Contributions
783 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate so that we can explore the issue, because it is a sort of twin part of fiscal devolution. This is not an…15 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillThis issue is part of a threesome that we have debated this evening: local democracy; fiscal and electoral decisions; and, now, how we hold meetings. How is it that Westminster…15 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillI am struggling with this logic. The combined authority mayor can appoint a deputy to be responsible for police and crime, but the elected mayor will take the accountability if…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, I remind the House of my interest as a member of Kirklees Council and one who has served on its audit committee for a number of years. Scrutiny and audit are close to my…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillThat is my fundamental principle. Anyone who makes decisions about public money has to be voted for; they have to be an elected member. The whole point is that they are then…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, this is a very important group of amendments, which probes and challenges the membership of the CCA, and even existing combined authorities. It seems to me that there…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, this is another really important group of amendments to do with the extent of devolution: what are the limits that the Government are putting on that? The only areas we…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillFollowing the Minister’s earlier remarks about the mayor being able to appoint a deputy to be responsible for policing, I was wondering: are there powers for them to appoint a…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillIf I heard right, the answer to the question of what would happen if the mayoral position were vacant was that the Secretary of State would, by regulation, have the power to…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillI thank my noble friend Lord Shipley and the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Stevenage, for raising issues in detail regarding mayoral names—or not—and some aspects of elections…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillI apologise to the Minister. I just thought I would add to the questions now and not interrupt further. Is this an admission by the Government that the current system of…13 Mar 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillI am sorry to interrupt so early in the Minister’s response, but could he define more clearly what the “highest level of devolution” actually means?27 Feb 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillCan the Minister explain, then, where the geographies of a county area do not coincide with the geographies of an economic or travel-to-work area? Often, they do not. What I have…27 Feb 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Stevenage, is quite right to table this amendment to explore the area that can be included in a combined county authority. As I…27 Feb 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillI will not speak for long. This has been a very important debate, and very positive: across the Chamber, Members are in agreement that we need clarity from the Government about…27 Feb 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, I will just make one or two additional comments to those of my honourable friend Lord Shipley, the main one concerning Amendment 126 in the name of the noble Baroness,…27 Feb 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, I will speak first to Amendment 31 in my name. It aims to ensure that initiatives and funding to achieve the aims of the levelling-up mission will be measured by a…22 Feb 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillWe have had a bit of a discussion about priority areas 1, 2 and 3. I would be grateful if the Minister could write and let us know what criteria the Government use to categorise…22 Feb 2023HANSARDLevelling-up and Regeneration BillMy Lords, one of the reasons why I and my colleagues have been so determined that we define geographies, missions and metrics as clearly as we can is that those three criteria…22 Feb 2023HANSARDVoter IdentificationMy Lords—22 Feb 2023