Contributions
1,006 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilWell, well. No one listening to that response would think that the Conservative Government had been in government for 14 years, and were in office when Birmingham had to come to…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilWith permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to update the House on the statutory intervention at Birmingham city council and on the issues affecting the waste service.…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilMy hon. Friend is right to say that the vast majority of the workforce of the service have agreed a way forward, by one route or another—whether by taking voluntary redundancy or…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilI am pleased to say that we are making sure that we deal with the waste piling up in the streets and that the council gets the support it needs, but the hon. Lady is right to say…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilI am afraid that the picture that the right hon. Member paints of increased charges at a local level—whether for car parking or other types of charges, or the council tax going up…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilThat is the crux of where we are: because the bin dispute has been going on for so long, the scale of uncollected rubbish being left in the streets is now posing public health…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilIf we look at the progress made on equal pay, the trade unions and the local authority worked in partnership to agree a way forward. In the end, they recognised that they all care…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilThere is a difference in tone between resolving the strike and breaking the strike. We absolutely stand ready to support the council and the workforce more generally, who do want…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilI said that this is a partnership. Of course, Birmingham city council, as the employer in this trade union dispute, has to negotiate with the trade unions and the workforce to get…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilMy hon. Friend rightly sets out how difficult the operating environment has been for local government and in particular for Birmingham. It was the previous Government who…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilI will tell the right hon. Gentleman what stinks: hearing Conservative MPs line up as if they were not in government for 14 years and creating the conditions for this to happen,…31 Mar 2025HANSARDNon-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) BillI beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1B.31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilWe both share the intention and ambition that it will be cleared as soon as possible. There should not be any further delay in reaching an agreement when it is quite clear that…31 Mar 2025HANSARDBirmingham City CouncilThe hon. Gentleman is trying to set up the good council and the bad council by party politics, but I am afraid that has been exhausted. The previous Government did this all the…31 Mar 2025HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025We have tried to strike a balance between answering the demand—the fact that all 21 counties have submitted to the interim phase is testament to the support in the system for…26 Mar 2025HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Hobhouse. This Government have been clear on their manifesto commitment to widen and deepen devolution across England. We…26 Mar 2025HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025To be clear, there is not time to do that. In the finance settlement this year, I think we have done a good job in building a bridge to the multi-year settlement, but it is only a…26 Mar 2025HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025We absolutely understand that that gap of silence can be undermining to the process. Even conflicting advice or information allows people to fill in the gaps or exploit the…26 Mar 2025HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025I think it is important that the record reflects the actual situation. First, there was no mandating, because this is about postponing elections to allow reorganisation; it is not…26 Mar 2025HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025All those are fair questions. On the timetable, there are in effect three tranches. The first tranche is Surrey, which is being brought forward because there cannot be devolution…26 Mar 2025