Contributions
1,912 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)New clauses 3 and 11 would impose a legal duty on public bodies, requiring them to provide information to electoral registration officers for the purposes of automatic electoral…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)I was amazed to hear the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute, who is clearly suffering from significant amnesia if he claims not to have heard the arguments on votes at 16. As the…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)The Government believe that when citizens commit a crime that is sufficiently serious to detain them in prison, they have broken their contract with society to such an extent that…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)The right to vote in parliamentary elections and choose the next UK Government is rightly restricted to British citizens and those with the closest historical links to our…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)Our position has always been that after our exit from the EU existing voting and candidacy rights should be maintained where possible. The new clause would extend the…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)Committee members may want to get out their smelling salts, because the Government agree in principle with the introduction of online absent voting applications. The Government…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)We cannot agree to the new clause, as it would have a significant logistical impact on the conduct of elections. Allowing registrations on polling day itself would raise issues…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)As the hon. Member mentioned, we discussed this issue when considering clauses on overseas electors. I did agree with Opposition Members that we should look at ways to ensure that…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)I am very happy to have a meeting, and I think we should look at the whole section on overseas electors. I have not read the Russia report, so I am keen to get a briefing on it…26 Oct 2021HANSARDElections Bill (Twelfth sitting)The Government do not support the new clause for several reasons. I am aware that the Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended in its “Regulating Election Finance” report…26 Oct 2021HANSARDRegeneration in Towns and CitiesI apologise to the hon. Lady, but I am not sure, given her reference to COP26, what sort of answer she is expecting. I can ensure that she gets a letter providing further…25 Oct 2021HANSARDRegeneration in Towns and CitiesThe hon. Gentleman will know that the Government are doing everything they can to support communities such as his. He knows the official Government policy on universal credit. We…25 Oct 2021HANSARDRegeneration in Towns and CitiesThe Department is investing billions in local growth funds—including the towns fund and the levelling-up fund, which I mentioned earlier—to deliver regeneration across the UK as…25 Oct 2021HANSARDRegeneration in Towns and CitiesI cannot comment specifically on what will be announced in the Budget this Wednesday, but I will tell the hon. Gentleman what, for instance, we did in the most recent local…25 Oct 2021HANSARDRegeneration in Towns and CitiesI recognise that hon. Members from Stoke-on-Trent are very keen and have thrown their full support behind the levelling-up bids that have been submitted. The bids are being…25 Oct 2021HANSARDRegeneration in Towns and CitiesI agree with my hon. Friend: parking policies are important in supporting high streets to thrive. That is one of the reasons why, in the build back better high streets strategy,…25 Oct 2021HANSARDSupport for TownsYes.25 Oct 2021HANSARDSupport for TownsAt the moment, we are reviewing the first tranche of the levelling-up fund, so the criteria for the second and future tranches will be decided in due course, but I can tell my…25 Oct 2021HANSARDSupport for TownsI think that goes without saying. Yes, of course, we recognise that many places would like to see additional funds from the levelling-up fund, but we will evaluate the strength of…25 Oct 2021HANSARDRegeneration in Towns and CitiesWe are looking to empower local communities such as Kimberley as part of our levelling-up agenda, but I must stress that any project that wishes to gain Government funding must…25 Oct 2021