Baroness Scott (main image, right) has issued a stinging rebuke to Labour’s Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (left), for her handling of proposed amendments to the eviction process in the Renters’ Rights Bill, which she said needed proper scrutiny.

In an unusually direct opening statement, Scott complained: “Questions go unanswered and suggestions are dismissed without sufficient consideration”.

This House has always been more about reason and substance than blind political ideology.”

She added: “This House has always been more about reason and substance than blind political ideology. I hope that the Minister can approach our debates going forward in that vein.”

Scott was particularly critical of the way her own amendment to the abolition of Section 21 had been dealt with and condemned the Government’s abandonment of safeguards previously established under the Conservative administration’s Renters (Reform) Bill, which she said would have ensured the courts were ready before the changes were implemented.

“This Bill abandons the careful sequencing we set out,” she told the Lords. “There is no clear commitment to upgrade court capacity before abolishing Section 21 and no phased rollout to protect the system from being overwhelmed.”

Confront operational realities

Although she commended the Bill’s ambition, she warned: “Ambition alone is not enough. We must also confront the operational realities.”

And she added that the court system was already under pressure: “In some parts of the country, landlords wait months, not weeks, for a simple hearing. In turn, tenants are left in limbo and often under the threat of eviction without resolution.”

Her proposed amendment would force the government to assess the courts’ readiness before the rules came into force, ensuring the remaining legal routes for possession are functioning ‘effectively, fairly and in a timely manner’.

Scott concluded by challenging the Government to give “serious consideration” to the amendment and warning that proceeding without proper court capacity risks creating a system where “neither landlords nor tenants can get timely access to justice.”

Baroness Taylor, however, was unmoved, saying: “We have no intention of delaying these urgent reforms while we wait for an unnecessary assessment.”

You can read Baroness Scott’s full statement here.