Contributions
122 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI thank my hon. Friend for raising this, because we have a similar issue between in Northamptonshire. We have a 15-year difference in life expectancy between Northampton town…24 Nov 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI have to say, I had a great time on the Public Bill Committee. The Bill’s 400 pages were expertly navigated by the Minister, and our Whip, my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing…24 Nov 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillI take the point. The intention behind amendment 40 is well meant: there are situations, as my hon. Friend has said, in which EDPs will not be needed and there are other ways to…13 Nov 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillI am sure that my hon. Friend has considered the results of the Corry review, which recognises that we have such complex nature legislation in the UK that it makes it incredibly…13 Nov 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillI did think that the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) was about to slip up in her round-up and say, “Build, baby, build”—we almost had her there. Every single week…13 Nov 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillThe hon. Lady is completely right that there are lots of empty homes. I am sure that there must have been some amendments tabled by the Greens that I have missed, and that they…13 Nov 2025HANSARD Planning and Infrastructure BillMy hon. Friend could not be more right. Part of why we set up the cross-party Representative Planning Group was to create an opportunity to bring forward legislation that ensures…13 Nov 2025HANSARD Autistic Adults: EmploymentDoes the hon. Gentleman agree that, while we do need that reform, we should recognise the brilliant organisations in our communities that are working so hard to support…11 Nov 2025HANSARD Autistic Adults: EmploymentIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) for securing this debate, and to her constituents…11 Nov 2025HANSARD Autistic Adults: EmploymentI agree that those services are critical—we are seeing that at first hand in Northamptonshire; when placements and employment opportunities collapse, when local provision…11 Nov 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am fortunate to get thorough updates from my police, fire and crime commissioner, Danielle Stone. In the latest update, she told me that she sees real improvements in the…11 Nov 2025HANSARD Business of the HouseThe Royal & Derngate in Northampton has been named the UK’s most welcoming theatre. Will the Leader of the House join me in commending Jo Gordon, the chief executive; Jesse Jones,…30 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)It is a pleasure to speak about this issue. I thank the Minister, who has been gracious in giving me a lot of time to discuss upward-only rent reviews. I hope to use a couple of…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)As the Committee will remember, I had just covered Ireland. I will now take Committee members across the world to Australia, where a ban on upward-only rent reviews was relatively…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)May I tell the Committee a story? There is good merit in making sure that councillors are trained, but they can be trained and still not listen. A Reform councillor in…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting)The Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for North West Essex, said at the Conservative party conference that she wanted to cut regulation on building, but she was…28 Oct 2025HANSARD Building Safety RegulatorIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting the debate, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton…23 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Ninth sitting)There has been a lot of conjecture about what could happen. I am from an area that has a unitary, because the Conservatives bankrupted the county council. Has the hon. Gentleman…23 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Ninth sitting)I have some evidence on this point: under reorganisation, we actually lost Labour councillors. As the council came together, there were more Conservatives post reorganisation than…23 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Seventh sitting)A big reason we have a problem with housing numbers is the Building Safety Regulator. There will be a Back-Bench debate on it on Thursday, which I am sure the Minister will attend…21 Oct 2025