Contributions
869 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPride in Place Funding: ScotlandAreas across Scotland, including Elgin, will receive up to £20 million of Pride in Place programme funding to transform their areas. Phase 1 places have already been identified,…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillWe will be moving on to talk about community right to buy and assets of community value. We are clear that communities should be able to identify assets of community value and…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight this issue. We are clear that the local licensing authority will continue to be the key authority, and such things as licensing…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI thank the hon. Member for raising the issue of rural areas. As we see mayors in more rural areas, it will be incumbent on them to respond to the priorities and needs of their…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillWe are clear that where a mayoral development order is being put in place, there will be processes and procedures that the mayor will have to set out so that people can make…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI will make a little more progress, and then I will give way. The Bill provides mayors of strategic authorities with the ability to intervene in planning applications of potential…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI will make some progress on the things we will be debating today. In Committee, we amended schedules 1 and 9 to the Bill to state that combined foundation strategic authorities’…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillLane rentals are there for all highways authorities. This is about the approval of lane rentals, which currently sits with the Secretary of State for Transport. We think that if…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMayors across the country have been strong advocates for a visitor levy, but the hon. Lady will forgive me, because that is within the Chancellor’s remit, and I would not dare to…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillNo, I will make a little more progress. We are clear that this work has to be done with consultation and engagement, and that is what we are doing. To the point raised by the hon.…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillWith the leave of the House, I will respond to the debate. I thank Members from across the House for their thoughtful, robust and, at times, rather lengthy contributions to the…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI completely agree with the hon. Member. We want pace in planning and pace in development. One of the frustrations for us on the Government Benches is that we inherited a system…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillWe are very clear that the process of local government reorganisation should be driven by local areas. That is why we are going through a process in which local areas are coming…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI thank my right hon. Friend for raising new clause 29, which I was just coming to, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) and other hon. Friends for…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI will not give way, because I think Members are getting rather irate and everyone wants to go home. I will finish with Cornwall and the points made by my hon. Friend the Member…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI heard both the point that the hon. Member has just made and the point he made during the debate. The model we have in London has been a successful one for 25 years. We will…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI will conclude. We are clear, despite the naysayers on the Opposition Benches, that this Bill is a fundamental step forward. It is the biggest transfer of power to our mayors,…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI will make progress. The hon. Member for Guildford pushed back on commissioners, and I disagree with her amendments. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Dunstable and…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillThe clear thing for authorities across the country is that they recognise the status quo is not working. Conservative Members are criticising, yet they have no alternative. The…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillAbsolutely. We are very clear that with powers come responsibility and accountability. We are strengthening scrutiny powers for local government, and we will continue to look at…24 Nov 2025