Contributions
2,684 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLevelling-up FundI cannot see how it would be in the narrow self-interest of the Government, if operating on partisan lines, to have given the hon. Gentleman’s constituency £18 million for…24 Jan 2022HANSARDIncreasing Devolution Across the UKI can confirm that we have had very fruitful negotiations not just with the Scottish Government, but with the Welsh Government. I want to place on record my thanks to Vaughan…24 Jan 2022HANSARDIncreasing Devolution Across the UKI am terribly sorry but I did not realise or appreciate that saying someone came from Elgin was an insult as far as the SNP is concerned; in my view, it is a compliment.24 Jan 2022HANSARDLevelling-up FundMy hon. Friend, like me, abjures the whole idea of pork barrels. What we both believe in is allocating funding on the basis of merit and need. I can assure him that he has been in…24 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe absolutely will consider that. I know there are innovators in my hon. Friend’s constituency who are leading work in that precise area, so I look forward to working with him and…24 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend makes a very important point. We absolutely need to make sure that easy access to infrastructure and public services is part of significant housing developments,…24 Jan 2022HANSARDLevelling-up FundI am grateful to the hon. Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) for the brief, tantalising preview of what is to come. The levelling-up fund is allocated according to objective criteria,…24 Jan 2022HANSARDLevelling-up FundIt is certainly equitable, transparent and fair, and should the hon. Member wish, there is an explanatory memorandum on gov.uk, which would take him, as it would any hon. Member,…24 Jan 2022HANSARDLevelling-up FundHaving spent some of the happiest months of my twenties on buses in Newcastle, I can absolutely sympathise with the hon. Member. It is the case that her constituency received £20…24 Jan 2022HANSARDLevelling-up FundMy hon. Friend is right that there has already been significant investment in Rotherham. Of course, one of the beneficiaries of that is the shadow Defence Secretary, whose…24 Jan 2022HANSARDLevelling-up FundMy right hon. Friend is right. He represents, I think, the largest, and certainly the second-most attractive constituency in Scotland, which covers three excellent local authority…24 Jan 2022HANSARDLevelling-up FundI would gently contest the argument that the poorest areas have suffered most in the past 10 years, but the Chairman of the Select Committee makes an important point about…24 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsI have spent many happy hours in Greenock and am looking forward to many more. I imagine that time there can only be enhanced, whether in Cappielow or anywhere else, with the hon.…24 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsIf during the pandemic we had not allowed councils to meet virtually, not only would we have impaired the effective working of local government, but we would never have known…24 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsI welcome the moves across Warwickshire to consider how services can be delivered even more efficiently as part of the economic success story that is the greater west midlands. In…24 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsYes.24 Jan 2022HANSARDReview of Intergovernmental RelationsToday the UK Government have published an update on how the UK Government and the devolved Administrations intend to conduct formal intergovernmental relations with each other.…13 Jan 2022HANSARDBuilding SafetyFirst, I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend, my predecessor. I have had the opportunity since joining the Department to see just how hard he worked, facing a number of…10 Jan 2022HANSARDBuilding SafetyMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the things that we saw just before Christmas with the Kingspan-Mercedes deal is the way in which public pressure from the Grenfell…10 Jan 2022HANSARDBuilding SafetyMy hon. Friend makes an important point that sometimes work that is absolutely necessary involves a degree of disruption to people’s ordinary lives that is incredibly painful.…10 Jan 2022