Bob Blackman is the Conservative MP for Harrow East and serves as Joint Secretary of the prestigious 1922 Committee within Parliament.
He was elected London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow in 2004 and was a member of Brent Council for nearly 24 years. During that time, he led the Conservative Group for 20 years and the Council for 5 years.
Since being elected as MP for Harrow East in 2010 Bob has been able to bring his extensive experience in Local Government to bear on many of the issues facing the Government today through his work on the Communities and Local Government Select Committee. In 2016, Bob was drawn in the Private Member’s Bill ballot, which gives backbench MPs a chance to put forward a piece of primary legislation. Bob put forward the Homelessness Reduction Bill with the support of the homelessness charity sector, particularly Crisis, which was one of the final pieces of legislation given Royal Assent before the 2017 general election.
The Act was backed with £91million of investment from the Government, the Homelessness Reduction Act is the most well-funded Private Member’s Bill on record alongside being the longest and most substantial, at 13 clauses. It is the only Bill of its kind to be explicitly backed by the work of a Select Committee. The Act came into force in April 2018 and the “duty to refer” in October 2018. The Act is recognised as the biggest reform in legislation in assisting the homeless in more than 40 years.
