply of glue traps. In each case the transcript records an objection, including: “Object.”

The Bills were deferred to dates between Friday 13 November and Friday 29 January 2027. The Covid-19 Vaccine Damage Payments Bill was listed for debate to resume on Friday 13 November, and the Northern Ireland Troubles (Criminal Investigations etc) Bill for Friday 27 November. The other scheduled dates were as recorded in the transcript: 13 November, 27 November, 15 January 2027 or 29 January 2027. No substantive debate on the merits of these Bills is recorded.

Point of order on the covid-19 inquiry response

Christopher Chope raised a point of order about the Government’s written response to the covid-19 inquiry’s module 4 report, which he said had been issued on the last day of the six-month period for responding. He was particularly concerned about recommendations on the vaccine damage payments scheme and criticised the response for saying that the Government would “look further at what needs to be done”.

Nusrat Ghani said that the content of Government statements was not a matter for the Chair. She said Chope had made his point and could seek further advice from the Clerks. No further procedural decision is recorded.

Critical transport infrastructure: Surrey Heath

Al Pinkerton raised congestion and connectivity problems in Surrey Heath, focusing on the M3 junction 3/A322 corridor, rail services from Camberley, local buses, housing growth and access to the proposed Frimley Park hospital site. He requested an urgent strategic review involving National Highways and local stakeholders, a shared infrastructure delivery plan for West Surrey, and a fully costed and funded hospital access plan before any planning application. He said residents should know “who is responsible, where the funding will come from and when improvements may be delivered”.

Justin Madders replied that National Highways was considering M3 junction 3 and its link with the A322 through the small schemes national programme, but gave no timetable, saying: “I will not raise expectations by committing to a timetable today”. He said that restoring direct Camberley–Waterloo services would be costly and could not reliably be accommodated by the present timetable and infrastructure. He also referred to a funded accessibility scheme at Ash Vale, a refreshed South Western Railway timetable, and a commitment to take Pinkerton’s concerns about Frimley Park access funding to the Department of Health and Social Care. He said the Department could provide £33 million in grant funding to the Surrey county council area between 2026 and 2029. The Adjournment question was agreed, and the House adjourned.