Contributions
1,066 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. We have spent a good deal of time debating the importance of housing and the delivery of housing targets. If we reflect on…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)The key challenge is that, unlike any other public body, local authorities are democratically elected. They are subject to an annual process of budget fixing, where they are…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I will briefly return to the question of accounting standards and how they will operate. As the Minister set out, the aim is to streamline and, broadly, to restore the Audit…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Will the Minister set out the role of the section 151 officer in relation to the Local Audit Office? Primary accountability around local government finance is in the council tax…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Again, the Opposition are broadly sympathetic to the Government’s direction of travel, but I will put a couple of questions to the Minister. I previously raised the issue that, in…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I sympathise with the Minister’s argument, but does she agree that there is a general weakness in the Bill in that the opportunity has not been taken to tidy up the legislation,…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)It is a nice try by the hon. Member, but I think we know that there have been areas of deregulation where there is a high degree of consensus. In particular, we know that one of…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)The treatment of the dedicated schools grant, which has a huge impact on local authority budgets, is an example of an issue that comes up regularly on the Floor of the House. It…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I have a brief question for the Minister. One challenge is that most local authorities will have an arrangement, although it is not always called the audit committee; sometimes it…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)The Minister is perhaps being a little mischievous in responding politically to what was essentially a technical question. We all recognise that there are challenges. Broadly, the…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir John. My hon. Friend the Member for Hamble Valley set out the view of the official Opposition during the debate last week, so…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Broadly, the Opposition agree with the Government’s direction of travel, and this seems a logical thing to do. This kind of update is periodically required. However, it would be…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)rose—28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)I want to make the same point again, but I will not go back and repeat it. We remain very concerned about the loss of freedom of contract that this represents. Clearly, this is…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I am sympathetic to the issue behind these amendments, although I am not convinced that this is the mechanism to address it. I will briefly explain why, and where this sits in the…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)It falls to me, as the shadow Minister, to be the voice for Conservatives in Cornwall, who would absolutely agree with everything that the hon. Gentleman says. There is strong…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)I will try to deal with the two main issues raised by the new clauses, in reverse order. We all recognise that last year’s Budget was a disaster for local government. The rise in…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)The only element where I have any disagreement with the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole is over whether the legislation needs to be implemented for local public…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)We have some concerns, which are reflected in the amendments I have tabled. As we just heard, countries approach this issue in different ways. Broadly speaking, it sounds like one…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 287, in clause 28, page 36, line 12, leave out “implement” and insert “have regard to”. This amendment, and Amendment 288, would ensure that councils had…16 Oct 2025