Contributions
1,131 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPlanning for the FutureThere are many things in the statement that I welcome and that I am sure the Select Committee will welcome and will want to look at. Shortly after Grenfell, the Select Committee…12 Mar 2020HANSARD CoronavirusLocal government will have an important role to play, beyond social care, in working with the Secretary of State’s Department to deal with this issue. When will local councils get…11 Mar 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsT9. In the middle of last year, I visited the port of Rotterdam, a major trading port for us—for goods from not just within the EU but outside it as well. At the time, that port…05 Mar 2020HANSARD Local Government Finance (England)The Secretary of State says that council tax bills are 6% lower than in 2010, but does he accept the figures produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which show that in real…24 Feb 2020HANSARD Local Government Finance (England)The Secretary of State is right that the spending review is better for local government and that it gives a spending power increase of just over 2% in real terms—I think that was…24 Feb 2020HANSARD Local Government Finance (England)I agree with my hon. Friend. We need a separate funding stream for adult social care, as the two Select Committees recommended in the last Parliament. Also, my Select Committee…24 Feb 2020HANSARD Local Government Finance (England)I thank the Secretary of State for giving way again. I very much welcome the Sheffield city region deal, and I want to pay credit to the previous Northern Powerhouse Minister, the…24 Feb 2020HANSARDHousing SupplyI am sure that the Secretary of State will agree that it is not just about the number of homes, but is also about the quality of those homes. Indeed, he has established the…24 Feb 2020HANSARDTransport InfrastructureI welcome the commitment both to HS2 and to Northern Powerhouse Rail, but in neither case did the Prime Minister mention Sheffield. Could he therefore confirm that the Sheffield…11 Feb 2020HANSARDLocal Government FinanceMay I begin by thanking the Minister for his continued support for devolution to the Sheffield city region and south Yorkshire? I think we have just about got there. That is very…05 Feb 2020HANSARDLocal Government FinanceThis is a very important debate because these services affect millions of our constituents up and down the country. The reality is that local government has had bigger cuts to its…05 Feb 2020HANSARDLocal Government FinanceI am sure my hon. Friend has had a chance to read the Local Governance Research Unit’s excellent annual survey of local government finances, which shows that 10% of councils are…05 Feb 2020HANSARD Middle East Peace PlanAny successful peace plan is likely to need land swaps based on the 1967 borders, but does the Minister accept that those swaps have to be agreed by both parties? When looking at…30 Jan 2020HANSARD HomelessnessMy right hon. Friend is making a valid point. I am sure he recognises that we tried to amend the Homelessness Reduction Bill in Committee to place a responsibility on other public…29 Jan 2020HANSARD HomelessnessThe Secretary of State referred to the local housing allowance. About a year ago, the National Audit Office did a damning report for the Public Accounts Committee, stating that…29 Jan 2020HANSARD HomelessnessI congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Erith and Thamesmead (Abena Oppong-Asare) and for Birkenhead (Mick Whitley) on their excellent maiden speeches. I am sure that the…29 Jan 2020HANSARDFlats and Shared Housing: Fire RiskIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Reading East (Matt Rodda) on an excellent opening contribution. It was…28 Jan 2020HANSARDFlats and Shared Housing: Fire RiskMy hon. Friend raises an important point. I know that the Government are doing a review of those other materials. Are we not slightly uncomfortable about the fact that material…28 Jan 2020HANSARDNHS: Take-up of New TechnologyI am disappointed that the Secretary of State could not come to the opening last Friday of the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre in my constituency, which is looking at linking…28 Jan 2020HANSARDFlats and Shared Housing: Fire RiskGoing back briefly to inspections, what is a competent inspector? The question of who will do the inspections is important.28 Jan 2020