Editing Nick Raynsford (section)

=== Ministerial career: 1997–2005 ===
Raynsford joined the government in 1997 and held responsibility for construction, housing, planning and the regions. During this time, he was responsible for the implementation of the [[Decent Homes Standard]]. In 1997, there were 2.1m houses owned by local authorities and housing associations that did not meet the Decent Homes Standard. By the end of 2010, 92% of social housing met the standard of being warm and weatherproof with reasonably modern facilities.<ref>{{ cite news|title = Labour's legacy – Inside Housing, May 2010|url = http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/labours-legacy/6509704.article|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141013082947/http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/labours-legacy/6509704.article|archive-date = 13 October 2014|df = dmy-all}}</ref>

As the government minister responsible for construction, Raynsford was credited with introducing building regulations which significantly improved standards, including making mandatory disabled access in new builds, increasing energy efficiency standards and fire safety.<ref>{{ cite news|title = The Building Regulations (Amendment) Regulations 1998, UK Practical Law Website|url = http://uk.practicallaw.com/uklegislation/uksi/1998/2561/made}}</ref> His position also included responsibility for the Fire Service and the creation of the London [[Local Resilience Forum|Resilience Forum]] to oversee London's preparedness for dealing with emergencies (see [[Operation Sassoon]]). As a local government minister, he led the [[Local Government Act 2000]] through Parliament, which repealed the controversial [[Section 28]].<ref name="nickraynsford.org.uk">{{ cite news|title = Official Website, Nick Raynsford MP – Biography, UK Practical Law Website|url = http://www.nickraynsford.org.uk/biography }}</ref>

As [[Minister for London]] from 2001 to 2003, Raynsford was responsible for restoring democratic citywide government to London, and the creation of the [[Greater London Authority]] and the commission of its home at [[City Hall, Southwark|City Hall]].<ref name="nickraynsford.org.uk"/>