Contributions
867 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNew TownsOur vision for the next generation of new towns is setting the stage for a house building revolution in the years to come. These will be well-connected, attractive places with all…07 Apr 2025HANSARDNew TownsWe have not selected the positions for the new towns; the new towns taskforce is still working on those. We have been clear that what the new towns will deliver will be over and…07 Apr 2025HANSARDNew TownsI agree with my hon. Friend that the housing crisis is a challenge across the whole of England. The independent new towns taskforce is reviewing submissions to the call for…07 Apr 2025HANSARDNew TownsI absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There is a lot to admire from the past, including in new towns such as Bracknell. We are learning the lessons from the past for our next…07 Apr 2025HANSARDHousing SupplyOur country is in the midst of a housing crisis, decades in the making. As our plan for change set out, the Government are committed to the biggest increase in social and…07 Apr 2025HANSARDHousing SupplyMy hon. Friend is right to highlight the absolute mess that the previous Government left our housing stock in. We will ensure the biggest increase in social house building in a…07 Apr 2025HANSARDHousing SupplyWe have over 160,000 children in temporary accommodation, as I have said at the Dispatch Box a couple of times, and it is a scandal that we are in this situation. That is why the…07 Apr 2025HANSARDHousing SupplyWe are asking London to deliver record levels of house building. Our revised standard method sets the housing need for London at nearly 88,000 homes per year. The previous…07 Apr 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe have been doing a lot to try to ensure that, under this Government, taxpayers get value for money from the fair and reasonable amounts that we can invest to make land ready for…07 Apr 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thought the hon. Member was going to do better, but he did not. The Minister for Local Government was in Birmingham on Thursday, and I am always happy to visit Birmingham. It is…07 Apr 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thought the shadow Secretary of State was better than that, but heigh-ho. This is a local dispute, and it is right that the negotiations are led locally. We have made it clear…07 Apr 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsI refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which states that I am a trade union member. Let me update the House on the waste dispute in…07 Apr 2025HANSARDHousing SupplyThe Minister for Housing and Planning answered this question just a moment ago. Perhaps my Mancunian accent will help: the OBR scored the national planning policy framework…07 Apr 2025HANSARDNew TownsWe are bringing forward the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, as the hon. Member knows, and we have set mandatory targets. Unlike the previous Government, we believe that…07 Apr 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillLet me be clear: I do not call people of this country the blockers. I do not see that when I am out and about; I never saw it during the general election campaign. People want…24 Mar 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillI hope that the hon. Member continues to engage, because we want to make sure that we can go as wide as we possibly can so that we get the land that is needed and we can build the…24 Mar 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillI can assure the hon. Member—I gave him two chances; I must like him—that we will protect high-quality agricultural land. Farmers have used land in various ways throughout the…24 Mar 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillThe right hon. Gentleman reminds me of our time sparring at the Dispatch Box, but I am glad that I am on the Government side now. [ Interruption. ] I beg to differ. The right hon.…24 Mar 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillI thank my hon. Friend for raising that long-standing issue. The Government are already engaging with the local authority in her area. She is absolutely right: for too long the…24 Mar 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillAs my hon. Friend says, 10 colleges of excellence were announced as part of the £600 million funding and 60,000 new apprenticeships. By giving our young people opportunities, this…24 Mar 2025