Contributions
1,066 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Hamble Valley wants to raise some points, but I want to ask a couple of slightly technical questions. The first relates to clause 44(6),…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. The Opposition broadly understand the direction of travel that the Minister has set out and the principles…13 May 2025HANSARD Havering Borough and Essex DevolutionMy hon. Friend is making an excellent speech about a subject that is close to my constituents’ hearts as well. Does he agree that other Government institutions should follow the…07 May 2025HANSARD Point of OrderOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I seek your guidance? My constituent, Ms Safiya Ismail is without an income because her pension credit application, which was made…30 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)May I press the Minister a little further on that? I am thinking of the Southall gasworks site, a very large housing development on a former gasworks site in London. The only…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is another risk? Ministers may set out that, in order for a particular project to be expedited, it needs to meet a series of tests. I…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)My hon. Friend puts it probably more bluntly than I have, but he is absolutely spot on. I know he has an enormous amount of experience in local government negotiating around…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)I understand the point the hon. Member makes, but part of me thinks, “Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they?” For a business whose profits come from expediting the grant of…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)May I press the Minister a little more on that point? I understand and thank him for the clarity that he has brought. As he set out, one purpose of the change is to ensure greater…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)It would be helpful if, when the Minister produces that response, he could also set out for the Committee how the processes in place will ensure consistency of decision making. As…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)I have a lot of sympathy with the comments made by the hon. Members for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme and for North Herefordshire. I appreciate that the clause was tabled…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)I rise in support of my hon. Friend the shadow Minister to press the Government on this point. I think the key issue for all of us is what remedy is available where there are…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)How does the Minister propose that this measure will address boundary issues? It is not uncommon for a significant construction project to be located in one local authority while…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)Sucking fish into a nuclear reactor—what could possibly go wrong? That seems a good example of how, when the details of a project are analysed, there is a requirement for such…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)I agree very much with the Minister’s point about not introducing excessive complexity. A key issue, though, that this element of the Bill highlights is where there are complex…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fourth sitting)We broadly support the content of clause 20, but I have one question for the Minister. I am mindful of his comments about the process of EU retained law, and it is absolutely…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fourth sitting)A general point arises here, which we also debated on the Renters’ Rights Bill Committee. The different systems in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England—most of the…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fourth sitting)This is a small “p” political point rather than a party political point, but it undermines confidence in devolution when we hear that a devolved body—a local authority, regional…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting)I think that most of us who have been on a planning committee, as the Minister has, probably recognise that, if anything, to satisfy the concerns of our constituents we should be…29 Apr 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fourth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair this afternoon, Mr Twigg. We touched on the issue of remedy earlier today. A local authority, for example, may have a statutory…29 Apr 2025